What to Read Next - 26 Feb 2013

Doc Sidhe, by Aaron Allston

If' you've followed my posted reading, you'll have noticed that I've read this book several times, and usually rated it a 3.5 - above average, but nothing spectacular.

Why, then, do I keep going back to it when I need another book to read?

Frankly, the story is pretty good, but the writing is what brings me back.Allston manages to make most of the characters pretty real, even the ones who have no business being real at all. Further, the in medias res opening isn't just a toss-away scene to get things going, it's something that actually matters to the plot, and to the protagonist.

I haven't read them, but I've been told that Allston's contributions to the Star Wars universe are top-notch as well. Based on this book, I'm not surprised.

Now I need to find the sequel to Doc Sidhe and see what happens next.

Carnage du Jour - 23 Feb 2013

Chicken breasts. What to do with chicken breasts. Again.

Lemon chicken is pretty much always a winner ... aha! let's grab some artichoke hearts and capers and lemon ... chicken piccata sounds like a plan.

Oh. There are no artichokes. Ah, but there are fire roasted green chilis. Time for a modification.

Into a bit of cornmeal, I added the zest of a lemon and a teaspoon or so of minced garlic. That's going to become a crust, and some diced onion is needed as well.

One side of each breast got smeared with the lemon crusting, and into a pan of fairly hot canola oil they went. Once they were well browned on that side, and the crust wasn't going to stick to the pan, they got flipped, the onions added, and the juice of the zested lemon was squeezed in around the meat. A nice pour of Vermouth Bianco and a lid made for a nice, juicy piece of meat.

While the chicken finished, some chopped spinach was added to leftover rice as the side, and it all came together in a very tasty dish.

Give it a shot - it's not hard, and it's delicious.

Shameless Self-Promotion (again)

A new version of my great-great-grandfather's book is now available on Amazon.

An Adventure with Guerrillas is the same third edition text that had been available, but sourced through a new manufacturer, which means we've been able to drop the price.
A lot.
From $9.95 to $5.95.

Now is your chance to read a wonderful memoir of adventure, danger, friendship, and faith from the US Civil war.

Check my author's page on Amazon for this and my other books.

Enjoy!

Carnage du Jour - 28 January 2013

Leftover pulled pork (pork shoulder in the crock pot for a full day or more - wow!).
Leftover stock from a batch of Swiss chard and a rib steak.
Royal Rice blend (white, brown, red, and wild rices).
Sautéed celery and crimini mushrooms.

That's the survey of the main ingredients.
The rice was cooked in the stock (1C stock, 2C water to the 1C rice in the microwave - believe me, it's the only way to cook rice).
While the rice cooked, the pork was pulled and chopped a bit, and the celery and mushrooms were sautéed in a bit of olive oil.
The pork was added to the sauté pan for a nice heating, then about 2/3 of the rice went in.

When it was all nicely mixed and melded and all that happy kind of thing, a head of lettuce was grabbed, and a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce lined the bowls.
The rice and pork mixture was spooned atop the rice, and the results were delicious.

Try it, you'll like it.

Etymology du Jour - 21 January 2013

Acoustic (adj.)

From:
A, meaning not or without and
cous, meaning grain (witness couscous, the grain dish)

Thus an a-coustic space is one without grain.
Originally this referred to granaries or barns which had been emptied to make space for barn dances (and hootenannies!).
These impromptu musical venues lent their name over the years to the general idea of spaces for music, and the study of the properties thereof.

Now you know.

It's Time for a Visit to the Commonwealth

... the Commonwealth of Letters, that is.
"What's that?" you ask. Ah, it's the conceit of one incredibly fun novel: Silverlock, by John Myers Myers. (The author so nice, they named him twice?)


DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK!  

This is one of the greatest picaresque novels you'll ever read, bar none.  It's a romp through of the "Commonwealth" - the land where all the great characters of literature live.
The protagonist, A. Clarence Shandon journeys from our own dull world (he has a business degree from the University of Wisconsin, if you can believe it) to Greek myth (Circe) through Teutonic and English legend (Beowulf and Robin Hood) to places I'd rather not mention, so I don't spoil the read for you.  See how many of the folks he encounters you can recognize - this book will send you back to re-reading the classics, or inspire you to read them for the first time.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TOO HIGHLY - IT WILL REPAY EVERY EFFORT YOU PUT INTO FINDING AND READING IT.(I know that's shouting - I meant to shout.)

Really, I mean every word.

 

Vegage du Jour - 08 January 2013

I know I've posted about roasting asparagus here before, possibly more than once, but this one was worth an extra note.

As always, the roasting takes place in a fairly hot oven (375F this time), but rather than dropping the spears in a baking dish, this time it was in a skillet.

First, I got the skillet - non-stick with no oil or spray or anything - nice and hot.
While it heated, I cleaned and trimmed a small bunch of scallions and dried them with a paper towel.
Directly into the hot skillet went the scallions, being turned now and again to get a nice brown heading to a char on each side.
Once they were nicely coloured, they were moved aside, and the asparagus was added to the pan.
A drizzle of olive oil and a few good-sized pinches of Herbs de Leelanau went on the spears, and then the scallions were draped over them as well.

The skillet went into the oven where everything roasted away until done, and my goodness but it was tasty!

Highly recommended,
Enjoy!