Sunday, April 29, 2012

Extremely Loud...

...and Incredibly Close.



What a weird book.  The premise seemed so interesting - young boy mourning his father's death (during 9/11) by going on an adventure throughout New York City.  However, there was also a lot of post-modern artsy business going on in this book too.  At one point, while reading beside Justin, he looked over and practically yelled at me "Did you do THAT to your BOOK?"  There were pages upon pages of text underlined and circled in red.  The reason why Justin was so shocked was because of how careful I am with my books.  I don't even like lending my books to him as he will inevitably break the spine and dog-ear all the pages.

That was just one of the unusual absurdities in this book that you will need to interpret for yourself as you read it. If you choose to.

I'll still watch the movie but only because Tom Hanks is involved with it - don't say I didn't warn you.  Keep in mind that the cover of this book makes no sense as the boy will only wear white.

By the way, what the heck happened to my blogger interface??  Why can't programs just stay the same forever?!  I hate change...

Monday, April 2, 2012

Recommendations

Happy Easter!

I'm on Spring Break and finally have some time to blog before I head off on my vacation to Bali!  I am really looking forward to a few days in the rice fields with nothing to do but read, eat, and occasionally dip in the pool.

But until Wednesday, I have a lot of catching up to do, in all areas of my life.  I'm in the midst of an online workshop for my job which I need to get cracking on, I have been way too lazy with my workouts lately, and I haven't really done any experimenting in the kitchen.

But I have cooked up some winners - you should try them too!

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
This is kind of like the peanut, coconut, spicy version of the stuff your mom used to serve to you when you had the sniffles.  It's not too spicy, takes about 20 minutes to make, and you can honestly add in whatever veggies you have on hand.  I added onions, celery and mushrooms rather than let them go to waste in my fridge.

Flaky Crescent Rolls
These are the homemade version of Pillsbury crescent rolls.  They take forever to make, so it is kind of a project but they are soft and pillowy.  I made them a while ago and put a bunch in the freezer so I didn't have to feel obligated to eat them all at once (though with some salted butter, that's exactly what I wanted to do!)

Snickerdoodle Blondies
I made these for my class for winning sports day at school.  They are so moist and are definitely comfort food.  Perfect for when you're craving something other than chocolate.  Cinnamon sugar is a close second.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies
This recipe turned out great just the way it was but I kinda want to play around with it in the future.  Though they tasted great, I was secretly hoping that they would taste like the coconut squares you get at M&M Meat Shops - those are amazing!  These didn't quite get there but they are a great easy dessert.

If you're looking for something to whip up this weekend, any of these would be great options.  Other than the rolls, they're easy and require few unusual ingredients.  For the squares, you probably already have everything you need in your pantry now.

Pasta recipe coming up tomorrow...