Happy New Year

My favorite wish for all of you in the New Year…

 

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Stay safe, please.

Posted by on Dec 31, 2015 in Musings

Taking a little break ~~

39046_nI’m taking a wee break, while I enjoy the many treats and delights that surround me after Christmas. Especially some lovely new books.

Back soon. Happy Holidays, Book Barmy

 

Posted by on Dec 27, 2015 in Book Reviews, Musings

And to all a good night ~~

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In Iceland, it is a Christmas Eve tradition to give a book as a gift.

This is called  Jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood.

During Christmas the sun doesn’t rise until 11 am and it’s dark by 3 PM.

So after a brisk (and chilly!) afternoon walk around town with the rest of their neighbors, the whole family snuggles into their homes with a hot drink and to read their new books.

Wishing all my fellow book lovers a traditional Jólabókaflóð ~~

                                 and to all a good night ~~

Posted by on Dec 24, 2015 in Musings

Football season, my favorite time of the year

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Posted by on Sep 13, 2015 in Musings

The Saddest Little Bookworm

I’m nearing the end of THIS

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Feeling like this little bookworm…

 

Posted by on Sep 2, 2015 in Musings

When life gives you zucchini & leftovers

Here at Book Barmy -husband puts together breakfast and I make dinner..we’re on our own for lunches (remember the saying? for better or worse but not for lunch – so true).

I cook most every night and usually relish the time in the kitchen, the soothing chopping, dicing and listening to NPR while I cook.  But sometimes I loose my mojo and stare dejectedly at what faces me in the fridge.

Yesterday it was zucchini and one leftover lamb chop.  Who doesn’t have zucchini this time of year especially my friends with gardens?  There’s the old joke that the only time New Englanders lock their houses (or cars) is during summer- otherwise neighbors surreptitiously leave bags of zucchini from their gardens

So I consulted my cookbook shelves – yes I still collect cookbooks – despite the wealth of recipes online -opened The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and found

Zucchini Ribbons with Almond Pesto

Ingredients (Note: Makes too much pesto cut back by 1/4 to 1/2)
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used more – 4 T)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil (I used less – scant 1/4 cup)
2 pounds medium zucchini, trimmed (about 4 medium, thin and longer if you can find them)
Directions 
Grind almonds, Parmesan, garlic and red pepper flakes in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, salt and olive oil and pulse a few times until incorporated. Pour the dressing into a large salad bowl and let it roll up and around the sides.
 
Peel the zucchini with a vegetable peeler or mandolin and place zucchini ribbons in the dressing-coated bowl. Toss the ribbons gently (your hands work best) attempting to coat the zucchini as evenly as possible. Serve at room temperature.
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 Then I thinly sliced the warmed up lamb and voila – a photo-worthy dinner from the measly makings in the refrigerator – when it came dangerously close to let’s order something in tonight.
Can you blame a gal for boasting?
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Really very  good – a fresh take on zucchini and a success all around.  My only complaint was there was too much pesto to zucchini – so recommend you either make less pesto or use more zucchini.
To keep it a bit more healthy, I cut back on the called-for amount of oil and increased the lemon juice but with the almonds it was still nicely “pesto-like”.
Don’t worry we’ll get back to books very soon.
 

 

Posted by on Jul 12, 2015 in Musings