ten, nine, eight, seven, six. . .

Lose weight! Take the Special K Challenge! Watch The Biggest Loser! Make last-minute tax moves on December 31!

Blah, blah, blah.

Yes, I could stand to lose a few after the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies (what was I thinking?) and I'm always looking to save some $$$. But the HYPE! It gets old fast, plus I don't need to hear it from everybody and their brother.

Instead of focusing on the gloom and doom of the past year - upon which mainstream media did not depend until the late 80s - or making New Year's resolutions I am unlikely to keep, below are some bright spots in 2010.

1. Republicans didn't take EVERY seat in Congress
2. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
3. iPad
4. Waiting for Superman
5. Rescue of 33 Chilean miners 
6. US Government officially declared an end to the "combat" in Iraq
7. Sarah Shourd - one of 3 American hikers accused of espionage in Iran - was released
8. Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo for his 20+ years working for human rights in China
9. Lady Gaga took off the meat dress
10. Early studies suggest AIDS drugs lower the risk of HIV infection

Now I will resort to the cliché and wish you a Happy New Year. But it's heartfelt nonetheless.

Stylish Blogger Award

Boulder Locavore has just published picks for the Stylish Blogger Award. And, you guessed it, I won!

The award is bestowed by peers who feel your blog is stylish. Once you receive the award, you must complete three simple tasks:

1. Thank the blogger who bestowed the award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Give the award to other stylish bloggers

A big thanks to Boulder Locavore for the award. I read her blog every day and always find inspiring (and stylish) ideas. I love the way she includes history and background about the recipes she provides, as well as interviews with fantastic cookbook authors, not to mention cookbook giveaways. Since her recipes are seasonal, recipe ingredients are easy to find and I feel great about buying local items. Her posts are a pleasure to read; such eloquent words.

Seven things you may not know about me:

1.  Beginning at age three, I begged my mother for ballet lessons
2.  I started ballet when I was four

Russian Doll, Nutcracker 1976

I'm the shrimp on the far left

3.  I danced until I was 16 and I've missed it ever since
4.  I've been a voracious reader since first grade
5.  I cried when I read Charlotte's Web in grade school

6.  My mother taught me to embroider when I was seven
7.  My first car was an early 70s black and yellow Plymouth Scamp

On to my picks for the award:

La Femme Notoire
bloesem kids
50 danska kvadrat
Where the Lovely Things Are
Paloma's Nest
one flew over
Andrea Reh
angry chicken
A Merry Mishap
inchmark
Renegade Handmade

Congratulations to all! What a happy day.

Typhoid Mary

This week was a wee bit rough. Monday I felt the beginnings of a killer cold (read below for my reasoning on the title selected for this post). Tuesday Roo stayed home from school and said his throat felt like he had strep throat. Poor kid is prone to it and gets it a few times a year. Apparently strep bacteria are rampant in Boulder; it even lives in the soil. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to keep an 8-year-old boy indoors?

I took him to the doctor on Tuesday for the quick strep test which came back negative. Okay, back to school on Wednesday. At 10:30am on Wednesday the doctor's office called and informed me that he did have strep throat - the culture grew in the lab. Meh. Drove back to the school to pick him up - I always feel like a heel when he's contagious at school and spewing germs - to the pharmacy for antibiotics and the grocery store for chicken soup ingredients.

Luckily I don't get strep anymore because I had my tonsils out when I was seven. Tonsillectomies are no longer common; we'll have to explore other options for the poor kid. Thank GOD the Diva didn't get it. Two sick kids at home while I feel like hell is no fun. Roo never felt that bad so he jumped around playing Wii. Aye yi yi.

There's a reason generations of mothers have made chicken soup for sick family members. It works. The miracle elixir works as an anti-inflammatory and releases an amino acid which acts like acetylcysteine, a drug prescribed for  respiratory illness and bronchitis.

Chicken soup is a practical, frugal and effective way to treat what ills you. Boulder Locavore has a great recipe. Mine is slightly different - from Cooking Light - but effective nonetheless.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 3/4  cup  thinly diagonally sliced parsnip (2 parsnips)
• 3/4  cup  thinly sliced shallots (2 shallots)
• 1  (4-ounce) package gourmet mushroom blend
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 2 1/2  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  water
• 1  cup  chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1  cup  shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  hot sauce
• 1  thyme sprig
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add parsnip, shallots, mushrooms, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth and next 7 ingredients (through thyme); bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes or until parsnips are tender. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.

So, why did I title this post Typhoid Mary? When I'm sick and constantly sneezing and blowing my nose, I feel like I'm spreading a limitless supply of little armies of germs. The guilt! 

From 1900-1907, Mary Mallon worked as a cook for several New York families and unknowingly spread typhoid to her employers - she was a "healthy" carrier - eventually infecting 53 people of whom three died (there is some dispute over the numbers). Beginning in 1907, she was quarantined for three years at a clinic on North Brother Island. She was released in 1910 when she agreed to no longer work as a cook. 

Anthony Bourdain wrote a fascinating book about her, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. The book is a quick read and well worth it.

Historians argue whether Mary was an unknowing victim or knowing perpetrator. I tend to believe she was a victim and treated unfairly by public health officials. In 1915, she returned to North Brother Island after working as a cook under an assumed name. Poor woman didn't have many choices; cooking was the only way she could support herself. She was detained on the island until her death in 1938.

I'm still not feeling great; more chicken soup on the docket this weekend.

Wishing you a happy and HEALTHY weekend.

The Liberry

You read that correctly. My husband and I jokingly refer to the public library as the liberry. It's amazing how many people pronounce the word incorrectly; especially in my son's second grade class.

I'm a big fan of the library. First, I'm kind of a book geek. Second, how can you beat free books? Okay, they're not entirely free since we pay taxes to fund public libraries. But it seems free when I check out books.

Don't, however, return your books after the due date. I've been caught in that trap before and had to pay some serious fines (they were books that my son misplaced!). At least they cap it at the full price of the book. NOT thrifty.

New books are an especially good deal; hardcovers are always more expensive than paperbacks. I was on the waiting list for almost two months for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I am seriously OCD about the Millenium Trilogy. So sad that Larsson died without finishing the ten books he planned for the series. I plan to watch the films based on the books, but I have to make sure that I'm awake and focused in order to keep up with the Swedish subtitles (on Netflix Instant - yay!). A Hollywood version is planned, although I can't see Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. I think he's a great actor - the best James Bond ever - but just can't see him as the character.

Back to the books. . .When I checked out the above, I got a book for my husband as well.

I haven't read the book, but hubby enjoyed it and found the information useful. Incidentally, Jim Collins lives here in Boulder. Jon Krakauer, the author of Into Thin Air, lives here, too. Never know who you'll find in Boulder.

I'm sure I'll write more on books in the future; can't help but love them.

The Girl Who Loved Books

I LOVE books. Once I started reading, nothing could hold me back. Fiction is generally my first choice, but nonfiction written like a novel is fine with me, too. As long as it's a good read, I'm there.

Everything about a book - the real object in my hands, not an ereader - is near and dear to my heart. The turning of the crisp pages, the weight in my hands, the font; I love it all.

Being a girl from the Pacific Northwest, I haunted indie bookstores from Seattle to Portland (Oregon that is). Powell's Books in Portland is unbelievable! It's not known as the City of Books for nothing. Their inventory is massive; you can wander around the store for hours. Fortunately, they've managed to thrive in the era of megastores like Borders and Barnes & Noble, even though the odds were stacked against them. And the reason the store has survived is this - they've conquered a niche comprised of used, out of print, and rare books, with some new books mixed in, too.

Here's the thrift part - you can find great deals on used books. If it's hardcover or trade paperback, the book will retain some value and you can resell for cash or store credit.

Since I'm in Colorado, Powell's website is a godsend. It's easy to navigate and I can always find something. The staff recommendations are a must whether you're looking for yourself or for a gift.

Alibris is another great site. It's a marketplace filled with indie booksellers. A place for great deals, hard to find books, music and movies. Some books cost as little as 99 cents! You can't feel bad about supporting  independent sellers, either.

Read on!