Sausage Gnocchi Soup

 Another Lydia original... I'm really rather partial to soups it turns out.

Sausage Gnocchi Soup (Serves 10)

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 pound bulk hot italian sausage
• 3 leeks, washed and trimmed (white and light green parts) or a chopped onion
• 3 medium carrots peeled, trimmed, and sliced
• 2 cups green beans, trimmed and snapped into bite sized pieces
• 1 28oz can diced tomates
• 64 oz bottle Spicy V8
• 16 oz Gia Russa Potato Gnocchi (I like the minis, but traditional while work)

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. When fragrant add the sausage and brown over medium heat. Break up as it cooks. 
2. When sausage is browned, add leeks (or onion), carrots and green beans. Cook stirring frequently until the vegetables soften.
3. Add tomatoes and V8. Add enough water to cover and reach the desired consistency. Usually 2-4 cups. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. 
4. Add the gnocchi and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Add salt to taste and serve.

The Outsorcerer's Apprentice by Tom Holt

 This was an impulse buy I made during Christmas shopping. I was rather stymied by trying to figure out some sort of gift for my brother-in-law. Now, I love Vincent, but he's one of those people who generally tends to buy what he really wants so gift giving ideas either come from a list that he quite helpfully supplies (really, it is very helpful) but isn't very satisfying or is an expedition in trying to find something he doesn't know he wants which is thrilling when it works. Since Vince hadn't gotten around to supplying a list this year, I found myself browsing the novels and tripped across this book.

I'm not sure if it's a British thing per se, but there's a certain humorous tone I associate with fantasy novels that come from British authors. Not all of them of course, but enough so that I've started actively looking for these fantasy novels that are high on satire, full of fun characters, and crammed with dry wit. Think like a less grumpy Douglas Adams. It turns out Tom Holt fits the bill and has been writing since the 80's. He's got a ton of books out and I'd never even heard of him until now. 

This particular novel posits that in a multiverse there are realities that can be leveraged to provide cheap labor and goods for our reality. Sure their are issues, but a properly motivated businessman can make the tough decisions to work it out. And all of this works for thousands of years from the perspective of the fantasy realm being exploited by the businessman calling himself "the wizard". It works until a hapless physics student decides to pop over to the fantasy as a break in preparing for his dissertation defence. 

He spends sometime knocking around as a somewhat idiotic prince little realizing how much he's being contaminated by the physical laws of the reality. Additionally, his presence is changing the local inhabitants who begin to notice how things around them don't quite seem to make sense. It's hilarious and I love it.

Unfortunately? Fortunately? (I don't know which) It turns out that this is the third book in a four book series. Clearly, I need to read the  rest of the series although I honestly had no inkling that it was part of a series until Ryan looked it up.

Chicken & Corn Chowder

 Part of getting out of my food rut is being more creative with my cooking. I think I envisioned this originally as trying different recipies in my backlog of cookbooks. However, when I'm feeling creative in the kitchen, I sometimes create a dish ad hoc that's excellent. I always think I should write it down and I almost never do. I then usually forget how I made it. I think in the spirit of experimentation and exploration, that when I manage something cool - it should probably count toward my goal. So here's the first of my original recipes.

Chicken and Corn Chowder (serves 6)

• 2 pounds bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces
• 2 carrots, scrubbed and ends trimmed - cut into chunks
• 1 onion, wasted and cut into quarters
• 2 ribs celery, scrubbed and cut into chunks
• 2 pound bag frozen corn (or equal corn on cob, kernels stripped and cobs reserved)
• 2 green chilies, trimmed and minced (I like serrano's but there's nothing wrong with jalapeno)
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
• chicken boullion granules (optional)
• Salt to taste

For serving:

• sour cream or greek yogurt
• green onion
• shredded cheese
• hot sauce
• chicken-skin chitlins (recipe after)

1. make the broth: put the chicken, carrots, onion, celery, and corn cobs (if using squeeze before discarding) in a pot cover with water and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until chicken is ready to come off the bone - 45 minutes to an hour. Strain. Reserve the broth and the chicken - toss spent vegetables. 

2. Return broth to pot. Add corn kernels and chilies. Bring to a simmer for at least 10 minutes before step 4.

3. Strip the meat from the bones and chop. (reserve the skin if you are making chitlins)

4. Remove the broth from the heat. Let cool a few minute and blitz a few times with a stick blender. The point is to break up the corn and release the natural starches. You could puree part or all of it in a blender if you like a puree'd soup but I suggest letting it cool to warm before you do. (blenders tend to spurt - the hot liquid creates a lot of pressure within the canister)

5. Return broth and corn mixture to the heat. Add red bell pepper and chicken meat. Simmer until bell pepper is cooked through. Taste. If thin tasting at boullion granules if you like. You could also try oregano, cream, or even dill. Adjust salt to taste and serve with preferred toppings.

Chicken Skin Chitlins

• oil with a high smoke point (I like peanut or canola)
• Chicken skin (reserved from recipe above and cut into strips
• Salt

1. heat oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When water drops sizzle on contact, add chicken skin. Try to get it in piece by piece without touching in one layer... makes things easier. Sprinkle liberally with salt.

2. let sizzle until the edges brown and curl. (3 or 4 minutes) Flip over and cook until the bottom browns (2-5 minutes) Remove and drain on paper towls.

Romantic Killer by Wataru Momose (vols 1-4)

 With TV and movies, I've spent most of my life trying to read the book first. The theory is that the book is always better so read that first. It's kind of backwards actually. If you accept the premise that the book is always better (which I don't necessarily) then all you are doing by ensuring that you read the book first is setting up the film version as a disappointment.  Wouldn't it be better to watch the movie first and then read the book? The only real downside is that you'd already have an idea how it ends although that seems to be one of the things that gets messed with the most on the journey to visual media. 

In any case, I've started not caring so much about which happens first, partly because of anime and manga. Manga's so expensive that I don't tend take a risk on it unless I can find it used which is tricky. Anime, on the other hand, I have many avenues for viewing economically and a ton of solid recommendations from my students. I often fall in love with an anime series only to find out that it's based on a manga which Ryan later tracks down for me.  After a few cycles of this watching then reading, I realized that I've come to enjoy noticing the differences as I read. I don't find it annoying at all.

Romantic Killer was one that I found on Netflix first. It's a short 8 episode series that I fell in love with. It's one of those series that I ended up watching on a loop. For a while there it was so ubiquitous as my background noise that my husband, son, and students all had the intro music stuck in their heads. I had no idea that it had been based off a manga until the entire 4 volume set came to me as a Christmas gift. (Thanks Ryan)

Romantic Killer is fun because it's satirizing the shojo archetypes. Shojo manga is aimed at girls in middle and high school and tends to feature romance story lines where a sweet and kind girl finds love. Often she has more than one suitor and is more often than not totally oblivious to this. Technically Shojo deliniates a target audience and not any kind of genre expectations so there's quite a bit of range in the group. 

Instead of the usual shojo thing, Anzu Hoshino has no interest in romance and no interest in boys excepting as opponents in video games. All she wants is her video games, chocolate, and cat. Apparently, this is part of a general trend nation-wide away from romance which is of concern to the local fairies who need children around to generate magic. So Riri is assigned to force Anzu into a romantic relationship which Anzu actively resists. Riri surrounds her with potential romantic interests who Anzu systematically turns into friends. 

Despite the rediculous set up, this ends up being a surprisingly touching story about friendship. Anzu is revealed to be a fierce, protective, and loyal friend. Because she isn't interested in romance, she treats her ridiculously attractive friends as people with intrinsic value beyond just their looks. So of course, all the boys are in love with her, but she just remains a very good friend to them.

It's probably a lot of fun even you aren't familiar with Shojo's common tropes, but if you've experienced other shojo material, this is absolutely hilarious. I love it. 

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

I have mixed feelings about this one and I, frankly, I'm going to have to sit with them a little longer before I am ready to say what I think. I will say that it's a challanging book and thought provoking. Where-ever I end up ultimately, I can recommend it for that alone. Any book that makes a reader really think and evaluate their response is worth reading. 

This is a story about two black students, Devon and Chiamaka, in an otherwise entirely white high-powered and exclusive private academy. They are in their senior year and they are both on track to graduate when things start to go wrong. A mysterious figure calling themselves Aces is spreading malicious texts and rumors about them. It comes out of nowhere and is social and emotional bullying taken to an extreme. 

Both students struggle and fight back as best they can as the massive conspiracy becomes more and more clear. 

So, while this is absolutely a high school drama, it's not they same as the run of mill high school dramas. It has more in common with a good spy thriller.

Taqueria El Vecino - Decatur, GA

 One of my goals this year is to get out of the food rut I've been in. I want to be trying something new each week whether that's a new restaurant we've spotted or a new recipe from one of my many, many cookbooks. This last week we tried a restaurant I spotted in the Oak Grove area a while back: Taqueria El Vecino. 

I used to live in the Oak Grove area so I'm always interested to see how things change in the area. I'm not sure how long Taqueria El Vecino has been there (at least since 2015) but I remember noticing it when the restaurant converted some of the parking out front into an outdoor seating area. It had to have been a while back because I was full of opinions about that. 

We finally remembered to give it a try this last Tuesday which happened to be Taco Tuesday! 

It's a relatively small location with a little more than a dozen tables inside. The walls are covered with murals of Mexican street scenes peopled with Dia de los Muertos style skeletons. There's a bakery case filled with a variety of baked goods many of which were latin inspired. There is also a bar stocked with craft beer and a truely impressive selection of taquilas. The atmosphere is homey and unfussy while still having a touch of edge. 

The food was excellent. While all the taco standards are present, the real stars of the menu are the fusion tacos and their BBQ. We tried a variety of tacos and my son had the BBQ brisket plate. The Birria Queso Taco, which is a peppy lamb taco spiked with adobo and lime, was quite good. The Carnitas taco was excellent and exactly what one should expect.  The only minor disappointment was the Smoked Pork Belly Taco which was quite tasty but didn't quite live up to its description.  The tequila cantaloupe glaze was lost among the flavors of the pork belly itself and the slaw topping. Still, if I hadn't been looking for it, I wouldn't have missed it. It was still quite tasty.

The smoked brisket however. . . was almost transendental. My son had the plate and I accidently had a taco made with the stuff. This might just be the best brisket in the Decatur/Tucker area since The Greater Good shut down. It was tender and smoky while still being juicy. They nailed the balance of spice and smoke. Someone there knows what they are doing with a smoker.

The service was friendly but a little slow. In all honesty, I suspect that someone on waitstaff didn't show up for their shift and the bulk of the time we were there we watched one unfortunate sever scurrying around and trying to cover the entire room. The worst I can say about her is that I don't think she prioritized the tasks well, but that's a tough position to be stuck in. She was friendly and accommodating, when there was a mix up on my order, she took care of it right away. Over all, it was a great experience and I look forward to going back at some point.

How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

 This book was recommended to me through tbr.co back in June. It has been a very turbulent year and I got behind. Very behind. I actually tried to start it at least three time before it took. That's not the book's fault. Sometimes it is just not the right time to read a story and you have to try again later. So, when things quieted down a little and I had a little more brain space, I tried again.

How High We Go In the Dark is a stand-alone novel that looks at first like a set of loosely connected short stories. It's a near future narrative where climate change is in full swing. The glaciers up around the Arctic Circle are melting and revealing long-buried remains. The story starts with a grieving archeologist who arrives at the Batagaika crater to finish his deceased adopted daughter's find - a preserved neandertal corpse of a young girl with some very unusal features. They also discover an ancient and deadly virus.

The rest of the stories are about the world after the virus gets out and infects the world population. Each chapter is a complete story on it's own and covers a large span of time dipping into different places with different sets of characters. What is masterful about this book is how the stories tie together. A side character from one story might be the primary character in a later one, or they might be the mother or friend of a main character. Honestly, it took me way too long to realize what Nagamatsu was doing and I have an impulse to start the book over again so that I can chart all the characters in all of the stories. 

The sheer variety of stories in this book make this an eclectic read and gives the narrative an unusal breadth of scope. There's space exploration, climate change, bio-agent terror, sociatal dystopian elements, mutation, and even possible aliens. There's a little bit of everything in there and somehow it all works together. Really, I am in awe. 

My recommender chose this for me because I liked Arkady Martine's books and the "Expanse" series. Both works are gritty drop you in the middle of a puzzle kind of stories.  They are on the more literary end of genre literature. How High We Go In the Dark fits nicely into the group.

January List

 Aside from wanting to read more professional reading books, I haven't placed any content goals on my reading this year. I just want to hit 100 books by the end of the year which is only 8 or 9 books a week. I'm going to keep with the lists because I find that the mass of books I have squirreled away for reading is rather intimidating. Picking from a smaller list makes the whole thing more aproachable. 

However, there are times that something new comes in and I'm excited about it. So, I reserve the right to add things randomely to the list whenever I want to. 

1. Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide (Finished 1/4/2024)
2. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
1. Vol 1: The Crucible (Finished 1/17/2024)
3. Even As We Breathe: A Novel by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (previous TBR)
4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (borrowed from Samantha)
5. Descendants Series by Melissa de la Cruz (borrowed from Samantha)
1. Rise of the Isle of the Lost (Finished 1/16/2024)
6. The French Girl by Lexie Elliott (Borrowed from Dad)
7. Trees by Warren Ellis
1. Vol 1: In Shadow (Finished 1/30/2024)
8. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (Professional Reading)
9. We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds (previous TBR)
10. Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (previous TBR)
11. The Outsorcerer's Apprentice by Tom Holt (Finished 1/15/2024)
12. The Tale of Shikanoko by Lian Hearn
1. Book 1: Emperor of the Eight Islands (Finished 1/29/2024)
13. Every Drop is a Man's Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto (previous TBR)
14. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
15. The Impact Cycle by Jim Knight (next semester's text book)
16. Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (The new Thomas Bedtime book)
17. Kill Shakespeare by McCreery and Del Col
1. Vol 1
2. Vol 2
18. The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday (Borrowed from Bruce)
19. Romantic Killer by Wataru Momose
1. Vol 1 (Finished 1/4/2024)
2. Vol 2 (Finished 1/4/2024)
3. Vol 3 (Finished 1/4/2024)
4. Vol 4 (Finished 1/5/2024)
20. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North
21. David Mogo Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
22. Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? by  fugino Omori
23. The Story Behind: The extraordinary History Behind Ordinary Objects by Emily Prokop (borrowed from Bruce)
24. Cover Story by Susan Rigetti (previous TBR)
25. I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi
26. Swan Light by Phoebe Rowe (TBR)
27. Anatomy by Dana Schwartz (TBR)
28. Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling (TBR)
29. Orange by Ichigo Takano
1. Vol 1 (Finished 1/20/2024)
30. Introduction to Rubrics by by Dannelle Stevens and Antonia Levi (Professional Reading)
31. Fairest by Bill Willingham
1. Vol 1 Wide Awake
2. Vol 2 The Hidden Kingdom
3. Vol 3 The Return of the Maharaja
4. Vol 4 Of Men and Mice
5. Vol 5 The Clamour for Glamour