Sally, without the white balance set to Incandescent. Much better, I think.

Here’s kind of a gross story. The chickens love grapes. LOVE. Sally has always been more partial to the thinly sliced apples I feed them. This Summer, however, she has discovered that yes, grapes are quite delicious. I try to tear them in half for her, but sometimes she gets so impatient, she just grabs them out of my hand. And then she swallows them  whole, one after another. And you can actually see them, the little round lumps, moving down her long neck. It creeps me out, yet I cannot look away. Sometimes I even just feed her the whole grapes so I can watch her swallow.

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I’m still trying to learn how to use my zoom lens, and I was practicing this morning. Sally kept walking closer and closer. I think I have a picture that is nearly all beak. In this one you can see her pretty blue eyes. Er, eye.

The dogs run through the dew and drink out of Sally’s pool in the morning, then go lay in the dirt, so they’re always a bit disheveled looking in the morning. Here’s Winston’s dirty face:

There has been quite the chicken soap opera going on around these parts, but it will take several entries to share that tale. In the meantime, meet Colonel Sanders:

Something I really need to work on: check the white balance before taking pictures! I was so concerned about my aperture and shutter speed that I forgot that the last time I used my camera I was taking pictures in the kitchen in the evening and had the white balance set on incandescent. Doh! So that’s why everything is blue. That’s also not the first time I’ve done that. When will I learn?

And now, a list of movies that should not be viewed on an empty stomach:

• Big Night
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Howard’s End
• Mostly Martha

Do you have any to add to the list? I’m just trying to serve the public here at Hey Lucy, and prevent any unnecessary hunger pangs.

I watched Mostly Martha last night, but it was after dinner, so I was okay. Next on my Netflix queue is No Reservations. I’m going to see how it compares to Mostly Martha. I usually hate Hollywood remakes (for example, Shall We Dance, the Japanese version, is far superior to the U.S. version), so I have very low expectations.

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In
my never ending quest for more organization and efficiency, I’ve been changing
up my meal planning lately. One thing I’m trying to do is plan things that will
last for several meals, like Chicken Taco Stew,
or make things on the weekend that I can freeze and quickly cook later in the
week. Since I typically don’t get home until well after 7:00 p.m., if I want to
eat something somewhat healthy, it has to be fast and easy.

My long commute
also seems to make me really hungry, and I have been known to eat things like
cookies and milk for dinner. That’s not a good habit. One of my current
favorites for the freezer is gyoza (or potstickers, or dumplings, depending on
the version). Reading this, what I make
is definitely the Japanese version, which makes sense, since my recipe is
originally from a Japanese friend I had in college. I wish I still had the handwritten copy she
gave me; I remember she drew the exact size of the garlic clove and piece of
ginger to be used.

I’m also finding that assembling a whole bunch of these on a Sunday evening is a nice, soothing activity for ending the weekend. So,
here is what I do:

Chicken
Gyoza

Makes
about 3 ½ dozen

Napa
cabbage (1/2 a large, or 1 small)

1
lb. Ground chicken (this recipe is easily adaptable, feel free to use pork or
turkey, if you’d like, I’ve made it with those meats as well)

2
green onions (scallions), finely minced

1
large clove of garlic, finely minced

2
T finely minced ginger

A
splash of soy sauce-around 2 tablespoons

A
package square or round wonton skins/wrappers

Chop
up the cabbage and steam. When it’s done cooking, squeeze out as much water as
possible and chop it up a little more. Mix together all the ingredients except
the wonton skins, of course. Set up your work area to make your gyoza: have a
small bowl of water and a baking dish or cookie sheet lined with parchment
paper. Pick up a wonton skin, place a teaspoonful of the chicken mixture in the
middle, wet a finger in the bowl of water and moisten two adjacent sides of the
wrapper (or half the circumference if using round ones). Fold the wrapper in
half diagonally and seal the edges. Bunch the edges up a bit and place the
finished gyoza in the dish on the parchment paper. Repeat until you have no more
filling and/or wonton skins. I have yet to come out perfectly even, but it’s
usually pretty close. Extra wonton skins can be lightly fried and used in a
Chinese style salad. Here’s my pan, ready to go in the freezer:

At
this point, you can put your dish in the freezer, and when the gyoza are frozen
solid you can put them in a plastic Ziploc bag, and store them back in the
freezer. You can also cook them without freezing. Frozen or fresh, I cook them
the same way. Heat a little canola oil in a wok or sauté pan. Toss in a few
gyoza and let them brown on a couple sides. Once they’re looking nice and
crispy, add about a quarter cup of water and cover. Let the gyoza steam for a
few minutes, shaking the pan every now and then so they don’t stick.

I
usually make myself 4 or 5 or 6 (depending on how hungry I am), and do a quick
stir-fry of mixed vegetables and maybe a little brown rice for a satisfying but
reasonably healthy meal.

Do
you have some good, healthy, fast and easy freezer meals that you rely on?

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Miss Cara Lou!

I’ll send you an e-mail, Cara, to get your address. I hope to make it to the post office sometime this week, so your book will be on its way very soon. And, for the rest of you, the good news is that you can still read The Book Thief for free, just by going to your local library. Speaking of my library love, tomorrow if you show your library card at your local Chipotle (if you have a local Chipotle) you can have a free burrito or bowl! Guess where I’m going for lunch tomorrow?

I hate that feeling I get when I finish a book that’s so good it makes me want to keep reading and I realize I have nothing waiting in the wings. I feel like I have quite the treasure trove of books to read now, so I won’t have to worry about that feeling for awhile. Thank you all so much for your recommendations!  I’ve already requested a few from the library. And thanks for the GoodReads friends adds too! Now I feel a little bit more popular :o)

This is mostly for my own reference, but maybe some of you will also find it helpful. I’m listing all the recommended books right here (with some additional comments from me, in italic)

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Schienmann

London by Edward Rutherford

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Nature Photography Field Guide by John Shaw

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (recommended by my adorable nephew)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (I actually listened to this one on cd and really enjoyed it. I also liked his other book, A Spot of Bother)

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer

In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke

On Hitler’s Mountain by Imgard A. Hunt

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (two recommendations! And since Debbie has bossed me, much like I bossed everyone into giving me recommendations, I’ve already requested it from the library!)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Molokai by Alan Brennert

When Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holithe

The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (Melissa, if you like books about survivors, I highly recommend Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. It’s the true story of an exploration ship on its way to Antarctica, trapped in the ice and how they survived. It took place in 1914, and even pictures they took on their adventure survived. It’s a fascinating story)

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (I’ve read this one too, and liked it, but not enough to rush out and read other books by the same author. I do like historical fiction, though, so I’ll probably read some of her others eventually)

Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters

First There is a River by Kathy Steffen

The Train to Estelline, A Place Called Sweet Shrub, and Dance a Little Longer…(A strong young schoolmarm in early day west Texas.) all by Jane Roberts Wood (This reminds me of another book I love, Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. It’s not fiction, however, but her actual letters to a friend after moving to Wyoming with her daughter. She eventually marries the man she works for, but also claims her own homestead. I love that tough-woman, can-do, self-sufficient pioneer spirit, and this woman has all those qualities.)

The Bare Naked Bride by anonymous (I can’t find this one anywhere Hatti, are you sure about the title? It sounds intriguing!)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

These is My Words by Nancy Turner

Jim the Boy by Tony Earley

The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat

No County For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (I’ve read All the Pretty Horses, his stuff is good, but dark. I sort of liked the movie, but how can you actually like a movie like that? I don’t think that’s the right word. It was good but disturbing)

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Quiet Please: Dispatches From A Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

In the meantime, I’ve also finished reading I am the Messenger, by Marcus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief. It’s quite different than The Book Thief, but it was so very good. I really liked it. I also read Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull. I liked that too, but some of the dialogue was a little stiff and it reminded me a bit of The Spiderwick Chronicles (the movie, I haven’t read the book or books?). But it was the first of a series, and I’m looking forward to reading the later books to see if the author has loosened up a little :o)

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Due to my current allergy situation (and resulting grumpiness), I’ve not felt like doing much more than reading in he evening. A good book is definitely something that can cheer me up and make me forget about my snuffly nose. In the past I’ve tried to keep a list of what I’ve read and books I’d like to read, but my record keeping has been pretty sporadic. Recently I discovered GoodReads, which makes keeping track so much easier. If you join, please do feel free to add me as a friend. I think you can invite me using my lucy at heylucy dot net address. It’s so easy to find, add, and rate books. I’ve been adding books I’ve read over the last couple years here and there.

So, I thought I’d share some recent reads, and ask for some recommendations. I am waiting for a couple books to arrive at the library, but you can never have too many book recommendations to fall back on, can you? Speaking of the library, does your local library have their catalog online? I love that I can just go to the San Diego County Library website, find a book, and have it sent to my little local branch. If you haven’t tried doing that with your local library, I would suggest trying it out.

My first, and strongest recommendation is The Book Thief. Set in Germany during WWII, and narrated by the Grim Reaper himself, it’s the story of a young girl growing up during the Holocaust. There were so many great characters, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but I sobbed at the end of this one, and I’m not really one to cry when reading books or watching movies.

I also recently finished Water for Elephants, which is one of those books everyone has read and loved. I did like it, but I wouldn’t call it a five star read, but I’d give it a solid three stars. There were some quirky characters, which was a lot of fun, but the story itself was a little predictable, or at least as predictable as a story set on a circus train during the Great Depression could be.

Like most women, I love Jane Austen, and can’t get enough, but I’ve always drawn the line at cheesy fan fiction. So I was a little reluctant to give Pamela Aidan’s Darcy Trilogy a fair chance, but I have to say, I really enjoyed what she did with the character. The first book, An Assembly Such as This, covers the first few meetings between Elizabeth and Darcy during his stay at Netherfield. The second book, Duty and Desire, wasn’t nearly as good, mainly because there was so little Elizabeth. It started to veer into Gothic mystery territory, but luckily didn’t go all the way there. Then, the last book in the series, These Three Remain picked up the pace, and of course had all the really great stuff, so it was worth slogging through the second book to get there.

Finally, a quick little read that I really enjoyed was The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It’s a YA book, and I checked it out from the library on the recommendation of a friend. While not really a graphic novel, there are a lot of really lovely illustrations. This story of a boy living in the walls of a Paris train station, fixing the station clocks is a big, thick book, but only took about an hour to read.

And now, a surprise for those of you who have scrolled this far in this long, long post, since you must obviously like books as much as I do. I loved The Book Thief so much that I want to share my copy with another reader. It’s the copy that I read, so it’s not a brand new book, but if you don’t mind slightly dog-eared corners, hey, it’s free! Just leave a recommendation for one of your favorite books in the comments, and I’ll draw a name this weekend, and send it to the winner! So give me your recommendations! Do you like when I get all bossy? I can’t help it, I’m an oldest child.

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