Reading

A waitress with a thing for fangs

In an unexpected turn of events last Friday, I found myself on a college campus with a few hours to kill. My favorite way to wile away my spare time is with a book, but I didn’t have one handy. So I went to the campus bookstore. I briefly considered buying something from the English department’s books-for-class section, but I wasn’t sure whether my purchase would mean some poor, procrastinating student would end up without his required reading. (Rockford assured me later that it wouldn’t have mattered.) I ended up in front of the “popular books” shelf.

I immediately ruled out the Danielle Steele and the Nicholas Sparks titles, and after standing in front of the shelf for a good long time — I’m pretty sure I was making the cashiers uncomfortable — I finally picked up Charlaine Harris’ “Dead Until Dark.” I’ve read good things about “True Blood,” the HBO series that’s based on Harris’ “Southern Vampire Mysteries.” But I nearly didn’t buy the book. Because of the cover. The image on the front of the TV-tie in paperback is lewd, and I was sort of embarrassed to be walking around with it.

I’ve always been a fan of mysteries and books about the South, and I have been known to pick up an Anne Rice book, even though I had nightmares every night for three years after watching “The Lost Boys.” So with Halloween just a few days away, I thought I’d give the vampire book a shot.

Happily for me, “Dead Until Dark” isn’t a horror novel. For a book about murders and the supernatural, it’s pretty light-hearted fare. The book’s heroine is mind-reading Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse, and the novel is set shortly after the world’s vampires have “come out of the coffin.” Sounds a little goofy, right? Well, it’s a lot goofy, but it’s sort of fun, too.

I didn’t find all that much tension in the book’s mystery component. I liked Sookie and most of the other characters quite a bit, though, and it was so nice to be able to sit and read a book with no responsibilities on a cold, rainy fall day, so I enjoyed the book. I have the second in the series on my to-read list.

If you like your vampire tales without a hint of humor or if you don’t like supernatural stories, this is not the book for you. Oh, and that lewd image on the cover? Parts of this book might make Danielle Steele blush. Consider yourself warned.

menu plan Monday, recipes

I had fun with this week's menu

Menu Plan Monday logoBecause I make my menu plans on Saturday, I don’t generally post the weekend’s meals here. Rest assured, though, that we do eat on the weekends. (Boy, do we eat on the weekends.) Yesterday, for example, we tried a new recipe that I really liked. So much so that I thought I’d share it with you.

Sunday: Double Chicken Dumpling Stoup
Something about Rachael Ray’s manner bugs me, so I don’t watch her show(s). But I’ve yet to try one of her recipes that I don’t like. This one is no exception. You’ll find a slightly altered version of Ray’s recipe at the bottom of this post.

Monday: Polynesian pulled pork sandwiches
Mondays have become our busiest night, so I’m trying to use the slow cooker as much as possible. This is a new recipe for us. It’s from a Sandra Lee slow cooker book.. I don’t think I’ve tried any of her recipes before, so I’m hoping it’s decent.

Tuesday: Spaghetti

Wednesday: Sesame chicken strips with soba noodles
Several years ago, the person who drew my name in the Christmas gift exchange at work gave me a “Minute Meals” cookbook. I haven’t made many dishes from it, but it was still the most thought anyone had ever put into an at-work Christmas gift for me. This recipe comes from that book.

Thursday: Chimichangas
The filling is in the freezer. Hooray for the freezer!

Friday: Pepperoni pizza

Rachael Ray’s Double Chicken Dumpling Stoup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 fresh bay leaf
Salt and black pepper pepper
8 or 9 cups chicken broth
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (a couple of generous handfuls)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
One 1-pound package gnocchi
1 cup frozen peas
Crusty bread, for dunking

In a soup pot, heat olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onions, carrots and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, cover the pot and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Stir in the egg, bread crumbs, cheese and garlic. Roll the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs (you’ll have about 40) and add to the stoup. Simmer for about 10 minutes while you wash up. Add the gnocchi to the stoup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the peas and parsley and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the stoup from the heat, discard the bay leaf and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with the bread.

Flotsam / Jetsam

Stowaway

We were driving home. It was dark. Very, very dark. Which is why I didn’t see it until the headlights from a car going the opposite direction illuminated our dashboard and, with it, the mouse that was scurrying around in front of me.

The mouse. In front of me. In the van.

I screamed, the kids woke up, and I nearly jumped into Rockford’s lap. I don’t think Rockford believed me the first two times I saw it. (And screamed.) (And nearly jumped into his lap.) But then he saw it himself. He was not phased. By the time we got home, I was in the back with the kids and Mr. Jingles was running back and forth in front of Rockford, hiding under his hat and sniffing a little stuffed soccer ball in the window.

Rockford found this amusing. I remain horrified.

I will not be getting in the van again. Not until Mr. Jingles moves out.