Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

(And I do mean last night, not tonight.  Because tonight was pizza and ‘Frozen’ in the living room.)

I was going to come up with some sort of pasta salad last night, I really was.  But time ticked on, and I suddenly realized that my window for making one and having it anywhere resembling “chilled” by dinnertime was, you know, closed.  And I’m not gonna lie…I thought about calling my hubby and suggesting we get pizza.  I don’t like to be rushed when I cook, you see, and I also don’t like to change my plans at the last minute.  (I really, really don’t like that.)  But the fact of the matter was that if we’d ordered pizza last night, it wouldn’t have been an option for tonight, and anyway, I had an idea that would work and almost all of the ingredients required, so pizza would have been a thoroughly lazy cop-out.  And so we tried this 5-Ingredient Bacon Asparagus Pasta, which would have been even simpler if I hadn’t had to choose a substitute for white wine.  (I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or a Mormon; wine isn’t something we ever have.)  I googled substitutes, and I looked at the various reasons behind the substitutes, and then I made up my own ratio of two parts chicken broth to one part good white wine vinegar from Costco.  (I want the tang and the bit of sweetness, so plain chicken broth is never going to do it for me in cases like these.  I LOVE acidity.)

Anyway, once I got that ingredient taken care of, I cleaned my asparagus and went to town.    My biggest problem with the recipe was in this paragraph:

Meanwhile, add your diced bacon to a saute pan. Cook it up in a pan until it’s nice and crispy. Then remove it with a slotted spoon, and                   leave the leftover (about 1 Tbsp.) grease in the pan.

I don’t know what kind of bacon SHE was using, but the ‘leftover’ grease in my  pan was at leat 2/3 of a cup worth.  I drained it down to a tablespoon or so and moved on.  I was lazy about removing the asparagus from the pan before I deglazed, but I regret that–it lost its lovely bright green color and got a smidgen too done.  And then I used cheap Parmesan for the mix-in and good Parmesan for the topper layer.

And the verdict?

Hmmm.  I enjoyed it, but I actually think a bit less vinegar would have been preferable.  My husband was surprisingly okay with it–it’s not really his thing–and the kids, predictably, complained about the asparagus.  (It’s not that they don’t like asparagus at all; it’s that they’re weirdly choosy about how they like it to be prepared.)  Overall, I would lessen the amount of vinegar I used and make this again; its short ingredient list and quick cook time was very attractive, and the kids did like it.  (Not being lazy about the asparagus would probably help in that department.)  I would also use good Parmesan in both places.  (Oh, and I used fusilli springs and liked that; I’m sure linguini would be good, but it’s just too hard to feed to a 21-month-old.)

So there you have it.  If you happen to have asparagus in your fridge and you’re looking for a quick meal with a minimal ingredient list, try this one out for size!

Have you read anything by her?  I might have missed her entirely if it hadn’t been for a chance recommendation from a friend (not even a terribly close friend)!  A girl in my more-formal book club introduced me to Garden Spells about the same time as The Sugar Queen was coming out, and I really, really enjoyed both of them.  Their touches of quirky magic add delightfully to the stories without overwhelming the plots, and I thoroughly related to characters in both of them.  (I enjoyed them SO much that I bought Garden Spells for my sister when she was in the middle of a move and stressed out, hooking her as well.)

When The Girl Who Chased the Moon came out, I picked it for my less-formal book club before I’d even read it.  (I hooked more than one friend in that book club as well.)  I related less to the characters in that one, but it wasn’t any less of a book because of that.  (Kind of like Lily’s Crossing, by Patricia Reilly Giff–an author I adore, by the way–which was a Newbery Honor book,  but whose main character wasn’t as sympathetic to me personally as, well, ANY of her others.)  The Peach Keeper was a treat–reminding me, very vaguely, of The Help in spots–and I’m pleased to announce that I very much enjoyed the new one, Lost Lake, as well.  (By new, you understand, I mean ‘it came out in January and I just now read the library copy I received 2 1/2 weeks ago.’)  It felt a little different than SAA’s other books, but that’s probably only natural…its publication was delayed while she was treated for breast cancer.  I imagine that would change your outlook on life, right?

I have to say, I rather enjoyed the ‘ensemble cast’ feel.  The stars of the book weren’t really so obviously stars, and so many of the supporting characters seemed more like main characters than not.  (I don’t know why, but I kept thinking of Beth Hoffman’s Looking for Me while I was reading it.  Something stylistic, perhaps?)  The magical elements in this one were more subtle, and while that worked, I did slightly miss the magical family traits of her earlier novels.  It still hooked me right away, though–and kept me reading–and left me satisfied at the end.  What else could you want from a book?

I was looking through one of my dessert boards on Pinterest today (item:  I have 10 dessert boards–don’t judge me), trying to come up with a few bar recipes for the weekend (for three different purposes, mind you), and I found this one for Snickerdoodle Blondies.  It was a nice, basic recipe–I was looking for easy today–and I had all of the ingredients for it, and I love snickerdoodles, so why not, right?

Why not, indeed.  Oh, the buttery goodness with cinnamon sugar on top!  Two sticks of butter in a 9 by 13 pan of bars does give them a lovely flavor, and the only thing I might do differently next time is to up the amount of cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.  Other than that, well–shoot. They’re possibly EASIER than my family’s recipe for butterscotch brownies, which came from the Betty Crocker cookbook that my mother got for her wedding (in 1965).  It’s been a family standby for years, because they mix up quickly, taste fabulous, and use only ingredients that you’ve always got around the house.  These share all of those qualities.  What’s not to love?

Does anybody else out there go on streaks when it comes to junk food?

I should preface this by reassuring all and sundry that my mother raised me to eat real food, and I am, in fact, a three-meals-of-real-food-a-day kind of person.  Because my body wants it and needs it.  On the other hand, I have this metabolism from my dad’s side of the family, and so I still find room for junk (which I try to eat unobserved, both because I want my kids to develop GOOD habits first, and because I don’t want to share.) There was a Laffy Taffy phase years ago, and a peanut butter m&m phase that morphed into a Reese’s Pieces phase, and–well, you get the idea. Anyway.  I am currently in more of a salty phase, and my junk of choice (lately) is Kettle Cooked Lays (partly because you don’t see Cape Cod Chips in Utah).  Not plain, though.  I favor Salt and Vinegar over anything else, but I’ve also enjoyed the Maui Onion and the Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan.  (Not so much the Applewood Smoked BBQ.)  I don’t do spicy, so I won’t be trying the Jalapeno any time this century, but I’ve been contemplating the Sharp Cheddar.  Anyone else tried them?  Are they good?

By the way, Costco sells–is it Kettle brand potato chips?  I once found Zesty Ranch there and loved them, but I can’t find that flavor anymore. Since I’m not into plain OR anything with cracked pepper, I’ve been thwarted there ever since.

It’s a tragedy.

I debated the wisdom of saying any of this on a public forum, even if my readers aren’t exactly legion.  I have at least one cousin and one friend who won’t agree with me, and those are just the two I’m quite sure of.  I imagine I know more people that won’t.  I, however, feel SO VERY STRONGLY about this that I cannot stay silent, and since this is my blog, I don’t really feel like I have to.

Today my precious, beautiful first grader brought home a letter informing me that there have been cases of Pertussis at her school.

This infuriates me.

My children are immunized, and my husband and I are adults.  I am not fearful for my family today.  I am grateful that I don’t have an infant too young to be protected, because of course someone could cough on my first grader’s backpack and she could bring home a disease that can kill.

I love history, and I’ve read enough about infectious diseases to be very, very grateful for the blessing of vaccines.  (I also had a friend and former boss who was permanently crippled by polio.)  I hate the F-word with a passion–I’ve never used it in my life–but I wanted to stand up and cheer when I saw Penn and Teller on Vaccinations on Youtube, because I feel that strongly about this issue.

I’m too upset and tired to wax eloquent, and so I will simply say this.  I do not believe that my pediatrician is lying to me about the best way to protect my children from diseases that once killed tens of thousands of children a year.  I trust science.  I vaccinate my children.  I honestly don’t understand why people don’t.

If I have another child, I will do it in a world where a preventable and dangerous disease is present in my daughter’s elementary school.

Okay, technically his birthday was on Friday, but I got up at 5:30 on Thursday and drove three kids home from Idaho, and there was a house to clean and unpacking to be done, so he didn’t get his cake until today.  (We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse on his birthday, and he did get to open his gifts afterwards.  Just the cake was delayed.  Oh, and bringing brownies into his work.  That’s on the list for this week.)  He was very good about it, though, and diligently looked through my ‘Cakes and Frostings’ board on Pinterest to find a cake that appealed to him.  Of the two choices he emailed to me, I had the ingredients for this Chocolate Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Filling and Chocolate Buttercream, and so last night, once the kiddos were in bed, I went at it.

I should probably add, at this point, that I only make layer cakes for occasional birthdays.  I’m all for cake, don’t get me wrong, but I’m a lazy perfectionist, and if it’s something that takes a bit of both work and practice, I tend to gravitate elsewhere.  I’m fine with one layer and frosting on my cake, or poke cakes, or any other cake recipe that is either easy or, if complicated, possible to do well the first or second time.  That said, I’m also a food person–in a BIG way–and I can’t resist pinning any recipe that looks like it might be good.  (Those of you who follow me on Pinterest know that this is NOT an exaggeration.)  And birthdays are the perfect time to try those recipes that I couldn’t resist pinning but don’t usually want to deal with making, right?

Right.  Only I should have started this one earlier.  The actual cake recipe was simple, but once the three layers cooled completely, they needed to be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.  I caught the overnight part, but I didn’t think hard enough about how late I would have to stay up waiting for the layers to completely cool…if, you know, I started after the kids were in bed and I vegged online for a few minutes.  And then I had to battle with the plastic wrap, which just wanted to static-cling to my arm and wrinkle instead of doing its job.

And then the next day, there was the frosting.  Part of the loveliness of the cake was that there was the cream cheese frosting between the layers as WELL as the chocolate buttercream on the outside, but the two frostings had to be made separately, and you had to add the powdered sugar SLOWLY so that it didn’t just fill the air as soon as the mixer hit it.  (I have to say, frosting it was a little stressful as well, but that’s only because I don’t like not being good at things, and my sister-in-law who has made a wedding cake or two was going to see this one.  Not that she cares–she’s laid back and fun and not at all judgmental–but I couldn’t help being self-conscious.  I might have died if my cousin Elly had seen it.  Not that SHE’S not also nice and probably wouldn’t think anything of it, but go to Elly’s Delicious Cakes and you’ll know why.  She’s insanely talented.)

Anyway.  What I’m trying to say about this recipe is that it’s not a terribly difficult layer cake, but it’s still a layer cake.  They’re just plain more time-consuming than your basic cake-in-a-9-by-13-pan.  And it was tasty, don’t get me wrong, but the richness was all in the frosting.  The cake part was just a basic chocolate cake.  This is fine if you’re a frosting sort of person, but I tend to be more of a nice-rich-pound-ish-cake type person.  It depends on your preference.  If you’re a not-so-lazy-as-I-am frosting lover, then this, my friend, is the cake for you.

For any readers out there not of my faith, we Mormons have something called General Conference twice a year (in April and October).  Which means that our church leaders speak to the entire church, and we get to listen via satellite or internet or whatever, depending on where you live.  When I was a kid, this meant going to the nearest church building with a satellite dish.  Now that I live in Utah, it means I get to watch it on TV in my pajamas, which is kind of awesome.  There are sessions of Conference on Saturday and Sunday, which is why you’ll often hear it referred to as ‘Conference Weekend.’  Quite a few people I know have Conference weekend breakfast traditions, and while I was WAY too tired last night to think about something like cinnamon rolls, I decided I’d try and work on that particular tradition in our family.  (It’s been an on-again, off-again thing with us thus far, partly because there are very few breakfast foods that my husband enjoys as much as Golden Grahams.)  And so I ran to the grocery store (SO glad it’s only 5 minutes away!) at 10 last night, put this Overnight Peaches and Cream French Toast together when I got home, and with a touch more work this morning, bam! there was breakfast.

And dang, it was good.  Only 2 of the 5 of us loved it, but that’s only because the boys in the family won’t eat peaches–baffling, I know–and my oldest has egg issues.  (You’d also have issues with it if you don’t like the French toast-y, bread pudding-y kind of texture, I suppose.)  The taste, if you like peaches, was FABULOUS.  The only change I made was using light brown sugar instead of dark, and that was more of a lazy choice than anything else.  (Really, who wants to dig around for and open a brand-new bag of dark brown sugar for half a cup of it? because the rest is going to dry out before I bake with it again.  It’s not so much of a springtime ingredient.)  I followed the recipe otherwise, although I did see a comment suggesting you break up the bread for the sake of more edges, and that’s definitely worth trying.  Mmmm, peaches and cream.

Of course, 6 months from now, I’ll have to pick something that more than two of us are likely to enjoy, but I really, really wanted to try this one.  (Go on.  You know you want to try it, too…)

The other book I finished while I was visiting my parents was by one of those authors, and by that, I mean someone whose name comes up multiple times on my Newbery list (as in, 4 or 5).  People like Laura Ingalls Wilder (quite a few ‘Little House’ books won), and E. L. Konigsburg (one of my very favorites, and the only one to win the medal and have an Honor book in the same year), and Meindert De Jong (I want to love him, but…), and, well, Scott O’Dell.  Who wrote The Black Pearl, which I finished a few days ago.  (Who also wrote Sing Down the Moon, and Island of the Blue Dolphins, and The King’s Fifth.)  (I haven’t read the last one yet, by the way, and I remember NOTHING about Island of the Blue Dolphins, which means it’s slated for a reread for the purposes of my project.)

It’s a short book–a hundred pages even, in the edition I read.  And it’s simply written.  It is, however, a powerfully drawn coming of age story, which succeeds in being compelling and complete, despite the length.  From what I have read, Scott O’Dell seems to be partial to coming of age stories involving native peoples and tradition, and I have to say, he does it well.  There’s enough melancholy in what he writes that he’s not quite MY thing, but I respect and admire what he does.  (I have to say, although The Black Pearl was a very masculine coming of age plot, I found it almost more enjoyable than Sing Down the Moon.  I handle personal tragedy better than cultural tragedy.  Sometimes.)

Anyway.  I find it difficult to try and summarize such a short book–any summary online will give you what I could give you–so here’s my summation:  not my thing, but totally worthwhile for all that.  Which makes it a perfect example of the personal value of my Newbery project, because I doubt I ever would have read it otherwise.

(I’m sure you were all waiting with bated breath, right?)

I left Idaho at about 6:15 this morning, hoping to make it an hour or two before Carter woke up for good and got fussy…a hope that was cruelly dashed by the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department, who did not appreciate me making quite such good time in that particular quest.  Ninety dollars later…

I actually finished two books while visiting my parents and brother (and his family)–short books–but I’d better review just one tonight and call it a night, because I am beat.  My very awesome county library system does a monthly reading challenge on Goodreads, and March’s challenge was to read a book with ‘an art theme or an artist as a character.’  The visual arts are out of my comfort zone, but I decided to rise to the challenge (instead of using a musician or a writer, both much more my thing) and read an older Newbery (who doesn’t love to kill two birds with one stone?  Metaphorically speaking, of course).  And so I read one of the 1970 Honor books–“The Many Ways of Seeing:  An Introduction to the Pleasures of Art.”

It was interesting, certainly.  I now understand numerous art terms that I didn’t before, and I saw works of art with which I was not familiar. That said, this felt more like a textbook than a layman’s guide to the visual arts.  And the author was quite obvious about which artists and masters most impressed her, which I found somewhat off-putting.  (Is that really how you write that word?)  For me, a truly unbiased book would state characteristics of painters, sculptors, etc., but avoid making value judgments.  Let the viewer decide how great a painter is–a guide of this sort should spent its time giving me reasons why I should admire an artist, not informing me when I should.  It perhaps wasn’t quite as bad as that sounds, but still.  (By the way, I’m sure this is showing my ignorance and all that, but I find much of Picasso’s work WEIRD.  I respect the man’s talent–I found Guernica impressively powerful–but he’s often just too bizarre for me.)  The best part of the book was the artistic exercises at the end, meant to encourage the reader to see things in different ways.  Some of those would be fun to try with the kiddos.

At the end of the day, however, the ideal book for March’s challenge would have been “I, Juan de Pareja” (only I read that one months ago).  It’s sort of historical fiction laced with autobiography, taking a stand against slavery–and it’s excellent.  If you have a hankering to read something to do with art, I recommend that one instead!