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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I finished another project this week, and I have to admit, the results are not quite as good as I hoped. So I thought I’d share what I learned to help me remember not to make the same mistakes again, and maybe save someone else from the same errors.

I have some big, square feather pillows from Ikea that needed covering, so I had an idea to do some big appliqué flowers.

I used a heavy linen for the cover, and quilter’s cotton for the flowers. When I finished stitching up my cover, I put it on the pillow, and it was okay, but seemed a little stiff. I also think I could have made the flowers a little bigger. So I thought I’d try washing it, to soften it up a little, but it turns out the linen I used shrank more lengthwise than widthwise. So now my pillow is more of a rectangle. The flowers bunched up a little too. Petey, however, is indifferent to the pillow.

So, what I learned:

• Pre-wash all my fabric
• Try a little harder to keep the appliqué fabrics smooth, so they don’t get bunched up
• Make the flowers bigger in proportion to the pillow

Also, perhaps I should not write boring blog posts while still grumpy from allergies and while watching Raising the Bar which I Tivo’d last week. I can’t get past the bad haircut to decide if the show is any good. I don’t think I will be getting a season pass to this one.

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I have many things that I would like to talk about, but I’m too busy sniffling with the worst allergies I’ve had in several years. What the heck is blooming that is doing this to me? I don’t like it one bit. I get no sleep because I can’t breathe. I even went to to the doctor for the first time in nearly two years, and he gave me a prescription for Zyrtec, which seems to have made my taste buds non-functioning. The sole purpose of this entire paragraph is just to illustrate how grumpy I am right now, was I successful? Also, thanks for all the shorts love, I really like to respond to comments as much as possible, but I just haven’t had it in me to deal with e-mail either. I’ll get to it eventually, so please don’t think I’m being rude and ignoring all the nice comments and good advice about the blue birdcage.

So, this is just a quick drive-by post to discuss Project Runway (and to let you know that I am grumpy and sniffly and tired. And my eyes itch. And I have comments to reply to.). How about that Leann? Yes, I called it way back in the beginning. She is definitely my favorite. Her last two designs have been really great, I thought.


I don’t think this picture does her design justice, but I thought it was really pretty. I loved Korto’s look too:

Too bad about Stella, although she was kind of on borrowed time, anyway. It was a close call between her and Joe this week, but his drag queen outfit was so good a couple weeks ago, I think that may have helped him stick around to see another week.

Who do you think will make the final three? I’m going to go with Leann, Korto and maybe Terri? Discuss please.

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I only have two pairs of shorts that fit anymore, a black pair and a white linen pair. The black ones are a kind of dressier fabric, so not really conducive to various weekend activities, like cleaning out the chicken coop. And white linen, well, also not the proper attire for that either. When I checked my clothing budget for the week, I only found about 56 cents, so I got creative. Despite the fact that I only have two pair of shorts, I have quite a few pair of khaki pants. I’m not sure how that happened. I wear khaki pants once, maybe twice a week, but I don’t think I really need the 6 pairs in my closet. So, I took the ones I wear the least (pretty much never), and cut them off. My first thought was to just leave the raw edge. Then I considered tidying them up with a hem, but then I had the brilliant idea to bind the edges with some red calico. It might be kind of nerdy, but I think I like it.


The obligatory macro shot of the binding:


Oh, and while I have your attention, notice the birdcage in the top picture. I’m still on my spray paint kick, and I decided I didn’t like the original color of my birdcage. I may have gone a little crazy. Is the blue too much? I had also considered white or yellow. I think I better have another poll.

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Since the last post was about starting something new, I thought maybe I should try finishing some things for a change. All finished:


The pattern is Embossed Leaves, and this is the third pair I’ve made. I love this pattern, not only are they pretty and easy to knit, but they fit my big feet perfectly. This time I used some old Blue Sky Alpaca yarn that I had in my stash, and the gauge is probably a little big, but they’re so very soft and cozy. I’ll enjoy them a lot this Winter. As you can see, getting a picture outside without a dog in it is nearly impossible. Here’s what most of my shots looked like:


Winston finally got tired of posing and went to lay on the doormat.


His fur is growing back quickly. I hope it cools down soon, for his sake.

Next project, nearly finished:


I’m not even going to link to the post where I described starting this sweater, it was so long ago that I’m completely embarrassed. The pieces have all been knit for ages, but I needed to seam it, and it turns out I don’t really like seaming. Especially with this bulky cotton yarn. And then there was the crocheted edging. I want to like crochet, and I want to be good at it, but I think it’s going to take awhile before that happens. My hands feel all claw-like tonight after working on this. It’s just two rows, one of single crochet, and then one of crab stitch, which I didn’t think I was ever going to get the hang of doing. It is nice though, so it was worth the struggle.


I just have to sew in a zipper, which I am going to attempt tonight. This pattern is Blue Sky Alpaca’s Zip Cardigan (free!), and the yarn is Blue Sky Cotton. It’s lovely and soft.

One last nearly finished project, another bluebird pillowcase:


The first one I made for my Christmas swap with Yvonne. I was really tempted to keep it for myself, but I resisted. I still have to stitch up the hem and seams. I may even make one more, so I have a pair.

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