I’ve never cooked from Julia Child’s cook books, but I do know that she’s been a revolutionary force – from her books to her television demonstrations – and I do like to cook, so I picked up her autobiography recently, and started reading it today.

When I read the introduction I became a little wary – the book is ghost-written by her husband’s nephew, and was finished after her death. I’m only in the beginning stages of the book, but I’m enjoying it immensely. I just love Julia’s passion for food and for France, and her husband’s photographs, which are scattered throughout the book, are an excellent addition. At the moment, it seems like it’s a book for anyone who is interested in a passion for a place or a vocation.

Cross-posted on What Katie Did.

I wanted to take something with me to Meg’s place, and I’d been given the marie claire easy cook book for Christmas, so I made some mango salsa.

I really, really like fruit salsas. I think they’re pretty much a perfect summer snack – and you can do things like melt some cheese over them on a slice of bread for something that’s a bit more substantial. This mango salsa is very simple to put together and delicious to eat. I couldn’t find tortilla chips in the shop (not really an Australian staple, I guess), so I used rice crackers instead. These aren’t really the right vehicle for a mango salsa, but they’re better than nothing.

I’ve generally been pretty happy with this cook book. It seems like the majority of the recipes are vegetarian, and a lot that aren’t could easily be adjusted to be vegetarian. If you’re the type of vegetarian who eats fish, almost all of the recipes in this book would be suitable for you. The recipes are very straight-forward, requiring only a few ingredients, and are generally light and very tasty.

Cross-posted on What Katie Did.

Last night I went to Meg’s house and watched The Break-Up.

I’m not really quite sure what to say about it. I guess I’m a little bit sick of sit-coms that feature slobby, unattractive men with attractive, educated women, and I was worried that this would be more of the same. And it nearly is. I mean, you have to wonder exactly how it was that they got together in the first place. What did she see in him? However, the ending does redeem things a little bit. The way the film gets to the ending is not particularly well executed, though. Not a complete flop, as it doesn’t completely offend my feminist ideals, but far from perfect.

Cross posted on What Katie Did.

I’ve been reading Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard. It wasn’t until I looked for a picture online that I realized that the graph on the front formed a smile. I’m not actually as stupid as I sound: my of the book carries a large sticker that obsures part of the image.

I’m really enjoying the book. I love reading about surveys of human behavior – it’s so interesting! Fun fact: humans are generally social beings, and prefer company to being alone. In fact the only situation where being alone is preferable is when the company is your boss!

Cross-posted on What Katie Did.

I really struggled through Europe Central, I suspect because it was a bit beyond me. Certainly other people have enjoyed it – it’s a prize winner after all (which, if we’re being honest, is how I came to be reading it). It’s taken me ages to finish this book. I’ve never really been engaged by it, and have found myself falling asleep or sneaking in New Yorkers.

The book reminds me of Russian novels (something I’ve also had trouble reading) – intricate plot lines, characters that disappear for large chunks of the novel, only to reappear without any clues to remind you of who they are (important if the book is taking you a long time to read), and difficult text. And, at the end of the book, I didn’t feel like it was worth it. Something this difficult to read need to be life changing for me to recommend it!

Am I right to think there’s a reference to Picnic at Hanging Rock in this story?

My love affair with Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess continues. As much as the title of the book irritates me, I can’t help but be drawn to the recipes and Nigella’s no-nonsense style. Over the weekend I made Granny Boyd’s Cookies, dense, rich chocolate cookies, that are just about the easiest thing ever.

The cookies have just 4 ingredients (all things that you likely have on hand) – and it’s only butter that holds them together – no doubt this is why they’re so rich. The smell as they cook is gorgeous. Nigella suggests serving them with vanilla ice-cream. I can imagine this would be quite good, although I wouldn’t know first hand – the cookies disappeared to quickly for me to try them this way.

I’m not cooking a whole lot a the moment – just on weekends, really, and then I tend to get lazy – a lot of cheese, tomato, and avacado on toast. However, there are a couple of vegetarian “supper” books on the market at the moment, and I’ve been keen to try them out. I very much like the idea of these books – casual, healthful foods, without too much effort.

I test drove Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen over the weekend, making Whole Wheat Penne, with Broccoli, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts when Ben and Eduardo joined us for dinner. I was very happy with the outcome – not too fussy to make, and good, solid food. I wouldn’t claim that the results were particularly fancy, but that’s OK. I haven’t tried any of the other recipes in the book yet, but I’ve got several that I’d like to try.

The general layout of the book is very nice. It’s divided into various thematic sections – tarts, pastas, etc., and each recipe comes with side dish and wine suggestions; perfect for when one’s a little rushed, and can’t find the time to think about putting a meal together.

I listened to the audio book version of Theft by Peter Carey. This was an excellent decision. The book is read by an Australian (or at least someone with a very convincing Australian accent), and it’s absolutely the right thing for this novel. For me, this book was about escaping small-town Australia, the lengths one has to go to to do this, the difficult of escaping honestly. However, it’s almost certain I listened to this book with a very heavy “escaping small-town Australia” bias. I have trouble explaining to big-town Americans just what it means to come from small-town Australia: how overwhelmed I am by New York city, that there was no high school in my town, that the closest high school only went to 10th grade (why spend any more time in school than actually required?), the strength of small town racism, that I only made it out because my parents weren’t from small town Australia and knew that there was more out there. And even then, my parents really had no idea that where I am now even really existed (I mean, they knew it existed, but had really no sense of what it was).

I was a little wary of the portrayal of the slow brother. It bothers me (although it’s very small town Australian) that such a person can only be a burden, that the “burden” cannot be shared. I also felt the portrayal was somewhat stereotypical (very much Lennie in Of Mice and Men), and I felt, a little shallow.

However, Theft is more than definitely worth the read. If nothing else, it’s a great story of deception.

I finally broke down and subscribed to Interweave Knits. I bought the last few issues from the newstand, and I’ve been really impressed. It seemed like buying Interweave Knits was going to become a regular thing, so subscribing seemed like the sensible thing to do: cheaper and (bonus!) I now receive the issues before they hit the newstands.

I received my issued of the Winter 2006 Interweave Knits magazine on Thursday evening (what a nice thing to come home to), and I wasn’t disappointed. The magazine is full of beautiful designs. My favorites?

The Venezia Pullover (by the ever-talented Eunny Jang) Could this be my first steeking attempt?

The Pewter Coat

The Nantucket Jacket (on the front cover, and designed by Norah Gaughan)

Thrummed Mittens. I’m generally unconvinced my the powers of handknits against Boston’s winter weather, but these may just make the grade.

Artic Diamonds Stole. Just beautiful.

Wine and Rose Mitts

There’s also an article on steeking (v. helpful is one is going to take on their first steeking project) and an aricle on knitting with musk ox fiber (written by the editor of Wild Fibers magazine). I’m not sure I want to knit with musk ox fiber, but it was the first time I’d come across the musk ox (which is found in artic environments). Check out the horns on this animal:

They go all the way to the middle of the head, and look like a fake hair piece!

Read this review with images here.