2010 Hugo Nom The City & The City, by China Mieville
The City and The City in three days. A good thing in many ways – after day one I couldn’t put the book down, but every time I dozed on the sofa I would wake up Beszel, which started to freak me out.
How to describe Mieville’s fictitious Beszel? As far east in Europe as you can get, perhaps Azerbaijan or Georgia. Old churches mixed with cold war architecture, mohawked punks listening to pirated western music sitting next to babushka’d grannies on the bus. And then there is the other city, Ul Qoma. The Ul Qomans might not have as good a relationship with America as Beszel, but Ul Qoma has nicer cars, a modern subway system, urban renewal, better restaurants, brighter colors, and is generally more contemporary. Two sister cities with formal borders and mulititudes of paperwork for people who wish to travel to the other city. This wouldn’t be so odd, except the two cities are crosshatched – a unique invention of Mieville. Your house might be in Beszel, but your front sidewalk is in Ul Qoma, along with the northern half of your child’s elementary school. And those three blocks of Ul Qoma down the road? That one building on the corner has a Beszel mailing address. Residents learn from childhood to “unsee” and “unhear” things happening in the other city, even if it’s happening right in front of their eyes. Tourists and visiting students sit through weeks of orientation to learn how to unsee and unhear.
Read the rest Here.
Showing posts with label China Mieville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China Mieville. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
So Lukyanenko, Mieville and Watts walk into a bar. . . .
Finished Lukyanenko's Daywatch. . . working on a more formal review, but here's the quickie – weakish beginning, odd middle, and then the end comes around to totally knock your head off with its awesomeness. As mentioned in a previous post, Daywatch is kind of “from the Dark Ones point of view”. That's great and all, but of the three Dark Ones we meet, Alisa, Vitaly and Edgar, only Edgar is at all interesting. Once the Nightwatch and Anton start making appearances, the book got really interesting for me. Stay tuned for full review!
Also read China Mieville's new one, The City and The City, I think it's up for a Hugo! Similar to other Mievilles, it's not the easiest book to get into. Put me in the mindset a little of William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, as in relatively normal for that author. The City and The City is a murder mystery with a twist – two sister cities, and you must have have a passport, visa, and paperwork to travel between the two. But the two cities occupy the same space. Makes life difficult for the police inspector who gets in deeper than he wants. Again, stay tuned for full review!
In solidarity with Peter Watts, I got Blindsight and Starfish out of the library. I remember Starfish not really doing much for me, but Blindsight being one of those books that blew my mind. So naturally, I picked up Blindsight first. And you know what? It's still freaking awesome! Peter Watts you rock my world!
So that said, stay tuned for some book reviews and other cool stuff.
Also read China Mieville's new one, The City and The City, I think it's up for a Hugo! Similar to other Mievilles, it's not the easiest book to get into. Put me in the mindset a little of William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, as in relatively normal for that author. The City and The City is a murder mystery with a twist – two sister cities, and you must have have a passport, visa, and paperwork to travel between the two. But the two cities occupy the same space. Makes life difficult for the police inspector who gets in deeper than he wants. Again, stay tuned for full review!
In solidarity with Peter Watts, I got Blindsight and Starfish out of the library. I remember Starfish not really doing much for me, but Blindsight being one of those books that blew my mind. So naturally, I picked up Blindsight first. And you know what? It's still freaking awesome! Peter Watts you rock my world!
So that said, stay tuned for some book reviews and other cool stuff.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I knew it would happen sooner or later
It was bound to happen eventually. I knew i couldn't live in book bliss forever. I knew one day the other shoe was going to drop.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's happened. I have discovered the true meaning of the phrase "I got too many books from the library". but it wasn't my fault, i swear! i was chatting with one of the librarians, and he was putting a book or two on my interlibrary loan account, and i lost track of my tab, and I'd already gotten some stuff at the other library and browsed around before I even remembered to check my interlibrary loan at the desk!!
the husband has promised to keep me away from libraries (except to return stuff!!) for the next 3 weeks at least. that's a tall order, this is me we're talkin' about.
Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman
Declare by Tim Powers
The Stress of Her REgard, by Tim Powers
Hart & Boot, by Tim Pratt
Looking for Jake, by China Mieville
Hominids, by Robert Sawyer
Sword & Citadel, by Gene Wolfe
that's a lotta reading. at to top it off, I got an advanced reading copy of a new Larry Niven, and since i didn't feel like i had enough to read to begin with, I felt the need to pull down one of my Mom's old books on biblical commentary. go figure.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's happened. I have discovered the true meaning of the phrase "I got too many books from the library". but it wasn't my fault, i swear! i was chatting with one of the librarians, and he was putting a book or two on my interlibrary loan account, and i lost track of my tab, and I'd already gotten some stuff at the other library and browsed around before I even remembered to check my interlibrary loan at the desk!!
the husband has promised to keep me away from libraries (except to return stuff!!) for the next 3 weeks at least. that's a tall order, this is me we're talkin' about.
Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman
Declare by Tim Powers
The Stress of Her REgard, by Tim Powers
Hart & Boot, by Tim Pratt
Looking for Jake, by China Mieville
Hominids, by Robert Sawyer
Sword & Citadel, by Gene Wolfe
that's a lotta reading. at to top it off, I got an advanced reading copy of a new Larry Niven, and since i didn't feel like i had enough to read to begin with, I felt the need to pull down one of my Mom's old books on biblical commentary. go figure.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
catching up on the reading
The librarians are probably wondering what happened to me, this weekend i renewed books from one library online, and returned some others after hours at their drop box. I'll have to stop in sometime during the week, just for kicks. Here's what made it from the "out of control to be read pile" to the "finished reading, or am reading right now pile":
Iron Council, by China Mieville (review)
Sackett's Land, by Louis L'Amour
Artificial Light by James Greer
Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendments, edited by David E. Kyvig
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
thoughts on the above:
Iron Council - omg, loved it, review here. Simply put, Iron Council is about a railroad worker's strike, and as city dissidents are inspired by them, the city government fears and wishes to destroy them. but of course, that's not what the story is really about. I love Mieville's take on criminal justice, human rights, and just his commentary on society in general. as i mention at the end of my review, this is not a book for those who are satisfied with the status quo. but if you're not so satisfied? give Iron Council a try. My favorite Mieville novel ever is The Scar, and this one comes in second. As Goto Dengo is Neal Stephenson's most honorably tragic character, Judah Low is Mieville's. Mieville may have his faults, but i keep coming back to him, so he's go to be doing something right.
Sackett's Land, by Louis L'Amour - the opening novel in L'Amour's grand series of the settling of America by immigrants, this novel was just Okay. Set in 1599, Englishman Barnabas Sackett gets into some trouble and can choose possible death, or the New World. guess which he chooses. Honestly, I found most of the novel simplistic and contrived, but I'm hoping L'Amour did a lot of that on purpose, to quickly and easily set the stage for a series that now has over 30 novels in it, following a handful of immigrant families. I'm not going to say this was a good book, but I like L'Amour's style, I was able to finish the book in 3 days, and I do want to read the next few books in the series, because I'm interested in early American history and can't say know to a nicely written historical novel.
Artificial Light by James Greer. eh, it's going back to the library unfinished. Taking place in Ohio in the early 90's, this is the diary of a young woman named Fiat Lux who meets Kurt Cobain and feels responsible for his death. I didn't start listening to Nirvana until maybe 5 years ago (after I realized the guy from Foo Fighters came from Nirvana, actually), but I respect their musical style, and it's too bad about Cobain. it's also too bad that this book really isn't that interesting. Most of what I read was just Fiat's internal monologue about this and that and the other thing, with minimal details, and it just didn't grab me.
Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendments, edited by David E. Kyvig Wow, what a title! and a collection of surpriseingly fascinating essays on constitutional amendments that were designed to do good things, but did some not so good things as well. the road paved with good intentions, eh? Beyond the Bill of Rights, many newer amendments that were designed to help people and make their lives easier just ended up pitting faction against faction, increasing government beaucracy, and making things way more complicated and political that needed. I could seriously write a full review on each essay, but isn't this a fiction blog? anyway, I'll be searching out more essays written by some of these same folks.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. ahh, the perennial favorite. When i'm staring at my bookshelves, looking for something satisfying to read, i know I can always grab a Gaiman, and life will be good. I've read this book before, so I kind of know what to expect, but I forget what happens at the end. Shadow, recently released from prison to find his wife killed in a car accident, is "hired" by a mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who takes Shadow to meet his mythical friends. This is Gaiman's take on Gods and sprites and mythologies that immigrants brought with them from the old country. but as those immigrants aged, and children and died, what happened to the memories of the old gods? and what about the new American Gods, television, money, technology? I'm halfway through the novel and loving every page.
Iron Council, by China Mieville (review)
Sackett's Land, by Louis L'Amour
Artificial Light by James Greer
Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendments, edited by David E. Kyvig
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
thoughts on the above:
Iron Council - omg, loved it, review here. Simply put, Iron Council is about a railroad worker's strike, and as city dissidents are inspired by them, the city government fears and wishes to destroy them. but of course, that's not what the story is really about. I love Mieville's take on criminal justice, human rights, and just his commentary on society in general. as i mention at the end of my review, this is not a book for those who are satisfied with the status quo. but if you're not so satisfied? give Iron Council a try. My favorite Mieville novel ever is The Scar, and this one comes in second. As Goto Dengo is Neal Stephenson's most honorably tragic character, Judah Low is Mieville's. Mieville may have his faults, but i keep coming back to him, so he's go to be doing something right.
Sackett's Land, by Louis L'Amour - the opening novel in L'Amour's grand series of the settling of America by immigrants, this novel was just Okay. Set in 1599, Englishman Barnabas Sackett gets into some trouble and can choose possible death, or the New World. guess which he chooses. Honestly, I found most of the novel simplistic and contrived, but I'm hoping L'Amour did a lot of that on purpose, to quickly and easily set the stage for a series that now has over 30 novels in it, following a handful of immigrant families. I'm not going to say this was a good book, but I like L'Amour's style, I was able to finish the book in 3 days, and I do want to read the next few books in the series, because I'm interested in early American history and can't say know to a nicely written historical novel.
Artificial Light by James Greer. eh, it's going back to the library unfinished. Taking place in Ohio in the early 90's, this is the diary of a young woman named Fiat Lux who meets Kurt Cobain and feels responsible for his death. I didn't start listening to Nirvana until maybe 5 years ago (after I realized the guy from Foo Fighters came from Nirvana, actually), but I respect their musical style, and it's too bad about Cobain. it's also too bad that this book really isn't that interesting. Most of what I read was just Fiat's internal monologue about this and that and the other thing, with minimal details, and it just didn't grab me.
Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendments, edited by David E. Kyvig Wow, what a title! and a collection of surpriseingly fascinating essays on constitutional amendments that were designed to do good things, but did some not so good things as well. the road paved with good intentions, eh? Beyond the Bill of Rights, many newer amendments that were designed to help people and make their lives easier just ended up pitting faction against faction, increasing government beaucracy, and making things way more complicated and political that needed. I could seriously write a full review on each essay, but isn't this a fiction blog? anyway, I'll be searching out more essays written by some of these same folks.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. ahh, the perennial favorite. When i'm staring at my bookshelves, looking for something satisfying to read, i know I can always grab a Gaiman, and life will be good. I've read this book before, so I kind of know what to expect, but I forget what happens at the end. Shadow, recently released from prison to find his wife killed in a car accident, is "hired" by a mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who takes Shadow to meet his mythical friends. This is Gaiman's take on Gods and sprites and mythologies that immigrants brought with them from the old country. but as those immigrants aged, and children and died, what happened to the memories of the old gods? and what about the new American Gods, television, money, technology? I'm halfway through the novel and loving every page.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Oh China Mieville, how do i love thee?
Shortly after my recent post about how weird I thought Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road, I finished it, and let it percolate through my brain for a few days. It took about a week, but now that i've read the book and thought about it, it's weaknesses have mostly drained away, leaving the wonderful, if bittersweet end. Review to be posted soon.
And maybe I just have a thing for stories about girls who dress up as boys to save the world. Oops, did I just spoil the story for you?
Girls who dress up as boys to save the world . . . . Gentlemen of the Road, Revolutionary Girl Utena (although there is never any question that Utena is a girl!), Mieville's Iron Council. . . yup, looks like that calls to me. Gender issues? Power issues? I'm leaning towards the latter.
Oh China Mieville, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Perdido Street Station had major issues but The Scar made up for all of them. Un Lun Dun was adorable genius and King Rat was wonderfully gruesome. You put the fantasical back into fantasy, you give me the white knuckled imagery I crave along with the Lovecraftian horrific descriptions and consequences of getting everything I asked for, you give me characters who have been destroyed, deformed, enslaved and turned into monsters and they are more human than I am. I'm nearly done with Iron Council, when is your next book in the Bas Lag universe coming out?
Iron Council had a rough start. We've got a small group of rebelious misfits leaving the metropolis of New Crobuzon to find the possibly mythical “Iron Council”, to protect the council from the city militia. No one is sure who they can trust, so dialogue is vague and full of code words. Great for the characters, not so great for the reader. We've also got a group of rebels inside the city who believe if they assassinate the Mayor, they will be able to take over the town and stop the war with the neighboring Tesh.
Judah Low, a middle aged (but he must be older than that!!) member of the group looking for the Council is a golemist. I adore Mieville's fanstical sciences. Golemists are trained to make golems out of clay, earth, mud, water, whatever. a little like Earth-bending. Sure, fans of high fantasy are welcome to call this "magic", but Mieville treats it as an academic, university driven science. When Mieville goes into a multi chapter flashback of Judah's life and how he ended up where he is, i stop caring about anything else that happens. May this flashback never end, I just want to know about Judah.
nearly done, and I hope the end is as good as the middle. Sure, Mieville tosses some of his personal politics into it, but as I can't find anything i disagree with yet, politik away! reading this makes me want to read The Scar again.
In quickie manga news:
Et Cetera volume 1 - cute, but not that good. Taking place in a sort of Wild Wild west, Mingchao's inhertance is the magical Eto Gun, which is powered by the essences of animals of the zodiac. Hoping to get to Hollywood, she ends up travelling with Baskerville, who claims to be a priest, but surely isn't, as his "bible" is full of blueprints of the Eto Gun. This was too slapstick for my tastes.
Nodame Cantabile volumes 1 & 2 - or as my husband calls it No Damn Catbile. ewww! it's not that bad. Shinichi Chiaki is a top piano student at a music university. He's excellent at piano, but really wants to be a conductor, and transferring into that program won't be easy. After meeting his next door neighbor Nodame, Shinichi starts to learn that maybe the world doesn't revolve around him and what he wants. Again, a cute story, and i really, really appreciate all the music stuff, but this will be returned to the library unfinished.
back to the library with you Et Cetera and Nodame!
And maybe I just have a thing for stories about girls who dress up as boys to save the world. Oops, did I just spoil the story for you?
Girls who dress up as boys to save the world . . . . Gentlemen of the Road, Revolutionary Girl Utena (although there is never any question that Utena is a girl!), Mieville's Iron Council. . . yup, looks like that calls to me. Gender issues? Power issues? I'm leaning towards the latter.
Oh China Mieville, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Perdido Street Station had major issues but The Scar made up for all of them. Un Lun Dun was adorable genius and King Rat was wonderfully gruesome. You put the fantasical back into fantasy, you give me the white knuckled imagery I crave along with the Lovecraftian horrific descriptions and consequences of getting everything I asked for, you give me characters who have been destroyed, deformed, enslaved and turned into monsters and they are more human than I am. I'm nearly done with Iron Council, when is your next book in the Bas Lag universe coming out?
Iron Council had a rough start. We've got a small group of rebelious misfits leaving the metropolis of New Crobuzon to find the possibly mythical “Iron Council”, to protect the council from the city militia. No one is sure who they can trust, so dialogue is vague and full of code words. Great for the characters, not so great for the reader. We've also got a group of rebels inside the city who believe if they assassinate the Mayor, they will be able to take over the town and stop the war with the neighboring Tesh.
Judah Low, a middle aged (but he must be older than that!!) member of the group looking for the Council is a golemist. I adore Mieville's fanstical sciences. Golemists are trained to make golems out of clay, earth, mud, water, whatever. a little like Earth-bending. Sure, fans of high fantasy are welcome to call this "magic", but Mieville treats it as an academic, university driven science. When Mieville goes into a multi chapter flashback of Judah's life and how he ended up where he is, i stop caring about anything else that happens. May this flashback never end, I just want to know about Judah.
nearly done, and I hope the end is as good as the middle. Sure, Mieville tosses some of his personal politics into it, but as I can't find anything i disagree with yet, politik away! reading this makes me want to read The Scar again.
In quickie manga news:
Et Cetera volume 1 - cute, but not that good. Taking place in a sort of Wild Wild west, Mingchao's inhertance is the magical Eto Gun, which is powered by the essences of animals of the zodiac. Hoping to get to Hollywood, she ends up travelling with Baskerville, who claims to be a priest, but surely isn't, as his "bible" is full of blueprints of the Eto Gun. This was too slapstick for my tastes.
Nodame Cantabile volumes 1 & 2 - or as my husband calls it No Damn Catbile. ewww! it's not that bad. Shinichi Chiaki is a top piano student at a music university. He's excellent at piano, but really wants to be a conductor, and transferring into that program won't be easy. After meeting his next door neighbor Nodame, Shinichi starts to learn that maybe the world doesn't revolve around him and what he wants. Again, a cute story, and i really, really appreciate all the music stuff, but this will be returned to the library unfinished.
back to the library with you Et Cetera and Nodame!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
China Mieville
Do you remember the Perdido Street Station craze? everyone who was anyone was going ape-ship over 700+ pages of dreamshit, non-communicative cactus people, and freaky cocoons? authors and literary magazines were blurbing the book every which way till sunday, claiming it's earth shatteringness.
I remember the Perdido Street Station craze. the book? it was long. oh so painfully long. and it was good, but not that good.
It's too bad all those blurbers spent all their blurbs on Perdido, because it's Meiville's The Scar that really deserves that kind of praise. This was a really freakin' good book. It must have been good, as I couldn't stop biting my nails for most of it.
I've written this next paragraph about 4 times, and deleted it, trying to tell you about this book in just a few sentences. Time to bite the bullet and write a longer review. Not like I got anything else to do the next few days, so stay tuned!
I remember the Perdido Street Station craze. the book? it was long. oh so painfully long. and it was good, but not that good.
It's too bad all those blurbers spent all their blurbs on Perdido, because it's Meiville's The Scar that really deserves that kind of praise. This was a really freakin' good book. It must have been good, as I couldn't stop biting my nails for most of it.
I've written this next paragraph about 4 times, and deleted it, trying to tell you about this book in just a few sentences. Time to bite the bullet and write a longer review. Not like I got anything else to do the next few days, so stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
i like linking to reviews.
Not much to report today. I logged onto SF Revu to find two of my reviews were published: Pandora's Closet, a fun collection of "enchanted item" short stories, and Splinter, by Adam Roberts. go check it out.
don't think i write reviews super fast, those were done a few weeks ago, just had to wait for the right SFRevu edition to see them published. The review of the adorably punny Un Lun Dun is up as well. My favorite China Mieville so far.
I just finished Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time, a story of Christopher, a teenaged autistic boy who decided to investigate the murder of his neighbor's dog. It isn't the dead dog, or the neighbor that is important. it's the story that is told through the ideas of an autistic person, how he views the world, how he views and interacts with other people and his parents. A great read. This was a "reading together" book at my local library a few months ago.
Just picked up A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin, from the library. and in fact, i think i'm going to go pop a cold one, and dig in.
don't think i write reviews super fast, those were done a few weeks ago, just had to wait for the right SFRevu edition to see them published. The review of the adorably punny Un Lun Dun is up as well. My favorite China Mieville so far.
I just finished Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time, a story of Christopher, a teenaged autistic boy who decided to investigate the murder of his neighbor's dog. It isn't the dead dog, or the neighbor that is important. it's the story that is told through the ideas of an autistic person, how he views the world, how he views and interacts with other people and his parents. A great read. This was a "reading together" book at my local library a few months ago.
Just picked up A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin, from the library. and in fact, i think i'm going to go pop a cold one, and dig in.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
The Road, Un Lun Dun, etc. . .
finished McCarthy's The Road. It is beautiful, desolate, painful, transparent. Get a copy, you won't regret it. I'll get a review that's longer than 3 sentences up soon. i promise.
nearly done with China Mieville's Un Lun Dun. I'd thought it was pronounced "Ooon Loon Doone", but i think it's more like just how it looks: unlundun. Un-London. get it? A very modern, very fun Alice in Wonderland. has a nice environmental twist that might have been accidentental. Very punny as well. I need to find a use in everyday language for the word "Smombie" and "smoggler", not to mentio all the fun toys. again, i shall have a review up, eventually, that is more than a few sentences.
one of the libraries here has a monthly book sale, where they get rid of discards and donations. paperbacks were 3 for a buck, and i found books 3, 4 and 5 in the Wheel of Time series. I haven't found a library in the county that has books #3 or #4, and i just got them for 34 cents a peice. damn. Also picked up Tim Power's Last Call. his Anubis Gates is one of my favorite books, ever, so I hope this one is as good.
I'm still staring at this book with the Eagle on the cover.
we're making turkey burgers tonight. this isn't exactly a "recipe", as i don't really measure anything. but this is the mix i keep coming back to.
1 - 1.25 lbs ground turkey
half an onion, minced , or half a bunch of green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Worcheshire sauce
sea salt
ground pepper to taste
a few ounces mushrooms, minced (optional)
2 tbsp oil
blend everything but the oil in a large bowl. let sit 5-10 minutes, stir up again to get the top bits on the bottom, and the bottom bits up top. let sit another few minutes.
pour the oil in a skillet, and heat over medium/medium-high heat. Using a large spoon, put globs of turkey in, and shape it into a patty. Sure, you could form the patties before hand, but i've found that's just a waste of time. forming the patties right in the skillet is surprisingly easy. when the bottom is cooked through, flip them over. cooking time depends on how hot your skillet is, how big your patties are, and what kind of skillet you are using.
although i think it's obvious, these should be served on warm buns. french fries and veggies on the side is nice too.
If you don't like Worcheshire sauce there is something wrong with you. but, in the case that you are weird, and you want to use something else, try any kind of bbq sauce or marinade. be careful of those with a high sugar content, as the sugar can burn in the skillet, taking away an amazing amout of tastiness with it.
nearly done with China Mieville's Un Lun Dun. I'd thought it was pronounced "Ooon Loon Doone", but i think it's more like just how it looks: unlundun. Un-London. get it? A very modern, very fun Alice in Wonderland. has a nice environmental twist that might have been accidentental. Very punny as well. I need to find a use in everyday language for the word "Smombie" and "smoggler", not to mentio all the fun toys. again, i shall have a review up, eventually, that is more than a few sentences.
one of the libraries here has a monthly book sale, where they get rid of discards and donations. paperbacks were 3 for a buck, and i found books 3, 4 and 5 in the Wheel of Time series. I haven't found a library in the county that has books #3 or #4, and i just got them for 34 cents a peice. damn. Also picked up Tim Power's Last Call. his Anubis Gates is one of my favorite books, ever, so I hope this one is as good.
I'm still staring at this book with the Eagle on the cover.
we're making turkey burgers tonight. this isn't exactly a "recipe", as i don't really measure anything. but this is the mix i keep coming back to.
1 - 1.25 lbs ground turkey
half an onion, minced , or half a bunch of green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Worcheshire sauce
sea salt
ground pepper to taste
a few ounces mushrooms, minced (optional)
2 tbsp oil
blend everything but the oil in a large bowl. let sit 5-10 minutes, stir up again to get the top bits on the bottom, and the bottom bits up top. let sit another few minutes.
pour the oil in a skillet, and heat over medium/medium-high heat. Using a large spoon, put globs of turkey in, and shape it into a patty. Sure, you could form the patties before hand, but i've found that's just a waste of time. forming the patties right in the skillet is surprisingly easy. when the bottom is cooked through, flip them over. cooking time depends on how hot your skillet is, how big your patties are, and what kind of skillet you are using.
although i think it's obvious, these should be served on warm buns. french fries and veggies on the side is nice too.
If you don't like Worcheshire sauce there is something wrong with you. but, in the case that you are weird, and you want to use something else, try any kind of bbq sauce or marinade. be careful of those with a high sugar content, as the sugar can burn in the skillet, taking away an amazing amout of tastiness with it.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
attempting to focus. . . .
so, instead of giving one sentence on a zillion books i'm nose deep in, i'm going to try to focus on only one or two (ok, maybe three) that i'm intimately involved in. I'm going to attempt to focus.
food for thought? no pun intended.
i recently blew through Stephen Lawhead's Silver Hand, the 2nd book in his Song of Albion trilogy. Can i still love Lawhead, and not love ever page of this book? The beginning and the end were brutal, exquisitve, unremorseful and painfully human. the middle. . . not so much. Tegid's conveinent "inner sight" started to get gimmicky for me. Tegid's a great character, and i'm happy we fleshed him out more, but a)he started to get on my nerves after a while, and b) i haven't got past the Llew/ Simon thing, and want to get back to that, like right now. there is a great interview with Lawhead at the end, where he's asked how he feels about writing about good vs evil, and he says it's fine, but he's not writing about good vs evil, he's writing about the nature of sovereignty. nice. i just got the 3rd book, The Endless Knot from the library, and hopefully that gets back to Llew & Simon. i'll let you know.
also on the book pile is China Mieville's King Rat. I think this was his first break out novel? or maybe his first young adult novel? it is definately YA, and offers a dirtier, grittier look at the classic "young man finds out he is of royal blood, and has to win his kingdom back from the usurpers" plot line. for a YA book, this sure has lots of swear words! i must be really old fashioned. if i get a book from the young adult or kids section at the library, i'm shocked (just shocked i tell you!!) everytime i run into shit or fuck. and i trust the library, so i must just be old fashioned. King Rat is a lot of fun, especially since i've read newer Mieville stuff, i'm seeing where it all got started. You read any Mieville? what do you think of him?
over at Havenland, we're getting started on our March/April book club book: The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. so head over there and join the fray, cuz i don't want to type all that stuff twice.
did i do an OK job focusing on just a coupla books? cuz i got way more from the library. more than any normal person should ever read in 3 weeks, not to mention a handful of manga.
mmmm..... pie. somewhere on this page, i gave a recipe for apple pie filling, but i didn't tell you how to make the pie crust. if you don't want to know how much fatty butter goes into a divine pie crust, quit reading right now. if you're just looking for an excuse to screw your diet, read on dear reader, read on.
this makes two pie crusts, or a top and bottom for a covered pie. you'll need:
a really big bowl
plastic wrap
a spatula
a pastry knife. a pastry knife is one of the best $8 investments you can make. seriously. it's 8 bucks. go buy one.
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks very cold butter. keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. it really does make a difference, as i learned the hard way, last night.
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
some ice water. yes, put water in a bowl, and put some ice cubes in there to keep the water super cold.
the trick to an awesome pie crust is to have your butter super cold, and your water super cold, but neither one should be frozen, or have any ice crystals. i don't know the science behind why this works, but trust me, it works. i'm sure Alton Brown has done a show on it.
mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. cut the butter into pieces, and blend it into the flour with the pastry knife. keep cutting the fat with the pastry knife till all the big peices are gone, takes 5-10 minutes. some of your dough should be the size of a small pebble, but most of it should be the consistency of corn meal. dribble about 1/3cup ice water on top of the dough, and cut the water in using the sharp side of the spatula, till the dough forms small balls. if this doesn't happen, add maybe a tbsp more ice water. keep blending it, and the small balls should be able to stick when you press them together. the dough should still look pretty rough, and it shouldn't be overly greasy.
divide it into two parts, press them into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
now you got to roll it out. have a cup or so of flour ready at the table. keep your surface floured well, or the dough will stick, and that's just a disaster. as you roll it out, set your pie plate on top, so you know when it's big enough. you don't want to roll it to thin. once you get it rolled out, form it into the pie tin, and put that in the fridge for a few hours. roll out the second disk, this is the top of your pie. once you get that rolled out, it can sit on a cookie sheet in the fridge.
after the crusts have "rested" for a few hours, fill the bottom with whatever you're filling it with, lay the top on (cut vents!!!! cut vents!!!), seal it with cold water, pinch, and trim, and you're ready for the oven! oven temp and time depends on what's in the pie, and if it's pre cooked or not. good luck!
food for thought? no pun intended.
i recently blew through Stephen Lawhead's Silver Hand, the 2nd book in his Song of Albion trilogy. Can i still love Lawhead, and not love ever page of this book? The beginning and the end were brutal, exquisitve, unremorseful and painfully human. the middle. . . not so much. Tegid's conveinent "inner sight" started to get gimmicky for me. Tegid's a great character, and i'm happy we fleshed him out more, but a)he started to get on my nerves after a while, and b) i haven't got past the Llew/ Simon thing, and want to get back to that, like right now. there is a great interview with Lawhead at the end, where he's asked how he feels about writing about good vs evil, and he says it's fine, but he's not writing about good vs evil, he's writing about the nature of sovereignty. nice. i just got the 3rd book, The Endless Knot from the library, and hopefully that gets back to Llew & Simon. i'll let you know.
also on the book pile is China Mieville's King Rat. I think this was his first break out novel? or maybe his first young adult novel? it is definately YA, and offers a dirtier, grittier look at the classic "young man finds out he is of royal blood, and has to win his kingdom back from the usurpers" plot line. for a YA book, this sure has lots of swear words! i must be really old fashioned. if i get a book from the young adult or kids section at the library, i'm shocked (just shocked i tell you!!) everytime i run into shit or fuck. and i trust the library, so i must just be old fashioned. King Rat is a lot of fun, especially since i've read newer Mieville stuff, i'm seeing where it all got started. You read any Mieville? what do you think of him?
over at Havenland, we're getting started on our March/April book club book: The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. so head over there and join the fray, cuz i don't want to type all that stuff twice.
did i do an OK job focusing on just a coupla books? cuz i got way more from the library. more than any normal person should ever read in 3 weeks, not to mention a handful of manga.
mmmm..... pie. somewhere on this page, i gave a recipe for apple pie filling, but i didn't tell you how to make the pie crust. if you don't want to know how much fatty butter goes into a divine pie crust, quit reading right now. if you're just looking for an excuse to screw your diet, read on dear reader, read on.
this makes two pie crusts, or a top and bottom for a covered pie. you'll need:
a really big bowl
plastic wrap
a spatula
a pastry knife. a pastry knife is one of the best $8 investments you can make. seriously. it's 8 bucks. go buy one.
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks very cold butter. keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. it really does make a difference, as i learned the hard way, last night.
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
some ice water. yes, put water in a bowl, and put some ice cubes in there to keep the water super cold.
the trick to an awesome pie crust is to have your butter super cold, and your water super cold, but neither one should be frozen, or have any ice crystals. i don't know the science behind why this works, but trust me, it works. i'm sure Alton Brown has done a show on it.
mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. cut the butter into pieces, and blend it into the flour with the pastry knife. keep cutting the fat with the pastry knife till all the big peices are gone, takes 5-10 minutes. some of your dough should be the size of a small pebble, but most of it should be the consistency of corn meal. dribble about 1/3cup ice water on top of the dough, and cut the water in using the sharp side of the spatula, till the dough forms small balls. if this doesn't happen, add maybe a tbsp more ice water. keep blending it, and the small balls should be able to stick when you press them together. the dough should still look pretty rough, and it shouldn't be overly greasy.
divide it into two parts, press them into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
now you got to roll it out. have a cup or so of flour ready at the table. keep your surface floured well, or the dough will stick, and that's just a disaster. as you roll it out, set your pie plate on top, so you know when it's big enough. you don't want to roll it to thin. once you get it rolled out, form it into the pie tin, and put that in the fridge for a few hours. roll out the second disk, this is the top of your pie. once you get that rolled out, it can sit on a cookie sheet in the fridge.
after the crusts have "rested" for a few hours, fill the bottom with whatever you're filling it with, lay the top on (cut vents!!!! cut vents!!!), seal it with cold water, pinch, and trim, and you're ready for the oven! oven temp and time depends on what's in the pie, and if it's pre cooked or not. good luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)