Random Thoughts

On Books:

• I've posted about it on goodreads, but wanted to share here as well. These is My Words. Go read it. It reads like the journal of a pioneer woman (and if the grammar annoys you at the beginning, know that it gets better as you move through the book); it's not a life-changer, but it is definitely a good read. I don't know one female friend or relative I wouldn't recommend it to. It's funny and heartbreaking. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I've just started the second book about the same character; I don't anticipate it being quite as good, though. I'll report back.

• I'm a bit obsessed with Anne Lamott again. I'm reading her Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith and marking quotes, dog-earing pages, and laughing out loud. It's funny because, for her, I put up with more than I would from probably any other author. She's profane at times and ultra-liberal, but I just love the way she writes and the messages she can share. (Becky, it occured to me the other day that some of my favorite of your blog posts are quite Anne Lamott-ish...you know, minus the  profane and ultra-liberal part.)

• We are having a Dr. Seuss week for school, and on Monday we started out with a biography of Seuss for kids called, The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss. Later that day we read the Seuss book, Gerald McBoing Boing and discovered it might as well have been titled Gerald McBoing Boing: A silly version of Ted Geisel's autobiography. So interesting! I would highly recommend reading them together with your kids...great lessons on not teasing others and finding your unique talents.

On Food:

• Does anyone have a really great veggie lasagna recipe she could share?

• For our Valentine's Day dinner, Brendon went with a Thai theme. The whole dinner was super yummy, but the recipe that I think will stick around in our house is for these meatballs made from ground chicken. Very kid friendly and tasty.

2 pounds ground chicken
1 cup dry bread crumbs
4 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
oil for frying

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken and bread crumbs. Season with green onion, ground coriander, cilantro, chili sauce and lemon juice; mix well. Using damp hands, form mixture into evenly shaped balls that are either small enough to eat with your fingers, or large enough to use as burgers. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the chicken balls in batches until well browned all over.

• Shelly emailed me yesterday asking for this recipe, so I thought I'd just go ahead and post it here. These are Brendon's famous sticky buns...a no-rise cinammon roll, really. Brendon is totally the breakfast-maker in our house. I'm a cold cereal gal, and if were up to me, that's what we'd have every day. But Brendon steps in several times a week to broaden our palettes. And I must say that he makes the best. omelets. ever. Anyway, back to the sticky buns...

ROLLS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup milk
1/3 cup margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
5 teaspoons milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup of the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk. Mix until blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 8 to 10 times. Roll dough out into a rectangle 12 inches long and 1 inch thick, trim off any uneven edges. Cream the 1/3 cup butter and the brown sugar, stir in the ground cinnamon. Drop small amounts into the greased muffin pan. Spread the remainder over evenly over the dough. Starting at the short end roll the dough up (jelly roll style) and cut into 12 pieces. Place 1 each in the muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; spread over warm rolls. Serve immediately.

Books and food...two of life's great pleasures.