Cousin Pat and husband Del Gootee

Died On The Vine by Joyce Harmon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute! Not exceptionally challenging. Good beach read. Characters are fun to hang out with. Enjoyed.

View all my reviews

When Marco discovered he could read, his troubles began. Before his discovery, he was a happy cat who curled beside his friend Lucy in the library and enjoyed hearing her read to him. Her voice delighted him and caused him to love her stories.

In Guardian Cats & the Lost Books of Alexandria, Rahma Krambo introduces her readers to a cast of cats that drags them into an amazing story that is part fable, part magic, part history, and all-absorbing.

As Marco becomes entranced by the stories he read and the worlds he enters with each tale, he’s hooked. He’s a cat who can read, and he realizes that “book were no longer the unique property of humans.”

One night, Lucy and her grandmother’s house catches fire, and they flee as firemen extinguish the blaze. Marco is suddenly alone in the great house and the library!

In the meantime, Professor Leo Chin enters the story. He is a seeker of rare books, and he will eventually become Marco’s nemesis. Marco, now homeless and wondering, and after a nasty encounter with some feral cats, he finds himself in a musty old library where the books talk! Fond of The Three Musketeers, he takes down a copy from a shelf and begins to read, losing himself to the point of forgetting he is a cat. D’Artagnan is his favorite musketeer, and he delights in following his hero as he saves maidens and rights wrongs.

Disturbed by a tinkling sound, Marco explores the library, coming suddenly upon an old cat hunched over tome that he is reading intently and surrounded by other volumes that seem  scientific . Not wanting to disturb the old cat, Marco turns to leave when the elder feline asks him what he wants. It is Cicero, and without knowing, Marco begins his destiny.

Cicero is a Guardian cat, and as the story continues, we find that Cicero is guarding a book, entitled The Book of Motion, that is a rescue from the great fire that destroyed the Library of Alexandria.

It isn’t long until Marco makes friends with a ferret named Polo and follows Cicero and a light-being named Alaniah to a cave under the library, on through a mirror, and into the past. He watches in horror as people who believe books are dangerous burn the Library. Some of the shocked observers save a few volumes of which them is the Book of Motion, a manual of  magic. Years later when the human guardians die, guardianship is given to cats.

Marco finds that Professor Chin covets the Book and will do anything to get it.

Krambo skillfully weave he story with magic, shape-shifting, time travel, and heroics of the cats who are all sentinels looking after books in the musty library that is Cicero’s home. Cicero, however, Guardian of the Book, realizes he is old and needs a successor. Marco seems to fit the bill, but Cicero tests him to make sure.

I love stories in which animals represent human archetypes. In Marco we have the warrior reluctantly going into battle to save the Book, with Cicero his mentor. Professor Chin is his adversary and Polo joins the ranks of warriors’ sidekicks such a Sancho Panza or Robin Hood’s Merry Men. In truth, it is a tale of human beings dressed in animal suits doing what humans might not want others humans to see.

The plot includes a gang of raccoons that threaten Marco and his friends. The armies draw battle lines and engage.

This novel is completely engaging and well written. It had me from the opening paragraph and held me to the last.

I hope this is a first in a series about Marco, the Guardian cat, because it’s hard for me to believe Professor Chin was the only one who wanted the Book; indeed, lurking in the shadows of that wonderful old library are surely others obsessed with stealing the Book.
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Featured Image credit: Casper reading a book by ~BellaCupcake3218

My cat Casper reading a dictionary with my aunts reading glasses. Casper says: When reading a dictionary is fun!

K.M. Weiland is a time-traveler whose destination is the past. She takes her readers back to a time long since, and then as in a documentary she brings events into the moment, this moment when you read her stories.

One More Ride in the Rain takes us up close and personal with four Confederate soldiers who, in current vernacular, have had it; they are war-weary. It is dark and raining. Enos, Triplett; Rob, their Sergeant, and Sam, the narrator, stumble upon a cabin that could serve as a refuge for the night if it is not guarded by someone with a weapon. Guarded or not, they must find sanctuary because their Sergeant is seriously wounded, having taken a mini ball in the chest at close range.

Cautiously, like soldiers do, they investigate and find a young woman, Mrs. Richard Davis, in the house. Frightened and alone, she reluctantly allows the men to come in. We find that she is a widow, her husband a casualty of the war.

She offers to fix them some hardtack from the bit of flour not taken by soldiers of General Sherman’s army that is marauding the South near the end of the war. She makes bandages from sheets for the Sergeant.

The story’s essence, however, is not their encounter with Mrs. Davis but their deep desire to rid themselves of the horrible war. Having lost their way while scouting for their unit, they are far away, now, and could easily desert, that unthinkable possibility for a any soldier. But, they feel they cannot abide another battle. Their Sergeant dies. They hear the enemy approach, and reflect a moment on who they are and what their duty is. They open the door to a life-changing confrontation.

Weiland is a skilled writer. She massages all our senses so that we are there with the four soldiers, sharing their physical misery and their mental torment. Weiland makes their decision to return to the fight our decision as well, because we are all one, gathered together like a snowball with its diversity of individual snow crystals squeezed together to make a whole.

This story is not necessarily remarkable for its premise, but its theme of honoring duty at all cost is palpable. She puts us there, and that is remarkable.

Some people don’t consider sweet corn an ingredient for pasta sauce. Onions, garlic, herbs, spices, tomatoes–all these are normally found in the sauce because that’s how we’ve been taught to eat pasta. That’s how the Italians prepare most of their sauces, and, of course, Italy is the holy see of pasta. Right? Not altogether correct. Be adventure-some!

One Rendition of Dish

Yeah, yeah. myriad toppings exist for pasta, including ones that use sweet corn. You can find recipes using sweet corn, apples and butter, plus a lot of other stuff: thickeners, milk, chili powder. Indeed, most of the recipes have a complicated list of ingredients, some of which mask the taste of the corn. (Unless you’re into huge amounts of hot spices that allow cigarettes to be lit from the tip of your tongue, be careful; too much spice kills the flavors of the other ingredients. If you just want hot, eat a raw Scotch bonnet or something.)

The Best Dishes are Simple

This sauce is extremely simple, and the sugar and crunch of the corn comes through as

Thai Basil

well as the Thai basil used and the fresh tomatoes. Shallots are best for their sweetness, and although living on garlic isolates one from his fellows, it’s so tempting to make it a dietary staple.

Here it is. Try it, and whether you like it or not, please leave a comment.

Corny Pasta Sauce
Serves two

Two ears sweet corn, cooked. (Left-over is fine.)
One large shallot, chopped. More if small. About a cup.

Shallot

Garlic

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Minced garlic to taste.
About 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes.
Two tbls hand-torn Thai basil.
Two tsp. extra-virgin olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the corn from the cob, catching as much juice as possible. Tear basil and set aside. (Thai basil is potent and more anise-flavored. So, be careful. Regular sweet basil or Greek basil is okay.)

Sauté shallot for three minutes, add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic brown; it gets bitter.

Tomato

Add corn and stir fry until it is hot. Dump in the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and stir-fly for five minutes or so, or until the tomatoes are soft.

Serve over any cooked pasta, preferably whole grain.

It’s simple and quick. The flavors marry nicely and do not overpower each other. Make larger quantities, of course, by doubling or tripling, etc.

Hope you enjoy. Comment, please.

Original Recipe by Frederick Fuller

Balsamic Baked Tofu with Swiss Chard and Tomato Gravy

Part 1: Brown Rice

Get your rice cooking first because it takes 45 minutes to an hour. Cook according to package instructions and then keep warm without drying out.

Part 2: Balsamic Baked Tofu

Drain and press a block of extra firm tofu (I used the fine herb variety from Twin Oaks). Cut the tofu into 1/2? to 1? cubes and toss in a bowl with enough balsamic vinaigrette to coat. Marinate for 20 minutes. Lightly oil a baking sheet and preheat your broiler. Drain the tofu cubes and reserve the leftover marinade for the greens. Spread out the tofu cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with olive oil. Place under broiler for 4-5 minutes, then turn the tofu over and broil for 4-5 minutes more until the edges are crisp and brown. Keep warm.

Part 3: Sautéed Swiss Chard

Wash and dry the greens in a salad spinner. Stack the leaves and cut them crosswise into strips, chopping perpendicular to the stems. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add the greens to the pan, along with 2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic. Saute until wilted, and then toss with the leftover marinade from the tofu. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Part 4: Vegetarian Tomato Gravy

Recipe adapted this  from the original from the Vegan Food blog. Feel free to make your own substitutions as you see fit.

Ingredients:
•    2 Tbsp butter
•    2 Tbsp flour
•    1/2 cup milk
•    1 tsp raw granulated cane sugar
•    1/2 tsp salt
•    1/2 tsp ground black pepper
•    pinch ground cayenne
•    15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
Preparation
1.    Heat the butter over medium heat in a medium pan. Stir in the flour with a whisk until no lumps remain. Let simmer for half a minute to toast the flour and then remove from heat.
2.    Slowly stir in the milk while whisking the mixture.
3.    Return pan to heat, stir and bring to a boil. The mixture will thicken over a few minutes. Turn heat down to low.
4.    Add the sugar, salt, and pepper. While stirring, add the juice from the tomatoes. Return to a simmer.
5.    In a shallow bowl, mash the tomatoes with a fork or potato masher until they are choppy or shredded, in juice. Make sure you keep some tomato lumps and do not over-mash the tomatoes.
6.    When the gravy has returned to a simmer, add the tomatoes. Turn the heat up to medium-low and stir while cooking for 3-5 minutes or until the gravy thickens.

Combine parts 1-4 on one plate.

http://vegologyblog.com

Caramelized Salmon with Soba Noodles in Kakejimu Broth

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2006
Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: I Love Noodles
Recipe categories: Meat, Pasta, Noodles, Fish, Salmon

TOTAL TIME: 35 min                        YIELD:4 servings
Prep:20 min                                               LEVEL:Easy
Cook:15 min

INGEDIENTS

For the dashi broth:

5 pieces kombu
1 cup bonito flakes, tightly packed
2 quarts water

1 pound soba noodles
Sesame oil

Caramelized Salmon:

3/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sake
3/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skinned

Kakejiru broth:

4 cups dashi broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

For serving:

1 jar togarishi pepper
1 sheet nori, toasted and julienned

2 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds
2 scallions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

To make the dashi broth, combine the water and the kombu in a large
soup pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it has reached a boil,
turn off the heat and remove the kombu. You may set the kombu aside
for a second stock or dispose of it. Add the bonito flakes and steep
for 10 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine sieve.

While you are making your broth, bring a large pot of salted water to
a boil for your noodles.
Cook your noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain the noodles and
season with a little sesame oil. To reheat the noodles when you are
ready to serve, plunge them back into the hot cooking liquid.

To make the salmon glaze: Combine the mirin and sake in small saucepan
and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, honey, orange
juice and soy sauce; simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the
glaze is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the glaze and
set aside to slightly cool. Once the glaze has cooled, brush the
salmon fillets with the glaze using a pastry brush. Either grill or
broil the salmon for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and brush again
with the glaze. Repeat this process 2 or 3 more times, until the
salmon is cooked to the desired degree of doneness and nicely glazed.

To make the kakejiru broth, in a medium sauce pot, combine the dashi
broth with the soy, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil.

Place the hot soba noodles in a bowl, pour the hot kakejiru broth over
the noodles, and place the salmon on top of the noodles. Garnish the
noodles with the togarishi, toasted nori, sesame seeds and scallions.

Originally from FoodNetwork.com :end

Bright of the Sky, by Kay Kenyon

My love of science fiction goes back more than 50 years. I grew up on Heinlein, Clarke, Conan Doyle, Philip Farmer, le Guin, Orwell and others, and I consider Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series, including prequels by his son Brian with Kevin J. Anderson, the greatest science fiction ever written. But after reading Kay Kenyon’s “Bright of the Sky”, I placed her in that group of sci-fi luminaries mentioned above. In a word, it is brilliant.

Kenyon created a universe attached to, or maybe adjacent to, our universe. People of the Rose (our universe), the name the Entire (the other universe) gives to our universe, want a passageway through the Entire to other places in the universe. One man, Titus Quinn, once accidentally found himself with his wife and daughter, both of who he presumes are dead, in the Entire. When rescued and returned to the Rose, no one will believe him and his career as an interstellar pilot is over. However, the powers of the Rose, humans, determine he was telling the truth and want to send him back. They do, and his adventures in the Entire are breathtaking.

Kenyon is a poet. Her phasing is at times like music, and her relationship with words, especially those she created for this story, is compelling.

I cannot get the second in this series “A World Too Near” fast enough. Science fiction fans, gobble this one whole. Kudos, Kay Kenyon!