Reading – Page 4 – Peaceful Reader

Welcome March!

I hope March ushers in a bit of spring weather-it’s at least light later in the day. No longer do I leave work in twilight. We are still pretty snow heavy making it difficult to drive and while it was bitter cold today THE SUN WAS SHINING!! Wore my sunglasses to Cedar Rapids and back to have lunch with our son. We had pizza together and talked for a long time. Just wonderful to be with him. Wish we could have lunch with the oldest daughter-meeting in Brooklyn takes a few days prep and many miles.

I finished Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo and loved her writing. This story tells the tale of Akin and Yejide’s marriage through both characters. How they meet at university, fall in love, and begin to break away after trying to have a baby and the problems that arise as their communication fall away. Anyone in a relationship that’s gone sour can relate to how they begin to pull apart. The story is sad yet beautifully told and I liked the backdrop of the political turmoil happening in Nigeria at the time.

And I’ve started Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones; about a family in Mississippi getting ready for a hurricane. This is an author that’s been on my to-read list and I’m glad I’m finally finding time to read her work.

In between chapters I managed to make a little food for my lovely little family. I lovingly created two recipes given to me by friends; a chicken tortilla soup and a corn casserole. Both recipes helped to warm us up last night.

Here is the soup recipe from my friend Kay:

Kathy’s Chicken Tortilla Soup (my notes)

4 chicken breasts halves (buy organic, local, free range when possible)

2 15-oz cans of black beans, drained (I thought ahead and used dried bb, soaking them the night b4)

2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chilies – do not drain (I had one can of diced tomatoes and one can of green enchilada sauce-yes, I improvised so I did NOT have to go out in the cold)

1 can shoepeg corn, drained (I used a bag of frozen)

14.5 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup salsa (I used our homemade)

Optional toppings:

Tortilla chips

Grated Cheese

Sour Cream

Directions:

1. In the bottom of a slow cooker, place the chicken breasts.

2. Open the remaining cans and pour over the breasts.

3. Add the salsa

4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Just before serving remove and shred the chicken and return to soup.

5. Stir and serve.

Even with my improvisation the recipe was perfect for a cold Saturday night. It was pretty easy compared to other recipes I love. My brother and I were both cooking at the same time in different cities; his recipes looked so amazing I could almost smell them via his texted pictures. His were more labor-intensive but you’ve got to go with what works for you on any given day.

The corn recipe from Amber was just as easy to put together, rich and textured, and that made my day. I’m pretty sure both these recipes are from church/school cookbooks from the 90’s.

Corn Casserole

1 can creamed corn

1 can whole kernel corn, with juice

1 stick butter (soft to mix)

1 cup sour cream

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg, beaten

onion and seasonings (opt.)

(In a bowl) mix all ingredients together. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes in a 9 x 13-in baking dish.

Variation: Can put 1 small package of shredded Mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes or until melted. (next time I might add goat cheese; I did not add any cheese this time and I added a bit of cayenne and cumin as my seasonings, plus a whole lot of freshly ground pepper)

See what I mean-super healthy!! We have to stay entertained and warm over these long winter months. What are you reading/creating/concocting?

Snow Day

I finished reading both An American Marriage, a decidedly sad tale, and Less, an uplifting tale of love and highly recommend both books. I’m now reading Front Desk by Kelly Yang, which won the ALA Asian/Pacific Award this year.

These week I made Khichdi which a friend posted on IG referring to it as comfort food. Mashed potatoes with a slice of real butter melting on the top has been my comfort food for years. I can picture it in the large bowl my grandmother brought to the table for many family meals. I can smell it; the creamy yellow potatoes mixing with the soft butter on top. Comfort food means different smells and feelings to everyone and I thought this lentil dish was definitely worth trying. All the spices made my kitchen smell amazing, maybe the comfort starts in the making, as I took lots of deep healing breaths while chopping and stirring. When it was finished we soaked it up with toasted naan and cleaned our bowls. It was a perfect dish for a freezing evening.

Last Sunday I made a tomato soup recipe I’d ripped from a food magazine. It was a very easy recipe to put together and it was delicious. Tomato soup pairs perfectly with grilled cheese and I used white cheddar with some yummy sourdough to fry up in my cast iron skillet. They were a perfect gooey mess to dip into the creamy soup. Here is the recipe for yourself.

Creamy Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

4 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced

4 large tomatoes, seeded and quartered

1 T olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup onions, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, diced

1 can tomato paste

32 oz vegetable broth

1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn

Parmesan croutons *I didn’t make b/c no me gusta croutons

1/2 cup shaved Parmesan for topping

1. Add olive oil to large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, chopped red peppers and tomatoes and sauté until tender.

Stir in tomato paste and then add vegetable broth.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat .

2. Allow the soup to cool just a tad and then add in batches to a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Ladle into bowls and add Parmesan shavings, fresh cut basil leaves, and freshly ground pepper to top.

The red peppers added an excellent flavor to the soup. Also I didn’t have 4 fresh tomatoes on hand but I did have a Mason jar of tomato sauce from this summer so I substituted that which worked fine. I even think you could substitute a good quality can of diced tomatoes for this. Fresh tomatoes in the winter are not as flavorful as the summer so it’s a fair switch.

Stay warm and drive slow. We are on our 8th snow day.

Just do it!

I’m happy to share that I’ve made it to a yoga class the first Saturdays of January. State Street Yoga has a new teacher, Corinne, on Saturdays at 10:30, which is a very good time for me, because I can’t roll myself out of bed too early on a day off. Corinne is slightly unconventional, with a very soothing voice, good energy, and I’ve learned some new poses from her. New learning is always good. So I’m happy to have started again and found someone interesting in that process.

I’m reading several books right now, trying to read more than watch, which is a struggle especially because Groovy Girl introduced me to Grey’s Anatomy. I didn’t pay attention when the show aired originally but now I’m genuinely interested in the characters and what’s going on. It’s a bit like watching General Hospital while I was in college.

Books I’m reading:

The Library by Susan Orlean – so beautifully written, would not have thought I’d enjoy a nonfiction book about a library fire.

Endling by Katherine Applegate – I am just about 6 chapters in and curious about where the story is going. This morning I had the book in my arm at church and a precocious 10-year-old reader told me she thought the story was great. That recommendation alone should keep me going…

Code Girls: the untold story of the American women code breakers of WWII by Liza Mundy – This is for book club and I’ve cracked the cover twice and read a total of one page. I’m not encouraged to read this whole (572 pages) book. I’m a fiction girl at heart and struggle with titles like this. I’ll take a fiction book about this topic any day. If you loved this title, let me know…

My hands (and the house) smell all spicy from chopping onions, garlic, and ginger for a big batch of chicken korma. Friends are coming over for a beer tasting first and a bite to eat after. I’d already planned the korma dinner for family; I just had to double the batch. It smells delicious.

Namaste…

My Best Books of 2018

I surpassed my reading challenge on GoodReads by 8 books, reading 58 books in 2018. Here are my 14 5-star book choices.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Horizon (#1) by Scott Westerfield
Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai
All rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
The tea girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
The honest truth by Dan Gemeinhart
Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
The Self-Driven Child: The science and sense of giving your child more control over their lives by William Stixrud
Real Friends by Shannon Hale
News of the world by Paulette Jiles
The dog, Ray by Linda Coggin
A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park
Echo by Pamela Munoz Ryan

My list includes 10 books written by female authors, two graphic novels, and 9 elementary fiction books. Only one nonfiction made my list which is okay because on average I don’t read very much nonfiction. I read 16,735 pages!

Here are a few more that, even though they did not recieve a 5-star rating, were also very good.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn was good historical fiction.
Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins and Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes shared a unique perspective.
Best book handed to me by a student was Watt Key’s Hideout.

My two most unusual books were both by Stephen King. I haven’t read any of his books for years. My book club picked 11/22/63 and it was good. It was also my longest book in 2018. Elevation was had a unique premise and was short but very interesting.

2018 was great in all ways except politics. It is a constant struggle to balance technology, reading, and family time but I hope for a good year in 2019. I was excited to hear Elizabeth Warren’s announcement this morning, I’m not sure if she is my ultimate choice but I hope lots of women throw their hats into the ring with her.

Right now I’m reading Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart, The Library Book by Susan Orlean, My absolute darling by Gabriel Tallent, Liberty by Kirby Larson and Wish by Barbara O’Connor, the last two are books I’m reading with students. As an early prediction, I am pretty sure The Library Book will be on my top list for 2019. I’m on my way to the library now to pick up two new books as well.

Happy New Year to you and may 2019 be your best reading year yet!

Are you ready?

There is magic in the air! Are you ready? I feel like I am in a good place with my lists and plans. I just need a little voodoo magic to get it to all come together. Everything seems to sparkle just a little bit more right now.

Today is my first official day of break and I started the day by sleeping in a little, which felt so lovely and going to have brunch with friends. While we were brunching we sampled the new Resilience beer coordinated for fire relief by the Sierra Nevada Brewery. It was pretty good for an IPA but more importantly an amazing effort to pull together to help others.

Last weekend we made it through the graduation~ it was amazing. Everything came together in a magical way like the universe was simpatico. We now are the proud parents of two college graduate adults, making their way out there in the world. One left and I’m in no rush for that to happen.

I have all my shopping done, my menu is planned but everything still needs to be prepared. If I waved a magic wand the food could all be thrown together at once but then I would miss the joy of tying on my apron, pouring a glass of wine, and mixing things myself. I hope the next few meals go together as smoothly as the graduation food did.

I just finished Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman. I loved it and wanted Eleanor to find her way to happiness. I highly recommend this title and just ordered it today for a friend’s birthday. When I finished it I compiled a new stack of books from bookcases and piles about my house, trying to decide which one to read next.

Here are just a few of my choices:
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
My absolute darling by Gabriel Tallent
inward by yung pueblo (this one is perfect to read to start/end the day)

and I also brought home an armful from school to read. Now I need to carve out some time to read in between cooking and family time.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! Enjoy the magic.

It's the perfect weather for reading

I’m a summer kind of girl but I love much about spring and fall as well. I always hope for a bit of Indian Summer to hold me over so I’m a bit sad that we’ve jumped head first into winter-like weather. First, it rained a lot (way too much for fall) and the fall leaves are suffering (and the farmers). It’s been very windy this weekend. Our rivers and lakes have flooded across bike paths and over roads which pushes people from their homes.

The only silver lining is staying inside and reading. I finished The Maze Runner, which has been on my to-read list for years. I really enjoyed it and am very curious about the next one in the series. James Dashner created a unique and weird dystopian world and I’m invested to know more about the maze and how it all came into being. I want to watch the movie and I brought the second book home from school. It’s waiting, taunting me, but I have other books to read first.

One of my best readers at school showed me the book Hideout by Watt Key and told me he wanted me to read it when he finished. Last week he gave it to me and I promised to read it within the month. I actually skipped reading my book club book, Pachinko, to read Hideout. In my life, one thing leads to another all the time and now I want to read all of Watt Key’s books. This one tells the story of Sam and how he finds a young boy, Davey while motoring his small boat around the bayou. Davey is living in a rundown shack and waiting for his dad and brother to join him. Sam agrees to help him fix up the shack and bring him supplies because it all seems like a great adventure until things become real. Sam discovers more than he needs to know about Davey’s family and who they really are and once in it is difficult to get back out. I’ll be happy to hand this book back to my student and help him find more of Key’s books.

I started reading Jewell Parker Rhodes new book Ghost Boy, which tells the story of young Jerome as he navigates the world after being shot by a police officer in Chicago. It’s a sad beautifully-told tale and I want students at my school to read it even though it is about a difficult topic. While it is sad the real message is; it’s up to us to make real change. In my recent Social Justice class we discussed the importance of elementary students being aware of the real world around them. This book not only deals with death and grief but poverty, bullying, and the historical context of young black men as targets starting with Emmett Till. I’ve read all of Rhodes’ other titles starting with Ninth Ward (Hurricane Katrina) and Towers Falling (911). She does an amazing job of bringing these tough topics to elementary students through her well-written books.

I just started Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, which I received as a gift when I went to hear Woodson speak at the Englert Theatre. She was amazing to listen to and I would love to have lunch with her. I’m only two chapters in so I’ll give you the back blurb for this one:

Six kids. One school year. A room to talk…

Once there were six of us.

We circled around each other, and listened.

Or maybe what matters most is that we were heard.

I hope you are giving yourself plenty of time to read this fall. I have to head outside to breathe the crisp air and get my bones moving often as well. Our new dog Ruby loves to romp in the leaves and run freely in the green space across the street. It is a joy to watch her play outside which helps to balance how I feel about her chewing habits.

Summer classes

I have two grad classes this summer and they are not easy; lots of homework, and projects. The good thing is I am learning quite a bit and the two books assigned are both very good.

The Formative five: fostering grit, empathy, and other success skills every student needs by Thomas R. Hoerr

This book explains how schools need to get back to the “basics” of teaching a deeper thought process so our students will be better achievers in the job market. Grit, embracing diversity, integrity, empathy, and self-control encompass the skills they need to be successful. The book breaks down each skill and shares methods to integrate into every day. This was an easy read and I will use the new ideas with students. I’ve already compiled lists of picture books to use with students that highlight each essential word.

Creative Schools by Ken Robinson, Ph. D.

I’ve watched Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk “Do schools kill creativity?” and the book extends that thinking. The book shares many examples of schools and programs that are reaching beyond the normal school day. Like Thomas Hoerr, Ken Robinson is looking for a different type of education for all of our students. His ideas are radical and very interesting to me. The book makes me want to set my classes up differently and not sweat the small or big stuff; students need to enjoy school more to keep their creativity and the joy of learning alive!

Outside of my summer studies, I read The tea girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See for book club. See does an amazing amount of research for her books and this one is no exception. This one has great characters, lots of information about the Ahka hill tribe in China, and the tea industry. If you are looking for a good, thrilling read-give this one a try.

Hello June

There are some people in our lovely little house making a movie, creating art. About 7 people and my husband, shooting, holding a boom mike, and going over lines. Groovy Girl and I have sequestered ourselves on the second floor, in our rooms, doing homework and reading. Not what I expected to do with my day, ALL day, but such is this life.

It is a fairly gorgeous day out and I did take the dog for a long walk. It seems like it would be a perfect hammock day but I cannot for the life of me find where I stashed them over winter. I always keep them in one particular place for safekeeping and they are not there. I think the husband must have taken them down and stored them and he needs to find them. We are missing precious hammock lazy moments.

So with lots of time on my hands, I finished Anne Tyler’s A spool of blue thread, a good solid story that tells the tale of the Whitshank family of Baltimore. It doesn’t have a major plot upheaval and yet generally that is how family stories often are in life. Just a straight line with many zigs and zags up and down. This was my first Anne Tyler and I would read another. With that one done I’ve started Tangerine; a novel by Christine Mangan plus reading more of Cleo Wade’s Heart Talk, a very inspirational book of wisdom.

I love it when a friend orders a book based on my recommendation. It happened this morning; I raved about a book, News of the world, to my friend Tim at our church picnic and sent him a photo of it when I returned home. He responded back a few minutes later with “Just ordered it from Amazon!”

We have just 2 1/2 days left of school! The year has flown by and in a few short days, it will truly be summer. Groovy Girl and I are taking to the road, headed to Denver, CO to stay with family for about a week. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve made this road trip myself and while G.G. will keep me awake, she isn’t able to drive just yet so it will be all me. Generally, my husband does most of the driving (while I read) but I used to make this trek at least once a year when I lived there before there was a husband so it’s a challenge for myself. Bring on the Red Vines and blue chips, the loud music and the laughs.

Not my best week…

I tipped over last Sunday and injured myself. I didn’t trip or fall, I didn’t feel myself go over. One minute I was walking and the next I was picking myself up from the pavement. It was weird. In my right hand, I was holding a glass water bottle which smashed against the pavement and into my hand. My left wrist took the brunt of my fall. It was slightly embarrassing as it was broad daylight (4pm) and there were people around. I’d come out of a play and was saying goodbye, and walking and thinking at the same time. It made me feel a little old and at the same time resilient.

I drove home with a wad of wet wipes in my hand to stave the blood flow from my hand and I made dinner for people that were coming to my house for a cast party. Both hands were in great pain and Groovy Girl was off with friends. As soon as she got home she bandaged my right hand and helped me clean but by that time I had the Mexican Lasagna recipe already cooking. I even whipped up my own fajita seasoning spice mix for the recipe. The kitchen looked like hell as I could just barely open bottles and didn’t have the energy to try to recap and put away. And I’m usually a-clean-as-I-go kind of cook. Everyone enjoyed the cast party and the lasagna. I had someone request the recipe; they’ll have to supply their own blood drips and pain.

I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I have a little school work to do. I have a couple of great books to read; I’m halfway done with The Self-driven child, a fantastic life book I wish I’d had when my kids were younger, my book club read News of the world by Paulette Jiles, and from my mom A spool of blue thread by Anne Tyler.

And while browsing around on Epicureous I found this great article about cast iron skillets which I use frequently in our kitchen.

Here’s to a better week ahead!

The end of the month is trudging along

What an unusual April it has been! I’ve made some good food, read some interesting books, and watched some interesting shows/movies with my family.

A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park (2010): This is a fictionalized story of one boy caught up in the Sudanese conflict with alternating sections sharing a young girl’s story as she spends her days carrying water. The stories come together in such a meaningful way; I finished this one in the car as I was waiting for my teenage dancer. If you were watching you would have witnessed me crying in my car. Highly recommend for many readers of all ages.

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman (2004): A short dystopian tale of a young girl left behind after her parents and younger sister take a trip into the city to sell vegetables never to return. The language and descriptions are beautiful and it is an amazing story of Green’s rebirth.

Lost in the sun by Lisa Graff (2015): I read this a few years ago and didn’t love it, then I assigned it to 6th-grade book club and read it again. I liked it much better this time around. I enjoyed Trent’s character more and understood the angst. The parents in the story left me wondering why they did seek help for him and especially thought the dad was an insensitive character.

Choosing Civility; The 25 rules of considerate conduct by P.M. Forni (2003): Forni teaches at the university level and saw a need for an introduction to manners for students. This book is a wonderful refresher course on rules we know but often don’t put into practice. Buy it for yourself or for someone you think could use it.

Curried Lentils: Delicious and easy. We had them with rice first and then another night wrapped in tortillas and heated. Oh so good. She has a similar recipe for curried chickpeas as well.

Chicken & black bean Enchiladas: I made these at the beginning of last week so we would have a few easy dinners. Groovy Girl is really good at making her own food but that takes time and right now she is short on that ingredient so I whipped up this batch of enchiladas so she wouldn’t have to make anything for a few days. I left out the pumpkin this time and used free-range local chicken from our meat market.

Atypical (Netflix)-watched by myself, then with Groovy Girl, and now want to watch with husband. Tells the story of a young autistic named Sam and his crazy yet also normal family. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Sam’s mom. We love his sister, Casey and her boyfriend, Evan.
Everything Sucks! (Netflix)-We only watch this one altogether. It’s about high school students at Boring High, OR. And in doing some googling discovered this show has been cancelled after one season-that really sucks Netflix. Everybody rush to watch this first season…
On my block (Netflix)-Groovy Girl and I watched this series in one night and cannot wait for more. I plan to watch again with husband when his schedule frees up a little. A small group of LA teens who live on the same block try to focus on surviving their neighborhood. Excellent performances by all!
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)-yes, I’m still watching. I waited to read the book and then I’ve tried to take it slow. It is a tough show to watch and gives me the chills.

Speaking of chills we went yesterday on a family outing to see The Quiet Place. I loved it and I am not a fan at all of anything scary. No Jason for me, no slashers, no creepy houses, etc. This one was more of a scary dystopian with loveable characters. John Krasinski wrote, directed, and produced this one and his talented wife Emily Blunt plays his wife. Give it a try; truthfully I only closed my eyes once or twice and I brought headphones (one reviewer said this might help) but didn’t end up using them much.

This post sums up my whole month except for some major family downs, two road trips, lots of dance classes, and a few friend celebrations. What do you have to share back with me?