Cous Cous, Burritos and Zombies

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I promise that I have NOT retired my blog after one week! This week just sort of got away from me.

So, a little bit of food. Nothing too fancy this week, though:

Cous Cous with Falafel and Veggies

For this simple dish I combined cous cous, falafel (leftover and crumbled), broccoli and carrots...I think that was all. I threw on some garlic, of course! And a little bit of this Moroccan seasoning we received as a Christmas gift from Adam's wonderful Mom :) (I can list the ingredients if anyone's interested) After preparing the cous cous and setting it aside, I boiled the broccoli for a short time to soften (it should also gain a nice darker green shade). Then I fried carrots in oil for 5-7 min, added the garlic for another min or 2. I added the leftover falafel to the pan, then after a time the broccoli and finally the cous cous. To this I sprinkled Moroccan seasoning over the whole thing and some tamari. Now that I think of it, I probably threw some dried shallots in at some point. But if you have an onion lying around I would suggest frying it with the carrots.

Burrito Filling

Last night I whipped up a quick dish to stuff in tortillas. So many things taste wonderful when you wrap them up in a warm tortilla, don't you agree? Luckily I got up in time before work to cook the beans that we soaked overnight.

After putting filling the rice cooker, I fried up onion, pepper, beans, tomato and then added the rice (in that order, even ;). I threw on some granulated garlic, for a quick fix, and added just a bit of tamari over everything for a little extra flavor. Near the end I added some dried jalapeno flakes. Just a simple tasty dish to make when you're already HUNGRY!

Books I have recently read:

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath: (spoilers) Honestly, I wasn't very impressed with this one. This is my first affair with Plath and I suppose I should read some of her poetry. It was well-written, but the story didn't really captivate me until the last fourth of the book. I just didn't feel very interested in Esther's NY escapades and had trouble feeling for her as she fell into depression when she came home. BUT after a suicide attempt and watching her sort out her tangled, warped mind in psych wards the book became much more interesting.

Z for Zachariah - Robert C. O'Brien: I didn't finish this book. I picked it up because I've been on a post-apocalyptic kick since reading The Road (which is fantastic!). A class I visit monthly at a local high school are also on this kick and I'm always hunting for books they might enjoy. This book was kind of a bore with useless, uninteresting details. Finally I decided to skim the end. It seems that the most action happens in the last 30 or so pages.

The Forest of Hand and Teeth - Carrie Ryan: This was by far the most interesting of the three! Another post-apocalyptic pick and suggested by a coworker (thanks Bobbie!). Set in a world overrun by the Unconsecrated (zombies) a girl wonders what lies beyond her fenced in village. She dreams of oceans and skyscrapers, of everything her mother has told her existed before The Return (zombie apocalypse). The main character, Mary, is unwilling to except that the village and rules of the Sisterhood are all that life has to offer. There is a bit of a romance, too.

The sequel is due out soon and I'm very excited! Above I have linked to the author's blog. In fact here is one entry you might enjoy where Ryan discusses the importance of considering a teen's freedom (as with anyone else's) in choosing what to read: 'Won't Someone Please Think of the Children?'.

Not sure if I've mentioned, but I'm a librarian. I started about 6 months ago and love it! I get to work with teens, a passion I developed working in a drug and alcohol rehab. It's a wonderful place to be!

Coming up: Recently received zines, Match Meat Crab and Weekly intrigue