verbatim

The Years Keep Flowing by...

Happy 21st Blogiversary to Verbatim! My blog can now buy alcohol or rent a car in all 50 states! Who'da thunk I'd still be here after all these years—and you, too! As always, thanks for stopping by to read and to comment. You're the reason I do it! (And it's no reflection on you that I blog so infrequently these days, really.)

While I'm here, I'll let you know that my mom died at the end of January—in fact, the day after I wrote my last post here. She was 92 and had a number of physical ailments as well as dementia, so it was definitely not "sudden." The end was not so great for her, so I've felt much more relief than grief. (This photo was taken on her 90th birthday, when she was still much more with it.)

Related to this news, last year I edited a book that is coming out next week. It's called The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life, written by hospice nurse Suzanne B. O’Brien. When I was working on it, my mother wasn't "actively dying" (that's an actual hospice term, which kind of took my breath away when it was used to apply to Mom at the end), but it was definitely right around the corner. This book discusses in a comprehensive but very compassionate and helpful way everything you need to know about end-of-life issues, from medical to legal/financial and everything in between. It also talks a lot about how we can all take steps now to ensure our own "good death," rather than wait until it's too late to make choices. When I accepted the project, I worried a bit that it would be really depressing, but it wasn't at all! In fact, it left me feeling empowered by all my newfound knowledge and much more comfortable with thinking and talking about death. I highly recommend it.

Another Episode of "Read It. Watched It. Ate It."

I told you how much I loved Ithaca by Claire North, but I wanted to take a break before reading the second book in that trilogy, so I decided to try one of her many other non-Greek books. (This is one prolific writer, and in fact Claire North is a pseudonym; she also writes under her real name, Catherine Webb, as well as under other pseudonym, Kate Griffin.) The one I picked was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which one reviewer described as "Groundhog Day on Red Bull." To wit: Harry August was born in 1919, lived and died, and that was it. Until he was born again, under the same circumstances, but with all the knowledge and memories gained from his past life. And then again. And again. He eventually ends up finding others like him, known as ouroborans or kalachakras, and that's all I'll say plot-wise. I can't even imagine how the author constructed this intricate story. My brain hurt at times from trying to get a grip on the physics of time travel, but mostly I was absolutely fascinated and didn't want to put the book down. If you like realistic fantasy, and in particular are interested in time travel, definitely pick this one up. She's a terrific writer.

 *  *  *

I was nervous about seeing "A Complete Unknown" because I feared they'd somehow wreck it, but I was wrong! Andy and I both really loved it. They nailed the vibe of the early folk era—you know I am a die-hard folkie, although granted this all took place just before my time. (You might recall how much I loved the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," and I still listen to that soundtrack all the time.) But interestingly, I was never a huge Dylan fan—in the sense that I didn't rush out to buy every one of his albums or even once go see him in concert. That said, he has easily a dozen (probably more!) songs that I consider absolutely perfect—and you know them all too, even if you're not at all a folkie. There's a reason he's the only songwriter to ever win a Nobel Prize in Literature! But if he'd just issued all his songs as books of poems, he never would've reached his audience, so that's how we all got to know his nasal, twangy voice. (And on the flip side, if he hadn't been a songwriter, he never would've made a name for himself doing covers.) Anyhow, you've probably seen the interviews with Timothée Chalamet where he talks about ending up with more than 5 years to practice his guitar, harmonica, and singing (because of the pandemic and then the writers' strike), and he did a great job! Edward Norton as Pete Seeger was also astonishingly well cast. But it was Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez who really knocked my socks off. Because of the computer chip embedded in my brain, TikTok now shows me endless clips from the movie alongside clips of the actual concerts they performed in, and it's really remarkable how they pulled this off. Anyhow, as I often say, if you think you will like this, you probably will.

 *  *  *

So far every recipe I've tried from the Chinese family cooking site The Woks of Life has turned out great, and last week's was no exception. It wasn't hard to do and we found it positively lip-smacklingly scrumptious. Cleaning up my Le Creuset afterward was no picnic (see below—I overdid it a bit) but totally worth it.

Red Braised Pulled Pork

4½ pounds boneless pork shoulder (aka pork butt; the piece I got was only about 3½ pounds. It doesn't matter.), cut into 4-inch chunks and trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
¾ cup Shaoxing wine
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup regular soy sauce (I always use low-sodium.)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (I don't have this, so I used the recommended substitution of 2 teaspoons regular soy sauce, ½ teaspoon molasses, and ⅛ teaspoon sugar—you could also just use additional regular soy sauce.)
2 bay leaves
1 star anise (First time I ever used this! It had a very strong fragrance while cooking, but it mellows out.)
3 cups water

Arrange your oven racks so you can fit your big Dutch oven inside, and preheat to 375°F.

Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides. Return all the pork to the Dutch oven, then add the Shaoxing wine, sugar, both soy sauces, the bay leaves, star anise, and water. Stir well. Cover and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Once boiling, transfer the Dutch oven to the oven, uncovered. Cook for about 2½ hours, checking the pork every 45 minutes or so; stir and add more water if the pot starts drying out. I should have checked sooner during the last 45 minutes, because it had started to get kind of charred. You definitely want some charred bits, as they are unbelievably delicious, but I lost some pork that got stuck to the pan (see above re cleaning out my Dutch oven...). The pork should be completely caramelized and tender and falling apart. I went to fish out the bay leaves and star anise but couldn't find them—turns out the bay leaves were stuck to the charred bottom, and I never did find the star anise! Maybe it dissolved? Anyhow, pull the pork apart with 2 forks. As you can see above, I served it with white rice and baby bok choy, but you could go with noodles or scallion pancakes or whatever you like ... I was thinking of tortillas and hoisin sauce next time! 

Me Again!

Do you believe this—me blogging twice in 2 weeks?! Happy New Year! May we all have a 2025 filled with good health, happiness, and peace.

First, I thought I might show you a few of my favorite cookbooks I edited last year:

 

   

I also edited the usual assortment of non-cookbooks—mostly self-help, health/wellness, parenting, memoir, etc. I still really love my job and am in no hurry to retire. I am at a nice point in my career where I don't have to take on projects that don't interest me, and I work with some really terrific folks out there. The publishing world has changed dramatically since I joined in all those decades ago, but I am very content in my little corner of it. 

While I'm here, I have another movie review for you: Last week we watched "The Order," which was really good! It's based on the true story of the white supremacist uprising in Washington State back in the early 1980s, which I only vaguely remembered. The basic plot line is accurate, but the fictionalization comes in the form of an FBI agent played by Jude Law. In the past I never really thought much of him one or the other (in fact I had to google what movies I'd seen him in over the years), but he was fantastic in this! It was really well done all around.

And I might as well leave you with another recipe from WaPo. It's not as much work as it sounds, and I've already made it a couple of times. There's a swell photo at the link.

Chipotle Mayo Brick Chicken

2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4)
Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
3 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 lime, finely zested and halved
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets, stems sliced ¼ inch thick (about 6 cups)
6 scallions, thinly sliced

Pat the chicken dry. Cut two slits all the way to the bone on the top of each thigh. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, chipotles and adobo sauce, cumin, and lime zest. Spoon about half of the chipotle mayo into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Brush the remaining mayo on the skin of the chicken.

Place the chicken skin side down in a large cast-iron skillet. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cover the chicken with aluminum foil or parchment paper, pressing each thigh down against the pan. Place something heavy, such as another cast-iron skillet or a brick, on top. Cook the chicken until opaque nearly all the way up the sides, 20 to 25 minutes, checking halfway through to make sure the skin isn’t browning too fast. (If it is, lower the heat.)

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until the rice is nearly al dente. Drain in a strainer, rinse with cold water, and shake as dry as possible. Set aside while you finish the chicken.

Remove the brick and foil from the chicken. Add the lime halves, cut sides down, to the pan. Flip the chicken and cook until cooked through and the limes are charred, 3 to 4 minutes. (The internal temperature of the chicken should register 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. If not, transfer the limes to a plate and cook the chicken for an additional 5 minutes, then check again.)

Transfer the chicken and limes to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the scallions to the skillet and stir, scraping up the browned bits, for 1 minute. Add the rice and broccoli, stir to coat in the chicken fat, then pat into an even layer. Cook until warmed and starting to crisp on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Remove the pan from the heat and return the chicken and limes to the skillet.

Serve in the skillet, family-style, squeezing the charred lime over the chicken, with the reserved chipotle mayo on the side.

 

5 Months Later...

Gosh, I didn't intend to let this many months go by without checking in. I actually had it in the back of my mind to write a glorious post after the election, but that obviously didn't turn out. Things are going to get really, really bad around here—for children and seniors, for women, for POC and LGBTQ+ folks, for immigrants and possibly even naturalized citizens, for the planet, for international relations ... really, for just about everyone but white male billionaires. And although I just said all that, I don't want to talk about it here. I don't even watch the news anymore. My mental health is at stake! So we'll leave this here and move on. But I do want to wish everyone all the best in 2025—maybe something miraculous will happen.........

In the meantime, I hope you all had/are having a happy holiday season. Andy and I observed Christmas as decreed in the Torah, by seeing a movie and having Chinese food. We saw "Gladiator II," which I liked a lot better than the first one—mostly because Paul Mescal is just dreamy and Russell Crowe is most definitely not dreamy. I don't think Crowe has any screen presence at all, and I've also heard he's a jerk. Paul Mescal reminds me of the young Mel Gibson, before we knew that Mel Gibson was a rabid homophobe, misogynist, antisemite, racist, and whatever other hate-filled word I've left out. But wow, he was so charming in those early movies—"Mad Max," "Gallipoli," "The Year of Living Dangerously," etc. Denzel is in "Gladiator II" too, and he didn't always ring true to me, but it was fun to watch him enjoying his capes and robes and jewelry. Anyhow, if you think you'll like it, you probably will—it's got exactly what it says on the tin. Earlier in the week we watched "Carry-On" on Netflix. This one should've been way better, since the premise was very clever and Jason Bateman is fantastic no matter what he does. But it fell flat for us, and we were kind of sitting there hoping it would end already. I can't remember what else we've seen recently, but there are two that remain in my memory from the last few months. First was "Hit Man," which was just really fun and smart and entertaining. It stars Glen Powell (I didn't think I'd seen him before, but he played John Glenn in "Hidden Figures") as a mild-mannered philosophy professor who ends up becoming an undercover detective posing as a hit man in an effort to catch people who want to hire him. There was plenty of action and intrigue, but there was also some thought behind it all—because of his background, he is always exploring the nature of the self and whether a person can ever really change. The other one is called "RRR" and is a 3-hour Indian movie! Julie got to see it on the big screen at school (in the original Telugu with subtitles), but now it's available streaming in a dubbed version. And frankly I liked that because there is so much action that I feel like I definitely would have missed things if I'd had to take even a few seconds to read the dialogue. It's a total action-packed extravaganza, and like nothing we'd seen before. I'm not surprised that it won a ton of awards because it is so over-the-top exciting and fun. 

Now let's see if I can remember what I've been reading... I'm just about done with Ithaca, the first book in a trilogy about Odysseus's wife Penelope—yup, I'm still on my Greek kick. The author is Claire North and she writes like a dream. The story is told from the point of view of Hera, goddess of women, and I just love the modern vibe North gives her. I can't wait to get started on the second one. Over the summer I read The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, which was a really fun, light read. It's about Lauren, a twenty-something Londoner, who comes home tipsy one evening from her best friend's bridal shower only to find some guy in her flat ... who is apparently her husband. His photo is her phone screen saver, and there's a wedding photo of them on the piano! While she's trying to sober up and figure out what's going on, he goes up to the attic to get something ... and a different husband comes down! And this keeps going on and on. Every time a new husband shows up, Lauren's life is a little different—her job, her relationship with her sister and best friend, her lifestyle (exercise, diet), even her furniture and decor. I thought it was really clever how the author pulled this one off. I also read Long Island, Colm Tóibín's sequel to Brooklyn, but was disappointed. I had really loved Brooklyn, but this one was just meh. I wanted to shake the characters and say DO SOMETHING ALREADY! Oh, and a friend lent me Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, which was positively chilling. I didn't know what it was going to be about and ended up making the mistake of reading it on vacation—and it is anything but a "beach read"! It takes place in Ireland in the present or near future, when little by little ordinary citizens start realizing that their homeland is turning into a police state. I read it well before the election, which was probably a good thing or else I might have ended up just crawling under the covers and never coming out. But I do recommend it, if you can take it.

Wait, what's this about "vacation" above? Yes, Andy and I did a little beach getaway at the end of September. We rented a sweet little cottage up in Newburyport and spent our days reading at the beautiful, secluded beach on Plum Island and our evenings strolling along the newly revamped waterfront and looking for a new bar for a drink before dinner. We found some great shops and restaurants, and all in all had a lovely, relaxing week. The weather cooperated too, so what could be bad.

I've of course been cooking since I last posted here, but heck if I can remember what. But here's a WaPo recipe I made last week that we both liked a lot, and it was very quick and easy—and not incendiary by any means despite the title.

Sriracha Pork Burgers 

12 16 ounces ground pork (The recipe calls for 12 ounces of ground pork, but it comes in a 16-ounce package, so I just made three 5.3-ounce burgers instead of two 6-ounce burgers. Andy ate the extra one the next night. The recipe also notes that you could use any ground meat you like.)
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped
½ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons sriracha, divided, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the buns
2 brioche buns
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

For serving:
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce Green and red leaf lettuce
Bean sprouts (These were meant to be for crunch, but they all just just kept falling out of the bun, so I will skip them next time.)
Cilantro sprigs 
Thinly sliced jalapeño

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then set a wire rack on it.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, scallions, salt, pepper, and ½ teaspoon of the sriracha. Use your clean hands to combine and form into a ball, then divide that in half thirds to form two three patties about 1 inch thick. Use your thumb to create a deep dimple at the center of each. (That will help them keep a nice shape during cooking.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the patties and cook until well browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the patties to the wire rack on the baking sheet, transfer to the oven, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers 155 to 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. The centers should be barely pink. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush the cut sides of the buns with some oil, then add them to the rack in the oven, brushed sides up.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and remaining 1 teaspoon sriracha until combined. 

To serve, spread each toasted bottom bun half with some sriracha mayo. Add lettuce, bean sprouts, and a burger, then top with more sriracha mayo and an extra squirt of sriracha, if you'd like. Add the cilantro and jalapeño slices. Top with the remaining bun halves and dig in.

En Vacances

Hold on to your hats, but Andy and I actually went on vacation! This was the first time in many years—mostly due to covid, and then to inertia and logistical issues...

 

We left last Monday and drove up to Burlington, Vermont, about a 4-hour drive. Burlington is the home of the University of Vermont, and it is a fantastic little college town, with loads of restaurants and bars and shops. We wandered around town a bit and then walked down to sit by Lake Champlain (which is enormous!) and watch the boats, and then had a fun dinner.

 

On Tuesday morning we got back into the car and drove another 4 hours, all the way up to Quebec City! It was our first time there, and it was fantastic. Everyone said we just had to stay at the Château Frontenac, so we did, and it was totally the right move. For one thing, the location is terrific—right on the St. Lawrence River and walking distance to a million little shops, outdoor cafés, galleries, etc. But more importantly, just look at it!

 

 

It was built in 1893 and has all the modern amenities you would want but still retains every iota of "Old World elegance" you can imagine. And it isn't the least bit fancy or snooty; all the guests were dressed very casual and every member of the staff that we met, from valet to housekeeper to waiter, couldn't have been more down-to-earth and friendly and helpful. In fact, we found that to be the case throughout our stay, everywhere in Quebec.

 

On Tuesday we just poked around a bit in the Old City. There's definitely a very European vibe, and everything felt clean and safe and tourist-friendly. I was very pleased with myself that I could understand every word I read on every French sign or menu or whatever, but I had a terrible time understanding people speaking to me with a Québécois accent! It just sounded so different from the Parisian French I learned. But no matter, as everyone is bilingual there. And even when I heard people speaking English without an accent, I had to remind myself that they were not necessarily Americans, but just as likely to be Canadians from neighboring Ontario!

 

Look how happy and relaxed!

 

We had lovely weather every day—no humidity and only up to the low 80s, so much better than the 90s and high humidity we escaped from at home. On Wednesday we drove about 15 minutes north to Montmorency Falls, which is a spectacular waterfall that is 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls! Some people were ziplining, but we took the cable car up and then walked across the suspension bridge, which you can see at the top of this photo: 

 

From there we drove another couple of miles and crossed the river on a huge bridge to get to Île d'Orléans, an island about 20 miles long and 5 miles wide. It's so quaint there, with lots of little cottages and inns and wineries and artisan shops. Our concierge directed us to a lovely inn for lunch, and he said we had to visit Cassis Monna & Filles, a fifth-generation producer of black currant liqueurs, wines, jams, ice cream, candies, etc. It was great!

 

On Thursday we just stayed in Quebec City proper again, and explored a few cultural/historical spots. It's a steep walk between the upper and lower portions of the Old City, so we took le funiculaire back up to our hotel. There were street performers everywhere and just a happy vibe.

 

Friday we headed back down to spend another nice evening in Burlington, then home on Saturday. All in all, it was a splendid little getaway!

Skewered

Hot enough fer ya? (Let it be known that this was written at the end of the Heat Dome week.) I have a few hearty recipes that I made during the winter and forgot to post about, but it would be ridiculous to share them now, so I'll try to remember to do them in the fall. (Yeah, right, that'll happen...) Anyhow, here's one for the grill that I've made a bunch of times. As usual I forgot to take a photo because I was too eager to start stuffing my face, but there's a nice one at the link:

Shish Kebab

¼ cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless lamb leg or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1½- to 2-inch chunks 
Veggies of choice—I like to do red bell pepper, red onion, and cremini mushrooms
Thick pita breads
Tzatziki, for dunking

In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, oil, garlic, tomato paste, salt, crushed red pepper, paprika, cumin, oregano, and black pepper and mix well. Add the meat and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Take the meat out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to grilling. Heat the grill and oil the grates. Remove the meat from the marinade and thread onto skewers. Skewer your veggies too. Grill the meat and veggies, turning a few times, until a little bit charred on the outside and the meat is done to your liking inside, 10 to 15 minutes. Just before serving, throw the pita on the grill to warm through. 

My Media Diet of Late

I'm way overdue for an update here, so I'll start with two pretty special books I edited that have recently come out:

First, I got to edit another one of Jacques Pépin's cookbooks! This one was a thoroughly updated version of his Cuisine Économique from 1992, which I still own somewhere and which was all about cooking tasty, interesting, satisfying meals without being wasteful—by using less expensive cuts of meat, shopping seasonally, using as much of a vegetable as you can, etc. It was revamped from head to toe into Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking, and you know that with Chef Pépin you will always get tried-and-true recipes (and his lovely watercolor illustrations, of course!). 

But I don't always edit cookbooks, y'know! I got to edit the latest collection of essays from one of my all-time favorite writers/thinkers, Anne Lamott. This one is called Somehow: Thoughts on Love, and it's just beautiful throughout (big surprise there, right?). She talks about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to partner love, mother love, best friend love, and everyone in between, and of course you know you're going to quite literally laugh and cry as you read—sometimes within the same passage. I guarantee you will be hard-pressed to pick your favorite piece in this lovely collection.

*  *  *

Lessee ... the best novel I read recently was The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash. From the title you might think it's about a harsh season in the wilderness, but in fact it's about the Winter family that lives at the famed Dakota apartment building in Manhattan. Son Anton has just returned from a stint in the Peace Corps, and his dad Buddy, a beloved late-night TV talk show host, is recovering from a nervous breakdown and wanting to revive his show. Because of Buddy's career, the Winter family thinks nothing of hobnobbing with the rich and famous, mostly show biz types, and these real celebrities figure throughout the book—think Johnny Carson etc. It's a novel but it reads like a memoir in that respect—all of their interactions are obviously fictionalized, but they read like the real thing. (In this sense—and this sense only—it reminded me of Any Human Heart by William Boyd.) But most importantly for the plot of the novel: Because the Winters live at the Dakota, they are neighbors with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. John figures prominently in the book, as he and Anton strike up a sort of a friendship, and Anton is trying to help Buddy start a new show and hoping to have the Beatles reunite on it. But because it's 1980 ... well, as the kids say, if you know you know. So it was kind of a disturbing sensation going along with all the fun while knowing that an unthinkably awful thing must happen at the end of the book. I really loved it, and I especially liked the way the author portrayed life in NYC in that era—I imagine that New Yorkers of a certain age will get even more out of it in that respect than I did.

A book that was in fact about a harsh season in the wilderness was Homestead by Melinda Moustakis. It's the story of  Marie and Lawrence, who marry almost immediately after meeting and move to Lawrence's homestead in Alaska in 1956, just before statehood. They have to figure out who are they are as a couple—the couldn't be more different as individuals—as they try to survive in near isolation and under very difficult conditions. I found the writing lovely—the nature descriptions are incredibly vivid—but I can't really say I loved this book. It got rave reviews elsewhere, so give it a try if you like historical fiction where the setting is a character on its own.

One more: The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt has nothing to do with the Tom Cruise movie. It's about Sibylla, a brilliant graduate student who ends up having a baby and raising him on her own, barely squeaking by transcribing old magazines. Her son Ludo is a genius—can read several languages by the time he's three, understands physics and astronomy, and more—thanks in large part to his mother's rearing style. The only thing she doesn't want him to learn is the identity of his father, so of course that's the one thing he most wants to find out. At age 11 he sets out on a quest to find his father or, really, any father that will do. Since he and his mother rewatch parts of The Seven Samurai almost every day, Ludo uses that as the framework for his journey. This is an incredibly long, incredibly erudite book, and I can't really think of too many people I would say must read it, but I'm sure glad I did. You will have to gloss over entire sections in Greek or Japanese and endless pages of mathematical equations ... but it's just really enjoyable to be in Ludo's company.

*  *  *

I'm so far behind in movie reviews that I'll just briefly review the last three new releases I've seen:

The Beekeeper: This one stars Jason Statham, who is always a pleasure to watch, as a beekeeper but also a Beekeeper—that is, a member of super-secret special ops group. He sets out to avenge a certain crime, and it all plays out well—except that I didn't find the portrayal of the FBI agent, played by Emmy Raver-Lampman, very believable for a lot of reasons. If you like a good shoot-em-up, you'll like this.

Dune 2: We rewatched Dune 1 in preparation for this, and I was glad of that because I had forgotten some stuff that had happened. I loved this almost as much but had a big problem with the way the ending was handled, specifically in terms of Paul. I'm told that if I had read the book it would have made more sense to me. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that and you can message me to discuss! I'm also threatening to cover my face with Bene Gesserit tattoos like Paul's mom (Rebecca Ferguson), because WOW.

American Fiction: Jeffrey Wright stars as a serious novelist who is frustrated by his lack of audience. On a lark, he takes on a pen name and new persona and writes a very typical "Black novel" that embodies everything he hates about popular culture. And, you guessed it, it's a hit. This is a clever skewering of the literary world, and Wright is excellent.

*  *  *

The last thing I want to mention is a phone app called Be My Eyes that I've had for a couple of years. It's perhaps the greatest use of technology and globalization that I've heard of yet: Volunteers sign up to be "on call" if a visually impaired person needs help seeing something. Here's how it works: I hear a notification on my phone and can choose to respond or let someone else take it. (Indeed, I've occasionally grabbed my phone within one second and still missed my chance—someone else got to it before me! Which isn't surprising, as there are about half a million visually impaired people on the app and nearly 7 million volunteers waiting to help out!) Once you're connected, you can talk (when you sign up, you choose which languages you can speak—there are currently 180 languages offered, and over 150 countries represented!) and you can see through the person's phone camera, as with FaceTime. There's also a flashlight button if they're in the dark. I helped one guy who had rearranged his freezer and didn't remember which frozen meal was which—all I had to do was read the labels. I helped another guy find where his adorable puppy had peed on the floor. I helped a woman recently who had a bunch of ice packs, some of which were for food and some were for first aid, the kind that you can also heat up in the microwave, and she didn't know which were which. And so on—I've had only a handful of calls so far. It is just the greatest feeling, and I only wish I got to do it more often, as it leaves me on a high for the rest of the day. If this appeals to you, I encourage you to sign up.

20

Twenty years ago today, I finally decided to try out this new "blog" thing, and here we are. As always, I thank you all for stopping by, even when you are otherwise distracted by the likes of social media (which didn't even exist back then!), and especially for joining in on the conversation. I was telling someone the other day that I have made some actual lifelong friends through this blog! The online world can often be really upsetting and discouraging, but I'm very happy with this tiny corner of it that feels like a nice place to call home.

Watched It. Read It. Cooked It.

I forgot to mention another movie we saw when Julie was home over break: The Iron Claw. This is the story of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers from the 1980s. I actually sort of knew who they were although I never was a fan myself. The dad is this incredibly overbearing, bullying guy who will accept nothing other than a championship from his sons (the championship he never achieved himself). We all thought it was pretty well done but also crushingly sad—and that was even before we read that they left out of the film a fourth Von Erich brother who killed himself. Anyhow, I would say you should see this if you have any interest in/nostalgia for professional wrestling, or if you heart Zac Efron or Jeremy Allen White. Oh, and they really nailed the era perfectly—clothing, hairstyles, etc.

The next book on my pile was All Adults Here by Emma Straub, which tells the story of the Strick family. Astrid is the widowed mom, and her three adult children are Elliott, who seems to have a chip on his shoulder about everything; Porter, the only daughter; and Nicky, Astrid's (and seemingly everyone else's) favorite. There are other important characters, particularly Nicky's 13-year-old daughter, Cecilia; I have to say that I felt that she and her best friend seemed way too mature for their age, as did the Mean Girls at their junior high. But I did like this book very much; it doesn't have any huge, important themes, but it deals well with family and love and regret and loss and forgiveness and all that other good stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and really got a kick out of some of the plot threads. There's plenty of humor, but it's all very good-natured. If you happen to live somewhere warm or are going on vacation, I'd say this would make an ideal beach read—and I don't mean that as a put-down! It's just that kind of book.

I'm way behind on recipes, so I'll share two here. As usual, I forgot to take photos, but you can look at the photos in the links.

The first is a soup I've made several times. Andy's not a big soup fan and I am, so I usually have it for lunch. I freeze it in individual portions. 

Lentil and Kale Spinach Soup with Chicken Sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 links fully cooked chicken sausage (6 ounces), sliced into thin rounds (These usually come in 12-ounce packages, so I freeze half for the next time. There are many different brands and flavors available.)
1 small onion, diced
2 small carrots, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups no-salt-added chicken broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 cups kale, stemmed and finely chopped baby spinach (2 ounces) (I just don't really care for kale, and I always have spinach on hand—and it doesn't need to be chopped.)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 4 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits as the vegetables release their moisture. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, and oregano.

Add the broth, lentils, and another pinch of salt (I used low-salt rather than no-salt broth, so I didn't add more salt here). Cover, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Partially uncover and reduce the heat to maintain a lively simmer until the lentils are cooked and the flavors have melded, about 20 minutes. Taste to check that the lentils have fully cooked; if not, cook for 5 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the kale spinach, allowing it to wilt, about 2 minutes. Season with a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the parsley, if using.

 * * * * *

I made this next recipe for the first time last week. It doesn't look like there's much going on, but it was really tasty! I served it with basmati rice.

Turmeric–Black Pepper Chicken with Asparagus

¼ cup water
3 tablespoons honey
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
12 ounces asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle
1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar or soy sauce (I used the rice vinegar, but next time I might use both, as suggested by some of the commenters.)

In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the water, honey, pepper and ½ teaspoon of the salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, turmeric, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add the chicken and toss until coated.

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the asparagus, stir to combine, and cook until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the honey mixture and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the rice vinegar and/or soy sauce. 

Reviews

Look at me posting twice in one week! I want to review some books and movies before I forget all about 'em. 

For our last book group we read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. I'd never read anything by him and was just dazzled by the writing! It's the story of a community of Blacks and Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who live in a poor area outside of Philadelphia in the 1930s. We meet Moshe, a Romanian Jew, who owns a theater where you're just as likely to hear a klezmer band as a Black jazz band. His wife, Chona, runs the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, which doesn't make a profit, mostly because she is so generous to all her neighbors. Well, except for the town doctor, who she has seen marching in a white KKK hood—and she does not keep quiet about it. Moshe's right-hand man at the theater is Nate, a Black man with an unknown past; his wife, Addie, takes care of Chona when she falls ill. And there's a full cast of delightful neighbors—Big Soap and Bernice and Paper and Fatty and Malachi. The plot comes together around Dodo, a young Black boy who lost his hearing when the kitchen stove exploded, but I won't say any more than that. I wasn't surprised to find out that McBride is the son of a Black father and a Jewish mother—in fact, that explains a lot! Nor was I surprised to learn that he is a jazz musician, because the book really does feel like an improvisation—and I mean that in the best way: it reads with riffs and flourishes and moments of sadness and unequaled joy. I really can't compare it to anything else I've ever read, but I do recommend it. Although it tackles some very tough topics—mostly bigotry and intolerance in all its worst forms—I closed the book with a feeling of warmth and hope.

After that I took the suggestion of faithful blog reader Deborah and read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, and I am so glad I did! The plot is pretty unusual: A bunch of people are being held hostage (well, sort of) by a foiled bank robber (well, sort of) at the open house of an apartment for sale. We also get to know the police officers assigned to the case, as well as a number of other peripheral characters. On the one hand, there are parts of the book that are pretty sad, and there is reference to a suicide that occurred years before. But I also laughed out loud at dozens of other completely preposterous scenes that somehow rang true. There was so much heart, and so much humor, on every page that I began to put the book aside after a while just because I didn't want it to end. I really loved this one. (Bonus! A friend recommended Backman's Instagram, saying that each post is like a fun little story, and she's right! Check out this one, for example.)

I read some other books but nothing worth talking about. Sigh. Keep those recommendations coming!

We watched The Holdovers long before we'd even heard of it. Julie was home for winter break and Andy and I were looking for something to watch with her. I think it had just been released, and I saw Paul Giamatti's name and thought we should give it a try. And I'm glad the timing worked out that way, because I liked it well enough but definitely didn't love it. If I'd known it was going to get nominated for all these Golden Globes and Oscars, I probably would have been pretty disappointed! You must know by now it's the story of a curmudgeonly teacher at a boys' boarding school in New England in 1970. A handful of students have nowhere to go over Christmas break, and this teacher draws the short straw and has to stay with them. The only other person there is the school's cook, played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph. I did not know who she was, and although I thought her acting was great, I was thoroughly distracted by her attempt to do a Boston accent. I'm very picky about this, and I'm sorry to report that she's right up there (down there?) with Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can and Rob Morrow in Quiz Show. It was not necessary for her to have the accent, so I wish she just hadn't tried it at all, because it kept pulling me out of the film. (I thought it sounded like Boston mixed with Brooklyn or maybe the Bronx, and then I read that she's from Philly, which explains a lot.) The main kid is played by Dominic Sessa, who I liked very much. But overall the film was formulaic and unimaginative, and definitely not "Best Picture" material. There's also a line Giamatti had to deliver at the climactic moment that is probably the last thing his character ever would have said. Ah well.

To change things up, Andy and I watched The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender. There's almost no dialogue in this one, just Fassbender's voice-over letting us know what's going through the assassin's mind. (Things like "Stick to your plan. Anticipate, don't improvise. Trust no one. Never yield an advantage. Fight only the battle you're paid to fight.") We really liked this one, despite some rather sizable plot holes. (I'd also like to point out that an experienced assassin would never use a gag name on his fake passport—having just explained to us the importance of blending into the woodwork wherever you go so as not to be noticed or remembered by anyone.) But the plotting and gadgetry and intrigue were extremely entertaining. If you like the action-thriller genre, you can't go wrong with this one. Oh, and Tilda Swinton is in it, always a good thing!

We then finally slogged through Oppenheimer, all 15 hours of it. It was really interesting, but WHY did it have to be so long?! There were far too many scientists and politicians to keep track of; I found that I couldn't and also that it didn't matter. This was my first time seeing Cillian Murphy, and he's just fascinating to watch. His eyes are so unusual, I couldn't stop staring. (Andy was already familiar with him from Inception and Peaky Blinders.) And I'm happy to watch Robert Downey Jr. do just about anything, so that was a treat to see him in an unlikely role (member of the Atomic Energy Commission). So I'm not sorry I saw this, but I am sorry that the director and editor couldn't have found a way to delete about an hour of unnecessary footage.

And then we watched a Canadian film called The Decline, about a group of people who go to a survivalist training camp. Something really bad happens, and then a whole bunch more bad things happen, but that's all I'll say. This one was really tense and exciting. I liked all the actors and really did not know how it was going to turn out. We watched it in Quebecois French with English subtitles, although I have since learned that there is in fact a dubbed English version—according to Wikipedia, "all of the original cast dubbed their own dialogue to ensure that the accent of Francophone Québécois speaking English would be accurately represented." (But don't go to the Wikipedia page right now because it gives away the entire plot.) Two thumbs up on this one!

This last item is not a book or a movie, but while we're discussing the arts, I thought I'd mention that I played hooky one day over Julie's break and we went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We tried to cram in as much as we possibly could, but I think we would both say our favorite exhibits were painters Matthew Wong (this one ends next week, so hurry if you want to go!) and Dinorá Justice (through mid-April).