Listening Party

Ten more books down. An infinity to go! Right now I'm just listening to the books but maybe I'll review them down the road.

1: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
  Mindy Kaling

2: Quiet
  Susan Cain

3: What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
  Laura Vanderkam

4: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
  David Sedaris

5: Someday, Someday, Maybe
  Lauren Graham

6: Self-Inflicted Wounds
  Aisha Tyler

7: Fahrenheit 451
  Ray Bradbury

8: Me Talk Pretty One Day
  David Sedaris

9: When You are Engulfed in Flames
  David Sedaris

10: The Making of a Chef
  Michael Ruhlman

Sweet Potato Pie (Flour Crust)

You may remember an old post about Sweet Potato Pie from a few years ago. At that time, I used a graham cracker crust, which I thought was really tasty. This time around, I made a regular pie crust. I'm not sure which I like better since they both complemented the filling. The graham cracker crust is sweeter, so points to it for that. But regular pie crust from scratch is so delicious. I don't make this pie that often so I guess I don't really have to pick a favorite. 

Banana Cupcakes with Leftover Frosting

When I made the cupcakes for the 50th anniversary party (see last post) I made three batches of cupcakes and three batches of frosting. I put a generous amount of piped frosting on the white cupcakes but still had about two cups of frosting leftover. Since I had some bananas that I was saving for banana bread, I decided to make banana cupcakes to use up the extra. They were a little sweet so I would recommend using less sugar than the recipe calls for. But I took them to work, and they were well-received.

Whole star-shaped cupcake and split cupcake to show off banana bits.

50th Anniversary Cupcakes

Entire batch

Close-up. White cake with white frosting and golden sugar sprinkles. The liners are also gold foil.

Displayed at the party, which had a Route 66 theme.

Here's An Idea...

If you don't know about the PBS Idea Channel, stop reading this and check it out. Here's one of my favorite episodes.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

These were the dessert for my little sister's birthday barbecue bash, which was also a belated Labor Day celebration. We had ribeye steaks, good red wine and yummy Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. 

Cupcakes in a box

Close up to show color and my nephew's decorating skills

Now Hear This

My newest obsession is listening to audio-books. I had kind of forgotten they existed until I was trying to finish a book for a book club at my local library. I'm not a very fast reader so I supplemented the audio version I found online with the reading of the physical book. I was literally listening to the last pages while getting ready to attend the meeting.

I was further reminded of their existence when I heard an ad for Audible.com while listening to This American Life. Then I met a guy whose job involved audio-books (or more accurately, prerecorded audio players,) which was weird for all sorts of reasons. 

I got re-hooked in earnest while looking through thousands of papers for one single letter -- a task that required my eyes but not my ears. I opened up the Audible App and realized I could only listen to the first chapter of a book. At the time it seemed good enough so I started listening to The Hunger Games. 

I was tempted to read the rest of the book but found out that my library had a audio version that I could download right onto my iPhone through the OverDrive App. I finished the first book in a few days. I've slowed my pace a bit since then. But happily, I've listened to more books in the last few months than I've read in the past few years. I feel smarter already!

Mostly, I listen while walking to and from work, but I also listen while baking or cooking or while falling asleep since it has a nifty sleep timer! 

Here's my list of books I finished so far:

1: The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

2: Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins

3: Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins

4: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

David Sedaris

5: Bossypants

Tina Fey

6: Superfreakonomics

Steven D. Levitt

7: Freakonomics

Steven D. Levitt

8: Death Masks

Jim Butcher

9: Barrel Fever

David Sedaris

10: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

David Sedaris