Saturday, December 30, 2017

What I read this fall

I received a Kindle Unlimited subscription for my birthday, which shifted my reading list A LOT - more, shorter, trashier is probably the nicest way to summarize the change. The following are the best things I read in the past three months:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves

Penhale Wood by Julia Thomas

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavalarro

And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker

Galaxy's Edge: Legionnaire by Nick Cole and Jason Anspach


It should be noted that only the last book in the list came to me from Kindle Unlimited...

Sunday, December 24, 2017

The best things I cooked earlier this year

A few more great recipes, from earlier this year...

Ja Jang Myeon from My Korean Kitchen: just like my favorite restaurant version

Scallion and Coconut Rice with Pork from Food52: this is fairly dull the day you make it, but as leftovers it's just amazing

Irish Soda Bread Muffins from Well Plated: very easy, and the version with dried cranberries is something special

White Chicken Potpie from NYT: not easy, but so delicious! You can make the filling ahead of time, to speed things up at dinner time.

Thai Green Curry from Rasa Malaysia: easy and tasty. I usually add some extra vegetables.

Shiksa Blintzes from Tori Avey: delicious! remember to drain the ricotta really well before making these.

Custardy Apple Squares by Dorie Greenspan via Serious Eats: so yummy, but a little messy to serve

Friday, December 22, 2017

The best things I cooked recently

I set a more manageable goal of 52 new recipes year, and hit that number around Thanksgiving. Quite a lot of them were really good - maybe I'm getting better at reading recipes and picking out the ones my family will enjoy? Here are some of the best:

Apple Cranberry Tart (with almond paste) from Viking River Cruises: sweet, almond-y, delicious... I would use a better choice of apple than MacIntosh, but otherwise wouldn't change a thing.

Cranberry Brie Bites (on crescent roll dough) from Delish.com: these were a bit fiddly to assemble, and they made a huge mess of my mini-muffin tin... BUT they were amazingly tasty, and even the picky eaters in the family really liked them.

Bourbon Snickerdoodle Blondies from Broma Bakery: these were disappointingly dull on the first day, but got better with age.

Sourdough No Knead Dutch Oven Bread (with yogurt) from Tidy Mom: this is like cheater's sourdough bread and everyone loves it. I did a variation with 1 cup whole wheat flour replacing 1 cup white flour, and molasses replacing the honey, and it's our new family standard.

Easy One Bowl Oatmeal Cookies from Serious Eats: follow the directions exactly, and you'll get perfect oatmeal cookies.

Chocolate Chunk Orange Scones from Cookies and Cups: very good scones; made them without the glaze because they're already quite sweet.

Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions from Smitten Kitchen: very good, even though I cheated and used Trader Joe's crispy onions instead of making my own

Teddie's Apple Cake from Food52: easy and delicious. My students loved it.

Pumpkin Bread from Smitten Kitchen: so, so good and much in demand since I first made it this fall.

Momofuku's Soy Sauce Eggs from Food52: use low-sodium soy sauce or they turn out WICKED salty... but still delicious. These are great to keep in the fridge as a high-protein snack.

Hobo Bibimbap from Food and Wine: not quick to make, but most of it can be prepped ahead of time. This was a HUGE hit at my cousin's birthday party, and even the picky eaters in the family enjoy it.

Shrimp Cocktail from Serious Eats: a lot of work, but absolutely worth it

Apple Weekend Cake by Dorie Greenspan (via David Lebovitz): easy and delicious.

Apple Ricotta Cake (AKA Lousia's Cake) from Food52: slightly sticky, but otherwise excellent. This is a great way to use up leftover ricotta...

I also made two great recipes that don't have online links: Copycat Panera Turkey Chili from a website that seems to have gone defunct... fortunately I wrote it down while making it, so I still have the original. It was delicious and made enough food to be lunch all week. Also the Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins from Flour by Joanne Chang. I found many of her other recipes to be frustratingly imprecise, but this worked perfectly except for making 20 muffins instead of jus 12.




What I Read this Summer

I read a lot, like 75 books or so, depending on whether you count "summer" as being the period between the end of school and the start of school, or June 21 - September 21. The best ones I read were

Miss Buncle’s Book by D E Stephenson
Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman
The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves
The Stone Sky by N K Jemisin
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox
The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian
A Queen from the North by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee

Edited to add: somehow, this didn't post back when I wrote it in September, and I've been busy enough that I didn't notice. So here it is, almost 3 months late...