Summer Reading

I'm too scared of failing to formally join in our local library's summer reading challenge. With all the academic books I have to read, reading eight books for pleasure seems like a lot in two months. Still, I'm secretly attempting the challenge, and here's where I am so far:

Already read:

1. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro

2. How to Knit a Love Song by Rachael Herron

3. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

In the middle of:

4. Willful Creatures (short stories) by Aimee Bender

5. Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor (I am seriously considering sending this one back to the library unfinished.)

Any suggestions for books 6-8? I'm trying to stick to fiction, but I'm open to other genres.

Bread Revision

I've been tinkering with this bread recipe for a while now. Here's my latest version. It's easy, relatively quick, and totally tasty.

Quick(ish) and Easy Whole Wheat Bread

First:

2 c. warm water (around 100 degrees, so the water feels temperature-less on your wrist)

2 pkgs. yeast (I prefer Rapid Rise or Perfect Rise for this recipe)

6 T honey (I do 1/4 c. plus half again; you could also use sugar)

Stir together and set aside for about 5 min.

Next:

8 c. whole wheat flour (I've been using Trader Joe's White Whole Wheat)

4 t. salt

Mix in a bowl.

Then:

Mix yeast water into flour. Add another 1-2 c. of warm water and stir together. Dough should hold together well, but not be sticky.

Knead a little bit on a board or just in the bowl.

Set the dough to rise in a warm place covered with a dishtowel to keep off drafts.

Let rise for about an hour.

Cut dough in half.

Knead each one a few times.

On the last knead, roll into a loaf and pinch together at seam.

Spray canola oil (or other oil) into 2 loaf pans.

Press loaf seam-side up into loaf pan until the pan is filled to the corners.

Flip loaf out and over.

Press gently into pan with seam-side down.

Repeat for second loaf.

Set loaves to rise for 30-60 min (top of loaf should be even with lip of pan)

Bake at 350 for 40ish minutes, until loaf gives a hollow sound when you thump it. I find this bread is best if it's slightly undercooked.

Cool. Make sure to eat a heel when it's still warm from the oven!

Stores well at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Book of the Month: February. Farmer Boy

We're reading the Little House books to our 4-year-old son, and this one has been my favorite so far. We did have to do a bit of explaining when the school teacher whipped the older boys with the bull whip, and about why kids might deceive their parents by covering up a black mark on the wall with a wallpaper scrap. We had to explain, too, why it was so important for the family to work together--the daily chores, the big projects such as planting or harvesting, getting up without complaint in the wee hours of the morning to save the tiny corn stalks from a late freeze. In this story of Almanzo's growing independence, I was reminded that chores and adult work can be something kids look forward to, a privilege instead of drudgery. I've seen a glimpse of this in our house lately as our kids eagerly pull up chairs to the counter to make our homemade bread. (And we've even started calling store-bought bread "boughten bread.")

Overall, we loved the glimpse into the incredibly busy and work-filled life of the Wilder family. That Ma Wilder puts me to shame.

Bread Making

When I was young, my mom taught me to make whole wheat bread. I loved the big sea-foam green ceramic bowl we'd mix it in. I'd wait in the kitchen to have the heel of the loaf warm, straight from the oven.

In my adult life, I've gone through phases of breaking out the Tassajara cookbook recipe and making four hearty loaves at a time. Making the sponge, letting it rise, mixing in oil, salt, and more flour, letting it rise, punching it down, letting it rise, shaping it into loaves, letting it rise, baking it: the project fills a good portion of the day.

Lately, I've been taking the quicker route to homemade bread. A friend passed along this recipe:

Easy French Bread from Ann Grether

Mix 1c. warm water and 1 pkg. yeast. Let stand 5 min.

Mix 4c. flour, 3T. sugar/sweetner, 2t. salt in a bowl. Pour yeast water in. Mix.

Add enough extra water (usually about 1/2 c.) to have the dough hold together. Blend with a spoon until stuck together in one lump.

Let rise until double (30-45 min.)

Punch down.

Divide dough in half, shape into loaves, and place in greased pan or small round casserole.

Let rise.

Bake for 30 min. at 375 degrees.

You can also use the dough for bread braids, dinner rolls, pita pockets, and (with minor adjustments) apple fritters or cinnamon rolls.

I've been using honey as a sweetner and adding it to the yeast water, and I've substituted white whole wheat flour.

Verdict: Amazing.

Book of the Month: January. Born to Run

As a part of my 2010 book list, I thought I'd choose the best book I've read in a month and share it with you here. For January: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall.

First of all, I am not, and have never been, an athlete. But this book made me want to run. Here's the author talking about the book and running (and showing you his cool homemade running sandals).

What the video doesn't communicate is that this book is a Story--an extraordinarily well-written (and well-edited) narrative, with fascinating digressions woven in. He explores the background of the runners in the story, describes what evolutionary biologists can tell us about running and the human body, tells the story of a man who found the last persistence hunters and learned to hunt with them (by running after game until they got worn out or died), explains why Nike is marketing a shoe that attempts to do nothing, and finds to source of the hype for FiveFingers foot-gloves. And with excellent pacing, the main narrative follows his journey to find the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico and the first race between Tarahumara runners and US ultrarunners held in Mexico.

I stayed up way too late way too many nights reading this book. Two thumbs way, way up.

February Resolutions: installment #2

Last year I began February resolutions, mostly because it takes me all of January to figure out what I really want to accomplish in the year ahead. Here's this year's list:

-Fitness/Weight: I've managed to maintain my weight over the last 8 months, and I'd like to keep it that way. I've gotten in some bad eating habits and out of some good exercise habits. I'd like to right that.

-Music: My husband and I have been promising ourselves for too many years that we're going to record an album. We've got the gear, we've got a good list of songs, we've got skills enough. We just need to get over our fears, make some time, and record, record, record. Even if it turns out crappy. I also want to practice the banjo at least a few times a week.

-Degree work: I have a conference paper to present in April, an article-length version of that paper due in December, and I'd like to have three chapters of my dissertation drafted by the holidays. But I'd be happy with two chapter drafts.

-House: I've been on a decluttering mission lately. We celebrated the new year by emptying the last of our moving boxes. I've reorganized closets and cupboards. We're finally buying a portable dishwasher, and we just ordered a new bookshelf for our room. I'm going to follow a friend's plan, and aim to have 10% of our stuff gone by the end of the year. (That includes cleaning out the garage.)

-Reading: I want to keep a list of books I've read this year. I've never kept a list before, though I read constantly. I'm curious to see how many books I read.

-Venturing out: I'm quite cozy here at home, and it takes effort to plan things and get the family out the door, so I often opt for staying in rather than going out. This year, I want to do more--family adventures, nights out with friends, playdates, hikes.

The resolution I need to repeat from last year is attempting to keep from being overcommitted. This may mean quitting some stuff. And I hate to back out of things. I'm pretty big on follow through. But years ago a friend taught me to offer grace to her when she just couldn't follow through, and I hope I can learn better how to offer that grace to myself.

Happy February! And may the progress of betterment begin.

Poor Little Neglected Blog

I noticed today on GoodEnoughWoman's blogroll that it's been seven months since I posted on this here neglected blog. That's a sad, sad state of affairs, though in my defense, I haven't been sitting around downing bon-bons and watching Glee on too many nights.

I'm working on some February Resolutions again this year, so I'll post those soon.

In the meantime, here's my list of bad conversation-starters (and things I'm thinking about nearly constantly):
-How exactly should one go about choosing a kindergarten for one's child?
-What is the balance between responsibility to one's family unit and responsibility to the larger community?
-How does one treat a rash on the bum of a 4.5 year old?
-How can anyone possibly learn to read English? Especially a child? And who regularized spelling in such strange ways anyway?
-How old is too old to start something new?
-Why am I getting a PhD, and how will it benefit me?
-Could you explain to me how to explain the trash compactor scene in Monsters Inc. to my 4.5 year old so he'll understand it? (Sully sees Boo get IN the trash can, but doesn't see her get OUT, so he fears for her life as the giant machine crunches up all the trash. My explanations of situational irony don't seem to have helped.)
-How can I possibly get the black burned-on gunk off of the burners on my gas stove? And how does one clean a non-self-cleaning over without using toxic chemicals? And isn't baking soda the most amazing cleaning product ever?
-Why don't children ever sleep when you want them to?

My first pre-February resolution: post more.