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January 16, 2012
So, I have been dutifully neglecting the part of my blog dedicated to the books I love to read. To this I say, “No more!” Alternately, for my dutiful Spanish readers out there, “Nada mas!” Anyway, so I just finished Dashiell Hammett’s classic, The Maltese Falcon. Hammett’s book, later made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart, was written based off of his own background. He was both a resident of San Francisco and a former detective. Part of the brilliance of this story is the apparent reality there is for the setting. Many places he mentions are real, and those that aren’t are just alternate names given to real places. Additionally, the streets that the characters travel are completely real. Hammett’s writing is well done. It’s not my favorite, but I didn’t detest it, certainly. He tells a good story with plenty of detail, but not in a Dickens-esqe serialist manner. The thing that’s interesting about the writing in the book is that there is no thought dialogue whatsoever. Plenty of the characters speak, but we don’t hear any of them think. Whether it works for you is really a matter of preference, but I’m standing behind it, and I’ll explain that later. Without giving too much away, the story follows the main character, Sam Spade who is a private investigator working in San Francisco. A woman by the name of Brigid O’Shaughnessy approaches him (actually, it’s more complicated than this) to find, you guessed it, the Maltese Falcon. From there, you follow Sam’s twisting and turning to find this long lost treasure that everyone seems to have an interest in. Filled with romance, murder, false identities, and a hardass private investigator, this book is a definitive example of what a good detective novel needs to have. The character Sam Spad is confounding to say the least. He is defined as a “hard-boiled” detective, and it makes sense. Throughout, Spade is one to get his way. Every time. There are pages and pages of back and forth for doing it Spade’s way versus any other way, and Spade always receives the other party’s consent. Never the other way around. This includes his business dealings when he seeks to milk his client for every last dollar bill left in their wallet or purse. Surely his motives seem obvious: money. Or is it? On the other hand Spade does pursue justice for his murdered partner and does entertain a love interest through O’Shaughnessy. This leads us to a bigger question: where is his moral compass pointing? If it even exists, that is. I’m not going to delve into my interpretation, but I will say this: the cleverness of withholding thought dialogue is evinced when these questions arise. When we have to judge a character simply by what they say and do, it makes the reader’s job much more involved. Hammett was a detective himself, and he was always looking for answers but he didn’t do it by reading their thoughts, he had to go with what they said and did. It was all he had. Maybe this is Hammett’s way of letting us do the same guess work, or maybe he just forgot to put it in. I don’t really know. What I do know is that it adds something to the book. Maybe not much, but something nonetheless.

So, I have been dutifully neglecting the part of my blog dedicated to the books I love to read. To this I say, “No more!” Alternately, for my dutiful Spanish readers out there, “Nada mas!” Anyway, so I just finished Dashiell Hammett’s classic, The Maltese Falcon. Hammett’s book, later made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart, was written based off of his own background. He was both a resident of San Francisco and a former detective. Part of the brilliance of this story is the apparent reality there is for the setting. Many places he mentions are real, and those that aren’t are just alternate names given to real places. Additionally, the streets that the characters travel are completely real.

Hammett’s writing is well done. It’s not my favorite, but I didn’t detest it, certainly. He tells a good story with plenty of detail, but not in a Dickens-esqe serialist manner. The thing that’s interesting about the writing in the book is that there is no thought dialogue whatsoever. Plenty of the characters speak, but we don’t hear any of them think. Whether it works for you is really a matter of preference, but I’m standing behind it, and I’ll explain that later.

Without giving too much away, the story follows the main character, Sam Spade who is a private investigator working in San Francisco. A woman by the name of Brigid O’Shaughnessy approaches him (actually, it’s more complicated than this) to find, you guessed it, the Maltese Falcon. From there, you follow Sam’s twisting and turning to find this long lost treasure that everyone seems to have an interest in. Filled with romance, murder, false identities, and a hardass private investigator, this book is a definitive example of what a good detective novel needs to have.

The character Sam Spad is confounding to say the least. He is defined as a “hard-boiled” detective, and it makes sense. Throughout, Spade is one to get his way. Every time. There are pages and pages of back and forth for doing it Spade’s way versus any other way, and Spade always receives the other party’s consent. Never the other way around. This includes his business dealings when he seeks to milk his client for every last dollar bill left in their wallet or purse. Surely his motives seem obvious: money. Or is it? On the other hand Spade does pursue justice for his murdered partner and does entertain a love interest through O’Shaughnessy. This leads us to a bigger question: where is his moral compass pointing? If it even exists, that is. I’m not going to delve into my interpretation, but I will say this: the cleverness of withholding thought dialogue is evinced when these questions arise. When we have to judge a character simply by what they say and do, it makes the reader’s job much more involved. Hammett was a detective himself, and he was always looking for answers but he didn’t do it by reading their thoughts, he had to go with what they said and did. It was all he had. Maybe this is Hammett’s way of letting us do the same guess work, or maybe he just forgot to put it in. I don’t really know. What I do know is that it adds something to the book. Maybe not much, but something nonetheless.

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December 16, 2011
1,482 notes
prettygirlfood: Toffee Crunch Cupcakes Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Makes 12 cupcakes | Preparation: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. 1 cup (4.5 ounces) all purpose flour 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7.3 ounces) sugar 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and warm 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 tablespoon instant coffee (recommended: Starbucks Via) 1/2 cup hot coffee 1/2 cup chocolate covered toffee bits Instructions: 1. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a blow and mix thoroughly to combine. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add the butter and egg mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the hot coffee. Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. The batter will be thin enough to pour. Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool. Store and serve at room temperature. TIP: For light tender cupcakes, spoon flour and cocoa lightly into measuring cups (instead of dipping the cups into the flour or cocoa) and then sweep the measures level without tapping or shaking them. Caramel Frosting • 5 large egg whites • 11/2 cup sugar • 4 sticks unsalted butter, diced and softened • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1 tablespoon vanilla • 1/3 cup caramel sauce (click here for a homemade caramel recipe)  Instructions: 1. Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water. Bring mixture to 150 degrees F while whisking constantly. 2. Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until mixture cools and doubles in volume. 3. Add butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. The mixture may appear clumpy and almost curdled looking-this is normal. Keep mixing and it will become even and smooth again. Add salt and vanilla and mix to combine. Add caramel sauce and mix to combine. Chocolate Dipping Sauce • 2/3 cups dark chocolate • 2 tablespoons heavy cream • 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted • 5-8 tablespoons water, warm Instructions: 1. Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside and let sauce cool to warm. To assemble cupcake: 1. To frost the cupcakes: Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and start piping from the outside working in to the center to create one even layer. Freeze cupcakes for 20 minutes before dipping in warm chocolate sauce, so that the frosting does not melt. Remove cupcakes and dip in warm chocolate sauce, and then rim with chocolate covered toffee bits.  Return cupcakes to freezer for five minutes for chocolate to set. Remove from freezer and finish piping frosting on top.

prettygirlfood:

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker

Makes 12 cupcakes | Preparation: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

  • 1 cup (4.5 ounces) all purpose flour
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7.3 ounces) sugar
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and warm
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoon instant coffee (recommended: Starbucks Via)
  • 1/2 cup hot coffee
  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered toffee bits

Instructions:

1. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a blow and mix thoroughly to combine. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add the butter and egg mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the hot coffee. Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. The batter will be thin enough to pour. Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool. Store and serve at room temperature.

TIP: For light tender cupcakes, spoon flour and cocoa lightly into measuring cups (instead of dipping the cups into the flour or cocoa) and then sweep the measures level without tapping or shaking them.

Caramel Frosting

• 5 large egg whites
• 11/2 cup sugar
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, diced and softened
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup caramel sauce (click here for a homemade caramel recipe) 

Instructions:
1. Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water. Bring mixture to 150 degrees F while whisking constantly.
2. Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until mixture cools and doubles in volume.
3. Add butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. The mixture may appear clumpy and almost curdled looking-this is normal. Keep mixing and it will become even and smooth again. Add salt and vanilla and mix to combine. Add caramel sauce and mix to combine.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce
• 2/3 cups dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
• 5-8 tablespoons water, warm

Instructions:
1. Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside and let sauce cool to warm.

To assemble cupcake:

1. To frost the cupcakes: Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and start piping from the outside working in to the center to create one even layer. Freeze cupcakes for 20 minutes before dipping in warm chocolate sauce, so that the frosting does not melt. Remove cupcakes and dip in warm chocolate sauce, and then rim with chocolate covered toffee bits.  Return cupcakes to freezer for five minutes for chocolate to set. Remove from freezer and finish piping frosting on top.

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December 16, 2011
1 note
I feel as though it is time for me to post what I refer to as “my default.” Or, as it is properly called, Tortellini with Mushrooms. I’ve made this at least a half a dozen times, more than any other recipe thus far (I know that’s not impressive, but I’m new at this). Anyway, this is a simple, quick, and inexpensive recipe that tastes wonderful. I’ve made it for family, friends, and even for date nights, and it has consistently been received well from everyone who’s tried it. As I said, the recipe is simple, so here it is: 1 pound mixed mushrooms 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons minced garlic 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup Madeira or dry sherry 9 ounces fresh cheese tortellini 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil DIRECTIONS Halve 1 pound mixed mushrooms Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms until golden, about 8 minutes. Add 4 teaspoons minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme to mushrooms and cook 1 minute. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add 1/2 cup Madeira or dry sherry, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Cook 9 ounces fresh cheese tortellini per package directions Add pasta to warm mushrooms and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated or shaved Parmesan, if desired. courtesy of prevention.com As I said, it’s rather basic and convenient, but I love it. It makes good use of some of my favorite spices: garlic and thyme. The two work really well with the sherry, giving the dish a deliciously penetrating scent. Generally, I like to pair this with a cooked vegetable such as baked broccoli. It also goes well with bread dipped in oil and vinegar. Lastly, I have not tried this dish cold, but I feel that there is promise for cold tortellini and mushrooms.

I feel as though it is time for me to post what I refer to as “my default.” Or, as it is properly called, Tortellini with Mushrooms. I’ve made this at least a half a dozen times, more than any other recipe thus far (I know that’s not impressive, but I’m new at this). Anyway, this is a simple, quick, and inexpensive recipe that tastes wonderful. I’ve made it for family, friends, and even for date nights, and it has consistently been received well from everyone who’s tried it. As I said, the recipe is simple, so here it is:

1 pound mixed mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup Madeira or dry sherry

9 ounces fresh cheese tortellini

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Halve 1 pound mixed mushrooms

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat.

Saute mushrooms until golden, about 8 minutes.

Add 4 teaspoons minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme to mushrooms and cook 1 minute.

Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Add 1/2 cup Madeira or dry sherry, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Cook 9 ounces fresh cheese tortellini per package directions

Add pasta to warm mushrooms and simmer 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated or shaved Parmesan, if desired.

courtesy of prevention.com

As I said, it’s rather basic and convenient, but I love it. It makes good use of some of my favorite spices: garlic and thyme. The two work really well with the sherry, giving the dish a deliciously penetrating scent. Generally, I like to pair this with a cooked vegetable such as baked broccoli. It also goes well with bread dipped in oil and vinegar. Lastly, I have not tried this dish cold, but I feel that there is promise for cold tortellini and mushrooms.

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December 12, 2011
8,801 notes
And how.

And how.

(Source: yeahwriters, via scribnerbooks)

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December 10, 2011
440 notes
Story of my life minus the tea. Tea is fine, but I certainly don’t need it to survive. Maybe replace that with “cooking,”  ”coffee,” or “sleep.” Actually no, not “sleep.”

Story of my life minus the tea. Tea is fine, but I certainly don’t need it to survive. Maybe replace that with “cooking,”  ”coffee,” or “sleep.” Actually no, not “sleep.”

(Source: dailydoseofstuf, via cheapmedicine)

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December 10, 2011

So, in what was a bout of unholy amounts of ambition, I decided to try a new recipe when I was at home last time. That’s right, I made chicken marsala for the first time:

If you ask me, I’d say it turned out pretty well. It tasted good, and the chicken was especially tender. If you ask the rest of my family, they’d say it was amazing. Who’s right? I don’t really know because I tend to be modest while they tend to be emphatic. Chances are it’s somewhere in the middle. In any case, this is a recipe I will no doubt be using again in order to gain fame and admiration. Alternately, I’ll just use it when in need of a tasty dinner for the fam or the beautiful lady in my life. Along with it I served broccoli baked in olive oil and various italian seasonings and garlic as well as baked red potatoes coated with a dijon mustard and olive oil mixture.

The chicken marsala recipe is this one here:

Chicken Marsala with Sage and Thyme

1 cup chicken broth 

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced

1-2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup Holland House Marsala wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.

Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Put flour in a wide shallow bowl, add salt, pepper, garlic powder and mix. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Pat chicken dry, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to a plate or tray.

Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer.

Add 3/4 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add 3/4 cup broth (reserving extra 1/4 cup to thin the sauce later to reach desired consistency, if necessary), cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon sage and thyme leaves. If desired, thin sauce with chicken broth to reach desired consistency.

Serve chicken with sauce.

Courtesy of goodlifeeats.com

This recipe was a lot of fun. It had a lot of different stages: no “throw it all in a casserole dish and bake for an hour” sort of things. Also, I got to cook with sage for the first time. Is that really exciting to most people? Likely not. However, as someone who is still honing their skills in the kitchen, I enjoyed making this. Trying something new is scary for me, so when it goes well, it gives me a runner’s high of sorts.

Lastly, I should give credit where it is really do: Brooke made the potatoes and broccoli. I picked them out for the menu, but she put them together. They tasted just as wonderful as the chicken did. Props to Brooke—I couldn’t have done this without her.

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November 20, 2011
Once I get a kitchen, this is happening.   Creamy Green Beans and Mushrooms INGREDIENTS 1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into 1-inch pieces (if fresh, remove ends, if frozen get pre-cut) 1 pound mushrooms (cremini, button, shiitake), thickly sliced Salt 1/2 cup onions, chopped 2 Tbs butter 1/2 cup sour cream Freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley for garnish METHOD 1 Put 2 quarts of water, salted with 1 tbsp of salt, in a pot to boil while you cut the mushrooms and onions. 2 Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and dry sauté them until they begin to release their water. Sprinkle them with a little salt. Once they have released most of their water, remove them to a bowl and set aside. 3 Add the green beans to the boiling water, and time them for 5 minutes, or until just tender. (No need to defrost frozen beans.) 4 Add butter to the hot sauté pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onions. Cook until the onions are beginning to brown. 5 As soon as the green beans are cooked just tender, strain them. Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onions, then add the green beans. 6 Remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. courtesy of simplyrecipes.com

Once I get a kitchen, this is happening.

 

Creamy Green Beans and Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into 1-inch pieces (if fresh, remove ends, if frozen get pre-cut)

1 pound mushrooms (cremini, button, shiitake), thickly sliced

Salt

1/2 cup onions, chopped

2 Tbs butter

1/2 cup sour cream

Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley for garnish

METHOD

1 Put 2 quarts of water, salted with 1 tbsp of salt, in a pot to boil while you cut the mushrooms and onions.

2 Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and dry sauté them until they begin to release their water. Sprinkle them with a little salt. Once they have released most of their water, remove them to a bowl and set aside.

3 Add the green beans to the boiling water, and time them for 5 minutes, or until just tender. (No need to defrost frozen beans.)

4 Add butter to the hot sauté pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onions. Cook until the onions are beginning to brown.

5 As soon as the green beans are cooked just tender, strain them. Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onions, then add the green beans.

6 Remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

courtesy of simplyrecipes.com

Link
November 20, 2011
Story Corps

In its greatness, NPR has yet another segment of their media that I have only recently investigated: Story Corps. I have heard this segment of the friday edition of Morning Edition, and I’ve always meant to look into it. So after only a few short years, I did today, and suffice to say, I bought both of the Story Corps books after spending less than half an hour on their site. If you live people and the stories they have to share with all of us, you need to see this site immediately. Ranging from poignant (yes, I nearly cried during a few) to farcical (I also laughed out loud), there is most surely a story on this site that will move you as deeply as many have moved me.

Text
November 20, 2011

First Post!

So, as a way to indoctrinate my blog, I’ve decided to ignore my theme by posting a picture of my sister. I certainly know how to start off on the right foot, don’t I? Anyway, so the previous picture is my sister of 18 years, Brooke. Being that she’s the subject of my first post, you’ve probably gathered Brooke and I get along swell. There are always some downs to our relationship, but thankfully it is primarily filled with ups. Remarkably, these ups have continued even after I moved out of the house and off to school. I suppose one could say that is a testament to our relationship, but I won’t be the one to say it. After all, I didn’t expect anything to change. That said, though we haven’t drifted apart, I still do wind up missing her terribly when I’m off at school. That’s why it is so fortunate that Thanksgiving Break is coming up.

Come Tuesday night at about 9 or 10 P.M, I will most likely be getting out of my good friend Hailey’s car and will walk up the three steps to my front door, four hours away from my other front door at school. Whether Brooke or my parents will be there at that moment is inconsequential—they’ll get there eventually, and when they do, they can count on receiving a genuinely contented hug from me. Especially Brooke, because, without going into unnecessary detail, she’s had a rough week. Hence, I can’t wait to get home because I would love nothing more than to be the best big brother I can for her.

This past week, amid all of the work I’ve done in preparation for break, I’ve actually managed to find the time to read. To most college students, this is a chronic issue; however, I pride myself for being willing to sacrifice an extra 20 minutes of sleep so I can read a few pages in a piece of leisure reading. Last Saturday was an anomaly by my own standards: I managed to finish Christopher Buckley’s Boomsday, which was a light comedic book in which the main character proposes a solution to the Social Security crisis: tax benefits for anyone who voluntarily commits suicide at age 75. As one can guess, this book was not without its comedic moments, making it a nice book to read at the end of a hectic day. Having finished this book on Saturday was not my remarkable feat though: I only had 20-ish pages left. The thing that made it remarkable is that I had time to finish a short 90 page novel. Yes, I managed to read Ben Rice’s Pobby and Dingan that day as well.

As far as books go, I’d have to give Pobby and Dingan some serious props. Rice’s first novel was splendid. This story, told from the perspective of a young boy, Ashmol, is about his quest to find Pobby and Dingan, the two friends of his little sister, Kellyanne. A simple premise to be sure; however, what makes the story interesting is that are not real, they are Kellyanne’s imaginary friends. As the story begins, Ashmol makes it evident that he does not care for Kellyanne or her imaginary friends; indeed, they seem to be a nuisance for him. So, you can imagine the animosity he feels when his father, a struggling opal miner in rural Australia, starts treating Pobby and Dingan as completely tangible people. Ashmol is utterly revolted that the voice of reason has even escaped one of his parents, so it is to his relief when Ashmol’s father brings Pobby and Dingan to work with him and later returns home having forgotten all about the two. Kellyanne becomes privy to this fact and refuses to buy into her father’s lies when he says that the two are in the house. Having lost her friends, Ashmol is relieved to see that his sister’s foolish imagination can finally be put to rest. However, Kellyanne does not feel the same way—she yearns to have them back. Her loneliness is so strong that it leaves her giving up on life. I won’t spoil any more of this story except to say that it sends Ashmol on a touching journey to find Pobby and Dingan, motivated by nothing but the extraordinary love for his sister.

Having read this book, I found myself on the verge of tears, being reminded of my own sister and how much Ashmol’s story reminded me of my own. As I said, my relationship with her consists primarily of ups, but it also has its downs. We are not super human in our relationship: we bicker, we disagree, we tease a little too much. Though at the end of the day, I think Ashmol and I are on the same page. We both recognize that no division in our relationship is irreconcilable when the wellbeing of our sister is at stake.

So while Brooke may have had a rough week, she’s not on the verge of death like dear Kellyanne. However, I honestly can’t say that that matters all that much. Brooke’s emotional wellness is just as important as her physical one, and I refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. So come Tuesday, I can’t wait to go home and see her and remind her of one thing: I’m not a perfect brother, but I’m a brother who, through good or bad, will always try his best for her.

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November 20, 2011
Brookity-Brooke at her finest

Brookity-Brooke at her finest