been MIA

yes, yes, i know i've been MIA for a while. i've been, uhhh. . . . Martining. martinizing? martin-ing?

finished the first Dreamsongs book. I'm not supposed to talk about it till the review is published. suffice to say, Martin rocks my world. i think if he and I were to have dinner sometime, we would get along nicely.

finished A Clash of Kings. this i can talk about all day! my favorite characters didn't make as much of an appearance as I'd have liked: Catylen, Arya, Daenarys, and Jon Snow. I shouldn't complain too much, as those characters did get their chapters, but not enough. Tyrion is becoming a fast favorite to root for, but then i remember what happened when I was rooting for Eddard all that time. I laugh everytime the boys play at war, because i figure Daenarys is just going to show up one day and kick all their asses (as soon as she manages to get herself, 3 baby dragons, and a nomadic army who is deathly afraid of water, across a few thousand miles worth of ocean, that is). Adorable little Arya is goofing around with one of Robert's bastard boys, and Jon-boy is soon to inherit all of the North. if those kids play their cards right, they could be the start of their own little dynasty. so long as they don't get killed/poisoned/maimed/ first. don't tell me what happens. i've got too much in my too-be-read pile to go get the third book right now. but i will read it, i promise.

and when i finish all the Martin i can get my hands on, there is always this:


started Harrison's Nova Swing. another one I'm not supposed to talk about till the review is published (next month! eek! i better get my butt in gear!). lots of beautiful metaphors.

read Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys. I can't believe i hadn't read this yet. Gaiman does contemporary mythology like no one else. and this book is hilarious. go find a copy. your library probably has is. i'm still deathly scared of spiders. Anansi be damned. i squish spiders when i find them inside my apartment.



i get all my books from the library, but i spend actual money on my manga. how crazy is that?

damn you, ladies of CLAMP! what heroin is in your manga that i must spend all my hard earned money on your trite plot-lines, lack of read physics, adorable yet hilarious characters who are forlorn and heartbroken, and whose vulnerability makes them all the more attractive? not to mention i totally want Yuko's wardrobe. I am now the proud owner of the first 3 volumes of Tsubasa. they make those early edition 3 volume issues so damn cheap, you can't help but get 3 volumes for the price of one. but then you are addicted, and must buy more!!! when is barnes and noble going to start mailing out those 10% off coupons, or $5 coupons, like Bed bath & beyond does??? cuz i think those store managers get mad at me when i spend three hours in the graphic novel area, reading manga but not buying any. althuogh i do make purchasing suggestions to teenagers with money.

Super Easy Enchiladas.
you need cooked chicken for this. a great dish the day after you bbq'd a bunch of chicken. it would probably be good with leftover thanksgiving turkey too.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 small can diced chiles (use the medium or hot ones, the mild is too mild)
1 cup chopped and seeded tomato
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
sea salt
8 ounces cooked chicken, shredded
2 cups shredded cheese (your choice of what you use)
one single sized serving container of plain yogurt
10 soft shell tortillas, 6-7" across. it's OK to use 12 if that's what's in the package.

preheat oven to 350. heat 2 tbsp oil in large skillet. cook onion and garlic till soft. add chiles, tomato, cilantro and good pinch of sea salt. stir. simmer 15 minutes till it thickens some. (you want as little tomato juice as possible in there). in a small bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, yogurt, and chicken. grease a large baking dish. fill each tortilla with an equal amount of the cheese-chicken mix, and roll up the tortillas, placing them seam side down in the baking dish.
cramming them all in the baking dish should help them stay rolled up. pour the tomato mixture over the tortillas, and put in the oven for 15 minutes or until heated through. remove from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and then put back in the oven for another 5 minutes. let sit a few minutes before serving.

see? super easy.

fajita platter

not only has it been a while since I posted, I've also gotten back on the book reviewing bandwagon. and that means lots of clickable reviews for you! as I teased you about last time, there are now reviews up for Ian McDonald's Brasyl, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and Paul Park's The Tourmaline. Go read, and then hit the library or your favorite bookstore. tell 'em skiffy sent you. when the clerk gives you that "what??" look, quickly snap a photo with your handy dandy camera phone, and e-mail me the picture.

The clickfest continues. . . elsewhere in the book world, I've had a few run ins with Reading under the influence, and I've decided Gary Wassner's GemQuest would make an excellent anime series.

new book aquisitions include Food and Wine Magazine's cookbook of the year 2005, and a fun cute read called Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl, a reknowned food critic that I've never heard of. the book is funny, but I bought it for the 4 star restaurant cheat recipes. That cookbook will keep me happy for a long time, not to mention it's got gorgeous photos.

Library aquisitions include Peter Watt's Blindsight, which i kept hearing a lot about online. I'm about 70 pages in, and the hallucinations have begun to subside. it feels little like Charles Stross, a little like the movie Event Horizon, and just maybe a little like Sagan's Contact. The freakishly semi-lobotimized and self-mutilated crew is chatting with aliens, who know the word cocksucker. I'd love to know where aliens with a 200 word vocabulary learned that word. I'm pretty sure I read Watt's Starfish a few years ago, and didn't care for it at all. But this Blindsight things is f'ing addictive. Also in the library bag are Paul Park's The White Tyger, (no surprise there), and something called City of Oranges: An Intimate History of Arabs and Jews in Jaffa, by Adam LeBor, which starts in the 1920s and follows families, via interviews, to their present day situations. I do not know yet, if this will be good or not.

I could have sworn I heard someone say Fajitas. oh wait, that was me. This is obscenely easy, and tastes almost like you're at Don Pablos.

Cilantro Lime Fajita marinade for approximately one pound of chicken or steak
2 limes
2 scallions, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 to 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp coriander

I highly suggest using fresh cilantro instead of dried. it's one of those herbs where it really does make a difference.

cut your meat into 1/2 inch wide strips, and lay in a dish that will hold it all in a single layer. if you want, add some sliced sweet peppers and onions. roll the limes around on the table a few times (it helps loosen up the juice). cut them in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl. mix in all the other incredients. pour the marinade over the meat, and leave in the fridge for a few hours. when ready to cook, remove meat and grill or broil till cooked to your liking. sautee the peppers and onions in as little liquid as possible in a frying pan on the stove. serve with tortillas, shredded cheese, and salsa.

sharp salsa (pico de gallo)
half a small onion, diced, or a bunch green onions, diced.
3 medium to large tomatos, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes, or 2 hot peppers with seeds, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
good pinch salt.

blend all ingredients, serve immediately.

ok readers, you got books, you got food. what are you still sitting here for?