Photo of the Week--8/23/10

Oh my, two photos of me in the same month! And another one I don't hate! Maybe it's the baby gator, mouth carefully taped shut, that makes me look good in comparison. Actually, I think reptiles are cool, so I don't mind handling snakes or lizards or other scaly critters, provided they're harmless (or rendered so). This was taken on a trip to Florida in February 2005, so I bet I was also thrilled to be someplace warm and sunny where I could wear shorts. We might be taking another trip down there next winter; hopefully I won't encounter this little guy all grown up.

Recipes from Fish Camp: Rachel's Oatmeal Spice Cake

This tasty treat was extremely popular at camp this year. It's named after my cousin Rachel not just because she made it for us, but because she reportedly came home from high school every day and made this cake. (Ah, to have a teenager's metabolism!) But never mind the evil frosting, since the cake has oatmeal it must be good for you, like breakfast!

Oatmeal Spice Cake

NOTES: Do not use old-fashioned or instant oats for this recipe. This makes a enough for a 9x9 cake pan; double for larger pan (the extra can be baked as muffins).

1 cup (3 ounces) quick-cooking oats*

¾ cup water, room temperature

¾ cup (3¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar

½ cup packed (3½ ounces) light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350F. Cut two 16-inch lengths aluminum foil and fold both lengthwise to 5-inch widths. Spray an 8x8-inch metal baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Fit foil pieces into baking dish, one overlapping the other, pushing them into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Spray foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine oats and water in medium bowl and let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
3. In bowl of standing mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until combined and mixture has consistency of damp sand, 2 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula halfway through mixing. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in 2 additions and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add soaked oats and mix until combined, about 15 seconds.
4. Give batter final stir with rubber spatula to make sure thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and lightly tap against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles; smooth surface with spatula. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool slightly in pan, at least 10 minutes.

Topping

6 tbsp butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup evaporated milk or whipping cream

½ tsp vanilla

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Heat ingredients over low heat in saucepan; fold in nuts. Apply to freshly baked cake.

Enjoy!

The Printz Award Winners: 2003

In this installment of my survey of those books that "exemplify literary excellence in young adult literature," according to the American Library Association, I consider the honorees from 2003.

Winner:

Aidan Chambers, Postcards from No Man's Land
Honor books:
Nancy Farmer, House of the Scorpion
Garret Freymann-Weyr, My Heartbeat
Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life

These four works couldn't have been more different, but they were all excellent reads.

Farmer’s House of the Scorpion: this is a brilliant piece of speculative science fiction, of the kind you rarely find in books for children or young adults. While fantasy is extremely popular for this audience—fairy tales are some of the first tales we tell children, after all—it seems many authors are hesitant (or unable) to explore the more complex ideas posited by sci fi. The idea Farmer explores—cloning, and whether clones are human and deserve the same rights—could be very complicated, but the way she approaches it makes it simple: she tells the story from the point of view of Matt, a four-year-old living in isolation with his caretaker in the middle of a poppy field. Matt doesn’t know he’s a clone, he only knows he is supposed to stay hidden, even from the local children who happen by. When he can’t resist their invitations to come play, he gets injured and they take him home. His escape shows him two different things: that he is both valuable—everyone around him is worried for his safety—and yet also an “animal” who is filthy and not fit to be among humans. After a period of isolation where he is caged like an animal, he is rescued and learns the truth: he is the clone of El Patrón, an elderly but brutal drug lord who has the power to ignore laws requiring that a clone’s brain be destroyed at “birth” (clones are grown inside cows, and thus not legally “human”), and raise him instead as a real boy.

The book continues to follow Matt from age 4 to age 14, as he learns who and what he is, eventually discovering (and trying to escape from) the dangerous implications of being a clone. The brilliance of the book is that it works for readers of varying sophistication. More mature readers will understand right away that clones are intended for spare parts, and that Matt only has a future as long as El Patrón’s health holds out. Younger readers may not grasp this concept, but they gradually learn about it as Matt does. No matter how much the readers understand of the idea of cloning, they both experience a sense of growing dread, and both find a rewarding reading experience in sharing Matt’s coming of age story. The ALA recognized this broad appeal, awarding the book not only a Printz honor but a Newbery honor as well (the first of only two books so honored); the novel also won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Freymann-Weyr's My Heartbeat: this novel presents an interesting triangle: although 14-year-old Ellen is in love with her brother Link's best friend James, she recognizes they are devoted to each other and she is lucky to be included in their activities together. Things change drastically when a friend at school asks if the boys are "a couple" and she can't put the idea out of her mind. She asks them directly if they are "together" and their differing answers cause a rupture. Ellen becomes James's confidante (and eventual lover) while she struggles to understand her brother's behavior and his role in the family. This is a very mature and thoughtful book—maybe a bit too mature, with a 14-year-old narrator who seems more perceptive than most girls her age—but it was an interesting look at complex characters.

Gantos's Hole in My Life: and for something again completely different, we have this memoir by the award-winning author of the comic "Joey Pigza" series for middle graders. There is little to laugh about in the subject matter, however, as Gantos relates how he lived on his own in a welfare hotel during his senior year of high school before joining his family on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. After briefly working for his father, the aspiring writer agrees to help sail a ship filled with a ton of hash up to New York. He hopes for adventure but instead finds an FBI investigation that results in a smuggling conviction and hard time. Gantos has to decide how he will cope with jail, and what kind of person he will try to become.

I didn't read this book, but listened to it unabridged, read by the author. He relates his story in a blunt and simple style (and lots of humor, despite the serious subject); even so, I was impressed with some of his turns of phrase, like how he created a “blazing bonfire of blame” during his first week in prison. He effectively communicates how thoughtlessness led to one huge mistake without sounding preachy, and the memoir not only works as a "scared straight" story but as the account of a writer's birth. I don't think I've read a more brave and honest book, the author revealing things about himself most people would rather hide.

Chambers's Postcards from No Man's Land: Chambers has been writing groundbreaking novels since the late 1970s, and in 2002 won the Hans Christian Anderson Award, awarded biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People for "lasting contributions to children's literature." This is his most acclaimed novel, also winning Britain's Carnegie Medal in 1999. You'll notice it took a couple of years for it to make it over the pond, and I'm not surprised: it has a very complex structure that relates several interweaving stories. The first is of British teenager Jacob, who is visiting Holland both to attend a commemorative service for the battle of Arnhem, where his grandfather fought, and to meet Geertrui, the Dutch woman who sheltered his grandfather after he was wounded. He begins with a few misadventures in Amsterdam (his belongings are stolen), and his story is interwoven with Geertrui's, a first-person account of how the British paratroopers landed in their neighborhood and how she came to shelter and then fall in love with a wounded soldier left behind during the British retreat. This passages are themselves interwoven with a few actual war accounts from paratroopers, many of whom were teenagers themselves, recounting their experiences of the Battle of Arnheim.

So we have Jacob finding himself during his travels in Amsterdam and Arnheim, Geertrui experiencing first love, and a few assorted soldier's accounts of battle. An impatient reader might get lost in the complex structure, but each character is distinct and clear, and their individual struggles are compelling to read. It was a very interesting and satisfying novel to read, although it could be challenging for some young teen readers. It has a lot of crossover appeal for adults, and I can understand why it won a ton of awards.

For me, however, I can't get over how much I love Farmer's House of the Scorpion. It does such a good job of taking the all the things I love about science fiction—interesting ideas that inspire creative answers to that eternal question "What if?"—and making it accessible to readers of all ages. I not only enjoy her book as a reader, I admire it as a writer, making it my clear favorite of the bunch.

Photo of the Week--8/16/10

During winter break in 2004, four generations of my family took a trip to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. My grandmother mostly lounged, but did take a trip floating down an underground river (at 88!); my parents ventured out to the Mayan seaside city of Tulum with us; TSU and I ventured further and climbest the tallest Mayan pyramid at Nohoch Muul; and Boy enjoyed a trip with his dad and grandpa to a cenote, a water-filled sinkhole. Here you can see him taking the plunge into the water. I don't even think anyone had to throw him in; he was brave and jumped all by himself. What a beautiful setting; I'd love to go there again some cold, cold winter break.

Recipes from Fish Camp: Tabbuli

I mentioned before that I was going to post on the blog some of the most popular recipes from fish camp. In case you're wondering, "what's fish camp?," it's a week spent up North somewhere (this year, South Manistique Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula) with the extended family. Of course we fish (and eat the fish if they bite), but we also see the sights, hike and bike and walk and run, swim and sunbathe, play cards and chew the fat, and do lots of reading. (This is a given; almost every child in our family is born with a book in his or her hand; this summer my cousin's five-year-old ran out of his cabin naked except for the book he wanted to share with us.)

And, of course, we EAT. This year we had 26 people at camp, so that requires a lot of coordinating and cooking to make sure we have enough food for everyone. We take turns chipping in dishes for the evening meal, and have quite a spread. This recipe came from my Aunt Carole and was quickly devoured, nom nom nom nom. Was it because it was the end of the week and we were starved for something healthy after eating so many "homestyle" treats? I think it was just because this was extremely tasty.

Carole writes: "I'm fairly precise when measuring out the bulgur wheat, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices, but much less precise with the green onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes and garbanzos—sort of depends on the mood I'm in and how much of each ingredient I have on hand."

Tabbuli

1 cup bulgur wheat*

1 cup water
⅓ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon each salt and ground allspice
1 cup chopped green onions (including tops)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped parsley
½ cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 tomatoes, finely diced

Bring bulgur wheat and water to a boil in a covered pan. Immediately reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed; bulgur should still be crunchy. Turn bulgur into a bowl and mix in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and allspice. Cool.

Add onions, mint, parsley, garbanzos, and tomatoes. Mix together lightly. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until next day.

Makes six servings. Per serving: 11 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 363 calories.

Adapted from Sunset Menus and Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking by the Editors of Sunset Books and Magazine, October 1981, page 20.

*Bulgur wheat is sometimes stocked with other whole grain products; you can usually find it at Whole Foods. Or buy Near East brand tabbuli mix, use the bulgur wheat portion and ditch their spices in favor of fresh ones.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!

To get this title of this post, you have to picture me running around, my hands in the air, hair spontaneously combusting from all the work my brain gears are doing, and that will also give you an idea why my blog postings have been so infrequent over the past few weeks.

It's been my "vacation" time, you see. I finished my last assignment on July 8, writing furiously to the end, and then scheduled some "down time" before my next assignment was due (Sept. 3). That way I could devote my full attention to an upcoming conference and sending out some submissions to agents/editors, yadda yadda yadda. I would have six glorious weeks without worrying about due dates! And this is how I have spent them:

July 12-16: Catch up on at least two months' of updates for the website I administer; correspond with all my relatives to plan our camping menus; shop, do laundry, pack, and otherwise prepare for camp. Write a couple of blog entries to post the week I'm gone.

July 17-23: Go to camp up north! It's awesome, I have fun, I hike and bike and read and sleep and cook and eat and swim and hang out with my family. I do nothing remotely resembling work, because I have no internet access anyway. I promise I will get the recipes everybody liked and post them on my blog. Some day.

July 24-28: A couple of days to recover from camp—catch up on laundry, shopping, mail—and then a couple of days to prepare for the SCBWI conference. This involves double-checking my travel plans, installing software on my new little netbook (I will be writing in a workshop), getting supplies and making wings for the costume ball I'll be attending, making sure everything is arranged for my absence, blah blah blah. I manage to write one blog entry to post while I'm gone, but I figure I'll post on some of the exciting things from the conference while I'm there.

July 29-August 3: spend a day traveling to LA for the conference, arrive late with just enough time to have dinner and shop for lunches. Have four straight days of keynotes and workshops and classes that run from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, with an hour break for lunch if I'm lucky. Attend events or try to network or write my workshop homework during the evenings. Fall into bed exhausted with barely enough energy to check my e-mail—I'll blog the good stuff later. Then, instead of arriving home after the red-eye, spend 7 hours in Chicago's O'Hell airport when my connecting flight is cancelled.

August 4: sleep.

August 5-6: watch over Boy, who gets his wisdom teeth out, and make treats like his favorite soup and pudding. Finish up last homework for conference workshop and send to editor. Prepare application for local conference in October, hopefully in time to score breakout workshop I want. Stock up on mushy goodies for Boy to enjoy over the weekend.

August 7-8: go with neglected husband for weekend at Stratford Festival. Enjoy two plays and riverside gardens, but do no blogging.

August 9: Crap. Deadline to submit photo requests for September article. Realize I need to start working on it.

Today: Wonder, where did all my free time go? Did I actually get anything done over the last month, because my "to-do" list looks unchanged. Look for fire extinguisher for hair.

So I promise, over the next few weeks I will try to have some postings of great family recipes from camp, great things I learned at the conference, along with my usual features. Once I get my brain under control, that is.

Photo of the Week--8/9/10

Yes, occasionally I relent and give over the camera to someone else. And this isn't a half-bad picture of me, standing in front of some of the beautiful architecture you can find in Quebec City. We went to Quebec in the summer of 2003 to visit some Canadian friends we made in England, and had a lovely week in Quebec City, Montreal, and the surrounding countryside. We went white-water rafting for the first time, and enjoyed the Old-World style of these New-World cities. Unfortunately Boy had not yet started studying French, but we did our best not to butcher the French names.