I Wish I Had Read The Reviews First

Earlier this year, I read "The Aviator's Wife", by Melanie Benjamin.

Truth be told, the only reason I even picked this book up at the store was because the woman on the cover looked so elegant, stylish, and confident. After a quick read through of the back cover, I thought it would be interesting to read about a woman that I knew nothing of other than her first child was kidnapped and killed. 

From amazon.com...

"When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness."

I was very disappointed in this book and it was a real struggle for me to finish it. While I was putting together this post, I found this review by L. Young on amazon.com that reflected my exact thoughts on the book...

"The Aviator's Wife' is the latest entry in the sub-genre of historical fiction that I call 'The Subjugated Wives of Famous Men Historical Novel'. 'Loving Frank' and 'The Paris Wife' are two other examples about Mrs. Frank Lloyd Wright and Mrs Ernest Heminway. The mark of this sub-genre is the bright and educated wife who must struggle to establish her own identity while under the thumb of the famous and domineering husband. In 'The Aviator's Wife' we have the story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, shy daughter of the Morrow family. Her father was US ambassador to Mexico when she first meets aviator icon and hero Charles Lindbergh. Later her father will become the US Senator from New Jersey. Anne a Smith graduate who wins two literary prizes while there, lives in the shadow of her gorgeous older sister Elizabeth. This prepares the plainer Anne to live in the shadow of her husband Charles, whose solo flight over the Atlantic makes him the superstar of his age. Lindberg is presented as an emotionally cold and controlling golden boy who ultimately fathers half a dozen illegitimate children with three other women during his 47 year marriage to Anne.

Anne bemoans endlessly (and irritatingly) how she isn't worthy of the God-like Lindberg and spends her time subjugating her will to his, including writing a pamphlet supporting his pro-Nazi views. The novel is entertaining enough if you can bear the pedestrian writing and the endless repetition. It seems to be well researched and doesn't gloss over Lindbergh's Nazi sympathies in the years leading up to WW 2. The description of the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby is heartbreaking. Finally Anne will emerge as her own person, thankfully." 

I should thank Mr./Mrs. L. Young for writing most of my blog post for today!

Have a great day.

Favorite Summer Recipes, Part I

Like most people, we tend to use the grill for most of our dinners during the summer. However, there are some nights when I do cook dinner in the kitchen and, on those nights, I like to cook something that is light, simple, and - most importantly - doesn't require the use of my oven. 

I found this recipe in the May 2014 edition of Cooking Light and it was an instant hit with our family. It is hearty enough for dinner but won't leave you with that "oh, my gosh, I am stuffed!" feeling. Even if you eat three bowls of it. I served with a green salad. 

Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup with Pesto

Cooking Light MAY 2014
Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1 (9-ounce) package whole-wheat cheese tortellini

• 1 (5-ounce) package spinach
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup diced seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup refrigerated pesto 

Preparation

1. Heat a Dutch oven over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add stock; bring to a boil. Add tortellini; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 6 minutes or until tortellini are done. Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper. Divide soup among 6 bowls; top evenly with tomato and pesto.

And, of course I made some changes to the recipe! I made fresh pesto (using a lot of that basil from my garden), a fresh tomato, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I put the pesto, chopped tomatoes, and grated cheese in small bowls on the table so each person could add what they liked and in the amount they preferred. The kids like spinach so I tripled the amount of spinach that the recipe called for. I used chicken breasts instead of the boneless chicken thighs but only because that is what I had on hand.

Have a great day!

From The Garden

The reward for me being very vigilant about watering and fertilizing my container gardens...

There are quite a few more green peppers and tomatoes on the plants and in various stages of growth. I hope that they continue to ripen without rotting or being eaten by bugs, squirrels, deer, etc. 

I have been using as much of this basil as possible but cannot keep up with the new growth. Both the basil and the french thyme in this pot grew like crazy!

As did the sage and parsley. 

The rosemary and lemon thyme did not do so well. I have no idea what happened but they literally died overnight. 

The boys at rest...

Chester has not outgrown his affinity for his lovies. It is hard to believe that it is almost one year since he became part of our family. He drives me absolutely CRAZY sometimes with his antics but I wouldn't trade him for the world. 

 

This is one of the few photos I have of Chester that show his eyes. 

The boys love playing "chase" around the yard with their cousin Ridley when we get them together. The photo below was taken when Ridley and Christopher visited my sister's home in Turtle Town, Tennessee for July 4th. She has grown so much! 

Have a great day!

A Long Time Coming!

I am not sure where the last four(+) months went...between crew (Caitlynne), basketball and football (Christopher), work (Kevin and I), running (Kevin and I), and keeping our home and our family somewhat together (me), the time just flew by and here it is the end of July. Yikes! I am particularly ashamed that I had promised a post the day after Saint Patrick's Day and this is the soonest I have gotten around to it! Trust me, almost every day I thought at least once about this blog and planned out a post to write. Several times I even went so far as to say to the kids, "today I WILL write a post". Alas, 'twas not to be. I was simply overcome by events as "they" say.

But, here I am. Energized. Organized. And desperately hoping to carve out enough time out of my crazy schedule to commit to posting 4-5 times a week. We shall see. I realized over the last 4+ months how very therapeutic writing for the blog was for me and how much I really missed it. 

I will start with the easiest "catch up". Running. While my blog publications ceased, my running did not. The weather has been fantastic (although who wouldn't say that after the winter we experienced here in Northern Virginia??) and I have been running like the madwoman that I am. I have been able to run 35+ miles/week several times recently and this month I am on track to run 125+ miles. I haven't seen those kind of numbers in a long time and am very happy!

Obviously, I have progressed great distances in my transcontinental journey. I ran six miles yesterday morning to reach mile 2850.0 and am 7.01 miles from the Yellowstone Park Entrance, in Wyoming (Teton County).

While it is great to see the end (also known as the Pacific Ocean) in the very near distance, the downside of my increased mileage is that my body is showing its age. I have numerous aches and pains - nothing too serious but bothersome. Every day something new hurts. Right now, I am running 5 (sometimes 6) days and I can feel it. I am thinking of a new plan for August to decrease my running and increase cross training, strength training, and stretching. 

Have a great day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Or, as they are saying in the DC Metro Area...Happy Snow Patrick's Day! We had another storm drop about 7" of snow on us last night. No school and no work. AGAIN.

My head has been spinning with craziness the last two weeks but there was no way I could miss a post on Saint Patrick's Day!

I will be back with a post either tomorrow or Wednesday!

A Winner!

If you have any liking for "buffalo" dishes, I would strongly recommend that you try this one! After I posted the recipe yesterday morning, Caitlynne (!) asked me if she could make it for our dinner. The only modifications we made were 1) adjustments to increase the serving size from 4-6 to about 6-8. (She just increased the ingredients/measurements proportionately. She is a little better at math than her mom!) and 2) She added a sprinkle of grated cheddar and blue cheese on top of the casserole before topping with panko and the buffalo sauce.

Assembled and ready for the oven. 

 Salad ready to go.

Out of the oven and ready to serve.

 Yum. Yum. Yum.

Christopher had seconds so I know it was good.

My flowers for the week.

Today is snow day #10 for Fairfax County Public Schools. Fortunately (and I truly mean that!), my office is open so I will go in for my 4 hours. We did accomplish a lot yesterday - mostly the cleaning out and organizing of closets (Kevin's and Christopher's) but I need to get out of the house and use my brain for a few hours. Caitlynne and some of her friends are going to celebrate National Pancake Day at IHOP - how lucky for them that school was cancelled, today of all days!

Have a great Tuesday!

Up Too Early

March is definitely coming in like a lion and it is so hard to even think about Spring being on the way. I spotted these daffodils poking up in my front garden yesterday morning. These poor things do not know what they are in for over the next few days. Freezing rain, sleet, 8-12" of snow and bitter cold. The kids, Kevin and I are all home (yet again) today because of the weather. Today is the kids' 9th snow day this school year. Fairfax County Public Schools uses an online learning and educational tool and the kids were both told on Friday that their teachers will be posting work and study assignments for them to complete in the event of a snow day today. So, at least they will have something to do, even if just for a short while. 

Yesterday morning, after looking at the forecast for the next few days and not knowing when I would be able to run again, I went for a great 8 mile run. Although it was cloudy, it was not terribly cold and there was no wind. I still had to bundle up but, as I well know, it could have been so much worse. Kevin also got a long run in so we should be set for a couple of days. I just hope it warms up soon and that this snow doesn't stick around for too long.   

The recipe below is going to be our dinner this evening. I saw it posted on a blog (can't remember which one) and cut & pasted it into my "dinners to try" file. 

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

8 oz rotini pasta

2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces

salt and pepper

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons flour

1-1/2 cups skim milk

1 small container plain Greek yogurt (between 5 and 6 oz)

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup light blue cheese

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce, divided

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rotini in a pot of boiling water until just under al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain then set aside.

2) Spray a large skillet over medium-high heat with nonstick spray then add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and then cook until no longer pink. Remove to a plate.

3) Turn heat down to medium then heat olive oil in the skillet, add garlic, and saute for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour then whisk until smooth and cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk while whisking then cook until thickened, (this can take 2-5 minutes). Remove the skillet from heat, then add Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, and blue cheese. Stir until smooth then stir in 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce.

4) Add cooked pasta and chicken to the skillet then stir to combine. Transfer mixture to an 8×8 baking dish then top with panko bread crumbs and drizzle remaining 2 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce over the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and bread crumbs are light golden brown. Serves 4-6.

We are all huge fans of "buffalo" anything - wings, dip, pizza, you name it - and I expect this dish will be a hit. (I need to get my approval rating back up after the last fiasco.) Surprisingly, I am not going to make any modifications this first go round. 

On a side note, my cousin and his wife made the Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce using the original recipe and reported that it was delicious. Merrily's photo of their dish...

Yum! I wish they lived closer because I would have invited myself over for dinner.

Have a great Monday!