Hello there! I’ve been on a roll with some great books lately! The latest one was this:
Birchwood Pie recommended this author, and his books are unique. His writing style is a little dry, kind of technical, and just when you’re thinking “I’m not interested in all these details about boats and guns!” you realize the story is somehow very compelling. This one takes place before, during and after WWII and give a glimpse into the role women played in the lead-up to D-Day. And, there’s a love story intertwined there. I loved this book.
Now, for my Q2 reading project. Are you ready? Here it is…
Let me explain! Years ago, I had a client who, for some strange reason, loved to talk about quantum physics while he was getting his massage (Um. I know.) He probably thought he was dumbing it down to my level, but I could never understand what he was talking about. I actually dreaded seeing him, because I was always struggling to hold up my end of the conversation while also giving a massage, which was pretty difficult.
Anyway, he doesn’t come in anymore (probably because he realized he was getting a sub-par massage) but he left me with the idea that a) there is such a thing as quantum physics, and b) it actually sounds like an interesting subject, if I could only understand it a little better. When I was trying to think of a reading project, I thought “Why not quantum physics?” We’ll just see how “easy” this book is though! I have no idea what the video training is- some kind of bonus. I’ll find out soon enough.
Moving on to food. Last week was a new low in food prep. I made a peanut sauce and stretched that for a couple meals, pouring it over rice and vegetables. And I made a stir fry- I have now made the same stir fry so often that every time I heat up my cast iron skillet, it immediately smells like Chinese five spice. However, there was one highlight.
My daughter asked if she could make Fettuccini Alfredo, WHAT??? She even looked up the recipe from Nora Cooks. Well… okay!
Now, my daughter is an absolute beginner in the kitchen, so I had to help her a lot. But she really wanted to learn, and did as much as she possibly could by herself. The finished product was pretty good!
There was one minor problem… this is a cashew-based sauce, and she didn’t blend it up long enough. Alfredo sauce should not be crunchy. But oh well- it still tasted good. The most important this is that SHE liked it, and is talking about making it again on her own. This is an exciting development in our household!
Oh- and yes, that IS my Easter tablecloth still on the table. I guess it’s time to put that away!
Have you ever read Nevil Shute? – This was the second book of his that I read- the first was A Town Like Alice.
If you have kids, do they do any cooking? – My son didn’t, until he went to college. Now he cooks all the time.
16 Responses
Quantum physics! Now there’s a challenge! I’m very interested to know how you will like it.
A while back, I started an 800-page book on statistics because I wanted to understand it better. I got to page 80 and it was going well, I even completed the mini-tests at the end of each chapter. However, at some point I got distracted and didn’t continue. Thanks for this reminder!
So nice that your daughter is motivated to cook!!
Yep, statistics is another topic I would need a “beginner” book on. But, I figure if I try hard, and get clear explanations, I can understand these things! We’ll see- I’ll report back soon.
Yay for kids who want to cook! I have never ever been able to get cashew based sauces to blend right…should I just accept that this is something that I can’t do or give it one more try…the alfredo does look good.
I finished The Breaking Wave last night. I don’t know how Shute does it, but it’s like he sets the expectation that you’re going to be reading an engineering manual and then he does a bait and switch and suddenly you’re in a well of emotion and feelings.
Good luck with Quantum Physics! If I read it I’d be able to keep up with more of the conversations in my house.
Oh really? People in your house are talking about quantum physics? Its definitely not a topic around here (until now- maybe I’ll become one of those people who wants to talk about it all the time.)
Yes, Shute really does have a style all his own. I don’t know how he does it either!
We soaked the cashews beforehand according to the recipe, so I’m thinking we just didn’t blend it long enough? When we make it again, I’ll make sure we blend it for a long time and I’ll report back.
I love that your daughter is excited to cook! Hopefully that means soon you won’t have to make all the meals in your house. The Alfredo actually looks really good, even if it was a bit crunchy!
Wow, quantum physics! That just sounds super complex but hopefully the book will make it a little easier.
From what I’ve heard so far about quantum physics, it IS super complex. But we’ll see. This book supposedly makes it easy!
“Alfredo sauce should not be crunchy.” Hahaha.
My daughter likes to bake and I’m letting her stretch her wings now because she can do everything start to finish. I don’t love cooking with kids. I know, I know, it’s what fun moms do, and I did it plenty when they were little but in the elementary-school age years I just had zero desire. Now that she can read a recipe, do all the oven stuff safely, and clean up solo…I love to be hands off. And she’s doing a great job with it all.
She has no interest in cooking meals and I’m fine with that, though I know I should work on this at some point because being able to feed yourself is a huge life skill. I wish they spent a bit more time on this sort of thing in school, to be honest. Home economics was a big deal when my parents were in school and now my kids will get a SINGLE SEMESTER on it. I also feel like personal finances should receive a lot more time. I’m not sure what all can be cut to add these topics in, but in many ways I feel like it’s a more helpful life skill than, say, social studies or learning another language badly (my kids have to take French and it is so rudimentary it doesn’t really accomplish much IMO…how about you teach kids how to boil and egg and peel a potato and points about basic nutrition and healthful eating). Anyhoo. All that to say, I think it’s awesome your daughter is showing an interest in cooking!
My daughter did take a semester of personal finance, which seems to be a brand-new requirement in high school! My son never got that class. But no, nothing about cooking. I will say, my son is doing an amazing job of it, even though he NEVER cooked at home growing up. Oh and- I also really disliked cooking with little kids. Ugh, such a mess…
One time I asked my husband how microwaves work one too many times and he handed me a book called “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.” It immediately reminded me of why I am a social scientist. (Read my review if you want – https://ngradstudent.blogspot.com/search?q=physics). So, good luck with that project – I wish you more success than I had!!
I started cooking when I was eight or so because otherwise I would have not had anything to eat. (This is not me being all woe is me. My mom worked nights and was usually sleeping at dinnertime. My sister eats once a day. My father would regularly forget I existed. I either made food or I went without a meal. And it was fine!) I legitimately don’t understand why people can’t cook basic meals – if you can read and are physically capable of lifting and squatting, you can cook. I am not suggesting that everyone can make five star meals, but making pasta/eggs/burgers is not hard? Maybe I’m a hypocrite. I don’t understand physics and whenever people start talking about cardinal directions, I immediately tune them out, so there are things I obviously don’t get. But cooking basics? Seems pretty straightforward to me.
Yes, I agree. I’m a complete ignoramus about a lot of things, but cooking is pretty basic! I agree, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that you were cooking for yourself at the age of eight- it must have felt good to be self-sufficient. And now, I’m off to read that book review…
Love it when the kids cook!
I have read some Nevil Shute and agree about the writing style.
My husband is a physicist, and I do find quantum physics really interesting, what I can understand of it.
I think your meal planning sounds pretty good for low effort and maximum reward – a new low would be eating cereal or takeout every night!
Things have been a little nuts here and for someone who reads every day at length, I have not been able to focus much on reading. Trying to calm down enough to get that back.
Oh, don’t tempt me- I could definitely eat cereal for dinner!
Your husband is a physicist? That’s cool!!!
I hope things calm down over there and you can get back to reading… I know it’s hard to focus when there’s so much going on.
Ooh, I hope you write a post with everything you learned after reading the quantum physics book! I am interested in learning but I don’t know if I would be able to read a book like that without falling asleep every time I opened it, haha. Good for you on giving it a try!
My best friend has a 9 year old and he’s now responsible for cooking dinner once a week. It’s always something SUPER easy like mac and cheese, but I love that she’s getting him in the kitchen and learning how to cook at a young age (ESPECIALLY a boy!)
Ha, so I should write a blog post on “Quantum Physics Made Simple?” We’ll see about that. I’m not sure I’ll learn enough to fill a whole post.
Yes, good for your friend. I don’t really like cooking with kids, so I never encouraged my kids to cook when they were young- it just seemed easier to do it myself. But once you get past that learning curve, I’m sure it’s SUPER helpful to have kids who can cook!
My girls love to cook and bake. Sofia can make cookies. They soon want to learn to cook. I can’t wait that day to happen. Your pasta and salad combo looks delicious.
I am reading along with you on The Breaking Wave! I am about 75% done and I agree with you that he sometimes writes like a man, like a Patterson or the guy who wrote The Hunt For The Red October (which actually turned out to be a good book, despite a lot of info about submarines). However, I am enjoying it so far!
I just read a bunch of books, one that I really enjoyed was The Women. Also, I can’t remember if you like thrillers, but if you do, I just finished The Guest, which was kind of fun.