Fixin' Supper

It’s no secret that I’m not very patient. Perhaps you’d say impatient. I’d say a person of high standards, but let’s not quibble.

I’m having my book club over here tomorrow night [actually, though I've been a member for almost two years now, I still think of it as "My friend Jamie's book club."], and I said I’d provide wine, chips and sandwiches. I sat down to think about that a few minutes ago and decided that The Perfect Thing would be the tarragon chicken salad from Publix. That stuff is frighteningly good.

It also means I’ll have to trek to Brentwood or Bellevue at lunch. There’s a Publix coming just a mile and a half from my office, but it’s not open yet.

I promise I’m trying to relax about that.

So I am about to reveal my OCD tendencies, despite my outward appearance of mostly maintained chaos.

Background: I have a lot of books. A significant, large number of books. My whole life, I have loved to read and try as I might to use the library — and much as I love the library itself — I find that it matters to own the book. It’s not that I re-read many books. But they make me happy to have them. I have many books from my childhood. Or I guess you would say, preteen on. About two full shelves’ worth. Tonight, I invited the 7yo to start book shopping there.

For a while, it’s really bothered me that fairly frequently, say, once a month or so, I will look for a book that I just know I own, and I’m unable to find it. Now, maybe 5 years ago? 3? I took a whole bunch of books to a store that buys used books. At this point, I feel like my collection is at a great size, but when you’re trying to find a single book, it’s way too big. I have six bookshelves in four rooms, and I could spend all night trying to find a book. And when I can’t find one, I either figure I sold it a long time ago, or I let someone borrow it — how on earth would I know??

So my thought has been, if I alphabetize the books, it will help when I’m trying to find one. If that doesn’t work, then at least each book will have a permanent place.

Then the other day, I wandered across this site. Library Thing is an online book catalog; you enter all your titles and have your own personal list.

I cannot begin to explain to you how cool this is to someone so obsessed by books. I bet music or movie people would feel the same way about a new way to catalog their CDs or DVDs. It’s why iTunes is so incredible to many folks.

So, Library Thing inspired me to go ahead and alphabetize my books. I figured that would definitely make it easier to enter them into the computer.

Last night I predicted to NYC sister it would take me a couple hours to sort the whole collection. She was more than skeptical. I should have placed a bet. It took me two hours start-to-finish to alpha 18 shelves over 6 bookcases. I took the multi-author books, reference works and collections and put them in one case. My cookbooks were already organized exactly where and how I wanted them, but the shelf above them was available. It’s now mostly parenting and gardening books.

The other 9 shelves/4 cases are all other books….fiction and nonfiction….starting with Mitch Albom/Tuesdays With Morrie in the bedroom and ending with Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions by R.C. Zaehner in the den.

I was feeling very self-satisfied when I discovered 4 Harry Potter books sitting in the hallway floor. Those aren’t little books, and I am totally and completely out of room. Clearly I need another bookshelf.

Side note: I discovered tonight that I have two shelves, not just one, of unread books. I better go now….lots of reading to do.

OK I realize this follows along every year right after Thanksgiving. But every year, I have the same panic attack, usually about this time. Good night! It’s time to hang lights on the house! Get a tree! Make cookies! Have a party or two! Finish buying presents! Celebrate Christmas!

I am trying to breathe.

This week I’m trying to get through a major Junior League fundraiser [at least the opening of one], a big party, another party, paying bills, laundry, and have you seen the dishes in the sink, and I am tired now, and there’s a lot going on at work all of a sudden; how did that happen?

Next week all I have is a school fundraiser, office holiday party, friend’s party and opera tickets. That’s better because I’m only responsible for one thing really [school fundraiser]. The rest is show-up-and-have-fun.

So, we’re postponing holiday prep around here until next week. Don’t worry; there’s lots of cooking involved.

I will share that I, a person who never makes New Year’s Resolutions, have already made two for 2007:
* I will actually attend the book club at my church. They have faithfully continued to invite me every month and it sure sounds like I am missing a lot of fun. In 2007 I’m going to go.
* I’m going to strive to eliminate the phone-it-in dinner from our family’s menu. I don’t mean literally, like, phone up a pizza. We don’t do that all that often. I mean, where I’m phoning it in by fixing mac & cheese from a box, or chicken nuggets, or something to that effect — ie., something I know the kids will eat, something that takes 5-10 minutes, and in the end, is absolutely rotten for us and does nothing to expand their palates.

  Book club soup 
 

So the book club met here Monday night. I will start by saying, I am not the best book club member. I go for months at a time without attending. I like strange books. I dislike many regular chick books and also wide swaths of literary fiction so beloved by the educated set [no interest whatsoever in Jane Austen, despite several whole-hearted attempts].

Somehow my book club still accepts me. Here’s what we ate the other night:
* A delicious apple pie [sugar free, but you wouldn't have believed it] from Melanie
* Warm Brie and fresh bread from Beth
* Butternut sausage soup that I made

This soup is one I made up a couple of years ago and it’s already a favorite family recipe. I can’t believe I’ve never blogged it before. I did learn this time around — now that I have directions — it’s actually important to follow them. In other words, I tried making this a different way and I had to scrap it and start over, following my own directions.

Butternut Sausage Soup
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 6 chicken strips
1 butternut squash
2 quarts chicken broth
2 T. butter
1 onion
1/2 – 1 lb. smoked sausage
8 oz. pasta
1 – 2 cans white or pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn
Garlic
Rosemary
Basil
Herbes de Provence
Salt
Pepper

Cook chicken in skillet coated with cooking spray. Let the chicken get nice and brown – you want the pan to get brown on the bottom. Remove the chicken and allow it to cool.

While the chicken is cooking, cut squash in half, and place in dish with slight amount of water. Cover. Microwave for 8 minutes. It won’t be done but it will be softer. Let it cool. Peel squash, remove seeds and cut into 1-inch chunks.

Dice the onion.

In the skillet, deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup chicken broth. Add butter. Cook the onion in the skillet until browned. Add squash chunks and garlic. Stir occasionally. As squash cooks, add sliced sausage [I use chicken apple sausage]. Cook until sausage is done and squash is ready.

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add pasta [I use fusilli]. Add skillet ingredients and chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the beans and corn, and spices to taste. I start with 1 heaping teaspoon of each spice, and a bit of salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and let cook til pasta is done. Add more broth if needed.

  Food Book Bonanza 

This happened to me in real life. Today.

So you might remember that my birthday was Friday. Thanks again to all for the wonderful wishes. My parents sent me a present last week. It was very thoughtful and exactly what I might have wished for. In fact, it was the exact yoga mat and bag at the top of my Amazon wish list. We are very, very serious about the Amazon wish list in the Creekmore family. You go off list [or purchase a list item off Amazon and fail to inform other gifters] at your own peril.

So I had already thanked my parents for their wonderful gift and it was great. And I recalled that my mom said, there are a couple of books coming. Be looking for them next week.

Well I thought, this was enough already, but that is so kind of them. So all right.

This morning, I got a box with a number of books and some movies. Wow! Well I talked to my mother later. Here is a sample of the conversation:

FS: I got your package. Thank you so much! You did not have to get me all that stuff.

FS’s Mom: I am glad you like it.

FS: It really is a lot of stuff!!

FS’s Mom: LOL Your dad is cracking me up. He says we got you lots of stuff because we love you lots.

Well that was great. So sweet. So later, another package arrives. MORE books. I look at the shipping label. ALSO from my mother. I called her tonight.

FS: Mom!! Why did you buy me all these books?? I mean, I am grateful. But I think I have 10 books now.

FS’s Mom: What? What books? I bought you two books.

FS: Huh?

I guess I should add here [you may not have realized] that I am ever so slightly prone to exaggeration. So in all, I received six books, two movies. I didn’t need a two-wheeler to get out to the car or anything.

My mother figured it out: the first box was from NYC sister. Who thought the whole thing was especially funny since she SWEARS she told me she was sending books & movies last Friday. O-K.

Now, on to the point: four of the books are the food books I’ve had on my list for a while:

Heat by Bill Buford
Roadfood, Jane & Michael Stern
Two for the Road, also by the Sterns
What to Eat, by Marion Nestle

I still think that these were two incredibly wonderful birthday presents but I’m feeling better that they weren’t all from my mom. I was starting to think something might be wrong with her. ;) Turns out it was something wrong with me.

We are REALLY going to get back to food shortly around here. But we had a fun family occurrence the other night so I’m sharing.

My uncle Marion was on Larry King Live. Now maybe your extended family is interviewed on LKL every other week but it’s a first for me. Uncle Marion has written a book about President Carter’s trip to North Korea in 1994 to diffuse the nuclear standoff at the time. Great work! Uncle Marion accompanied him. We even got to see him on TV then, too. Fun.

My uncle was a career diplomat before his current work as a professor at Emory. He also worked for a time at the Carter Center in Atlanta. He is wicked smart. Knows a lot about everything and is fascinating to talk to.

So, please buy this book.

His appearance on LKL got me to thinking about my degrees of separation from various presidents. I made a chart to represent:

Short stories:
Line 1: Above.
Line 2: My boss met current President Bush, who I am pretty sure knows the other President Bush.
Line 3: I once met President Clinton at a rally when I was in college, before he was president. I also met Hillary and Al and Tipper.

Not on the graph: My mother says I am 1st cousins seven times removed to President James K. Polk, but you’d have to get her to explain that. I also cannot explain the social justice [lack thereof] of Manifest Destiny, but I understand the urge to explore and the national security interest. Glad I wasn’t president then or now.

And please buy my uncle’s book.