Break to slobber over new books

I'm officially on a strict budget, now that we've put Kiddo's spring tuition on the plastic rectangle of debt doom, but I've received a bunch of ARCs, in the past couple of weeks, and had a bit of a splurge at Off-Square Books in Oxford during last weekend's quickie vacation.

Top to bottom:

Freddy and the Popinjay by Walter R. Brooks - purchase
Sea Change by Aimee Freedman - swap
The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley - from Wm Morrow for review
Baker Towers and News from Heaven by Jennifer Haigh - from Harper for review
The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne - from Harper for review
House of Earth by Woody Guthrie - another Harper book, which I'm struggling to get through.  There's a 28-page sex scene, if I counted right . . . maybe longer.  Yeeurgh.
Why Grow That When You Can Grow This? by Andrew Keys - a Twitter prize win from Timber Press (very exciting as we're really looking forward to working on the garden areas at our new house in the spring)

Top to bottom:  

Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway - purchase
Maps & Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands by Michael Chabon - purchase
On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett - purchase
Classic Garden Plans by David Stuart - purchase
Not pictured:  The 13 Clocks by James Thurber, which I already mini-reviewed (purchase) and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (purchase), which my husband has already stolen (but at least I cooked something, first)

At the back:

A copy of the latest Oxford American: The Southern Music Issue (with CD - purchase)

The dish I cooked:

I think it's called "Macaroni and cauliflower cheese bake," but don't quote me on that.  One thing I learned, last night:   I'd forgotten I am a am not a strict recipe-follower (it's been a long, long time since I cooked from scratch).  I had a feeling the recipe was going to be a little too bland with mostly cheese and parsley in the sauce, so I added a little dry mustard and then threw on some paprika when I took my first bite and confirmed that it was still pretty bland.  Next time, I think I'll add some white onion.  Regardless, this is a nice recipe for kids because it's hard to distinguish the cauliflower from the macaroni, taste-wise, since they're boiled and baked in the sauce together.  Great way to sneak in the cruciferous veggie if you've got kids who aren't too good about eating their vegetables.



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