Month: November 2015

This took me way too long to read. In fact, two months! I read other things in the meantime. I am the type of reader who prefers reading books in a couple of sittings because spreading it out will result in me being distracted by other things.

The book’s narrative did not help. The narratives switch between three characters and certain sections of the story are non-linear. None of the characters meet until the end of the novel which was frustrating, but it made me keep reading.

I have to say that I liked two of the characters. I adored one of them a lot and the writing in the book is good. I was frustrated at times with the narrative style, but I knew the ending would be well worth it.

I had an emotional reaction to the ending. This is a novel about the second world war and it reminded me The Book Thief which I also had a deep reaction too. However, I feel the ending frustrated me too because it took me so long to get to that point. The climax and ending shocked me in a way, and I felt sad by it.

The book is good and I’ll definitely remember my fondness for one of the characters. I do wonder if the timing of the book affected how I felt about it. All in all, I have mixed feelings on it. I felt there was one or two high points about the book, but I’m not sure if the book also worked as well as it could have.

Read September 19-November 28, 2015 on Kindle.

Now that actual bread and baking season is among us, I found that my spring bread entries were still waiting to be published. Other than the standard Cranberry, Sunflower, Seed, and Orange loaf, the other two were good, but not necessarily standards. I’m already in process of attempt #10. More actual bread pictures will follow (hopefully).

Attempt #7 – May 26, 2015 – Cranberry Sunflower Seed Orange

24 hour first rise. 15 mins covered. 25 mins uncovered. Maybe the long first rise was a bad idea because this loaf came out too wet. For the first time, it was so stuck to the dutch oven that I had to rip it out in half. Not much rise. Still tasted good.

Attempt #8 – May 30, 2015 – Toasted Grains – Quinoa, Flax, Millet

1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup mixed grains (quinoa, flax, millet)

Idea taken from Girl Versus Dough. I rinsed the quinoa earlier in the day and let it dry. I melted the butter (more than 1tbsp maybe?) and toasted the grains on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. I used way too much butter, but it smelled fantastic. Proceeded with my usual recipe (almost one third WW flour).

First rise was about 20 hours. The smell of the bread was even more lovely this time because of the toasted grain.

Attempt #9 – June 13-14, 2015 – White Loaf

Idea taken from The Kitchn. I only used white AP flour, same yeast/water, but I added 11g of kosher salt (accidentally poured too much). After the first rise of about 14 hours, I shaped it into a loaf and put it into my 10×6″ silicone Ikea loaf pan. Even with the silicone, I lightly oiled it with canola and put wheat bran in it. The oiling was not necessary, but the wheat bran made a nice crust. Second rise was for over an hour. I put it in oven for 30 minutes, turning it half way at 15 min. It did not have a good vertical rise (most my breads don’t for some reason).

It was a bit too salty as expected. Crust was still good, but more delicate than usual. I’d do this loaf again though 430g of flour seems a lot for a small loaf.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (16 10 15) – A bit long. Hawkeye really grew on me; Jeremy Renner shone in this movie. I like Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. Everything else was standard Avengers fare.

Trainwreck (26 10 15) – I really enjoyed this. While there were a few scenes that went on too long, most of the movie worked for me. There aren’t enough good romantic comedies like this anymore. Schumer and Hader were wonderful. I thought Schumer did well in her dramatic scenes. The supporting cast was fun. Swinton! At the end of the movie, I wanted more and to follow these characters. A sign of a good movie.

Pitch Perfect 2 (27 10 15) – I knew this would not be as good as the first movie which I really enjoyed. I even have some of the songs on my phone. This second movie was slower paced and I wasn’t as engaged. It had some nice moments and songs, but not enough of them. Not essential viewing.

Rewatched Movies

Groundhog Day (20 10 15) – Was feeling a bit sick so movie time. I read a FiveThirtyEight article on most rewatched movies. Many commenters noted that this was not on the list, but it should have been. I agree. I love the spiritual aspect of this, and it’s my favourite Bill Murray movie.