What I’ve been reading, watching, making, and otherwise doing for the past month!
In December, I spent most of my free time either reading or working on a family history project, but I also spent a little time playing videogames or just tidying up around the house for our holiday guests.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone has been having a safe and fulfilling holiday season. My annual wrap-up and goal-setting posts will be up tomorrow.
Books + Media | Arts + Crafts | Food + Health
Books + Media
Finished
Books
- Audiobook — Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, 1984
- Audiobook — The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, 1848
- Book — Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, 1952
- Book — The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, 1982
Media
- Movie — The Muppet Christmas Carol starring Michael Caine and the Muppets, 1992
In progress
Books
- Book — Arabian Nights by anon. and transl. by Antoine Galland and Edward William Lane, ed. by Muhsin al-Musawi, circa 900
Media
- YouTube series — Jamie and Julia starring Jamie Tracey at The Anti-Chef, 2020–TBD
- Podcast — If Books Could Kill hosted by Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, 2022–TBD
- Podcast — Wine 101 hosted by Keith Beavers, produced by VinePair, 2020–TBD
Reviewed
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Fiction, audiobook)
Arts + Crafts
Nothing this month (… again)!
Food + Health
Finished
Cooking
- Cookbook cook-thru project – Tasting History by Max Miller, 2023
Makshufa - Cookbook cook-thru project – The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt, 2015
Hasselback potato gratin - Cookbook cook-thru project – Methodist Morsels by the FUMC of Lamesa, Texas, 1983
Cinnamon bubble bread by Judy Lippard Holcomb - Cookbook cook-thru project – Holiday Entertaining magazine special ed., 2018
Twice-baked sweet potatoes [author unspecified] - Magazine clippings cook-thru project
Daal tarka from Eating Well magazine, recipe by Sarda Siktel and Dharani Dhakal
Of the new recipes I tried this month, I especially enjoyed the daal tarka from Eating Well. It’s a lentil stew with a spicy tomato topping from Nepal — a perfect warm but not-super-heavy choice for these wild ride winter days we get in Houston, when it’s chilly in the morning then sweltering in the afternoon then pouring rain at dinnertime.
I also enjoyed and would recommend the potato gratin from The Food Lab, though my spouse is a big fan of the cinnamon bubble bread from Methodist Morsels.
Dining + Drinks
- Dined out — Barcena’s in Houston
- Dined out — Boondoggle’s in Houston
- Dined out — Niko Niko’s in Houston
- Dined out — Pomodoro’s in Houston
Fitness
- Walking, 20 hours (59.5 miles)
- The Conqueror “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” series, “Spock Divided” section — 82.75 total miles
In progress
Cooking
Cookbook cook-thru project – Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes by Max Miller, 2023
Complete!- Cookbook cook-thru project – The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt, 2015
- Cookbook cook-thru project – Methodist Morsels by the Cookbook Committee of the First United Methodist Church of Lamesa, Texas, 1983
- Magazine clippings cook-thru project
Dining + Drinks
- Wine tasting project – Wine Folly by Madeline Puckette, 2015
Fitness
- The Conqueror “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” series, “Spock Divided” section
Have something to say? Monthly wrap-up posts are open to comments!
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