Read between the Lines

A Food Stylist I'm Not

2010-07-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I made some whole wheat penne with red Swiss chard, pine nuts, and raisins. Mark Bittman's recipe called for currants but I was too lazy to go around the corner and get some. Yes, one of the perks of living in NY is supplies are never far away or hard to get, but alas, you can never overcome laziness no matter where you live. I love Mark Bittman and I want him to be my own personal chef and running partner. Anyway, the penne and chard were delicious and pretty beautiful even though the picture doesn't do the meal justice. (see photo) I know, I'm a weirdo, I photograph my food and I'm not a food stylist. Oh well.

I just finished reading Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman. It was pretty funny in parts; I love how Andromeda misheard things because she thought she had a hearing loss but in reality she only had a lot of wax and gunk in her ears. I love how her bully of a friend Rosalie had different riffs on Andromeda's name, i.e., Dromedary, Andramarama, etc. and followed every insult with "I'm just kidding." Everyone knew a Rosalie, right? But the tarot arcana ad nauseaum really was too much.

Interestingly, I'm reading two Scandinavian books at the same time, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and When the Snow Fell by Henning Mankell. It's Mankell's foray into the lucrative YA market. Hmmm.

I just previewed the post without the space between the paragraphs. Each paragraph came right after the one before but when I publish the post, there is too much space between paragraphs. I don't get it.

I have had the ingredients to make a shrimp bisque for a week, so I think I should go get some fresh fennel and celery and then make the bisque. It is deeeelicious! I got the recipe from the NY Times a couple of months ago. But I just saw two recipes in yesterday's Times for Scallop and Plum ceviche and a tomato gazpacho smoothie that I want to make. Maybe I'll make them this weekend after I get the ingredients at the farmer's market.

Ice Cream and Dystopia

2010-06-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness, the third book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I received it in the mail as an advanced reader copy and I was soooo excited. It is not coming out until August. I loaned it to a couple of my boys at school who I know really enjoyed the first two volumes, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer and they thought the conclusion of the series was satisfying and exciting. On the YALSA-BK listserv, one person commented that they put it down and did not finish it. I kind of get that reaction, because I'm finding parts of it slow. But now it is picking up and I can't wait to see what happens because there is a twist in it based on a character from the first two that I want to see what happens. (I hope I didn't give away too much!) I only get to read this book after school until I leave at 4 PM because I keep a book at school to read and then at home I'm reading Last December by Matt Beam. The picture on the cover is of a hockey player and I thought the book would be more about hockey but it's not. I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover! Kids ask me for hockey books from time to time and I thought I hit the jackpot at book evaluation where I pick up free books that I review. It's ok so far.

I read some recipes for ice creams in Vegetarian Times today that looked yummy but the last step in the recipes made no sense. It said to "freeze the ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions." The manufacturer of the ice cream maker, I presume but the ice cream maker mixes the ice cream. When I thought about how my ice cream maker works, I realized I guess it does kind of freezed the ice cream as it's blending it. Anyway, the recipes were for a dark chocolate caramel sorbet, a banana malted ice cream, and a creamy vanilla. I think the names of them were more creative and scrumptious sounding than I just relayed but you get the idea. I think I will be making one of these very soon; I just can't decide which one. I also have to wait until I have room in my freezer for the ice cream bowl because I have to freeze it first and then freeze the ice cream after I make it. Yummmm.

What I am Reading and Cooking Now

2010-06-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my sister chastised me (gave me a look with raised eyebrows) about not writing in my blog more often. She writes on her blog, Prose and Kahn (I came up with that nifty title, thank you very much) EVERYDAY! Blech! No, just kidding. It's very good, I just can't keep up with mine. I just wrote a great paragraph and then lost it, when a patron asked me for help spelling "broccoli." Ack! I'm working at my second job in a library in northern New Jersey. Then I wrote something up in a Word document and discovered one of the limitations of Blogspot--you can't copy and paste from a Word document, for Pete's sake! Anyway, I've been reading and cooking up a storm.

I just finished Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. A large tome, but a page-turner. It tells the story of Ethan Wate trying to cope with high school and supernatural forces in the small southern town of Gatlin, S.C. Ethan can't wait to leave town when he graduates until he meets the new girl in town, Lena Duchannes, the niece of the town shut-in Macon Ravenwood. But then he begins to question whether he's ever fit into this town of people who hate outsiders, even though his family has lived in Gatlin for over a hundred years. When students and parents begin turning on Lena because she's different, an outsider, Macon's niece, and strange things happen when she's around, their portrayal is almost a caricature of southern bigotry. Overall, an enjoyable read sure to appeal to teens.

I have been cooking a lot on most weekends, making lots of healthy meals for me and my mom. I'm so happy spring/summer is here because the bounty at my neighborhood farmer's market just keeps growing. I wish I were more adventurous with what I try, but alas, I'm not. I get the standard fare that I know I like such as Swiss chard, spinach, and salad lettuces. I bought some rhubarb and strawberries a few weeks ago but did not have the ambition to make a pie, so I made a crisp. The strawberries were soooo delicious! The next week the strawberries were too tart. Jersey blueberries are in season right now and are deeeeliciously blueberryee. Does that make sense? I can't wait for peaches to be in season, so I can make a peach-blueberry pie. Hope I have the energy but now I have an air conditioner which makes all the difference.

Big Box o' Books

2010-03-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Spectacle Blog has a contest for public and school librarians only. You can win a box o' books by emailing joni@jonisensel.com and reposting or tweeting and sending the link.

I tried to put the url for the blog here but it wouldn't paste for some reason, so just search the Spectacle Blog and you should get to it. Oh well.

Oh Summertime

2009-11-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Last I wrote I had gone to Chicago and heard about Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I enjoyed it and I think high school kids would like it because it reads like a novel and it is full of sex, horror, and unusual people. There is some controversy among academics about this book but I never read what it is exactly.

I did a bit more traveling in August to Ottawa, Canada, my first time to visit that beautiful country. I brought a couple of books with me but I only remember The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It takes place in Australia, so it has that wry Aussie sensibility. Someone killed a vampire and the Reformed Vampire Support Group, composed of vampires who no longer consume human blood and have vowed to never create another vampire, fear for their lives. The support group is run by a Catholic priest and he takes over organizing them to search for the culprit. This funny book has strong characters, witty diaglogue, and fast-paced plot with many twists and turns.

The food in Canada was great. My favorite local delicacy was poutine consisting of well-done french fries with melted cheese curds and brown gravy. Just recalling it now is making my mouth water. I may have to go to Trader Joe's to get some cheese curds. Mmmmm!

Nonfiction and New Apartment

2009-07-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

When I visited Chicago and took the architectural boat tour, the docent mentioned Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I had heard of the book a few years ago and never got around to reading it. I am loving it. It reads like a novel and I think students would enjoy it as well. I will have to buy it for my library. It is also good for US History classes studying the Gilded Age.

I'm also reading The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (Evil Genius). It is pretty good so far, funny, a bit scary and suspenseful.

I am buying an apartment in Manhattan. Yea! It is up in Inwood and I am in love with the neighborhood. I have to see what the neighborhood is really like from Susanna, my real estate agent. I've walked around with my sister one day and by myself yesterday and I just LOVE it.

Reading and dinner

2009-07-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm reading Generation Dead by Waters. It is pretty good. It definitely brings up some interesting perspectives about what the world would be like if zombies or "differently biotic" people came to life for real. The character development is good and the evil boy is especially well-drawn and hateful.

I went to Carmine's in New York last night with some friends. It is an Italian restaurant that serves pasta family style in big bowls. It is way more food than 3 people can or should eat. We got the special which was manicotti, vegetable lasagna, gnochi in a vodka sauce, and cavatelli in a pesto sauce. We also got the mixed green salad. It was all very good and very filling. I was so stuffed! I have made a vodka sauce and I enjoyed it but somehow it does not taste like the one at Carmine's

Here I am again

2009-07-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

I titled this post in this way because I began a blog at least 2 years ago but my school blocked blogs and still does for that matter. I figured what's the point if I can't blog from my workplace about books and have my students read it. So that old blog is lost in oblivion. Oh well.

Since that time I have kept up on several blogs like Joyce Valenza, Doug Johnson, Will Richardson and many others. In reading others' blogs, I realized my posts don't have to be literary masterpieces, so I could ease up on myself and not be such a harsh critic regarding typos, grammar, etc. I don't know if I'm looking for any "followers" or not but I would be interested in meeting people with common interests. I plan to write about the books I'm reading, the food I'm cooking, ruminations about food and reading, and whatnot.

Well, we'll see what happens. I'll play with putting pictures on my posts and see how often I can write.