Saturday Morning Walkers - April 6, 2008

Hi everyone!

Barb, Jan, Laila, Christie, Mary and I had a great walk this morning - Barb just continues to come up with creative walks on the first Saturday of every month when we always meet at Caffe Sole. It was warmer than any of us expected, so jackets were shed along the way. We did assign dates for the rest of April - Jan will lead on the 12th, Christie on the 19th and I will take the 26th.

Book Report:
I am reading the one of our Literary Sojourn books - Elizabeth Strout's collection of "narratives", Olive Kitteridge. I am not too far along but am already engaged with the characters which run through all of these separate narratives. Strout skillfully captures the personality of place and people. Once again our book group is looking forward to our "sojourn" to Steamboat Springs for this annual event. Check out this year's list of authors - www.literarysojourn.org

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Thirteen linked tales from Strout (Abide with Me, etc.) present a heart-wrenching, penetrating portrait of ordinary coastal Mainers living lives of quiet grief intermingled with flashes of human connection. The opening Pharmacy focuses on terse, dry junior high-school teacher Olive Kitteridge and her gregarious pharmacist husband, Henry, both of whom have survived the loss of a psychologically damaged parent, and both of whom suffer painful attractions to co-workers. Their son, Christopher, takes center stage in A Little Burst, which describes his wedding in humorous, somewhat disturbing detail, and in Security, where Olive, in her 70s, visits Christopher and his family in New York. Strout's fiction showcases her ability to reveal through familiar details—the mother-of-the-groom's wedding dress, a grandmother's disapproving observations of how her grandchildren are raised—the seeds of tragedy. Themes of suicide, depression, bad communication, aging and love, run through these stories, none more vivid or touching than Incoming Tide, where Olive chats with former student Kevin Coulson as they watch waitress Patty Howe by the seashore, all three struggling with their own misgivings about life. Like this story, the collection is easy to read and impossible to forget. Its literary craft and emotional power will surprise readers unfamiliar with Strout.

DVD recommendations from Jan: by the way, all of these DVD's that Jan has recently seen are ones she borrows from the library.

Lust, Caution - a 2007 film by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) - "The new film from Ang Lee, the Academy Award-winning director of “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” A startling erotic espionage thriller about the fate of an ordinary woman’s heart, it is based on the short story by revered Chinese author Eileen Chang, and stars Asian cinema icon Tony Leung opposite screen newcomer Tang Wei. Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers...how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei)."

Planet Earth - More than five years in the making, PLANET EARTH redefines blue-chip natural history filmmaking and continues the Discovery Channel mission to provide the highest quality programming in the world. The 11-part series will amaze viewers with never-before-seen animal behaviors, startling views of locations captured by cameras for the first time, and unprecedented high-definition production techniques. Award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver is the series' narrator.

Website of the Week - Common Sense Media - http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ - "Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.
We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume."


Podcast of the Week - Word for Word - http://wordforword.publicradio.org/ - "You've heard the sound bites. Word for Word gives you a chance to hear from the newsmakers at length. Each week we feature an interesting and timely speech on a hot topic in the news: from the war in Iraq to intelligence gathering, education reform to immigration. Word for Word strives for balance, featuring top policymakers, thinkers and opinion leaders from the left, right and center. We draw speeches from respected venues like the National Press Club, the Chautauqua Institution, the Aspen Institute and other prestigious institutions across the country. Host Melinda Penkava, a 15-year veteran of public radio, provides the crucial background information and context. Then we open up the microphone and give our influential speakers the time they need to make a nuanced argument."

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Plenary ( a term that is used for some programs at the CU Conference on World Affairs (starting on Monday, April 7)
plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\, adjective:
1. Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority.
2. Fully attended by all qualified members.

Judges like to quote a 1936 Supreme Court opinion that spoke of "the very delicate, plenary and exclusive power of the President as the sole organ of the Federal Government in the field of international relations."
-- "Like Interpreting the Dreams of Pharaoh", New York Times, November 6, 1988

Tito called a plenary session of the Central Committee.
-- Milovan Djilas, Fall of the New Class

Plenary comes from Late Latin plenarius, from Latin plenus, "full." It is related to plenty.

Cooking and Dining Report:
Saturday night, Jack and I checked out the Empire Lounge in Louisville. I did mention last week that Rita had been there and really enjoyed it. We loved it - such a great, casual atmosphere - very retro!
We shared the polenta crusted onion rings with chipotle dipping sauce and a caesar salad - both were terrific. Jack had Bucatini with a Veal, Pork and Lamb Ragu and I had the Short Ribs in a Red Wine Reduction with Grated Horseradish - mine was so flavorful! The dessert menu looked amazing but we restrained ourselves. They do have a Happy Hour which starts at 4 and the first Wednesday of every month, select bottles of wine are half-priced. It would be fun to check that out.

Tonight we had an "adult" version of chicken tenders - from Fine Cooking, Crisp and Spicy Chicken Tenders with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce. A great casual Sunday night meal. I served them with raw carrots and sugar snap peas, along with an iceberg lettuce wedge salad. The dipping sauce served as the salad dressing. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/crisp-buffalo-chicken-tenders-blue-cheese.aspx?LangType=1033&ac=fp

Well, that's it for this week. I do have some great looking recipes to try this week and will report on them next Sunday from Los Angeles. I'm heading out on Saturday the 12th and will be back on Sunday the 20th - a nice long visit with Jexy, Joe and Jacob. I will be bringing my computer and will able to stay in touch.

Have a great week!


Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walker - June 25, 2006

Hi everyone,
Our walk yesterday morning was lovely until, as Barb predicted, mosquitoes joined us - definitely made us walk faster!
Book reports for the week:
From Mary:
Janet Evanovich's series of Stephanie Plum mystery novels - she just read the latest in the series, Twelve Sharp - apparently you must start with the beginning of the series, One for the Money
From Jan:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Amazon.comIn this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Sent at a young age to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit black community there. These very lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic occurrence while visiting her mother in St. Louis and her formative years spent in California--where an unwanted pregnancy changed her life forever. Marvelously told, with Angelou's "gift for language and observation," this "remarkable autobiography by an equally remarkable black woman from Arkansas captures, indelibly, a world of which most Americans are shamefully ignorant." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Barb:
Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies - a children's book that was reviewed this morning on NPR - I just went out to get it for Jacob and its a wonderful story with great illustrations - I'll let you know Jacob's review after we read it next weekend!
From School Library JournalPreSchool-Grade 3–This is the quintessential book about going to the beach complete with overflowing picnic baskets, kite flying, singing around the campfire, and scratchy sand in places where no sand should be. Kids will certainly identify with the exuberant and familiar fun, but what will get them howling is the fact that the characters are bats that are visiting the beach in the moonlight. The rhyming text is grounded in reality with many inventive twists to keep the imagination rolling. There is moon-tan lotion, salted 'skeeters, and bat kites. Where the book truly soars is in the dark yet luminescent art where bat wings glow in the light of the full moon and the sky is a steely blue. The faces on the bats are furry and friendly. These creatures use cocktail umbrellas for beach umbrellas; they hold wing-boat races in red-and-white checked food containers; and when it's time for a late-night snack, they enter the ice-cream shack where a lit light bulb attracts a multitude of succulent bugs. Readers may not be tempted to try marshmallows with bug legs and gossamer wings but that won't keep them from reveling in this grand adventure.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
From Susan:
Still working on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (on tape) - I'm just not in the car enough!
Am about to start on a book:
Katerina by Aharon Appelfeld
From Publishers WeeklyWith piercing clarity, Israeli novelist Appelfeld tells the profoundly moving story of Katerina, a Polish housekeeper who works for a succession of Jewish families in the years before WW II. Raised in a culture permeated with virulent anti-Semitism, she must constantly try to overcome the prejudice instilled by her bitter mother, who beat her, and her callous father, who attempted to rape her. One by one, Jewish people who are good to Katerina die: an employer murdered by thugs on Passover; a moody, perfectionistic female pianist. Then her own baby, whom she has raised as a Jew, is snatched from her arms and killed. For knifing her son's murderer, Katerina spends more than 40 years in prison. Other inmates cheer as freight trains take Jews to concentration camps. Released from prison, Katerina lives in a hut on her deceased family's deserted farm and, at age 79, narrates her life story, lamenting that "there are no more victims in the world, only murderers." A theme that might be didactic in the hands of a lesser novelist is here conveyed with moving, unpreachy simplicity. This masterful novel is a powerful study of the poison of prejudice, a poignant meditation on life's horrors, beauty and God's inscrutable ways. Appelfeld imbues every scene with deep humanity in a riveting tale of universal appeal.
Recipe for the week - my oldie but goodie - Noodle Kugel - I made it the other night for Friday night services at Scott Carpenter Park.
8 ounces medium width noodles, cooked
8 ounces fruit cocktail, drained
1 cup sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
8 ounces cottage cheese, small curd
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus additional to sprinkle on top
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix all of the above ingredients. Put into a 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon to taste. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Yield: 1 pan
Notes: 12/7/01 I have successfully substituted lite fruit cocktail and non-fat evaporated milk, and liquid egg substitute with no noticeable difference.
Serving Ideas: Works as a side dish or dessert - good warm or at room temperature!

Restaurant find: Dish at 1918 Pearl Street - fabulous gourmet shop with wonderful sandwiches - limited seating.
Here's the review from the Daily Camera:
Stellar sandwiches
Boulder's Dish Gourmet does Dagwood proud
By Catherine Christiansen, Camera Restaurant CriticJune 9, 2006
The pickle summed it up: clean, crisp flavors of cucumber and brine, spices enhancing rather than knocking you over the head. It tasted like Grandma's homemade — if Grandma lived on East Pearl, that is. And had a groovy condo and wore yoga pants. With Grandpa in his feed store cap and some big white sunglasses.
A few friends and I did a little drooling over the wholesome menu at Dish Gourmet deli one Friday afternoon while settling in to watch the action. Aside from a Liberace light fixture, it's a cool, simple space in shades of avocado, tomato and creamy mustard. Sausages line the bright display case filled with salads, prepared foods and good selection of farmstead cheeses.

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 21, 2006

Here's what I'm reading this week:

The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres - actually a recommendation from Linn Green - I'm loving it - a great summer read!
From Library JournalWhile most readers may not immediately recognize the author's name, many will be familiar with her TV work. She's written for Dynasty, The Waltons, Love Boat, and Knots Landing and is probably best known for the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of Dallas. Her television background serves her well in this debut novel. Her timing is excellent and the plot twists are both delightful and surprising. Sissy LeBlanc lives by a code she calls "The Southern Belle's Handbook." When a pithy idea pops into her head, she instinctively knows how that code applies to her life. Sissy understands her role as granddaughter of a suffragette, daughter of a newspaper editor, wife of PeeWee, and mother of three, but lately she's been feeling restless. When her high school sweetheart comes back to Gentry, LA, after a 14-year absence, Sissy decides that it is time to make some changes in her life if they cause a little scandal, so be it. Readers may be reminded of the movies Fried Green Tomatoes and Something To Talk About. Despres's heroine has spunk, her villains get their comeuppance, and her ending is psychologically satisfying. Recommended for public libraries with large collections of women's fiction. Pam Kingsbury, Florence, AL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Another strong recommendation from Linn which I haven't read yet:

An Unreasonable Woman by Diane Wilson
From Publishers WeeklyWith the discovery that her "piddlin' little county on the Gulf Coast" led the nation in toxic emissions, shrimper Wilson, a mother of five, found herself embarking on a voyage of discovery and activism that would strain her marriage and stretch her horizons. A David up against big-time chemical Goliaths, Wilson is a gifted storyteller, rendering dialogue and pacing plot turns as a novelist might. Anonymous informants, uncomfortable whistleblowers, unanticipated opposition from civic powers and seductive offers of cash bribes pepper this first-person account of Wilson's attempts to save her hometown. Although there are moments when the trail of meetings, memos and petitions seems drawn out, the tell-everything approach reveals how a woman awed to discover "they can lie on TV news! And it is all right!" can learn to master the media. Wilson's hunger-striking, boat-sinking and pole-climbing—combined with the help of a pro bono lawyer and a Greenpeace activist—ultimately wring a "zero tolerance" agreement out of Formosa Plastics and Dow/Union Carbide. Wilson's book is longer than it needs to be, but her Texas twang is catchy, and often spellbinding, as she goes about her mission, sometimes with a child "by one hand and a handful of documents in the other." (Sept.)
Here's a recipe for Skewered Tortellini - a great easy appetizer - tortellini is best served warm but ok at room temperature - refrigerate dip if not using right away:

Skewered Tortellini with Parmesan Lemon Dip Makes approximately 40 skewers 1 cup Crème Fraiche½ cup grated Parmesan cheeseJuice of 1 lemonGrated zest of 1 lemon3 large cloves Roasted Garlic, peeled and crushed (see directions below)1 ½ pounds tortelliniOlive oilTo Roast Garlic: Wrap #3 large cloves of garlic (unpeeled) in aluminum foil. Roast in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, until soft. Cool. Peel the garlic and crush.Combine the roasted garlic, Crème Fraiche, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice and zest in a small mixing bowl. Set aside until ready to use.Boil tortellini according to package instructions until just tender. Drain the pasta and sprinkle with some olive oil to prevent sticking.Put 2-3 tortellini (depending on size) on wooden skewers. Serve with the Parmesan Lemon Dip.