To make onions easy to deal with (and take advantage of sales, especially on specialty onions like vidalias), chop several onions at once, then freeze for later use. Do the same with carrots, broccoli, and other like veggies.
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I was already interested in the book based on a friend’s recommendation, but then I opened it up and found it was written by the same author as The Kite Runner and I was hooked. I loved both of these books.
Both novels are about Afghanistan, but tell a different type of story. The Kite Runner is about two boys of different Afghani ethnic groups who grow up as best friends oblivious to their differences, and how they later grow apart. It is a coming of age story, but also the story of Afghanistan, with a great explanation of the Taliban and an account of American immigration. It has recently been made into a movie, which I can’t wait to see.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is more about the situation for women in Afghanistan (and other Middle Eastern countries). It is very sad, but also hopeful. Several of the scenes made me cry, literally. I know it’s just fiction, but these things have happened to women in real life.
I think it is important for all Americans to read these stories, especially while we’re fighting in the Middle East. So many of us know nothing about Afghanistan, or Islam. To most American, Islam equals terrorism and treating women cruelly. It is important to remember that the terrorists are a small minority. The Middle East is full of people like you and me, trying to live out their lives. There are many kinds of Muslims, and there are several ethnic groups (part of the problem in getting everyone to get along).
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Have you heard about the new “Kindle” from Amazon? This is a great little product, and I just love it! It’s a little device, about the size of a paperback novel, that let’s you download and read books, newspapers and magazines, as well as audio books, word files and more from your PC, etc. It features a built-in dictionary and lets you bookmark where you are, so you’ll never lose your place again. You can search for words and phrases, and add notes. You can download most new release books for about $9.99 each (a great savings over hard-copy new releases!) It uses cell phone technology instead of wi-fi, which is good because you don’t have to search around for a wi-fi hotspot, but bad, because you need to be in an area that can hook up to their network (and sorry, that’s not overseas, although you can still read the books there).
This all reminds me of the Inspector Gadget show and Penny’s computer book. I used to love that idea as a kid and couldn’t wait for computer books to become part of the real world. Well, now they are. I have travelled quite a bit, and one thing I always take with me is a book or two. Or 5. Or 20! That’s a lot of extra weight and space in my suitcase. How awesome would it be to carry a small device (Kindle) with up to 200 books on it!
Amazon also backs up your purchases through Kindle, so if your device is lost or damaged, you can still recover what you paid for (try that with books through your bookstore!).
Kindle is also green! Think of how many trees are cut down to make the paper for books. And how much electricity is used to process them, etc. I am convinced that Kindle, or something like it, is how we will read books and other “printed material” in the future.
I love the idea of Kindle. However, I think if I had nothing but Kindle I would miss some things. The feel and smell of the book in my hands as I’m reading and turning pages. The aesthetics of seeing beautiful books on the shelf. Running my hands over a hardcover edition brand new from the store, or a worn, much-loved paperback. The hushed bounty of a library full of more books than I will ever be able to read (so much different that looking through a list of 100,000 books).
At any rate, I’m telling everyone I want this for Mother’s Day. Maybe I’ll get one. 
Read all about Kindle, on Amazon’s website:
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A farmer just got married and was driving his new wife home in his open buggy. Their mule stopped at one point, and refused to go on. The farmer quietly said, “That’s one.” and whipped the mule, who kept going. A few minutes later, the mule stopped again, refusing to go on. The farmer said, “that’s two”, and whipped the mule again. Again, they drove on for a bit, and again the mule stopped. The farmer said, “that’s three”, and pulled out his hunting rifle from below the buggy seat. The new bride, appalled said, “well, what did you have to do that for?” The farmer replied, “that’s one”.
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The subtitle for this book is Quick, Low-fat, Low-Calorie, Vegetarian Meals. And it should be noted that they are also vegan: no eggs, no milk, cheese, butter, or other dairy, and of course, no other animal products. Most of her recipes include some kind of tofu, or other soy product. Which is great if you’re a newly converted vegetarian and looking for ways to make tofu work. But terrible if you’re allergic. But she does include an index for soy-free recipes and those that could be made soy-free. Grogan has a great selection of basic recipes like substitutes for cheese and milk, mayonnaise sauces and breadings, etc. You can make these ahead of time and store in the fridge for a quick way to fix dinner.
Some of the ingredients are a bit exotic like dulse flakes and hydrolyzed vegetable protein. But you can easily find these even in rural areas anymore (something has to be said for Wal-mart), and she has a list of substitutions for some things.
Overall, it’s a good cookbook to help you eat vegan, lose weight, cook fast, and/or make baked goods for people with dairy allergies (a very common problem).
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I finally finished this novel, and I’m glad. Yes, it was good. Surprising, and well-written. But I just seemed to have trouble getting into it. But don’t get me wrong, you should definitely check it out, especially if you are interested in the Vietnam War.
I guess my “stuck” feeling started on the first few pages. Like so many sappy novels, it starts out with the nostalgic baseball field, the small town, and boys on bikes, etc. Of course, so does a lot of Stephen King. So I gave it a shot. And I’m glad I did.
Basically, the story is about two boys, Cassidy and Daniel. Daniel is the older, a story-teller. And Cassidy is the younger, a little boy who is afraid of everything, and especially death. Their mother died when they were young, and their father is a newspaperman. This beautiful portrait of pre-Vietnam life is shattered when Daniel goes to Vietnam, not as a soldier, but as a reporter, and is finally shipped home in a small box. This, along with his father’s death, and a divorce and crappy second marriage, make Cassidy even more despressed than before. But then, he finds out that his brother really did not die at all, and has returned to their home town.
Many scenes in the book remind me of the Southern small towns I grew up in, even though the book is set in Wisconsin. So many landmarks, and even the town itself, West Canaan, are named for Bible places. And the people are characters, laid back and predictable.
All in all, I think Franscell did a good job. I just wasn’t in the mood for it, especially while reading The Garden Club and the Kumquat Incident right along with it. But I have a thing about not leaving any book left unread. On to better things.
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It’s getting warmer, and quick salads with bread or crackers are great for lunch!
When I was a kid, tuna salad meant tuna, mayonnaise, and pickles. Blah. It tasted good, but Blah.
This recipe is based off of one in the Joy of Cooking, which I have modified for my own tastes. It elevates tuna salad to something you will feel proud serving, not a cop-out.
1 can tuna fish (or salmon)
1/4 cup mayo (more or less to your taste)
1/2 small cucumber, cubed
1 small carrot, diced
Fresh parsley, dill and green onions or chives, snipped (or use any herbs you have. Lemon balm, marjoram, basil, or oregano all taste great).
juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
sunflower seeds or cashews
cheese cubes (optional)
You can vary these ingredients as you wish, but try to have some crunch and some sour. (but not from pickles. That IS a cop-out).
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This is my own recipe, updated from my mom’s (which was ok, but not enough of the stuff I like):
Take macaroni (about a 1/2 cup to cup per person). Cook as directed on the package (if you don’t have a package. That’s boil rapidly until tender).
Cool and add in as desired:
bacon pieces
snipped chives or green onions
tomato wedges (or grape tomatoes, they taste wonderful!)
fresh broccoli florets
other veggies or herbs that you have
add mayonnaise to taste, salt and pepper, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Yummy, yummy, yummy! I want some now.
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German. Beer. These two words just seem to go together. Beer makes us think of bratwurst, Oktoberfest, crazy drunken Germans in leiderhosen, beer steins, and so on. And German beer tastes great! Even many of the popular US beers, Busch for example, are from original recipes brought to America from Germany. According to Wikipedia, only the Irish and the Czechs drink more beer than the Germans.
But did you know that (most) German beer is also (relatively) good for you?
By law, domestic German beer can only contain water, hops, barley-malt, and yeast (top-fermenting beers (ales) can use sugar as well). This Reinheitsgebot (order of purity ) dates back to 1516 and is one of the main reasons that Germany makes such great beer. No artificial anything, no additives, just natural stuff, fermented as nature intended.
Compare that to Guiness and other British beers/ales, and many wines, which use isinglass (fish bladders!), egg whites, gelatin, or other various things to refine them. Yuck. This is really bad for people who are trying to be vegan (refraining from eating or using any animal products). Of course, if you’re a vegan, you should stay away from white sugar (used in some drinks, and in ale), which is bleached by being filtered through charred animal bones (yuck…makes you think twice, doesn’t it?)
So, for great-tasting, high-quality, vegan beer, get on a plane to Germany, pop open a bottle of Beck’s, OR even better, brew you own from home! That way you know exactly what you’re drinking.
Drink safe, and don’t drink and drive, please!
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This is one of those perfect stories that I just couldn’t quit reading and was very sad to finally put down. Des Kennedy is a resident of Denman Island in the Georgia Strait of British Columbia, Canada, which I have had the recent pleasure of enjoying. It’s a beautiful little place full of eccentric people, and Des has used his experiences here to create characters and a story that are realistic, heart-warming, hilarious and intelligent.
The main character, Joseph Jones (known as Brother Joseph to his friends for his years as a monk with the Brothers of Blessed Columkille the Lesser) is a middle of the road fence sitter who doesn’t get involved in heated island politics (fairly petty, like the politics of most small communities, including the rural Arkansas towns I grew up in), perfectly content to write and edit freelance and tend to his beautiful garden. He describes himself perfectly: “…here I stand. A coward born and bred. A compromiser. Conflict-avoider. Chronic placater.” He undergoes a fantastic transformation revolving around saving a local forest area from logging. He’s a wonderfully lovable character, and very down-to-earth, so that, brilliantly, Kennedy’s novel doesn’t come across as preaching about environmental issues, but as a truly fun novel. You just want to hop in there with them even with all the crazy things going on.
The island Kennedy describes is Upshot Island, an imaginary place in British Columbia. But those who have spent any time on the Gulf Islands can see a definite resemblance. I recommend this book if you want a good story, a good laugh, something to think about, or if you enjoy the gulf islands of British Columbia.
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