List update, a recipe, and some books.
I think the most daunting part of The List is simply tracking everything. For someone who adores organization like myself, it’s not necessarily unenjoyable. However, finding the time to do so has escaped me to this point, so I’m forced to make random slash marks on the backs of receipts or the edges of calendars to note what I have or haven’t done.
I want to make my OD part of the process, particularly those items I’m tracking over the course of a year. In other words, I don’t think it’s necessary to be like "Ok, I did my 45 push-ups every day this week! Whoo-hoo!" I’m not interested in boring you with the minute details of my life (ha! Like any of you believe that.) However, it’ll be handy to keep track of such things as recipes, movies, and books, and perhaps some of you will try them yourself.
Also, one change. Previously, I had these two:
050 Read 101 books. (0/101)
051 Make a list of every movie I see and book I read. (0/1)
I’ve modified them to be
050 Read 101 books and record the titles. (0/101)
051 See 101 movies and record the titles. (0/101)
That’s more what I intended, and makes 51 a bit more challenging instead of "make a list", because I could watch 0 movies and just write down the books from 50 and "achieve" it. I have a list of movies a mile long I’ve wanted to see, some of which are 3 or 4 years old. Why not challenge myself to actually see them?
That being said, I’ve completed two novels since the beginning of the year. The first was Alice Sebold’s The Almost Moon. You might recognize the name from one of my favorite books, The Lovely Bones, which I discussed last year. Moon once again features a harrowing examination of death. The first line? "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." While reviews of the book were disappointing, which gave me some pause, I trusted it was more due to the subject matter. I like when books have protagonists that aren’t necessarily heroic, ones whose actions you can simultaneously understand and condemn. Life isn’t black and white, and our fiction shouldn’t be either. I thought the book was very realistic in its portrayal of familial strife, and to go into anything too in depth would give away too much of the history that’s slowly revealed to us. If you like her style, then read this.
I also recently completed Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick, which I found to be a terribly enjoyable (and creepy) serial killer novel. Cain is a local author, being a writer for The Oregonian, and while this wasn’t her first book, it was certainly her first in this genre. What really made it stand out, I thought, was the portrayal of Archie Sheridan, the detective and one of the lead characters. He’s a damaged man, and the relationship between he and his former captor is authentically disturbing.
I may wind up changing a few more goals in The List to make them more reasonable. For example, the weight between 165-175. I’ve been looking into building more muscle, and it occurred to me that if I indeed build more muscle, my weight may go up nearer 180 or more.
019 Cook one new recipe a month, using a different primary ingredient than the month before. (0/33)
Success! This afternoon I went shopping and saw that tuna was on sale. I picked up a pair of tuna steaks and scoured the web for a recipe that sounded tasty, and found one, a delicious herb blend that really surprised me with its zesty taste. The greatest hindrance to my cooking is that I’m afraid that things will suck, which makes me reticent to try new recipes. I’ve written down a bunch, but have I tried them? No. I keep thinking "ah, I’ll try that one next time, I’ll just stick with what I know." Sorta defeats the purpose of having a lot of recipes, eh? I’m glad I met with success this time. It was an excellent first foray into the bold world of culinary exploration.
Grilled Tuna with Herbs
The New York Times Cookbook
Nutritional assessment: It’s not terribly light, but it’s not horrible either, especially since most of the fat is good fat (from the tuna and olive oil). You can easily reduce the oil and butter, if you like. I served it with peas, but other suggestions include roasted or steamed veggies and a side of simple pasta.
Ingredients:
4 (1-inch-thick) tuna steaks
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp fresh garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat an outdoor grill or preheat the oven broiler to high.
Sprinkle the tuna pieces on all sides with salt and pepper.
<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);”>Combine the oil, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Blend well and brush the fish all over with the mixture.
Scrape the remaining oil mixture into a small saucepan and add the butter and lemon juice.
If the fish is to be cooked on an outdoor grill, place the pieces directly on the grill. Cook, turning often, 5-6 minutes. If it is to be cooked under the broiler, place it in a dish about 2 inches from the heat source. Leave the broiler door partly open. Let cook 3 minutes and turn. Cook the other side 2-3 minutes.
While the fish is cooking, heat the oil and butter mixture over low heat and keep warm. Put the steaks on individual plates or on a platter. Pour oil & butter mixture over the fish.
It was damn good.
I’ve taken a break from my personal reflections for a few days because I’ve been short on writing time. I can pound stuff like this out in 30 minutes, but haven’t had the three-hour blocks necessary for introspection. Sok, I’m sure you all enjoy the lighter side of things, too. I’m going to work on my Books of 2007 list, following what I did a year ago. Apparently, I read 53 books in 2007. Not bad, not bad at all. 🙂 Yet it FEELS like I’m hardly reading at all, because that’s far behind what my pace used to be back when I had all the free time in the world and ate out a lot, thereby creating more reading time. Now, I’m either by myself and thus watching a movie or on the Internet, or I’m with Susan, which means riveting conversation. I swear, I used to tear through two books a week when I lived at the house.
The irony is, of course, that being at the library I now have a list of books to read that’s longer than it’s ever been in the past.
Next up is a Kelley Armstrong book. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂