It's My Birthday!

Welp this is it – the big 25. It may be quarter-life, but there’s no crisis here! 

My life is constantly in motion (literally and metaphorically), and it’s been quite the year of new things. Since last birthday, I started a new job, traveled to India, returned to rock climbing, started freelancing for WRR and blogging on CSM, went to Costa Rica (again), and to date have posted a total of 615 blogs here on Eat, Run, Read! 


Twenty-five is a nice square number: 5x5. And in honor of this, here's a Mollie life recap, counted by 5's:


5 – (1992) I was the bossiest and tallest kid in Valley Vista’s kindergarten class. My interests included exploring and climbing trees on the hill behind our house, ballet, and tap dancing (oh yeah - maybe someday I'll share video with you). I actually remember this birthday – my parents got me my first big-kid bike, a white and pink splatter-painted vehicle of awesomeness. We took it to the school nearby and my dad ran behind me, holding the back of the seat to stabilize me as I biked without training wheels. Woohoo!


10 – (1997)  Hmm, ten places me in 4th grade at Liberty Elementary. I had super-short hair and teeth too big for my face. I was still doing ballet (almost every day), and also ski racing. February means my class was well into preparations for our big trip: an overnight on the C.A. Thayer, a schooner in San Francisco Bay (continuing with the bossy-Mollie theme, clearly I was the “mate” of the deckhand crew).


15  – (2002) My fifteenth birthday –  freshman year of high school – probably my favorite high school year because it was all so new and exciting. I ran cross country, played French horn in the band (judge accordingly), and I was super super into skiing -- I missed 35 days of school that year to hit the slopes.

20 –  (2007) Ooof this was a rough year, but also one of my favorite birthdays to date. I was a sophomore at Boston University, dealing with my first running injury ever (aka Mollie=upset). 

I had just had a (1/5-life?) crisis and switched my major from Film to International Relations mid-semester. I was on the track team and on the ski team, which brings me to the awesomeness: My ski team friends threw me a hilariously themed surprise birthday party, then we all met up for brunch at Zaftigs (read: Granola Pancakes!) the next morning. 

And now here I am – 2012 and I’m 25! I live in DC, work at an interesting and I think important-ish job, run a lot, write many many a blog, have awesome friends, and am generally loving life. 



Case in point: I started my day with a Rock Creek Park 7-miler, and will end it eating delicious food with friends at Graffiato. 



Knowing people follow my blog is seriously such a great birthday present! :) So THANK YOU for reading! 

Literary Bite: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

I remember seeing A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius on our bookshelf at home way back in high school. Drawn in by the intriguing title and colorful cover art I asked my mama if I should read it. “Eh, you could…but don’t bother. It’s very much a first novel,” she responded. So I skipped it altogether until this winter. Overall I like Dave Eggers – Zeitoun was great, What is the What was okay, and any reader of my Best of the Week posts knows that I love love LOVE McSweeney’s. 


After reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, I have to agree with Mama – this book gets a solid Meh. It’s definitely not bad. There are touching and sad moments, and funny moments too. I read it all and enjoyed parts of it, but overall it kind of fell flat. 


It’s Egger’s memoir - young guy in his 20s who raises his little brother after their parents die. It’s a biography of youth in the 90s, in all its self-absorbed glory. 


According to the NYT, “Eggers is the self-conscious representative of his generation -- a 20-something slacker living in a slovenly apartment and starting up a satirical magazine, Might, that among other things parodies the media's portrayal of 20-somethings. On the other, he is its very antithesis: an almost 1950's-style responsible adult, attending parent-teacher conferences, fixing Toph meals and reading to him at bedtime.”


The writing style is arrogant, in a kind of ironic way…but also kind of not ironic. By that I mean that Eggers seems to think he can get away with saying certain things because he’s saying them “ironically,” but really maybe he’s just obnoxious? Take the title for example: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Ironic? Self-satirical? Or arrogant? I think both. Eggers says himself, "Still though, I think if you're not self-obsessed, you're probably boring." And, "If you don't want anyone to know about your existence, you might as well kill yourself. You're taking up space, air."

But I did really enjoy the relationship between Eggers and his brother Toph. It felt so real – siblings who  are sometimes nice to each other, sometimes mean, but underneath it all really care. But then on top of that normalcy, Eggers is also the parent. It creates an interesting dynamic. 

"His brain is my laboratory, my depository. Into it I can stuff the books I choose, the television shows, the movies, my opinion about elected officials, historical events, neighbors, passers-by. He is my 24-hour classroom, my captive audience, forced to ingest everything I deem worthwhile."

Toph was my favorite character. He was the smartest and best, and even Eggers seems to agree. 

Overall, like I said, I vote meh. But a lot of people really like this book, so maybe I'm wrong? 

Cake of the Week: King Cake Cupcakes

In Rio they have Carnival, in the New Zealand it’s Shrove Tuesday, in the UK it’s Pancake Day, and in New Orleans it’s Mardi Gras. Here in DC it’s just the Tuesday after President’s Day…but hey, we’re only 1,084 miles from The Big Easy, so I’m going to listen to some jazz and blues, eat a gaudy green/purple/gold cupcake, and wish a Happy Mardi Gras to you all!

These cupcakes are inspired by the traditional Mardi Gras King Cake. The King Cake actually  originates from the Epiphany celebration that traditionally falls on January 6 (12 days after Christmas) and recognizes the day that the kings (Magi) arrived in Bethlehem and Jesus was baptized.  In the southern United States, the King Cake is a part of the entire Carnival season of celebrations (a party a week - woohoo!), which last from Epiphany to Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent. 

King Cakes are usually circular twists of brioche-style bread decorated with traditional Mardi Gras colors. They're sometimes filled with cream cheese or fruit. They also tend to have a plastic baby, bean, orange peel, or nut hidden inside – whoever finds the hidden treat is the “king” of the party, or has to make the cake for the next party. (I didn't hide anything, but you definitely can!)

Since I’m not actually a Southerner, I hope you’ll forgive me for adjusting this traditional treat and making my own mini version: King Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling.

Keep in mind that the cake is actually a yeast dough, so it’s bready like brioche. After baking, the cream cheese filling kind of disappeared...so though it added some extra richness and flavor you could skip it altogether if you would like.  

King Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Filling (printable recipe)

- inspired by Baking Bites

Makes about 15 cupcakes.

Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (.25-oz)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (any kind), warm (100-110F)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk room temperature (save the white for the filling)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

• 4-oz cream cheese (1/2 block), room temperature
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Line cupcake tins.
2. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine 3/4 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Stir to combine.
3. Add in warm milk and oil, then beat mixture for 2 minutes at medium speed. The paddle attachment works the best for this recipe. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each has been fully incorporated to add the next. Add in the vanilla extract and an additional 1/2 cup of flour and beat for 2 more minutes at medium-high speed.
4. Stir in all remaining flour (creating a thick batter, rather than a standard dough), then cover the bowl and let rest for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
5. For the filling, beat together all ingredients at high speed until smooth and fluffy.
6. Scoop about half the dough into each cupcake tin (about 3 Tablespoons per cupcake). Using a spoon, add dollops of cream cheese filling to each cupcake. Spoon the remaining batter over each cupcake, trying to cover the filling (you won’t be able to completely cover it, which is fine). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (under a lamp, in a 100 degrees oven, on top of the dryer, etc.) until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F.
8. Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes. 
9. Let cakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out to finish cooling on a wire rack. 

Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2-3 tbsp water
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• food coloring
• sprinkles

1. Beat all ingredients except food coloring until smooth, adding more water or powdered sugar as necessary to reach a drippy but not liquid consistency. 
2. Scoop out 1/3 of the icing into a separate bowl and mix in food coloring (as you can see, I went with purple).
3. Spoon  white frosting over the cooled cupcakes. Using a fork, drip purple frosting on top, then immediately decorate with sprinkles!   

Happy Mardi Gras!

(printable recipe)

Best of the Week #48

Alright I have a lot of links to share with you today…so let’s jump right in, shall we? My most popular post this week was Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting – Valentine’s Day treat anyone?

How’s this for running for a cause? Peace Corps Volunteer Allé (with whom I studied abroad, and once broke into her apartment with my fingers in Queens) is running a half-marathon in Senegal to raise money for girls’ scholarships:

• Seeing me running through their fields early in the morning, people in my village are becoming inspired too. When they first asked jokingly what in the world I'm training form we were laughing at my bright red face and sweat-soaked shirt. (I'm definitely not the image of beauty after a run.) But their faces quickly grew serious when I explained the cause. Especially, so many women, my host moms, grandmas and aunts, who never had the opportunity to go to school, never learned anything but pounding millet and spinning thread. Read More!

This video is long-ish (10 minutes), but interesting:

• The Stanford MRI Lab hosts the world’s first ever love competition, in which seven contestants have five minutes to neurochemically love someone as hard as they can.

Someday maybe I will go places and write amazing articles like this: “In a War Zone, Finding Solace in Food” by a NYT war correspondent. This is a MUST READ.

• I brought, too, Dutch-style unsweetened cocoa, which has a dark-chocolate bitterness. On the coldest winter days, I would pour hot water into a mix of cocoa and milk at the bottom of my cup. A froth would appear briefly on the surface and I would see myself crouching by a small propane stove in the moist green of the mountains of upstate New York, the steam of the cocoa made outdoors mixing with the curls of low-lying clouds drifting through the trees. The first sip of cocoa on winter days in Kabul transported me to that faraway verdancy and was a promise that I would return to the mountains of my childhood summers.
• A luxurious dinner in my Kabul kitchen was to grate some Parmesan, slice and sauté a couple of mangy zucchini, beat a couple of eggs, add the cheese and pour the mixture over the zucchini, cooking it until it solidified. It was a savory, poor man’s frittata. I would sit with my frittata, a sliced tomato (Afghans are brilliant tomato growers) and my Gourmet magazine, reading how to make a proper coq au vin, and feel restored.

I always love a good dictator joke. I’m just sad that Omar al-Bashir didn’t make the list…(source)

Well I hate slow walkers as much as the next city-dweller with places to go, but this is almost kinda mean? "Slow walking 'predicts dementia.'"

• The speed someone walks may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life, according to researchers in the US.

Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions #15. The Windowsill. The whole world is your hammock. 

This Gawker list: "Seven Careers Full of People You Should Hate."

• 7. Social Media Experts: These are the people that mega-corporations pay hundreds of thousands in consulting fees to teach them how to set up a facebook page. How is this a real job? You basically teach old people to use twitter and you get paid astronomically for it.
• 1. Bloggers: How is there an entire burgeoning billion dollar industry of twenty-somethings who write crap on the Internet? I don't understand it. A bunch of kids with no life experience write their views on the news of the day and world affairs and entertainment like it matters and you people eat it up? I have lifelong friends I have to ply with booze to get them to listen to me talk about anything for more than five minutes, and here you guys are, willfully clicking away. I can't even look in the mirror. I was going to be a foreign correspondent! I'm getting a drink.

I kinda want this to be said of me pre-race: “She morphs into psycho dog when she hits the line,” Baskin-Wright said. (Uhoh, what does that say about me?) The article is about Siberian husky sled-dogs.


Amusing. My refugees used to live in PG County. (source)

Interesting article, giving a slightly different perspective than the regular rhetoric: "Adulthood, Delayed: What Has the Recession Done to Millennials?"

• The circumstances surrounding the Millennial generation are particularly strange. Many came of age in the longest economic expansion of the 20th century and graduated into the worst recession since the 1930s…With education comes opportunity. That's the deal, as this generation understood it. Now, they're the highest-educated generation in American history, and they've graduated into ... this.

Love me an infographic: "A political history of Africa since 1900 - interactive"

• On Saturday 9 July 2011 South Sudan celebrated its independence day. How did the current nation states emerge from colonisation?

Am I completely incapable of posting a Best of the Week sans Hunger Games reference? Yes. (source)

A McSweeney’s Open Letter to Peoples or Entities Who Are Unlikely to Respond (a great series): “An Open Letter to the Fastest Jogger at the Park”

• To begin, let me go on record as saying that you are, undoubtedly, the fastest jogger at the park. You burst out of the wooded thicket and into my sight like a firework of sweat and sleevelessness amidst Sunday’s leisurely banality.
• Ambling listlessly, these lazy Sunday walkers tend to take up all of the best sprinting routes at all of the best sprinting times, leaving men of your caliber no choice but to risk life and limb dodging their obstructing girth.

And I will leave you with this image - no reason, other than the obvious one that it is awesome. Happy weekend!

Open-Faced Cornbread Egg Sandwich

Breakfast after a long run can be the best thing in the world. When my muscles ache and the world starts to lose color around the edges, nothing brings me back to life like a good cup of coffee and a plateful of something hot and delicious. And after a workout, it's not just food it's fuel (re-fuel, that is)...but that doesn't mean it can't be the tastiest fuel you can think to assemble!

This meal started in my head about 10 miles into my 12 miler last Saturday. I want eggs...I thought as I started up the Rock Creek Park bike path. And I have that leftover Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread... I visualized the possibilities as I turned onto Massachusetts Avenue.  An Open-Faced Cornbread Egg Sandwich! 

I finally made it to my door, then showered, brewed coffee, cooked, and sat down with my newspaper and this situation. Elegantly simple and wildly delicious. I almost died of yumminess, but didn’t because then I wouldn’t be able to finish it. 

Open-Faced Cornbread Egg Sandwich

Ingredients

• Cornbread (Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread recipe here)
• Egg (however many you want)
• Salsa (I used Safeway brand Southwest Salsa)
• Sour cream

Directions:

1. Thinly slice cornbread and toast it under your broiler or in a toaster oven.
2. Fry an egg or two – I like over-medium eggs, because then the yolk can run out and soak into the cornbread. If you're skilled at poaching, this would be a good time for that...I cannot poach an egg to save my life so I've stopped trying.
3. Top with salsa and sour cream.
4. Die of deliciousness.

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Last week my office had a chili cook-off. I was excited to participate, but the thought of transporting a large quantity of chili from my kitchen to my workplace did not appeal to me. (That sounds like a messy disaster on the Metro in the making.) Plus I’m a baking girl, so the obvious solution was cornbread. But not just any cornbread – if I’m going to do it I’m going to do it up. 

I love sweet things for dessert, but I have one food quirk: I do not like my real food to be sweet. Honey cornbread is delicious, but honey cornbread mixed with chili is just not my jam. Therefore, this Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread hit the spot. 

The nice thing about jalapeños is that they’re very flavorful but not too hot. You could use hotter chilis if you want, or just add more jalapeños to kick it up. I tried to balance my own spicy-food-love with consideration for my perhaps less adventurous coworkers. This loaf of cornbread goodness is slightly spicy, very cheesy, and goes amazingly with any chili you deem fit to pile on top of it. 

It also transports well, and stays fresh-tasting for a few days, making it the perfect office potluck contribution! You can serve it with chili, or plain as a side, or with any kind of soup, or for breakfast (YES! I'll post that recipe soon I promise).

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Go here for the printable recipe. 

Makes 1 9x13-inch pan, which could be 16 LARGE servings, but cut small can make 20-30 pieces of cornbread.

Ingredients

• 2 ½  cup cornmeal (not stone-ground)
• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces extra (or extra-extra sharp) cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 large jalapeños, chopped (If you prefer more flavor and less heat, remove the seeds)
• 1 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 4 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Generously grease a 9x13-inch pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking until just combined. Do not over-mix.
6. Gently fold in about ¾ of the grated cheddar cheese and all the jalapeños, mixing until combined.
7. Pour into pan and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
8. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.

Cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. 


Go here for the printable recipe. 

Best Valentine's Day Recipes

Happy Valentine’s Day! For those of you who love this random Tuesday in February, I'm sure you already have awesome plans. And to those of you who get upset about "surviving" Valentine’s day, don’t. (I’m not saying don’t survive, I’m saying don’t get upset.) To pull from someone else’s thoughts: Why can’t you take the day of love as an opportunity to simply appreciate the love you do have — send your grandmother a V-Day card back, call your mom just to wish her a happy holiday and thank her for helping you with the cards for class when you were little, or take your friend out for dinner to remind them that we can still treat each other to nice, considerate, loving things. Wise, no?

I am relatively indifferent to the holiday, but considering I have a blog that refers heavily (I use that term figuratively and literally) to chocolate (52 posts about it so far), I figured it’d be fitting to recognize the day with a list of Valentine’s Day dessert suggestions for you to share with whomever you love.

Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and Raspberry Filling

Oreo Cake (I realize this isn't particularly Valentine's Day-ish, but it's freaking amazing so you should probably make it.)

Double Chocolate Tart

Red Velvet Cake Filled with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

For someone you really really really love (it's a bit labor intensive, but AMAZING. Also possibly the prettiest thing I've ever made.) - Cookie Dough Fudge Cheesecake. 

Raspberry Filled Cupcakes - that is raspberry curd in there. Think about it. 

 Strawberries and Pineapple Dipped in Ganache - classic Valentine's Day. Better if you make it yourself.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Choco-Coconut Peanut Butter Bars

Happy Valentine's Day! I LOVE YOU ALL! 

Weekend Report: Soooooo Tired!

I had quite the Saturday.


By 8:50 am I was out the door, heading north on Massachusetts Avenue for the first 12-miler in my get-ready-for-Cherry-Blossom training plan. After starting with that out-and-back add-on, I headed towards the Mall to meet 6x6 for the middle part of my run. 

She and I circled the Capitol and monuments, lamenting the Shire-esque look of the lawns and reflecting pool under construction.  (LOTR reference there – I’m talking about the very end of the books when they return to the Shire and it’s been destroyed.)





ANYWAY – the run was great! 6x6 did 7 with me, then left me to finish off the last 3 miles on my own.


I returned home to a hot shower and even hotter cup of coffee (something about the first sip of coffee after a long run on a cold day is the best thing in the world). I only had an hour before I needed to leave to go climbing, so I ate some breakfast – a notable one, I’ll blog about it later in the week – then got ready to go.


Because apparently 12 miles of running isn’t enough of a day for me, I met a few friends and co-workers at SportRock in Alexandria for an afternoon of climbing. The gym is so much less crowded on the weekends than on weekdays! The smaller walls were full of childrens’ birthday parties, but the big walls (where I want to be) were comparatively empty.


I didn’t get home until 5 pm, at which point I collapsed on my couch, completely exhausted. I had planned to go out that night, but after so much activity I knew that there was absolutely no way I was doing anything.


I reminded myself of my Mama when she was marathon training. She would return from a run, lie on the couch, and call out in her pitiful voice, Mollie? Will you bring me something to eat? Being the awesome daughter I am - Sure, what do you want? Her reply - Anything! Whatever you'll bring me.


That is exactly how I felt. But my mama is in CA, so I had to energize-up enough to cook myself some dinner. Womp womp.


But I bounce back quickly (after 10 hours of sleep) and by Sunday I’d recovered. I trekked out to Silver Spring to tutor my refugees, then did some yoga in an attempt to prevent the inevitable soreness of 2+ hours of climbing on top of a run.


Sunday night I went and saw Moneyball. It was very good! It’s an Aaron Sorkin film (writer of The West Wing), but was different from his usual rapid-fire banter. I am a total sucker for a good sports movie. It even made me excited about baseball, which is impressive considering I don’t even like baseball…


Anywho, that is that. Hope you had a good weekend too!

Best of the Week #47

My office is having a chili cook-off today and guess who’s a judge? THIS GIRL! How did I score such a sweet gig, you may wonder? Me in email: I have impeccable taste, eat everything, and am not making chili (I'm doing cornbread). Therefore, I should be a judge.

Done. In about 3 hours the executive director and I will be tasting chili in three categories: vegetarian, two-legged, and four-legged categories. Needless to say, I am excited.


Oh, and I couldn’t bring myself to metro all the way to Ballston for track practice this morning, so I did a treadmill tempo on my own.


Therefore, the verdict as of 9:50 am on Friday: Mollie = winning at life!


Also, you may have noticed a couple new features on my blog. I now have recipe index and reading list pages (top left) for your browsing convenience.


My most popular post this week was my S’Mores Layer Cake.

You all know I love The Hunger Games. This is a great article comparing Katniss to Meg from A Wrinkle in Time.

• Both combine elements of the ordinary and extraordinary, making them aspirational yet accessible to young girls and, frankly, full-grown adult women. And...not least, we want to be them. 

Jess gets to go to the most awesome food events ever to write for this blog. Check out her Chinese New Year article and be just as jealous as I am.

This NYT article about living alone:

• More people live alone now than at any other time in history…It is less feared, too, for the crucial reason that living alone no longer suggests an isolated or less-social life. After interviewing more than 300 singletons (my term for people who live alone) during nearly a decade of research, I’ve concluded that living alone seems to encourage more, not less, social interaction. 

I love me some spice – this is a slideshow of 25 ways to use sriracha. Sriracha Deviled Eggs? YES PLEASE!

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World. Now I need to go to Mexico City to buy a book here:

While watching the Super Bowl last weekend my friends commented on the sexism in the adds, especially considering that a lot of football fans are women. "Twitter Talks Back to Sexist Super Bowl Ads."


Gabon: Surfing hippos, lacking tourists
"They're body-surfing in the waves, it's quite amazing." I know hippos are more deadly, but I'd rather see one of these guys than a shark.

I’ve spent my week with Somalia, and now I want to go to this Somali restaurant in Virginia. Oh, and Pinterest Somalia? YES. 


I grew up with sheep (warning: they’re not really as great in person). But I’d love some adorable sheep cupcakes.

And as a follow-up to my time lapse video of Yosemite last week, here’s one of Lake Tahoe, aka one of my FAVORITE places in the world.




T A H O E from Shortt and Epic Productions on Vimeo.

Literary Bite: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Thanks to my reading log, I know that I read A Farewell to Arms way back in high school, but I completely forgot everything about it..unfortunately I foresee that cycle as doomed to repeat, as I did not LOVE this book that everyone else seems to adore.


After reading The Paris Wife, I wanted to learn more about Hemingway, so I picked up this book to see if he really is as fantastic as everyone seems to think. 


My verdict, alas, is no. There are aspects of his writing style that I can really appreciate, but I had a hard time getting into A Farewell to Arms. I'm probably being overly harsh, just because there's so much Hemingway hype, so please forgive me for this...


Because I am the type of person who likes to pull apart the pieces and identify exactly what I like and dislike about things, here are my thoughts:


I liked the subject-matter. The story takes place in Italy during World War I, and Lieutenant Henry, the main character, is an American serving in the Italian Army.


The dialog sections read very quickly and are enjoyable. In contrast, the more philosophical parts are a bit slow.  The book is a love story, set against the backdrop of the war. "The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one."


The super-sparse prose, for which Hemingway is famous, is jarringly abrupt. It’s so abrupt that to follow the story, I found myself forced to read aloud in my head. I realize that most people read this way all the time (see the word, hear it, then understand it), but people who read a lot and read quickly do not (it’s more of a see the word then understand it kind of system).  I blame this for my kind of weird reading experience. (Check out this great McSweeny's piece about Hemingway's writing style. Oh jeez, and Hemingway Blonde Jokes.)


The characters are not believable. Specifically Catherine Barkley, the American nurse and Henry’s  “wife,” is totally ridiculous. Judging by the shallowness of her character, it’s clear that Hemingway doesn’t think much of women. Catherine worships Henry, and many of the things she said were soooo eye-rollingly dumb. "There isn’t any me. I’m you. Don’t make up a separate me." 


But at the same time, there was a sweetness to the love story between Henry and Catherine. And by the end, I really did care about her.


Overall it is a very romantic novel, and I mean that in the dictionary sense of the word: fanciful; impractical; unrealistic; imbued with or dominated by idealism, a desire for adventure, chivalry; characterized by a preoccupation with love or by the idealizing of love or one's beloved. 


You should probably read it, just because everyone has and most people like it…what’s wrong with me here?

Cake of the Week: Caramel Oatmeal Bars

I had to wear a retainer for a year when I was in first grade. It wasn't the keep-your-teeth-straight-after-braces kind, but the permanent kind that no one can really see unless you open your mouth yawning-monkey style and lean back. 

So anyway, the major downside was that I was forbidden from eating super-sticky things like gum and caramel for a year (which felt like forever to my six-year-old candy-loving self).

On Halloween I could eat the chocolate, but the Sugar Daddys, caramels, Sugar Babies, etc. were strictly off-limits. Sister1 (the savvy businesswoman) set up trades for these coveted confections to ensure that my teeth remained retained and she secured the sugar. 

But I was a conniving child too, and one day when she was at swim practice I snuck in to raid her stash. 

Caramel! Mine! I popped the chewy goodness into my mouth, and a few chews later  - “POP!” - my retainer popped out. 

Uhoh. I looked left, looked right, and quickly slid the offending mouth metal under the bathroom soap dish. Problem solved, I grinned with glee. I was free to consume all the caramel I could! 

Fast-forward one month:

Mama: Mollie! Is this your retainer? What’s it doing here???

Mini-Mollie: Ummmmmmm, it came out?

Caught. And that was the end of my caramel fun for the rest of the year…it was sweet while it lasted.

My retainer is long-gone, and I still love caramel. I made these bars for a Super Bowl party this weekend (you need something sweet to temper the saltiness of all other Super Bowl snacks). And these are SWEET. 

They’re Caramel Oatmeal Bars with Chocolate, Walnuts, and Coconut. Pretty intense and pretty awesome. 

Caramel Oatmeal Bars (recipe adapted from these Turtle Bars on The Curvy Carrot)

Go here for the printable recipe. 

Servings: 24-40 bars (depending on how big you want them)

Ingredients

For the bar topping and base:

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped into large pieces
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut

For the caramel filling:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 10 tablespoons ( 1 and 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

• For the bar topping and base: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light colored metal baking pan.
• Line the pan with parchment paper or tin foil so that the paper overhangs the pan on two sides.
• Butter the parchment/foil.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
• Use your hands to rub in the brown sugar.
• Add the oats and stir until the ingredients are evenly combined.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the melted butter and stir until the entire mixture is wet and combined.

• Spread two-thirds of the mixture across the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven to cool (but leave the oven on).
• Sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, and coconut across the cooled crust.

For the caramel filling: 

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the sugar and butter together.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly (the caramel will begin to darken at this point).
• Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cream, and pour the caramel directly over the chocolate pecan layer.

• Use an offset spatula to evenly distribute the caramel.
• Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture onto the caramel and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

• Let the bars cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour to firm up.
• Cut and serve. The longer you wait, the better they cut. 

Go here for the printable recipe.