The Complete Book of Greek Cooking

I bought some falafel at Costco earlier this week and so I pulled out my copy of The Complete book of Greek Cooking by Rena Salaman and Jan Cutler to make some accompaniments.

It’s a decent introduction to Greek cooking complete with a nice explanatory section at the beginning that covers regional difference and common ingredients. However, the hummus recipe I made from it didn’t turn out very well which was a disappointment.

Unlike other hummus recipes I found online the recipe in the book didn’t call for adding any extra liquid like water or olive oil. As a result it was very dry and crumbly until I added some extra virgin olive oil. The flavor was good however.

The Verdict
3 (out of 5 stars) I don’t want to judge the entire book on the basis of its dry hummus recipe: the book covers a wide range of entrees, soups, and salads that look really good. Every recipe comes with several photos of the dish and nutritional info in included which is nice.

For the Record

We bought E a little potty chair a few months ago. At first he thought sitting on it was great fun but only if he had his clothes on (which was not really the point). After some cajoling (and bribes of a jelly bean) he has taken to sitting on it a few times a day but he never peed in it.

Until last weekend! I took off E’s diaper so he could sit on the potty but he ran downstairs giggling to see what N was doing downstairs. E jumped on the couch and I told him that it was time to go to the bathroom and he looked down and uh, went to the bathroom. (I guess I should have been more specific.)

N and I shouted for E to stop (which miraculously he did) and then we picked him up and ran him back to his potty chair where his business was concluded, E was praised highly, and jelly beans dispensed.

The couch suffered only a few drops of pee that washed out easily (yay for removable cushion covers!) so over all I consider it a win.

Giant Robot

I love Giant Robot magazine. N gave me a subscription as a gift last year and whenever an issue comes in the mail I tear it open and devour it in one sitting.

(Funny aside: E just came up to me as I was typing this and pointed to the picture and said “Pilgrim!” Yes, he already likes flipping through my Scott Pilgrim books.)

Anyway, Giant Robot is devoted to Asian American pop culture and covers a wide swath of topics such as movies, TV shows, books, comics, food, street art, travel, music, etc… Reading every issue is like getting the dish from the super hip Asian American friend I wish I had. It might not be a big deal if you live on the coast but since I’m here in lily-white Utah a whole magazine devoted to this perspective is much appreciated.

Sometimes the writing can be a bit uneven but there are always several things in each issue that I really enjoy reading and that can’t be found in any other magazine. The current issue, 66, is the best I’ve seen in a long time. It’s chock full of great stuff including interviews with Bryan Lee O’Malley, the creator of Scott Pilgrim (soon to be released as a movie); talented hottie Daniel Dae Kim; and Laura Ling, one of the journalists captured and later released by North Korea.

If you see it at a newsstand, pick it up; I don’t think you’ll regret it. Better yet, subscribe.

Anxiety Dream

I can be kind of a worrier sometimes. I’m really looking forward to our trip to Korea this fall but I think my subconscious is already worrying about it. Right before I woke up this morning I had an dream that E, N, and I were on the plane to Korea when things started to go wrong.

In my dream I was sitting next to E when this hugely fat man who was seated in front of E started to recline his seat back. Except that the seat didn’t stop reclining–it kept going back and back until it was smashing poor E into his own seat. He was crying and freaked out and I asked the man to raise his seat up but he ignored me so then I got a flight attendant and she made him put his seat back up. It felt as though E had been saved from certain death.

I then wanted to turn on our travel DVD player so E could watch a show and relax but then realized that I had forgotten 1) the DVD player 2) E’s headphones and 3) E’s car seat. I turned to N and started to bemoan my oversight with the panic rising in my chest because we still had 13 hours of the flight to go and how was E (and consequently I) going to make it without being able watch to a show?

Fortunately I then realized it was a dream in the back of my mind and woke myself up. Blarg.

At least now I’m sure I won’t forget our DVD player. I know I’ll forget something but at least not the DVD player.

Beirut in Concert

Last night N and I went to Pioneer Park in Salt Lake to see Beirut play at the free outdoor concert series the city puts on every summer. We grabbed some tasty Tibetian food before the concert started and ate on the grass. It was a little hot but once the sun set it was very pleasant.

Beirut was GREAT.

There were thousands and thousands of people there but the crowd was pretty good in general.

I liked how the lights on this ice cream stand looked in the twilight.

It’s been a rough few weeks around here but the weekend is shaping up nicely. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on some work.

Have a great weekend!

Ennui

Maybe it’s just the summer doldrums but there’s a definite feeling of ennui around here. It’s not that I don’t have anything to do–I have a good 15 hours worth of work to do before now and Monday and as always my house could use a good de-cluttering it’s just…bleh.

I went to the grocery store yesterday with a list of ingredients for a Cookbooks on Trial recipe and then FORGOT THE MAIN INGREDIENT ANYWAY–so frustrating. We’re planning on going to see Beirut perform tonight for the free Twilight Concert Series so I don’t think I’ll cook it tonight. But I don’t want to skip another week. Maybe I’ll make it Friday night and just post it late? We’ll see.

Locked In

After some waffling over dates and such we finally bought airline tickets for our trip to Korea this fall. We’re going to visit N’s parents and my aunt and cousins in Pusan. It will be our first overseas trip as a family (yes, we’re bringing E) and even though it’s over 80 days away I’m already getting excited/a little nervous.

As a bonus, N’s brother Ken and Ken’s son are going to join us for part of the trip. It’s going to be awesome. Pusan Fall 2010–w00t, w00t!

Hello, Scholars!

So…I didn’t get to making a Cookbooks on Trial meal this week…sorry! I was planning on doing it last night but ended up working after E went to bed and by the time I looked up and realized I was hungry it was after 10pm. So N and I had quick salads for dinner which was actually nice.

I normally don’t like to post two videos in a row but I just saw this video over at the Huffington Post and thought it was funny. It’s a parody of those great Old Spice commercials promoting BYU’s library. I spent myself many an hour studying there back in the day (Sadly, it was before they had a “snack zone.”)