1000 pages and what felt like an entire season (but was actually only about a month) later, I finally finished World Without End. I am going to have to lay off these lengthy books or else I'm never going to complete this goal...
I felt more or less exactly the same about World Without End as I did about the prequel, The Pillars of the Earth. That is, entertaining and soapy fiction does not have to be poorly-written, brainless tripe. There is nothing important, stylistic, or meaningful about the story, but the narrative, characters, and pace kept me entertained. The historical elements seemed thoroughly researched, and I can even forgive the rather large amount of exposition between characters since the general readership is likely ignorant of medieval law and customs.
My only minor quibble, and this holds true even more so for The Pillars of the Earth, is with the inexplicable interjections of romance-novel-style sauciness. Don't get me wrong, I like a good dose of smut just as much as the next gal, but after a while it kind of felt like he was appealing to the lowest common denominator... as if he worried that a historical novel wouldn't hold the average reader's attention without a scattering few pages of porn in each chapter.
047. Complete all "Couch-to-5K" workouts within 2 months - (01/27)
I should have no problem completing the program within 2 months if I knock out a workout every other day. Yesterday I started the first phase: intervals of walking (90 seconds) and jogging (60 seconds) for 20 minutes. It wasn't what I would consider "easy", but I wasn't discouraged or dying by the end of it (which I think is the point) and I managed to cover about 4K including my warm up. The only thorns I had to contend with were blisters (poor choice of socks) and achy lungs (asthma + cold air). I am neither in shape nor particularly fond of running, so this will definitely be one of my more challenging goals.
042. Cook or bake 100 new recipes - (003/100)
Another triumph: I have very nearly replicated the coveted "Drunken Cheddar" soup. It's not quite the same, I admit, but it's close enough that I almost did a fist-pump when I tasted my first spoonful. This one probably won't make another appearance until autumn, but that's undoubtedly a good thing considering the epic amounts of fat (oh, delicious fat!).
Ingredients:
6 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups mirepoix (fine dice)
6 tbsp flour
3 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bottle (12 oz) pale ale
1 pint heavy cream
16 oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Melt the butter in a large stock pot over low heat. Add the mirepoix and sweat until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the flour and stir thoroughly. It will make a very thick paste; keep stirring and smoothing it over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add the mustard, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and stir thoroughly until combined. Add the beer and whisk until smooth, then turn up the heat just a little and cook, whisking occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and whisk to combine, cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the cheese, one handful at a time, and whisk until completely melted before adding the next handful. Serve immediately.
[This will keep for a few days in Tupperware in the fridge, but I wouldn't freeze it]
The first photo is what dinner often looks like when I'm feeling lazy and trying to be relatively healthy, and the second photo is what it looks like when I'm feeling more ambitious but don't give a damn that I just filled a soup pot with 6 tbsp of butter, 2 bricks of cheese, a bottle of ale, and a pint of heavy cream... (don't worry, I'm going to share!).
No comments:
Post a Comment