I’m not a vegan, but once I tasted Moskowitz and Romano’s Blueberry Corn Pancakes I wanted to work my way through Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. Let’s face it: food prices, especially for meats, are going through the roof. Partly a demand problem (the growing middle classes in India and China want more meat protein in their diets) and partly because of rising energy costs (it takes a lot of resources to raise cattle, pigs, and chickens), the fact remains that we’re all going to be paying more for our food. One way to deal with this is to eat more fruits and vegetables. I’m not proposing everyone turn into a vegan, I”m just suggesting that meatless meals (that taste good) can take some of the stress off of the family budget and also reduce your cholesterol. The tasty recipes in Veganomicon will help. Plus, if you reject this sound, healthy advice Cthulhu may pay you a visit.
VEGANOMICON By Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romano
14 Replies
Santa sent me a copy of this gem. Subtitled “TEXANS CELEBRATE ROBERT E. HOWARD,” CROSS PLAINS UNIVERSE presents a collection of stories that take their inspiration from the creator of Conan the Barbarian, Kull the Conqueror, and Solomon Kane. Scott A. Cupp has a wonderful tribute to REH in his story, “One Fang.” James Reasoner captures the essence of REH in “Wolves of the Mountains: An El Borak Story.” Bill Crider (with Charlotte Laughlin) bring REH back from the dead in the excerpt from “The Stone of Namirha.” “Six From Atlantis” by Gene Wolfe cleverly weaves REH themes into a brief short story. Finally, the author I consider the best fantasy writer of the 20th Century, Michael Moorcock (now transplanted to Texas), weighs in with the brilliant novelette, “The Roaming Forest.” If you’re a fan of Robert E. Howard or a reader who loves fantasy short stories, I highly recommend you seek out a copy of CROSS PLAINS UNIVERSE.
Love Letter is one of R. Kelly’s best CDs. Many of the songs sound like they were recorded in the Sixties (except the sound on this CD is fabulous). Clearly, R. Kelly is channeling his inner Marvin Gaye. If you’ve been put off by R. Kelly’s mostly disastrous forays into rap and his sometimes tasteless sexual lyrics, Love Letter eschews all that nonsense by sticking to silky smooth R&B. Take a listen below. GRADE: A
Stephen Burt and David Mikics present 100 sonnets, from Thomas Wyatt (1557) to D. A. Powell (2009), and proceed to analyze the sonnets to show how they work. This isn’t some dry, academic dissection. Burt and Mikics bring a vast amount of knowledge of poetics and literary history to their insightful analysis. This is the best contemporary book I’ve read on poetry in years. If you have any interest in poetry, you’ll love this book as much as I did. GRADE: A
I can’t imagine too many writers who could get away with publishing a book like Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life. Maybe Stephen King could. Basically, My Reading Life is a memoir of the books and bookstores and people who were part of Conroy’s writing life. Many books influenced Conroy in the writing of his novels like Prince of Tides and Beach Music. Conroy extols the greatness of Leo Tolstoy to such an extent you’ll want to drop everything and read Anna Karenina or War and Peace again. The same thing happens in the chapter on Thomas Wolfe. Conroy praises the influence James Dickey’s prose and poetry had on his style. He relates fun stories about the worst librarian in the world (she doesn’t want to lend her books out). Personal, painful, episodes wrap themselves around Conroy’s books. I found this memoir very moving. GRADE: A
It’s back again: the “pins & needles” sensation of carpel tunnel. Basically, it’s a pinched nerve in my wrist. I had encountered this problem in 2000 in both wrists. My internist sent me to a neurologist who diagnosed my Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and treated it with wrist supports and a shot of cortisone in each wrist. So, after a decade, it was deja vu all over again: back to the neurologist and another cortisone shot. I’m back wearing a wrist support for my left hand. So far my right wrist is okay. If you experience that annoying tingling sensation in your fingers and your thumb, you’ll probably need wrist support and maybe a cortisone shot. Don’t ignore the symptoms! They only get worse without treatment: you’ll feel like you stuck your finger in a light socket!
