February Booking It

I read a couple books off my list from the beginning of the year. Here is my update.  Please check out what everyone else is reading at Life as Mom.

My son(10) and I finally finished The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien.  I had been reading it aloud to him since Christmas.  The print in our Hobbit is itty bitty.  We both enjoyed it and spent most school mornings tackling it.  Now we are working on Lord of the Rings. 

I read the book,  A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.  I really enjoyed all the stories that went with the recipes included.  I made the Chocolate Banana Bread with Crystalized Ginger.  It was delish.  This reminded how all of us have stories around food.  I hope I am making some memories too.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn I read and really enjoyed.  I believe this was a recommendation from Life as Mom. Kathleen Flinn is another Seattle Writer - WAHOO. You can totally "Wahoo" for Pacific Northwest writers. The sub title is , "How a Few Simple Lesson Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks."  Kathleen took 9 volunteers and toured their kitchens and set about to basically teach them some basic cooking skills. I can so relate to the 9 volunteers fears of cooking.  I have to admit my basics aren't that great.  I am consider myself a baker not a cook.  I sadly have really poor knife skills amongst other things.  I often think I am taking the path of least resistance by buying ready made. There is so much food for thought in this book.  It inspired me to really examine how I could become a better cook.  I actually spent an afternoon cleaning out my pantry of all my old spices.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams was also on my list.  Mark Adams was an adventure/outdoor editor who never really been on an adventure.  He decided to retrace the Yale Adventure Explorer Hiram Bingham III explorations in Peru specifically in regards to the Inca city of Manchu Picchu.  It was an interesting book and Mark Adams exploration of whether or not Hiram Bingham actually discovered Machu Picchu is fascinating. This book also totally makes me want to watch Indian Jones again. I loved the Inca Golden Rule:

Ama sua, ama llula, ama cheklla - Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy.