Cooked it: Soup Soup Soup

Since Jerry is sans job we have been making lots of soup. Soup is great because it is usually some what economical and lasts a while. It has been pretty cold here, well, cold for us...ok, it will be 74 degrees on Tuesday...whatever! My favorite thing about the soup is my enameled cast iron soup pot (kind of like this but in apple green) and the ladle (both thoughtful gifts from my soup buddies). However, I do not recommend you drop any part of the enameled pot on your foot....it really hurts.
White Chicken Chili- I like this recipe because it is healthy and easy. Other than sauteeing the onions and peppers (I use red bell peppers only, not the green), everything else is cans. I usually use red kidney beans vs the white beans. Also I dump in a small can of corn (sorry I used dump and corn in the same sentence).
Sausage and Kale soup: Jerry LOVES this soup. We use smoke turkey sausage. Also pretty healthy with the beans and the kale. Kale is really good in this because it stands up flavor and texture wise, something the more delicate greens can't do. (also, this version)
Curried Caulifower Soup: This is a great potato soup alternative, the dominate flavor is definitely onion but the cook down so they are melt in your mouth. It is a little labor intensive (roast the cauliflower, sautee onions, cook together, take out half and puree). We used curry powder and really it does not have a curry flavor. I threw in some red pepper flakes to give it a kick. My friend Scott suggested toasting and grinding some whole spices, I agree it would probably give it a better flavor, more of a true curry, and if you are going through all the trouble any way, you may as well!

Watched it: 3 movies

3:10 to Yuma: I usually do not care for Russell Crowe, but this was not too bad. Predicatably I fell asleep during the middle part but woke up in time for the end. It was ok for a movie I did not entirely see.

Ratatouille: We decided to see this since it was on a lot of critics top ten picks of 2007. It was pretty good. The best thing on the dvd was the extra about the history of the rat. It was really well done and hilarious. I also enjoyed making Jerry mad by calling the rat a mouse..."Poor mouse" or "Poor Mousatouille".

Stardust: This was pretty good. We are not sure why they cast Claire Danes in it. Why have an American play a role with a British accent. There are enough British actresses out there to avoid her all together (even for American movies....please?!). The other thing was a gay pirate played by Robert Deniro. They should've re-cast it or left this out! One of the pluses a large cameo played by Ricky Gervais.

Read it: Mysteries

Ok, I am hooked on mysteries... I can't help it. Sometimes with contemporary lit I get so bored. It is so stylized and usually a let down. What I do like about mysteries is the predicatability; there is a murder, the murder is solved. I also like the unexpected twists. I may have it solved but there is usually something I did not see coming.
This would be the case with Kate Morgenroth's book, They Did It With Love. This is a chick lit mystery. There are a ridiculous amount of characters and sometimes it can be a little tedious. It moves along fairly quickly. I think this book is best read in a short period of time since there are so many characters to keep straight. I liked it though. I was hoping she would set it up as the first in a series but I doubt that is the case.
The other mystery of late is Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman. Lippman has a series but I really enjoy her stand alones (also enjoyed, What the Dead Know). This book was a good quick read. She really depends on the reader making a lot of assumptions only to totally demolish them in the end...very sneaky. I think that is pretty intense and skillful , to write a book knowing the assumptions of the reader is making ...mind-blowing!

Read it: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

This was a pretty good mystery from Irish writer John Banville ( winner of the Man Booker award for his novel The Sea) writing under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. This is not a typical whodunit mystery but a peel back the layers type mystery (thanks to Lazygirl's review on goodreads.com for highlighting the difference). This is a pretty quick read. Black gives the plot lots of interesting twists and turns as Quirke, the main character unravels the mystery that involves him without him really being a part of those who know the truth. There are lots of surprises. I guess I was a little disappointed in the final 50 pages or so, but I think that is more because I was expecting a typical whodunit, not something that involves so many people. Also I wonder if the whole "mystery" could have been avoided with a little forthrightness, instead the plot feels almost sitcom like. I almost feel like this could be consider just general fiction.

Petted it: Junior, the Elizabeth Taylor of the dog world

Yet again, Junior has injured himself. This time it is a torn toenail that is bleeding and painful. I tried to trim it myself, but he yelped and then was shaking (sad and cute at the same time) which required me to give him reassuring hugs "there there, there there". I am perfectly prepared to perform a tracheotomy if needed. I am pretty sure all I need is a ball point pen.
Today is Junior's estimated birthday (he is 45 according to the weight/ year chart at the vet's) , nothing like a trip to the vet. Luckily, he only got the nail trimmed, not as far back as where it is broken. The tech also trimmed the rest of his nails. Junior got a day at the spa for his birthday!

He is worth it though. Yesterday he played gentle giant with Lily (our friend Tom's little girl). She loves petting Junior and he loves being petted. In many circles, Junior is known as the Mr Darcy of the dog world. He is also a super genius and as proof:


Junior prefers standing in two rooms at once, if that isn't brilliant, I don't know what is. Junior, smartest dog ever!

Read it: A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

I judged a book by the (beautiful) cover and boy, am I glad I did! This is an excellent first book by Bangladeshi born writer Tahmima Anam. Anam delivers a powerful story about Rehana and her young adult children trying to survive during the liberation war fought against Pakistan. Anam does a good job capturing the strong bond between mother and child as she becomes as involved in the liberation of Bangladesh as her children. This story is very moving and has a surprise ending. It is the first in a trilogy, I look forward to more from this new author.
(you probably cannot tell from the picture but the design on the front has a layered, stamp look---it is really pretty)

Read it: Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (audio book)

This was the most gruesome thing I have ever read/listened to on audio. I wanted to tell Jerry about it but I just couldn't, it was that disturbing. It was suspenseful to the very last minute. The reader on this audio book is also really good. I may even like him more than the actor who portrays Dexter in the Showtime series (Michael C. Hall). I have a feeling the show may not use this plot for the show. I cannot imagine how they would pull it off....

*I tried to go see There Will Be Blood tonight using a free preview pass. I invited lots of people to join me. We got there only to find out that the movie did not come in...d-oh! The good news is we can use the pass for the movie in the future and they are going to mail us two passes for any movie.