I Am Scout

My favorite book of all time is To Kill A Mockingbird. I think I read for the first time when I was about 10 or 11. When I read it for the first time, I remember thinking it was funny, and that I liked Scout's spunk. And for whatever reason...reasons lost long ago in time and space (name that movie), I kept coming back to TKaM. Over the years after that, I averaged reading it about once a year -- usually in the summers, when I had a little free time. In fact, I remember my mother's old copy of the novel traveling with us nearly every summer that my family drove to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (at least 9 years).

As I mentioned above, I have my Mom to thank for giving me my first copy of TKaM. She went to my high school back when they sold students the books instead of renting them out for the year. So my Mom kept her copy from freshman English. I found it in a box in our basement one summer, along with copies of Swiss Family Robinson and The Illustrated Man. Even though I've read all those books and read them each multiple times, Mockingbird was always my favorite.

For the past 6 years, I've been an English teacher and had the pleasure of teaching this novel in my classroom. I hope that at least a few of my students see the same potential I saw in Mockingbird: humor, good morals, family values, and most of all, a darn good story. I hope at least one will find a copy of this book someday and re-read it and think: "This story is as good as Mrs. Miller always tried to tell me it was." That's the hope, anyway.

And so, due to my love of Mockingbird, I've always been interested in other aspects of the novel: it's autobiographical nature (the story is based on Harper Lee's early years in Monroeville, Alabama and many characters are loosely based on people from the neighborhood where she grew up), Harper Lee's unlikely friendship with the...difficult Truman Capote (she wrote large chunks of In Cold Blood, but received very little credit for her contributions -- she was even listed second in the dedication, behind Truman's lover), and finally, why Mockingbird was something of a one-hit-wonder -- Harper Lee never published another novel.

All of these issues, and many more besides, are addressed in Charles Shield's biography, I Am Scout. And unlike other biographies (and most nonfiction, truth be told), I was fascinated. The book is engagingly written and reads like a good book -- not your typical biography. It's informative and fun and has lots of pictures.

Oh, yes, and it's because of all these things that I Am Scout is so appealing to students. I use this book in both my junior American Lit. class (which reads Mockingbird) and in my senior Contemporary Lit. class (which reads In Cold Blood).

Overall, this is a great book and I recommend it to those who are bored with more common non-fiction offerings.

The Time Traveler's Wife

I'm starting this book today. I've been wanting to read it for a really long time. And I had to read it before I saw the movie. It's just not the same to read a book post-movie. I already know what's going to happen, and if the movie was disappointing, then I really lose all enthusiasm for what might be a really good book.

As a devoted bookworm, that would be a real tragedy.

The Basketball Belly

This has been a great year for many reasons...

Hubby got a great new job.

The basketball team went 21-8 and we won our conference outright for the first time since 1984 (when our big man's dad was on the team).

I got to go to the State Cheerleading Competition for the second time. Always fun to spend time with the girls and coaches.

But, like all good things, this year will come to an end.

Unfortunately (at least at the moment), I have a souvenir to remind me of this year: my basketball belly.

You see, basketball season, particularly when your hubby coaches AND works as an administrator AND is the Athletic Director, is all about late dinners. When will he be home? And, "Hey, we beat our cross-town rivals! Let's go out for a late dinner and celebrate!" (And celebrating usually involves nachos...oh, nachos...)

Anyway...

Since this was a particularly good season, with lots of nights of celebrating with lots half-priced appetizers at a local restaurant (don't judge...I hadn't had any dinner), I gained a little more than my normal winter weight.

I used to joke that I gained weight every winter just like bears do before they hibernate. A particularly apt joke, considering my deep and abiding love of sleep. But this winter's weight gain was a little on the ridiculous side and I need to be getting something of a grip on the situation.

And so I have come to two dramatic conclusions. (I know you're on the edge of your seat for these announcements...aren't you? ...............Hello? Is this thing on?

........Anyway.............

Conclusion #1: I will not do even one tiny spec of clothes shopping, not even for accessories, until I have gotten some control over the situation. If you're sitting there, stunned into silence, and shaking your head, believe me, I know how unlikely and drastic such a course of action sounds. But it's the best incentive I could think of to actually achieve results.

*Possible side effects of Conclusion #1: Getting to go shopping for lots of new, and exceptionally cute clothes in a smaller size.

Conclusion #2: I will share the story of my quest here, with you -- the good, the bad, and the ugly (my first ab workout will likely fall into the ugly category). Triumphs and utter failures. Nothing will be off limits. Heaven help you all.

Wish me luck. I'll report back tomorrow with my Day 1 Workout.

Spring Fever

I have Spring fever.

This past week was a tease. Warmer than its been in months. Sunny. Birds chirping. You know.

I celebrated! I leaped, I sang, I frolicked. I painted my toenails bright red.

And then today happened. 40 degrees. Spritzing rain. Windy.

Crappy.

And all I have to say is: "WHY?!?!?!"


Desperately hoping Spring returns ASAP,
Kristen

A Christmas to Remember

Man, do I have a great family! =] This Christmas, I asked for (begged, pleaded, bribed...) lots of kitchen equipment. Basically stuff that I didn't register for when I got married, because I thought I'd never used it. And now, having realized how often I cook and how helpful some of these things are, I don't want to have to buy them myself! haha!

So what was on this year's wish list? So happy you asked. Here ya go!

1. Dutch oven (at least 7 qt.)
2. French rolling pin
3. *Large* mixing bowls

I had heard of Dutch ovens previously, but never figured I would make enough soups in enough quantities to justify owning one. Little did I know that those suckers are darned useful for making just about anything. So I got a 7 qt. creamy white Martha Stewart Dutch oven from my parents (Love it! Thanks!!) and a Lodge Ware 3 qt. Dutch oven from the hubby (who listened to and remembered me ranting and raving about how much I wanted/needed/demanded a Dutch oven -- he's the best!).

I also already have a rolling pin. It's a traditional, granite pin by Kitchen Aid and, like nearly everything I registered for, it was dishwasher safe. But the spring that enabled the pin to turn properly apparently was not dishwasher safe and rusted terribly. Leading to a situation where, the second or third time I used the thing, I took it out of the dishwasher after cleaning it and rust-colored water ran out of the handle area onto my foot. I know what you're thinking: "Ewwwww!" And you know what? You're right! That's exactly what I yelled at the very top of my lungs. So in addition to the Martha Dutch oven, my parents also got me a French rolling pin. It will be ideal for rolling out the crusts for my favorite apple tarts.

Now, let me say that I have mixing bowls. But I didn't have really huge, honkin' mixing bowls that I could mix up say, a double batch of homemade meatballs in. Well, now I do (thank you to my mother-in-law, Linda). This set comes with 4 nesting, stainless steel bowls and airtight lids for each. The bowls are dishwasher safe, and have already been put to good use mixing up a batch of the aforementioned meatballs.

Finally, let me say that I am blessed to be able to cook for family and friends and do so often. This past year has been an amazing one, with a visit from my best friend this past summer and several family lunches and dinners with both my and my husband's family.

I'm a lucky girl. And I'm lucky to share it with you. Happy Christmas! Happy 2010. May this new year be even better than the previous.

*Details in a future post about our New Year's Eve party and all the yummies we served. =]

Oreo Truffles

Today is the first day of final exams. Which means that all my grades had to be finished yesterday so that students would know their grade going into finals. Which meant that last night, for the first night in a long time, I had -- wait for it -- nothing to grade! Bliss! Joy! Rapture!

Which meant I couldn't wait to get home and cook something. So for my project, I picked something I could bring to school and share:

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
1 package Oreos
1 8 oz. block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 lb. of chocolate (I used Dove Milk Chocolate Silky Squares, but have also covered the truffles in white chocolate, turning them into Inside-Out Oreos)

Directions:
Break up a package of Oreos into chunks and place in a food processor. Process until smooth (no chunks in thr truffles!). Add the softened cream cheese and process until the mixture comes together (generally, you'll know this has happened when the mixture forms a shiny clump on one side of the food processor's bowl). Using a small ice cream scooper (mine is 1-inch in diameter), scoopt the Oreo mixture out onto a wax paper- or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. While mixture cools, melt chocolate in a double boiler.* Remove cooled mixture from the refrigerator, roll scoops into balls and dip in melted chocolate. I used forks to remove the balls from the melted chocolate so that the excess could drip off. Place chocolate-covered balls onto another wax paper- or parchment-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate overnight.

These are incredibly rich, so enjoy them with a large glass of milk handy.

*If you don't own a traditional double boiler, or, like me, discovered that chocolate burns easily in a traditional double boiler, try this trick:
Place a glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl isn't touching the water. Congratulations! You've just created a homemade double boiler. Chocolate (or anything else you're in the mood to melt) will melt more slowly, but I've never burned chocolate using this method.

Cheddar Dill Scones

I am so behind on my blog postings! I don't know where the time goes these days. Not only that, but the last few posts I have managed to squeeze in, I forgot to upload pictures.

So this weekend, I will be trying to rectify this situation. I will be doing my best to get my lst few posts' pictures inserted in their proper spots, as well as blogging some of my recent kitchen antics.

For now, however, here's a recipe I tried recently for cheddar dill scones. Like so many others in my repertoire, it's a Barefoot Contessa recipe. In making these, I did learn several important lessons, however, which I will now share:

1. Ina's stand mixer is bigger than mine. In the future, I will cut her scone recipes in half.
2. Read the manual for the food processor's shedding attachment before just blithely assuming you know how to use it.
3. Invest in a cookie or biscuit butter for future scone-making. Some of my "free-hand cuts" were a little too generous.
4. Read the whole recipe over again before putting scones in the oven to avoid the inevitable baked-on mess when I realize that I forgot to sprinkle cheddar over the top of the scones before baking.
5. Make sure all your ingredients are very, very cold. The butter needs to be very cold so that once the scones are in the oven, the water in the butter will evaporate and create steam, which makes the scones puffy and delightful.

Overall, these were very good. Buttery, rich, and they made the whole house smell heavenly. Quite indulgent, and best served in small portions! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Cheddar Dill Scones:

Ingredients:
4 cups, plus 1 Tablespoon of all-purpose flour, divided
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Teaspoons salt
3/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup fresh minced dill
1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of milk, for the egg wash

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine 4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Add the butter and mix on low until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
4. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and then add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until blended.
5. Toss together the cheddar, dill, and 1 Tablespoon of flour and add to dough. Mix together until just incorporated.
6. Dump the dough untila well-floured surface and kneed for 1 minute until the cheddar and dill are well-distributed.
7. Roll the dough out until it's 3/4 inch thick.
8. Cut dough into 4-inch squares and then cut in half diagonally to make triangles.
9. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes until the outside is browned and crispy and the inside is fully baked.