Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Star Wars, Books,

I have been watching some Star Wars movies on TV, I had never seen the prequel ones before, I missed the first one but saw Part II Attack of the Clones and III Revenge of the Sith, over the last couple of nights showing how Annakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. I didn't think the movies were as good as the original Star Wars films which I thoroughly enjoyed but I loved Yoda, we saw a lot more of him than we did in the original movies. I tried a novel the other day which I ended up abandoning. I got about half way, but then just gave it up as a bad job. Its very rare this happens to me. It was called Juggler of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner. Maybe it was me, but I just couldn't get on with it. The story was good, but I found the writing didn't run smoothly. I am now reading Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. It looks like a sex book from the cover, but it isn't. The book is about robots. Man is extinct. The heroine is a robot who was originally designed for man's pleasure. Quite a good story and full of adventure. Some very interesting sci fi theories too. I was looking at my list of books from the library. It is split into two as Matt frequently picks up books for me so then the titles go down on his card. There are quite a lot of them. Have to go shopping today as we are bowling tomorrow. We are lunching in a different place so it will be interesting to see what its like. This is the travel league and we always have lunch before the game. Just looking for a recipe to share and I came across the following beef recipe in my Living Cookbook Files. I have no idea where it came from, but it sounds absolutely delicious if somewhat expensive. I have just discovered there is a restaurant called Cyrano so maybe the recipe came from there. Tenderloin of Beef Cyrano 1 kg of tenderloin. 250 g of " very large " Agen prunes. 3 spoonfuls of oil. 1 small tin of mousse de foie gras. 1.5 glasses of madeira wine. 1 spoon of flour. Salt, pepper, several leaves of watercress. - Slice the prunes lengthwise. - Remove the pit. - Replace the pits with a spoonful of mousse de foie gras. - 40 minutes before serving, heat the oil in a casserole and cook the roast. - Sprinkle with flour, moisten with the madeira wine and a half glass of water. - Add salt and pepper. Cover. - Cook for 20 minutes. - Gently place the stuffed prunes in the sauce around the roast and cook for another 10 minutes. - When ready to serve, slice the roast, place the slices on a warm serving dish, place the prunes around the roast and decorate with the watercress. Servings: 6 Have a great day.

12 comments:

  1. Whoa! The beef picture looks liked it is well cooked. Good for me, I read a recipe! Gay

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually I thought the recipe itself sounded too well cooked for me. I know you two won't mind that. I guess even if it wasn't you could basically cook it as long as you like.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Saturn's Children" has been well received here in Oz. I haven't read it - or anything by Stross - as I prefer fantasy and history to hard SF, but people who've read it tell me it's very good.

    I'll pass on the beef:-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Its not really hard SF Satima, more soft to medium if you know what I mean. I am enjoying it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jo --

    I've yet to watch a Star Wars movie.

    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well you aren't into sci fi are you Marilyn. Me I soak up the stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jo -- I go for the real stuff: nothing like a good murder.

    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  8. There is so much crime and misery in the world, that's why I like to read fantasy. Everything always ends up right in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not always, these days. Joe Abercrombie's recent trilogy, (comprising The Blade Itself, Before they are Hanged and The Last Argument of Kings) is dark, gritty, realistic and quite the best trilogy I've read in recent years. George RR Martin's work is also not of the Happily Ever After school of thought. I do love a happy ending but the more realistic ones have a different appeal and have more to say, I think, about the human condition.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Never read Joe Abercrombie, maybe I should, but read George R.R. Martin -is there anything recent? Yes, I agree, there isn't too much happy every after about his stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I reckon Abercrombie's worth watching out for, as is a collection of Martin's short stories called "Dreamsongs". I contains just about all the short fiction he's ever published, and he's been writing since he was a boy. There is even a novella in it that tells some of the backstory of A Song of Ice and Fire, several hundred years before the series starts. These days, we assciate him primarily with that series, but Martin has actually written a huge range of stuff, from hard SF to High Fantasy. Some of his earlier fans, especially those who prefer hard SF, actually don't care for the series. However, I love it and can't wait for A Dance with Dragons to make its appearance.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well you have given me two more sources of reading to look for. I also am waiting for Dance with Dragons with bated breath. I always worry that either I will die or the author will before some of these series are completed. In the Wheel of Time Series it was, of course, the author.

    ReplyDelete