The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. Life in a post-apocalyptic world is not usually my favorite subject, but Suzanne Collins has created an amazing world in The Hunger Games.

Katniss Everdeen is the main character and she lives in Panem's District 12. Panem is "...the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America." North America was destroyed by droughts, storms, fires and the ocean. Katniss is a fighter and survivor. She ends up in the Capitol's Hunger Games, which is basically a fight to the death.

And really, I cannot tell you anymore because I would not do Ms. Collins' book any justice. I truly enjoyed this book, and it had me enthralled from the first few pages, all the way through the very end. Read it--especially if you love young adult fiction.


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Deep-Dish Pizza

I have been wanting to try this recipe for Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza a couple months. Seth and I love pizza, and especially the deep-dish kind.

This is a relatively easy recipe to handle; the dough only requires mixing a flour-cornmeal-salt combination with yeast, kneading, and rising. Seth did not love the toppings, but I thought they were pretty good. The "sauce" is only diced tomatoes, basil and oregano so it doesn't have much kick, but it works for this recipe. The crust was good, and I thought it was better than the pizza dough from America's Test Kitchen. But, the pizza-guru in the house, Seth, likes the ATK pizza better.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12.38 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 cups), divided
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 precooked mild Italian chicken sausages (about 6 ounces), casings removed, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

Directions:
1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in olive oil.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 11.25 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) flour, cornmeal, and salt in a bowl. Stir flour mixture into yeast mixture until dough forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).

3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough into an 11 x 15–inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; press dough up sides of dish. Spread 1 1/2 cups cheese evenly over dough. Arrange chopped sausage evenly over cheese.

4. Preheat oven to 400°.

5. Chop tomatoes; place in a sieve. Stir in oregano and basil; drain tomato mixture 10 minutes.

6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in bell peppers; cook for 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Arrange vegetables over sausage; spoon tomato mixture evenly over vegetables and sausage. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until crust browns and cheese bubbles. Cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Inventory

Finally, I have a stockpile of one for my dollee inventory. It's a girl's baby blanket, finished with crow's foot embroidery tacking.

The backing is flannel with tiny rosebuds on a pale yellow background. Sorry, not picture of the background, just the blanket-corner.

Hopefully you can see the crow's foot stitching. I used Aunt Lydia's bamboo crochet thread in zen green for the embroidery.

I Do Love Books

Moving to the Bay Area truly has reunited me with books. Commuting on the Bart for over an hour each way was the initial spark, and it got me back in the library; then there was Twilight. I think the last time I read with such voracity over such an extended period of time was high school.

Reading all these books has also made me interested in seeing authors in person, talking about their books. I got this chance at Comic-Con last summer when I saw Neil Gaiman on the Coraline Panel. And now Melissa Marr (and several other author friends) are coming to San Francisco on September 18 for the Smart Chicks Kick It tour. Unfortunately, it looks like Cassandra Clare's three appearances don't include the City. At any rate, I must go!

The only problem is that this right smack in the middle of football season, and I do love my college football. Luckily, USC is at Minnesota and UCLA is playing Houston, so I don't think I have anything to worry about.

Drawstring Bag with French Seams

As nice and clean as a French seam looks, I wish I had a serger. If I had a serger, I could easily finish raw edges, which would be especially helpful when I make drawstring bags.

I wanted a drawstring bag the size of a large trash bag so that I could nicely cover our suitcases (which sit in the garage). The difficult part of using French seams in this case comes when you leave an opening for the actual string. I found two different options online:

• Drawstring bag from the Between the Lines Blog
  
• Drawstring bag from the Creative Thimble

The instructions from the Creative Thimble were easier for me to understand, but I think the directions from Between the Lines is the more "correct way." Of course, I could always just line the bags, but the dimensions were so big that I really did not want to use lining.

Litter Bugs Me

The first sight I saw this morning as I drove to work was the couch that someone dumped next to our back fence.

How. Incredibly. Inconsiderate.

The waste management company said we had two options: For $40 they would pick the couch up, but we would have to haul it to the front of the house; or call the city and have them pick it up.

So I called the city but because it was on our property they would not pick it up. The couch actually needed to be on the street. Apparently there are people who pretend that trash has been left on their property in effort to get free trash-hauling service.

Forget the trash pick-up. The fact that someone (most likely a neighbor) was rude enough to make their trash my and then the city's problem, is just infuriating. Ugh. Malama ka'aina, people. I learned to respect the land when I was little kid, not to mention other people, and you can still learn.

One Good Turn Deserves Another

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the nice person who found my wallet lying on the street and turned it into 24-hour Fitness. It was only a 20-minute turnaround between when I actually lost my wallet, realized I lost it and then recovered my wallet. I should have asked the 24-hour staff if they knew who turned it in so I could thank them myself, but I was in a minor state of panic at the moment and wasn't quite thinking. Now I will have to do something extra nice for someone else!