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.
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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.
Ooooh! I've downloaded the book and I've added the Tumeric-Black Pepper Chicken recipe to my beloved Paprika recipe database. Thanks for these!
Posted by: Tonya | February 14, 2024 at 05:24 PM
I made your Cheaters Chicken Soup this week from November 2011. It’s as good as ever! I seem to have printed it out and saved it.
Posted by: Kate | February 17, 2024 at 11:56 AM
How did I not find your blog long ago - love reading well-written books, love interesting movies and series and I love to cook. Now I need to look through all your past postings!
Posted by: sillygirl | February 21, 2024 at 09:54 AM