Café con Leche

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March 16, 2008

Fettuccine with Chicken, Asparagus and Peas

The San Mateo Farms market has very good baby asparagus for bargain prices. I bought some this weekend and decided to make some Fettuccine.

Ingredients
3/4 pound fettuccine
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 pound chicken
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound pencil-thin asparagus, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed

Directions
1. Cook the fettuccine until al dente. Drain; reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add chicken and garlic and cook over moderately high heat. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the asparagus and cook over moderately high heat until crisp-tender, 2 minutes; transfer to the plate.
4. Whisk in the cream and bring to a boil then add the pasta and reserved cooking water. Add peas, chicken and asparagus, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, tossing, until creamy, 2 minutes.

A couple weeks ago when I found cheap fresh broccoli at the farmers market I made Broccoli with Fettuccine.

Posted by Rosa at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

This story takes place against the cold, gray, bleakness of a New England winter. The Narrator, an engineer who is living temporarily in Starkfield, Massachusetts while working on a project in a nearby town, sees Ethan Frome by chance outside the Starkfield post office, and becomes curious.

The Narrator gathers bits and pieces of information about Ethan becoming more intrigued with the story of his life. Then one evening while returning back from work they are caught in a blinding snowstorm. Ethan invites The Narrator to spend the night at his farm house. It is during this stay that The Narrator is able to glean more information about Ethan's life.

Ethan Frome is extremely tall farmer who is trying to scape out a meager living while also tending to his frigid, demanding and ungrateful wife, Zeena. Zeena had come to live with Ethan after his mother had become ill and he needed help. She took over taking care of Ethan's mom as well as all household duties. After his mother's death, Ethan couldn't imagine living alone again and decided to marry Zeena.

Before his mother had fallen ill Ethan had left home to attend a technological college and dreamed of one day living in a metropolitan area. However, after year of marriage, Zeena became known for "sickliness" and his dream of moving away from Starkfield was doomed.

A ray of hope enters Ethan's life when his wife's cousin Mattie arrives to help. His life was transformed as he fell in love Mattie but their fate is doomed. One evening while out sledding Mattie and Ethan agree that death would be better than living apart. With the intention of committing suicide, Mattie and Ethan head straight for the elm tree at the bottom of the hill. The suicide attempt fails and end up being taken care of by Zeena.

When The Narrator stays overnight at the Frome farm, over twenty years after the smash-up, he is surprised to find that Mattie who was crippled by the accident complains incessantly. In fact, the two women are now so much alike, that he has difficulty distinguishing them.

Posted by Rosa at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Cinco Moscas Azules

La primera vez que empecé a leer este libro tuve que parar porque no aguantaba lo aburrido que era. Esta ultima vez me propuse terminarlo. Las primeras 80 páginas son un ‘ladrillo’ pero después de estas la novela cambia. Toma un tinte existencialista.

Un hombre de clase alta empobrecido decide suicidarse en un hotel de Marruecos viviendo a todo lujo como en sus mejores días. En el hotel se encuentra con “cinco moscas azules” madrileñas, es decir, con cinco personas de su misma clase social sólo que ricas y opulentas. La vida de cada uno se describe con información que el hombre, Molinet, recibe de su sobrina vía fax. En fin, para salvar el honor de una mosca azul decide matar a una de ellos.

El libro me pareció muy ‘juvenil’ y demasiado largo pero vale la pena leerlo.

Posted by Rosa at 10:25 PM | Permalink