Enough to impress

Folks, it is just shy of five p.m., and yours truly has been grading up a storm. Happy hour, anyone?

Thankfully, I'm heading to meet my mom and sister for a drink and some quality time, right now. I'm excited to see them--it is rare that we just have time, the three of us, to hang out--so it will be nice to kick back and just be together.

I'm bringing along a bottle of Leelanau Cellars Summer Sunset wine for us to enjoy (probably with the ubiquitous bowl of tortilla chips and salsa!)

I'm such a fan of our wines, here in the Mitten! I've always been of the mind that we should buy local, and support local businesses (which, of course, includes local wineries...duh.). But, I've been mildly obsessed with Mitten-produced wines ever since the trip I took to the Leelanau and Mission Peninsulas with my mom and sister last summer.

Touring "wine country" with Mom and Manda was so lovely. 

The beauty of the vineyards and surrounding countryside was enough, in itself, to impress. But the wine holds its own, believe me! 

Don't believe me? That's ok. Check out what Mario Batali has to say. (yay for Mitten vintages!) 

book talk: recommendations

Today in class, my students pleasantly surprised me by asking me for book recommendations. As our semester draws to a close, they are working on their final portfolios, and yet, tell me they look forward to continuing their growth as readers, as well as writers. To be honest, I was a bit flabbergasted, and couldn't for the life of me think of one decidedly solid recommendation for them. I stalled by saying that I needed to think about it.

Well, I've been thinking.

Mostly, I've been thinking of books that have been recommended to me. For instance, last Friday, my dad recommended The Help:

I've known for awhile that I should pick it up--largely because the movie trailers intrigue me, and I can't justify seeing a book-adaption without first reading the book (otherwise when I read it the movie just plays over again in my head!). But, when my dad, who is very particular about the books he reads, and even more so about those he praises, told me, "It might be the best book I've ever read." The only sane reaction would be to stop by a bookstore as soon as possible.

I took up my husband's recommendation that I read the George R. R. Martin series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and have been steadily feeding the addiction. My husband can be relied upon for excellent book suggestions, and this one was no different. I am practically flying through book two right now. 

Also highly recommended (though not a book): Fringe. I first heard of it from my best friend, who is also the person in my life responsible for my Dr. Who addiction (thanks, Jen). I added it to our queue, and after that had it lauded first by my mensa-smart aunt Mary and then by our artist friends Jon and Meg. Only halfway through the first season, I can't say I'm totally addicted...yet. I believe my counsellors, though, and trust that very soon I will be. 

What about you? What books (or shows or movies or records) are you glad that someone recommended to you? Do you have any good recommendations for me? Or for my students? What are some good books to recommend to a group of college freshmen?

meatless monday: comfort food

Ok. I'm gonna be straight with you: I have exactly half-a-hormone left this month. In the past week, I have had a couple of mini-freak outs and an amazing craving for baked goods. If it contains pasta or cheese, I am making it this week, calories be damned!

This is one reason why I'm so grateful to Martha Stewart: she has an entire article on her website entitled "Meatless Comfort Food." I want to make this baked ravioli soon, so I can eat it. 

But, very soon after I eat the ravioli, I will need to make this stovetop mac-and-cheese. Omg.

Believe it or not, cottage cheese is one of my comfort foods. For this reason, my mouth almost instantly started watering when I saw this snack on Real Simple's site. I've also been enjoying cottage cheese with ripe nectarines for breakfast. 

What are your go-to comfort foods these days?

Weekend Roundup

I noticed lots of fun things around the blogosphere this weekend, but our time was so jam-packed--with good things, family hangout times...and grading (for me)--I just never sat still long enough to post about them! So, here is roundup of some cool finds from the past few days:

A neat post about the classic dancer-vs-ballerina rivalry.

My eyes lit up at this fashion-centric blog about Beryl Markham. (remember this?)

I heart this Michigan Pillow, but might have to save up for it.

A timely blog for gearing up to teach this fall: "Avoiding Burnout in the New Academic Year".

What cool things did you discover this weekend?

book talk: climate change

On my way to school today, I caught the second half of the Diane Rehm show on our NPR station. She had several guests on to talk about climate change, what it means for culture, and just how radically it will likely force us to change our lifestyles. One of the guests said it just meant that we would, out of necessity, change from a consumer culture, to one where our life's purpose is not "how many things we have." I don't think I'd mind that.

It's a subject that Elise Morin and Clemence Eliard took on with their installation, Wastelandscape, in Paris. The mounds of CDs, which are made of petroleum, are meant to evoke an urban oil slick. I thought, how interesting: everyone has a different way of relating to climate change, and expressing our thoughts and feelings about it.  It is a subject that could be incredibly depressing, yet, it is something I believe that we must learn to talk about. 

So, what is the best way to express environmentally conscious ideas or stories? For me, I think images are powerful, particularly images of the sea--like this stunning photo I found while surfing the net this afternoon. 

The first, and deepest, impression made on me regarding the environment came through a coffee table book my father had--still has, on the bookshelf somewhere. Nothing like Jacques Cousteau to fill my young child-mind with wonder that the beauty of the ocean, and raise my consciousness to its fragility. 

As an adult, I'd say that Michael Pollan's classic about the various options we have for feeding ourselves made a thoughtful impression on me, and continues to guide my choices when it comes to food for our family--not just for the nutritional value, but for the impact such choices can make on our environment as well. 

What about you? What books (or movies, images or documentaries) have made the biggest impressions on you regarding the environment? 

(belated) Meatless Monday

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but I just had to share with you my latest meatless food-obsession: black beans!

While we were in the UP (that's "upper peninsula" for you non-michiganders...), we had lunch one day at Border Grill. I had the veggie-taco-bowl. It was, in a word, awesome. And one reason why it was so great was the fact that I didn't miss the meat. I mean, at all. There were black beans galore, and that seemed to do the trick.

So, tonight, I think I might need to try these for dinner:

I mean, black beans and goat cheese??!! (you had me at goat cheese, but these tortas look mouthwatering!)

Then again, this guacamole salad from the Barefoot Contessa seems like a no-fail.

Do you have any good black-bean recipes?

back in the mitten

Sorry if the posting has been sparse, these past few days. We were running around, getting ready for a long weekend up north. Not just the top of the Mitten, but (as my friend said) "in the squished-up-skinny-rabbit part of the state." Or, the Upper Peninsula.  Now, we are back in the Mitten proper. It was a great trip, but it is always good to be home:)

While up in Marquette, we hiked a small mountain...the payoff was fantastic views!

Lake Superior is just stunning. 

We also did a bit of wading, a bit of bouldering, to get to "Hidden Beach."

It is completely surrounded by these red, rocky cliffs... a private isle experience!

We wandered around downtown Marquette, checking out the art scene. I loved this fence made up entirely of skis!

True. Very true. 

This "tree" is fabricated. It "blooms" petunias!!

Taking shelter from a sudden rainstorm. 

We picked wild raspberries and explored behind our friend's Grandma's house.

On the way home, we stopped off at a beach to stretch our legs. Lake Michigan looked, felt, even smelled different than Superior had!

But both lakes were equally chilly! 

So, that was our trip. We had a great time, but now it's back to the routine. I'll hopefully get a Meatless Monday post up later today. Until then, hope you're having a great day, friends.