Audio Bliss

I'm driving to Texas on Saturday. The prospect of a 12 hour drive isn't that thrilling, but I'll tell you what is: 36 hours worth of jolly good audiobooks. It's been a long dry stretch, having tried and rejected several duds in the past month, but I'm now restocked and ready to go. Here's what's on the playlist:

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami

I've listened to enough of all three to know they'll be winners. (Well, I'm not sure about Kafka, but I liked the first chapter. We'll have to see where it goes from there.)

In case you're interested, here are the rejects, and why I rejected them. I really should have known better, but I figured they were worth a try:

I Heard that Song Before - Mary Higgins Clark
Double Take - Catherine Coulter
True Evil - Greg Iles

I've perhaps said before that I have a higher tolerance for a bad read in print than I do on audio. I think because for me it takes more concentration to listen than to read. If I'm reading and my mind drifts, I can easily skip back to what I missed. It's more trouble to do that with an audiobook.

And the performer can really make or break an audiobook. True Evil is read by Dick Hill, a popular award-winning performer, but I just didn't like his characters. Double Take is performed by a man and woman, and I usually don't like multi-cast books--the transitions between characters are too abrupt for me, though I'm probably in the minority on this one. Finally, despite these authors' popularity, I don't think any of them are great writers, and the writing was too distracting for me to enjoy the book.

You can check out my list of recently read books for other audiobooks I've enjoyed (since we just established that I'm not going to finish it if I don't enjoy it).

On the Other Hand

I'm going against what I just said, and will tell you that Cook's Illustrated Nut Crescent recipe is a winner. The best I've ever eaten.

Stick with the Tried and True

If you're considering trying Cook's Illustrated chewy oatmeal cookie recipe, don't. I already tried it, and they were inedible. Why on earth did I not stick with the tried and true recipe, proven many times over by multiple women in my family?

The Cook's Illustrated recipe uses baking powder and lots of sugar, which is supposed to make the cookies crunchy (the sugar is, not the baking powder). I should have known that 1 C of brown sugar and 1 C granulated sugar would be too much. The cookies were so sweet that I couldn't eat them, and the sugar completely overpowered the oatmeal. I had never met a cookie that had too much sugar. And now I have.

Sadly, the rest of the dough is still in the bowl on the counter, and the last sheet of cookies is still languishing in the oven. Guess what I'm doing when I get home!

Both cookies came off the same cookie sheet! (btw, those are clean dishes in the background)

Where Have I Been...

that I didn't know about baked oatmeal? We're eating breakfast at Seminary tomorrow and I was a little worried there won't be enough food (in reality, we'll probably have pancakes coming out our ears). After considering and discarding several french toast casserole recipes, I happened upon this oatmeal recipe. I came right home and made up a batch to make sure it would turn out.

It turned out perfect! I used pecans and Craisins for the nuts and fruit, and followed all the directions assiduously. The result? Super yummy (assuming you like oatmeal) and super easy (assuming you have the hour to wait while it bakes).

BTW, I read about the recipe at Cast Sugar, which looks like a pretty nifty blog. Anyone who bakes as many cookies as she does, and whose family favorite is molasses cookies, is OK in my book!

Familiar Situation

I started blogging 20 months ago, mostly as a way to avoid doing homework. And here I am, still blogging for avoidance. Not from homework, but from workwork. The ugliest kind of workwork--my Outline of Faculty Data (vita) that's due on Friday.

Instead of working on my OFD while I still have time to show it to someone before everyone splits for the holiday (tomorrow), I'm learning how to identify a Sears kit home. Now which would you rather be doing?

Oops--gotta run. Time for lunch!