Old Favorites

Not at lot new this week, but here are some old favorites.

Books:

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 

"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

I think this book is absolutely beautiful, but apparently everyone on goodreads disagrees, so be warned. In its defense, the criticism seems to come from disappointment in the story as an extended metaphor and the cliches therein, but I did not think of it that way.

3. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

4. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
This is a terrifying look at one man's experience post-Hurricane Katrina that exposes some major flaws in the way the government handled the situation. This is all further complicated, however, by the fact that much of the impact is based on the reader's sympathy with Zeitoun, who has since been arrested on multiple charges, including consipracy to have his wife murdered.

5. Columbine by Dave Cullen
Though others have critized Cullen for not providing the whole picture around the shootings at Columbine High School, his investigation into the shootings certainly contributes to a more whole picture, particularly by showing the way that media coverage impacted perception of the events and people involved.

Music:
Nightswimming by REM

Food: My favorite chocolate cookies with peanut butter drizzle from How Sweet It Is

Vegetables

Book: Still reading All the King's Men but still have not made it very far because I am also in the last season of The West Wing and I cannot stop watching.

Music: Apparently Daft Punk's new album has some elements of disco, which is quite exciting.

Food: I sprained my ankle over a month ago, and it could not have come at a worse time for missing exercise: spring in Austin has been incredibly pleasant and mild, which would have been ideal for hiking, and it coincided with lots of baking around my birthday and the Kentucky Derby, so not being able to balance the sugarbutterflour combos with exercising was challenging. I have been trying to do more with vegetables, like these:

roasted fingerling potatoes, steamed green beans, mustard, olive oil, shallots

spinach, roasted beets, oranges, beet greens, balsamic vinegar, caraway seeds

mixed greens (arugula and herbs), black beans, brown rice, red pepper, avocado, corn, hard-boiled egg

Baklava

I had decided not to post until again until I had read enough of All the King's Men to have an opinion, but something big happened. We made baklava.

We followed this recipe from Louisville's own Courier-Journal, in spite of the non-traditional exclusion of honey and inclusion of lemon.

People had commented on the recipe to say that the lemon taste disappeared in cooking, but we could definitely taste it, though I was glad for that because it helped cut the sweetness. I would probably make it again if I had a lot of time to spend and a lot of people to impress, but I would cut the sugar by at least half. It took us three hours, but if you knew better what you were doing, you could likely get it down to two (including an hour in the oven).

Start by making a syrup of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon.  

While the syrup cools, layer thin sheets of phyllo dough, brushing with butter in between, and after nine or ten layers, pile on nuts mixed with cinnamon and sugar. Walnuts are traditional, but we used pecans for half of it. Do this in in three different layers, with a sheet of phyllo in between each.

When the nuts are all gone, add another nine or ten layers of dough and butter, then cut into diamonds and bake for an hour.

Don't worry if the top layer looks ridiculous, because it all blends together when you bake it.

Pour the syrup over it and let it soak in for three hours, or as long as you can stand it. I think we made it twenty minutes.

Ingredients for a Kentucky Derby Party

Derby Party 101:

1. There will be a great deal of pro-Kentucky propaganda.

2. The race lasts two minutes and begins around 6:30 pm ET, so don’t be too fashionably late.

3. Traditional foods are not great for dietary restrictions (they rely heavily on butter, pecans, and gluten).

4. Bring $1-2 cash if you want to participate in some sort of betting pool.

5. It is traditionally a classy affair, so this is a good time to get fancy if you want. Hats are recommended for ladies. Southern Living's guide here.

Must Have:

Bourbon 
Fun fact: You can buy liquor at Costco!

"Derby" Pie

Like pecan pie, but it has chocolate, too! Except, due to copyright, you will need to find your own name for it.

Hats
The bigger and weirder the better.

Highly Recommended:

Crushed Ice
Some Sonic's will sell you a bag of their crushed ice, but apparently not everywhere. Last year, we crushed it with a hammer. This year, a blender. We're learning.


Copious amounts of butter
Two pounds this year.

Mint
There is a reason that it was the first thing to go into my garden.

Optional:

Ham and Biscuits
This might be a family thing and not actually a state-wide tradition, but it was definitely a big hit.

Lemonade
To add to the mint juleps when everyone realizes how strong they are.

Ridiculous decorations

Friday Night Lights Tour

I am almost finished with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and next on my list is All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. It looks like it may take a while to finish so, for now, here are some photos I took of filiming locations for the TV show "Friday Night Lights." I am still surprised at how much I love this show considering that I do not like football or high school dramas, and it is both.

Also, musically, you can now stream She and Him's Volume 3 on NPR.

Finally, if any of you have been reading for a while, you might remember my super talented friend, Colin, from when I studied abroad. We were lucky enough to avoid Wednesday classes, so we did a lot of exploring around Madrid and he took some fantastic photos. He has a new project that he is hoping to fund via Indiegogo. If you are looking for a brilliant, young filmmaker to support, check out the project here. He has an investor willing to match donations made during the last week of the campaign, so this is a great time to donate.

Saracen House (3009 Kuhlman Avenue)

Riggins House (2604 Lehigh Drive)

Alamo Freeze (5900 Manor Road)

Taylor House (6805 De Paul Cove)

Riggins Land (just past 7252 Burleson Manor Road)

Landing Strip (745 Bastrop Highway)

Ray's BBQ (6302 Monsanto Drive)

Projects

I turned 25 last Friday and received several birthday coupons for free or extremely discounted meals, so I have not prepared many full meals this week, but I have had ample time for kitchen and food-related projects.

Mint, Banana Peppers, Sweet Peppers, and Cherry Tomatoes

Moroccan Mint Tea 

My mom sent me a kit to make my own vanilla, which is apparently as simple as soaking a split vanilla bean in vodka for four to six months. I am also experimenting with bourbon and raspberry vodka.

I am also almost finished with the book The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. It is incredibly compelling, and also contains interesting information about Dominican history, but I will warn you that it can be pretty heartbreaking, kind of risque, and it contains random Spanish words. As a Spanish speaker, I love this, but I have little patience when authors do this with other languages. Words that are commonly used (please tell me that you know what gracias means), or that you can easily understand from the context are fine, but beyond that it can be frustrating. I understand that it is a conscious choice, often meant to express conflicting multiculturalism, or that some authors want the text to sound like they speak, but I think it can impact comprehension more than they realize.

Musically, I am super psyched for the new Vampire Weekend album.

Paella

Book: Just finished Junot Diaz's book of short stories called Drown. Some of his other books have been on my list for a while, but I recently saw this one on a list of recommended books of short stories, and this was the only one of his that was available at the library. Some of them are pretty tragic, but the writing is great.

Music: I have officially jumped on the Lumineers bandwagon. I was listening sporadically and enjoying thoroughly, so I finally bought their self-titled debut album and can definitively say that I am a huge fan.

Food: I never made paella while living in Spain, but I ate a lot of it, and apparently this qualifies me as a local expert. I also had a birthday coupon to World Market, so I got a super cheap paella pan to add to the authenticity. Thank goodness I did because all of the ingredients would never have fit into my skillet.

We followed this recipe, but limited the meats and seafood to just chorizo, chicken, and shrimp. The addition of chorizo is absolutely not authentic by any stretch of the imagination, but it added great flavor.

It took us almost two and a half hours to complete, but it was delicious, and there would definitely be ways to cut down on time in future editions.