#33 Friend Recommended: Wizard's First Rule

Like Twilight, I've read Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind before, but I decided to read it through again more critically than I've done in the past. The Sword of Truth series is one of Chef Hubby's favorites and he's the one who originally introduced me to it. We used to debate about whether Terry Goodkind stole ideas from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or the other way around, until I finally checked out the copyright dates and saw that Robert Jordan started his series years before Terry Goodkind wrote Wizard's First Rule.

This is not to say that The Sword of Truth series is a replica of Robert Jordan's books, it's absolutely not. There are a few similar societies. A few similar ideas. But Terry Goodkind has created a world all his own, using these ideas and societies and adding in quite a few that I've never seen the like before.

Wizard's First Rule is a great start to a fun series. It pulled me in, got the action moving quickly and there's always a little bit of mystery - what will happen next? There's something new in every book, some new spell or danger, some new twist on the action, and not every main character is safe from harm. There's also plenty of humor. In fact, the first rule of wizardly made me chuckle quite a bit: people are stupid. That's the wizard's first rule. Fantastic. And so easily provable! People will believe the craziest things if you tell it to them with a straight face!

I wish that the series stayed as fantastic, but to be honest by the last book I was skimming large pages of political preaching. Terry Goodkind gets very preachy, although the actual story is interesting enough that I kept reading it, even though I had to skim entire pages of a lecture of the glories of capitalism. Don't get me wrong, it's a great series. Fantastic writing. Good points. Even the political stuff is interesting (to a point). But every time I re-read these books the more I find myself preferring Robert Jordan or George R.R. Martin.

Richard, the main character of the Sword of Truth series,  is a good guy. So good that he always does the right thing. So good that all the good characters are eventually convinced to see things his way. Lucky for him, none of them are ever deceptive. The bad guys always show their hand before they do any real harm, none of them are able to weasel into his counsel and betray him from within, because they are just too bad through and through to be able to do that. The good guys always come around to thinking the same as Richard, and are willing to fight for it and for honor.

While I enjoy reading the books, I find them less complex and less realistic than the worlds created by Jordan or Martin where the majority of the characters have more than one side to them and just when you think someone's a bad guy they do something that makes you empathize with them or just when you think someone's a good guy they betray someone (for good reasons) that you're also cheering for. Opposing viewpoints don't make way for one over-riding viewpoint expressed by the hero. Richard's journey is fascinating, adventurous, occasionally frustrating in the single-mindedness of some of his opposition, funny and fun. But the range of human motivations, personality and myriad of viewpoints is never expressed in the Sword of Truth. All viewpoints must eventually align with either Richard or his opponent, completely and totally, so that the world can be aligned as the "good guys" and the "bad guys."

It makes for a good story. I read and re-read these books. But my preferences put Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and George R.R. Martin's Swong of Ice and Fire series ahead of The Sword of Truth.

Quick & Easy Green Beans

Fresh green beans are one of my favorite vegetables to make. They're healthy, they don't take long to cook, they're easy to make and they have good re-heat value. Oh, and they're delicious!

This is the main way I make green beans, although I don't have exact measurings / timings for this 'recipe' because it really depends on you!

1. Put some butter or olive oil in a pan and heat it up (I tend to use both because I love butter but I don't want it to be super unhealthy either.)

2. Dump in a bunch of green beans. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. You can also add other favorite seasonings if you like, I occasionally throw in garlic. Stir them around a bit so that all of them can cook. This is what we call "sauteed green beans."

3. The beans will start to become less rigid as they cook. That's how you can tell they're getting close to done, it usually takes about 5 minutes. I've gotten to the point where I can tell that they're as cooked as I like them (I still like them fairly crispy), but if I'm unsure I just pick one out of the pan and eat it to see. That's usually the easiest way.

4. Optional: Top them off with lemon juice. Squeeze to taste. Sometimes I do soy sauce instead of lemon juice. Either way is quite delicious!

Yummy!!!!!

#65 New Authors: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I must give a shout out to my book club members for clueing me into the fact that this book is completely fiction before I made a fool of myself writing a blog about it! Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

I thought it was a work of non-fiction. This may have, in part, been because of the author's note at the beginning of the book in which he makes it sound like he interviewed the actual man whose story this was. And what an incredible story. Close to 300 days on a raft, floating across the Pacific Ocean, in the company of *spoiler alert (but not really since you can see the color)* a tiger.

The beginning of the book is somewhat about religion. The major similarities between Christianity, Hinduism and Islam and how Pi managed to be a dedicated follower of all three. The conflict came, not from the belief systems of the religions, but from the men who Pi followed as they all demanded that he worship only one way. Fortunately Pi did not heed their words.

In the story he is the sole survivor of a sunken ship. Is it his phenomenal devotion to God through three religions that accounts for this blessing? Can it truly be considered a blessing when he is starved, his faith is tested, his vegetarianism lost to barbarism, and all that he holds dear taken away in one fell swoop? These are some of the questions I found myself asking as I read the book.

But mostly I just was enthralled by the story. The fantastic writing. The engaging characters. The horror and the hope. Pi's descent from dedicated vegetarian with a deep and abiding reverence for all life to a callous butcher of sea turtles so that he could drink their blood, eat their flesh and throw the carcass to the waiting tiger. I occasionally found myself shuddering with disgust and thinking 'I would never do that.' And then suddenly I would come back to myself and remember that I have never been floating on a raft for 277 days without food or water to hand. There is no room for judgment here. Even more inspiring is Pi's empathy, the humanity that he holds onto in this awful and barbarous situation that would strip lesser souls of their ability to be civilized.

It's a great book. One of the best I've read this year in fact. Whether fiction or non-fiction.

#13 Write a Will

Lucky Number 13!!!!

One of the things I wanted to do after becoming married was write out my will, especially once I helped out in the Trusts & Estates Department of my company and learned a little bit more about Estate Law. First of all, I learned that my estate wouldn't immediately be given 100% to my husband. Every state in the U.S. has slightly different intestacy laws and in Maryland he would only be entitled to half my estate while the other half would go to my parents.

Now, I love my parents and I would like them to have some of my money if I were to get hit by a bus, because I owe them money, but the fact of the matter is they would not need my estate as much as my husband would. He and I are dependent on each other for financial matters and I want to know that if something happened to me that he would be taken care of. It comes down to the fact that my parents don't need what's in my bank account and would not be financially effected if they did not receive it; my husband would.

So I wrote a will. And I didn't just take care of my financials and estate but also a couple other gifts that I'd like to go to specific people. As uncomfortable as it is to imagine myself gone, it did comfort me to know that they would have something to remember me by. It also made me feel much better to know that my husband will be completely taken care of.

While looking up facts and help for writing my will I also found the Maryland Living Will, which I filled out as well. The Living Will is what hospitals use if you're in a car crash or some kind of accident and are basically a vegetable. I would rather make the decision for myself than to put my family members into the awful position of having to decide whether or not to take me off a machine.

This was not a pleasant task, but it was a necessary one and one I have been putting off, so I'm glad I made it part of my Day Zero project and can now put my mind at ease.

#51 New Recipes: Twice Baked Cauliflower

I have completed my Day Zero Goal of making 30 recipes I've never made before! I honestly had no idea it would take me so little time to do or I would have made it a bigger goal. Maybe next time. I am definitely not going to stop making new dishes, or blogging about the dishes I make.This has been one of my favorite goals so far; I've gone outside of my comfort zone to try new things and to push my cooking skills, and I've learned a lot doing it, which exactly what I think the Day Zero Project is about.

So here's my final Day Zero Recipe (for this round, at least):

Twice Baked Cauliflower(Makes 6-8 servings; recipe adapted slightly from The Low Carb Gourmet.)

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
4 oz. low fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (do not use fat free)
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (If you only have finely grated Parmesan, use a bit less)
6 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (I used mozzerella)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
2. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces.

Coring just means gtting rid of that big thick stem in the middle, with all of the leaves attached to it.
I did very small pieces of cauliflower, and I didn't put much of the smaller stems into the pot, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to or not. Next time I'll include more of the small stems.

3. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft.

4. Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks.

5. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.

6. Spread evenly in a medium-sized glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with low-fat cheddar cheese and reserved bacon. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

I used about half of the bacon that the recipe called for and shredded mozzerella cheese instead of cheddar.

When I first told Chef Hubby about this recipe he gave me a very skeptical look. This was outside of his experience as well and he didn't seem very excited to be a taste tester for it. But once it started baking he commented that it smelled good, and his first bite wiped away all skepticism!

I'll definitely be making this again, with more of the stems in it because I think they probably should have been included in the first place. This was delicious, it tasted just like comfort food and has a lot less calories than loaded baked or mashed potatoes. Of course, it does taste like cauliflower instead of potatoes, but like delicious, wonderful cauliflower. This was my first time doing anything to cauliflower other than steaming it and I now know I'm going to be making this a lot!

#51 New Recipes: Slow-Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

I love finding new things to do with my slow-cooker, especially when it's a new way to make potatoes! Growing up my Grandmother Gail always made great scalloped potatoes and I always wondered how to make them, but I was too lazy to look up a recipe and find out. This past weekend I learned her big secret: they were from a box!

Well these are fresh and they're just a delicious and easy as my Grandmother's - now she wants MY recipe.

Serves 12
Here is what you need:
- 1 cup sour cream (You can use light)
- 1 can condensed cream of potato soup
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 lb small red potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese or cheese blend
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives for topping

1. Thinly slice potatoes and set aside.

2. Mix sour cream, can of soup and worcestershire sauce together in a large bowl.

3. Add thinly sliced potatoes to the mixture and mix until all potatoes are well coated.

4. Layer half of the potatoes into the slow cooker.

5. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top and then add the rest of the potatoes followed by the rest of the cheese.

7. Cook on HIGH for 3.5 to 4.5 hours (or on LOW 7 to 8 hours). Serve topped with a sprinkle of paprika and chives. If you don't have chives you can substitute parsley. Or you can be like me and completely forget and eat it without either because it's already delicious!

I was worried that the heat would do weird things to the consistency of the sour cream, but the texture of the potatoes and the sauce was perfect. Chef Hubby was very impressed (which is my goal with every new recipe) and I know I'll be making this easy recipe again and again!

#33 Friend Recommended: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

When I posted a Facebook status asking friends to recommend books, one of the first recommendations that I got was a joke: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I laughed and almost ignored it, but then I remembered, a couple of years ago I had friends who were seriously recommending it to me. Mostly as an easy, fluffy beach-read that would make me laugh at how ludicrous it all was, but they were still recommending it. So I decided to re-read this book that I love to hate and hate to love, which I relentlessly mock and shamefully admit to owning, because I wanted to start thinking about why I both love and hate it, and why so many other people do too.

There are entire blogs dedicated to Stephanie Meyer's terrible writing, her lack of character development, grammar and sentence structure, so I'm not even going to get into that. Instead, before ripping this book apart, I'm going to start with the good.

Re-imagined Vampires. Is it stupid that Edward sparkles in the sunlight?

Well it certainly looks stupid in the movie and Bella's description in the books makes it gooey and nauseating, and obviously it's great for making jokes, but I really appreciate the concept behind it. Instead of vampires that die during the day, here's an alternate explanation of why they avoid sunlight! One that allows them to fit into society much more convincingly. It even allows Edward to go to high school. Although I don't think much of Fork's supposed school system (or hospital) when the kids can go hiking at a moment's (or sun ray's) notice and Dr. Carlisle Cullen doesn't have to show up for work for the same asnine reason - but I'm getting ahead of myself. The good!

Actually, that might be it for the first book. Re-imagined vampires with slightly different powers and culture than anything I'd ever seen before. Cool.

Now the bad. First of all, for those of you who are sitting there thinking, "But what about Bella? She was so relatable! Surely that's a good thing." Unfortunately you're wrong. There's a reason Bella's so relatable and it's because she has no defining character or personality traits. The closest we get to an actual personality trait is that she's an "old soul," which mostly means not freaking out about the supernatureal weirdness that crops up, which seems more like a sign of mental deficiency than maturity to me. She's clumsy. And she feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere.

Bella is dangerous. Hasn't every girl and young woman felt like she didn't fit in? Like no one understands her?  But real girls aren't like Bella. Everything in the books is set up to make life as easy as possible for Bella. She arrives to her new school to find that she already knows the entire curriculum because she was in the Advanced Placement program in her old school, so while she has to do tedious homework, she never struggles with her studies. Apparently she had no friends in her old school and has only made very loose ties with friends in her new school, who all conveniently disappear from her life as soon as she becomes a vampire - not even Angela calls to see how she's doing.  The only hobby she has is reading. She has no strong likes, no aspirations, no career goals, no life-goals, no dreams, no passions. In short, she's the perfect girl to give up her life for vampirism, because she doesn't have much of a life to give up. Despite her supposedly strong affections for her mother, it doesn't bother her at all that her mother won't fit into her "new life" once she's a vampire. And for some reason, her mother isn't nearly as worried as Charlie about Bella's illness. Personally, I'm surprised Charlie got to retain enough personality to worry about his daughter. Even becoming a vampire and resisting the desire to drink human blood is made easy for her - the theory is because she went into her new life prepared and it gave her miraculous willpower to resist immediately. Lucky her.

There's no reality to the situation or the characters. Bella is, quite simply, a lackluster and uninteresting character who is only made interesting by the circumstances that Stephanie Meyer has placed her in.

Even more dangerous than Bella is Edward. He represents two things to the feminine psyche. First of all, he's the bad boy that we crushed on but never got to have. The one we yearned for and that we were sure secretly liked us too. And Edward now shows us that same unavailable man suddenly becoming available. Maybe he's not really distant because he doesn't know who we are, maybe there's a good reason for it. Now all those young woman can pin their hopes on the dangerous bad boy suddenly turning around and seeing them for who they really are, that underneath his dark exterior there will be a truly good, generous and wonderful person (all very nice bland and non-descriptive adjectives, because Edward doesn't truly have much more personality than Bella).

With Bella as a role model I would have wasted all my crushing time on guys who were never going to notice me, but I'd be sure that there was a good reason for it and that if I just was interested enough, one day they would. Nothing Bella actually does is worthwhile. She's always protected and pampered, even her one big plot-changing strength (her defensive mind shield) is not something she's worked for or even consciously doing. It just happened to her. Other Sci-Fi / Fantasty Heroines put her to shame.

Probably the best thing she does is realize how useless she is and insist that she and Edward should be equals. Which allows for her to more fully develop the wonderful mind shield that she was born with.

Anyway, back to Edward.

The second thing Edward represents is the perfect man. The one who will fulfill our every need and desire, even the ones we didn't know we had. That we can rely on completely. The one who, even if he goes away (like in New Moon), it's really because he loves us and in the end he'll come back because we belong together. Who won't be jealous when we kiss our best friend that we have inappropriate feelings for (like in Eclipse). And who will, in all things, bow to whatever we want that will make us happy.

It horrified me, seeing the movies in public theaters, to see how many young women in the audience seemed to think that there was nothing ridiculous about this presentation of the happy couple. However, that's also what makes these books such a resounding success. The desire to believe that someone like Edward could come along. That there's a perfect man and a perfect relationship out there. That the worst that will ever happen will be that he leaves us and then comes back.  In New Moon  Bella almost learns how to move on and that there is life after the first heartbreak. But not really because the lesson that's really taught is that once he comes back everything will be perfect. You will immediately forgive him and there will be no resentment, no doubt, no insecurity. Ha.

Also slightly terrifying, Edward's idea of appropriate romancing.

It's all just been in the name of protecting her right? That's why he follows her to Port Angeles, where it's proved he's needed because he rescues her. So stalking led to him saving her life right? And watching her sleep every night, while she didn't know about it, that's not creepy at all. It definitely creeped me out in the first book when he admitted it and she just kinda brushed it off with, "oh whatever." A better reaction would have been to be sincerely freaked out, which Bella never is, which is why I think Edward has fallen in love with someone with mental deficiencies.

Then let's get into some of the semantics of the book. Bella and Edward don't have sex until marriage. And apparently it's the "best thing ever" and she "can't imagine it getting better." Anyone who has lost their virginity knows what a crock of b.s. that is. A few other issues with the actual mechanics of them getting it on... Edward has no pulse. Or blood pressure. Both of which are necessary for an erection. Maybe it's magic. But even discounting that issue, what about his cold skin? There is constant commentary about his skin temperature, and even though they honeymoon in the tropics that's not going to help the feeling of an icicle entering her. That's not going to help lubrication. And somehow we're supposed to believe that's the best feeling ever? Only if you don't think about it too hard or you've never had sex.

Not that realities are taken into much consideration throughout the books anyway. Skipping over the lack of personality traits and realistic biology, what about the boredom of vampires going through year after year of high school?  The younger they pretend to be, the longer they can stay in one place, but why not just pretend to be home-schooled? That way they wouldn't have to be taken out of school every time the sun shines and they wouldn't have to repeat Pre-Calculus 100 times. And much less risk of being exposed by their lack of appetite in the cafeteria.

On top of that, couldn't they be doing a lot more good in the world if they're such "good" people?

All in all, these books are a fun, easy read. They're even enjoyable in a completely fantastical way if you don't care about lackluster writing, gaping plot holes and bland characters. Oh, and the fact that there's no real conflict, EVER, even though the characters are in constant danger. You just have to be fine with lots of tension building followed by a null climax and a swift conclusion.

These are the books I read when I want to read something dumb. When my head hurts, when I've been doing a lot of thinking, when I've been reading challenging books for awhile or something for school or work and I want to read but I also want my brain to be able to relax.

Although, to be honest, this is probably the more sane reaction:

#51 New Recipes: Bailey's Brownies

I was so disappointed by how my first set of homemade brownies (the bacon brownies with bourbon caramel sauce) came out, not that they tasted bad but the texture was just not brownie like and I wasn't as happy with them as I thought I would be, that I decided I needed another go around with some brownies. Like the bacon brownies these have a little something extra added, but this time it's Baileys!

Bailey’s Brownies

1 stick unsalted butter

2-3 squares baking chocolate

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 13" x 9" pan. I use Pam cooking spray.

2.  Melt butter and baking sqaures in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure not to overcook. I do an initial 40 second stint in the microwave and then break it down into 15 second increments after that, stirring each time.

3. In the mixing bowl, cream melted butter and chocolate mixture. Add in sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 

4. Add in eggs, beating one at a time. 

5. Add flour and stir just until combined. Stir in Bailey’s.

6. Pour into greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

7. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until just barely done.

I'll definitely be making these again. They were easy, had great texture, moist and chewy, and I could definitely taste (and smell!) the Baileys, but it wasn't overwhelming. Chocolate and Bailey's... mmmm delicious!

#70 Movies on AFI's Top 100 List: Duck Soup

Duck Soup, a Marx Brothers movie, is #85 on the AFI's Top 100 List. I've seen it before, although it was years ago, and I enjoyed watching it again.

This is the last movie that all four Marx brothers did together (that's right, there are four of them!) and it is now considered their best movie, although when it first came out it seems that most people didn't think it was much of a hit. It's kind of a cult classic in that way, as fans grew throughout the years.

Set in the fictional land of Freedonia, Groucho Marx's character Rufus T. Firefly, is appointed President at the insistence of the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale who has just saved the country from financial ruin with a large loan. Consider her the ultimate lobbyist - she threatens to renege on the loan unless the current President steps down and is replaced with Mr. Firefly.

Just why she thinks he's the man to save the country is never quite clear. She ignores all of his zany antics and outright insults unless she finds them amusing and her trust in him never wavers, even when his actions start a war with neighboring country Sylvania.

Granted, it's not entirely his fault. Firefly to the left, supported by Mrs. Teasdale, is being plotted against by Ambassador Trentino from Sylvania and his sexy cohort who makes very little impression throughout the movie. Trentino is trying to woo Mrs. Teasdale (don't worry, she's a widow, it's not that racy of a movie!) so that he can marry her and rule the country of Freedonia. Firefly also wants to marry her, but mostly for her fantastic fortune.

There's not a lot of character depth in this movie, or even characters that you can relate to. There's no one to root for, because even though you think you'd want to root for Firefly, he's such a buffoon that you can't (not to mention his questionable motives for wanting to marry Mrs. Teasdale). Chico and Harpo Marx play spies hired by Ambassador Trentino to undermine Firefly. The fourth (and least known) brother, Zeppo, is Firefly's secretary and fulfills the position of straight man as a foil to the goofy characters of his three brothers.

What this movie is strong on is humor. I always forget that it's a musical, and the music is often short, to the point and the verses are witty. The humor is witty, slap-stick and insulting. Groucho flits from joke to joke, full of sarcasm and verve, and yet he's just as often the butt of the joke when Chico and Harpo are involved. There's a lot of physical comedy, some of which can become tiring because the joke goes on for too long, but a lot of it is very entertaining.

My favorite scene is the mirror scene.

Harpo's character, disguised as Firefly, accidently breaks a mirror. Instead of panicking and running when Firefly appears on the scene, he cunningly mimics all of Firefly's movements - pushing an almost believable imitation into something ludicrous by the end. It's not just good entertainment value, it's also just downright impressive how they manage to mirror each other's movements so exactly throughout the scene. These aren't camera tricks, it's human skill and rehearsal.

All in all, it was fun to watch again. It's a fluffy, occasionally frustrating piece (although sometimes I think I was frustrated because I feel like it's a metaphor for the way modern politicians behave), with good entertainment value and some laugh out loud moments. It's not my favorite so far, but maybe that's why it's back at #85 on the list.

#65 New Authors: Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

This is the 7th book that I've read, out of my goal of 10, by an author I've never read before. Although originally written in English, it was written long enough ago that the spellings and writing style are a bit antiquated and so the Kindle only provides a translated version - in this case translated by Keith Baines. Mr. Baines explains that he does his best to change as little as possible about the storyline, and from the dryness and lack of details that modern readers prefer, I can only assume that his claim is true.

Le Morte d'Arthur translates to "The Death of Arthur," however Sir Thomas Malory's collections of Arthurian stories rarely deal with the legendary king. The majority of this Kindle collection tells the stories of Arthur's most legendary knights and their deeds.

I'd love to say "noble" deeds, but that adjective just doesn't fit the lustful, vengeful, violent deeds that are described. Most of the knights are Christian, but they are quick to anger, slow to forgive and, if they do repent of their actions, will quickly forget their regret and repeat previous offenses. There's lots of pre-marital sex, loads of violence, friends fight friends and brother fights brother, uncle plots to murder his nephew for sleep with his wife, more than one wife has a paramour outside of her husband - if they made a movie true to Sir Malory's story line it would probably tank because it would completely explode our imaginary ideals of Arthur's Golden Age.

It made for fascinating reading. If you don't mind that the reading can be a little dry as the various outcomes of jousts are recounted, and you aren't partial to getting descriptive detail, this translation is a surprising and intriguing read. I haven't had this much fun dusting fairy dust off of a story since reading the original Grimms!

#51 New Recipes: Oreo'n'Cookie'n'Brownie Ridiculousness

I will warn you now, this is not for the faint of heart. Or anyone with clogged arteries. I'm pretty sure this is even more deadly than the deliciously dangerous Salted Caramel Butter Bars I made.

Adding to the threat - it's incredibly easy to make.

You start off with chocolate chip cookie dough:

Then you add a layer of Oreos - the recipe calls for double-stuffed but I'm going to use regular ones next time.

Pour a layer of brownie batter over it (the box kind of brownie batter, no need to get fancy):

Bake it.

Cut it.

Serve it to your unsuspecting friends:

A little of this stuff goes a LONG way. It's incredibly rich. And delicious. Moist, crumbly, so much chocolate goodness... and way, way too easy to make. The recipe I found is mostly a recipe for making the cookie dough layer, but it would be just as easy to scoop dough from a pre-made tub. Possibly easier, because I felt that the cookie dough from the recipe "rose" a lot higher than I expected (or was necessary).

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos
1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Top with a layer of Oreos.
6. Mix together brownie mix, adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos.
7. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
8. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes.
9. Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. Enjoy!!
To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Even with making my own cookie dough this recipe was far too easy. Make sure you have plenty of people coming over if you're going to make this, or that it will be easy to leave at your host's house, because a little bit goes a long way. It's too rich to eat large pieces, but if you're like me that won't stop you (even though it should!)

Danger Will Robinson! DANGER!

Valentine's Day

Oh Valentine's Day. The most controversial holiday of the year. Some people love it. Some people loathe it. I do both.

There are a lot of great things about Valentine's Day. In elementary school there were the little kid Valentine's covered in super heros and Disney princesses. I really enjoyed handing them out, and it taught me an important lesson about making sure that I gave everyone a Valentine, because I could see how happy it made some of the kids to feel included in this strangely important activity. I loved the pink and red frosted cupcakes, the hearts decorating the school room and the hugs of my friends as we told each other "I love you!"

As I grew older Valentine's Day continued to be a day when I would celebrate the relationships in my life. The fact that I didn't have a romantic relationship on Valentine's Day until I was 17 did not deter me from enjoying the holiday. It always surprised me when girls in high school would become angry or depressed over their lack of a significant other on this one day of the year. I didn't (and still don't) understand what made this one day stand out above all the other days of the year during which they didn't have a significant other. I would just give my friends their Valentines (usually still Disney Princess), wear my pink and red, go through my day getting lots of hugs and love, and spend the evening watching movies or hanging out with friends, or really just doing my usual.

When I became a server Valentine's Day took on a whole new level of importance, as one of the days I'd make the most money. The commercialization and artificial importance of the day makes it one of the busiest restaurant days of the year. Lots of couples squeezing into overcrowded restaurants, pretending that they're having an intimate date, surrounded by other couples doing the exact same thing. And, every so often, a refreshing group of singles just out for a night of fun.

One thing that I have never understood is why Valentine's Day is so important to couples. I think that the celebration of love and relationships is fantastic. I understand that it's nice to have a day during the year where you know time will be set aside with your significant other (well, depending on what industry you work in, at least). I even understand it being fun to set aside this time to do something spectacularly romantic and meaningful. What makes no sense to me is why some people think that not doing something for Valentine's Day means they're unloved.

I can't tell you what I did for Valentine's Day last year. I have no idea. I think my husband worked. The year before that this is what we gave each other:

He got the chocolates, I got the dancing lion (he sings "Jungle Boogie"). I've known girls who would have been aghast at this choice of present. Infuriated. Hurt. Disappointed. Tragically sure that the relationship was over and he didn't care. I'm sure that doing nothing the following year would have clinched that feeling.

And why?

I will always understand the importance of taking a day to celebrate the relationship. That's why we have anniversaries. And it's nice to have another day during the year to have an excuse to do something big and grand and romantic. But, in my opinion, it should be just an excuse to do that, not a necessity.

Because really, Valentine's Day is just a day with no more or less significance than what you give it.

#51 New Recipes: Lightened Loaded Potato Soup

My first soup recipe on my quest to make 30 new recipes! This one was a particularly big deal for me because, not only was it my first soup recipe since I started the Day Zero project, but I actually cannot remember the last time I tried to make soup that didn't come from a Ramen package or a Campbell's can.

Also, I love potatoes and I was excited to make them in a new way, since I've never made potato soup before. The fact that this soup was advertised as being "lightened" (no heavy cream!) just made it more appealing to me. In case you look at my pictures and think "Holy crow that's a lot of soup!" just know that I doubled the recipe because I was making it for a larger group of people.

 Loaded Potato Soup
Yield: 4 servings
From Cooking Light October 2010

• 4  (6-ounce) red potatoes
• 2  teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2  cup chopped onion
• 1 1/4  cups lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3  tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  bacon slices, halved
• 1/3  cup  shredded cheddar cheese
• 4  teaspoons thinly sliced green onions

1. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly. I took tender to mean slightly mushy when I squeezed them. Smaller potatoes were ready sooner than the larger ones, and I just kept putting the larger ones back in until they were tender enough for me.

2. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in measuring cup; add to pan then add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often, being careful to not let the milk boil over. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.

It looked a little lumpy, which I thought was rather odd, but I decided it must be the onions and hoped it wasn't the flour.

3. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

4. Scoop potato into soup and discard potato skins. 

 

 The potato scoops out easily, in lumps. You barely need to mash it in the next step, although I'd still recommend it unless you want VERY lumpy soup, because it's already pretty well cooked.

 

5. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup using a potato masher. 

 

6. Ladle soup into four bowls and top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

About halfway through the recipe I started getting very worried about the little lumps, thinking that perhaps I hadn't dissolved the flour in the milk enough before adding it to the pot, but the end product ended up being delicious and had a wonderful texture. No flour bombs at all! I received a lot of compliments and reassurances from my taste-testing friends, which made me feel better as well. 

Overall, very happy with this experiment and I plan on making more soon!

#68 Museums: The Newseum

Goal #68 is to visit 5 museums I've never been to before, but after re-visiting the Newseum this weekend I decided that it counts. Mainly because it's completely different from the last time I was there. This might have been, in part, because I only spent a few hours there the last time I visited, but many of the exhibits that I remembered were no longer around.

The Newseum is (unsurprisingly) mostly about the news. How the news is told, famous news stories, famous headlines and popular topics. As you walk up to the Newseum, along the street outside, you can read the current day's headlines from newspapers all around the U.S. When you first walk in, you're struck by how incredibly large it is, the lobby is big enough that a news chopper hanging from the ceiling looks kind of small.

Upon entering, we were invited to have a picture taken of our group, which we picked up (for free!) before leaving that day.

The backdrop was a surprise for us, as they took the picture in front of a green screen (which was a nice little show and tell of technology utilized in the news room!)

First stop was downstairs where we watched a quick 2 minute video that told us all about the Newseum and suggested the best way to see all of the exhibits. It also informed us that our tickets were good not just for the day we were there, but the next day as well. This is because there is so much to see in the Newseum that unless you get there when it opens, or unless you move through museums very quickly, it's impossible to see everything in one day.

Almost every exhibit has some kind of video going, most of them have multiple vidoes. They are a combination of news reports from the past and commentary by the reporters and others who lived through the events being reported. We not only got to see part of the Berlin Wall and one of the guard towers, but we were given the history of the wall, the towers and the politics from several different televisions. One television showed the news reports that happened when the wall first went up, and another showed the live coverage of the night the border was opened and people celebrated atop the wall and began tearing it down.

Inside the tower are inscriptions and you can hear voices above you, giving orders and passwords back and forth. Several floors up in the museum, along a walk way, you can finally get a closer view of the top of the very tall guard tower.

We watched a 4-D movie about the history of reporting. It told the story of three different reporters, all of whom made their mark on the way the news was reported - from a written first hand account of the revolutionary war, to the first woman investigative reporter who committed herself to a mental institution to report on how people were treated there, to the first reporter to ever bring a European war into American houses over the radio waves as bombs rained down on London. It was a fun and silly movie with a fairly serious message.

We were obviously more silly than serious.
There are a lot of exhibits, most of them geared towards some kind of education. It's surprising how few people know the rights granted to them by the first amendment - I remembered freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, but didn't get freedom of petition. In that exhibit there was a video feed of someone walking around DC and asking people on the street if they knew their freedoms. It was shocking how many of them couldn't name more than two, and sad how many couldn't even name one.

I played a video game designed to test my knowledge on my rights.

I am proud to say I only got one wrong and "won" the race, despite the incorrect advice given to me by some of my fellow museum goers =)

Perhaps the most moving of the permanent exhibits is the 9-11 exhibit, centered around the radio antenna from the top of one of the World Trade Center buildings.

Behind that wall is a televised memorial to a photo journalist who died in the line of duty, running towards the towers and taking photographers the entire way. The last hour and a half of his life is documented, up to the moment when the tower fell and debris filled the streets, killing him.

If that's not enough to bring the tears, off to the left, behind the wall covered with the front pages of newspapers about 9-11, is a small room where you can watch the news coverage from that day. Reporters tell their stories, talk about their struggle to report the news as they tried to cope with what was happening around and in front of them. One of them caught the fall of the first tower on video by accident before having to run for his life. Another snuck onto Ground Zero after being kicked out once, and he took the famous picture of firemen raising the American Flag over the debris. Fortunately there are boxes of tissues at the entranceways to the room.

There are far too many exhibits to talk about. Fortunately a lot of them are fun and happy, balancing out the sadder stories. The gallery filled with Pulitzer Prize winning photos has a lot of horror and a lot of joy just in that small space.

If you ever have an entire day free, or are lucky enough to have two days and a lot of energy, the Newseum is definitely a place to check out. You won't regret it.