Monday, October 26, 2015

Heinlein, Skin Cancer Op, Books Galore.

I have just read, what I think, is a fabulous book. It is Robert A. Heilein's Stranger in a Strange Land. What a fantastic story. I cannot think why I have never read it before nor anything else written by this author. Something I will be correcting. Stranger is about a baby being born to humans who had just landed on Mars. It was subsequently reared by Martians (the crew of the space ship having perished) and learned to be and think like one of them. In later years another space ship landed on Mars and when they returned they brought the young man with them. Valentine Michael Smith was the young man. His development on earth and his subsequent life are what the story is about and it is a fantastic story. He makes it his mission to teach how to achieve peace and happiness. The book was written and published in the '60s so I was amused that some of the characters smoked. These days you rarely read of anyone doing so. When it was first published, the books was drastically cut to decrease the costs of publishing I believe. This version has all the original wording, written by Robert Heinlein, restored. I cannot recommend it enough. I now have to check out his other books.

Matt now has a black eye from his latest skin cancer operation. He was allowed to shower on Saturday (op was Thursday) and then Saturday night he discovered his forehead was bloody although there was no apparent actual bleeding. Been OK since though. Tuesday he goes to get the stitches removed but I am wondering if they will do it so soon. I gather this was a much deeper excision than before.

I am suffering from a plethora of books at the moment. I order books from the library when I hear
about them. Very often they are books (or movies) a lot of other people want to read too so it often takes a while to get them. However, I ended up with the book above, and suddenly 4 other books came available together with a movie - The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which The Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavenaugh, recommended months ago. Not only that, I have an ebook which a friend has asked me to proof read for him. I do have a couple of weeks to do that and one of my library books is on a list with 18 others waiting to read it.

Oh dear, I have chosen a noodle dish yet again. But I do love noodles

Spicy Ginger Pork Noodles With Bok Choy

  • Yield 4 servings


Ingredients

  • 12 ounces baby bok choy (3 or 4 small heads)
  • 1 ounce ginger root (1 fat 2-inch-thick knob)
  • Kosher salt
  • 8 ounces rice noodles, not too thin
  • 2 tablespoons peanut or safflower oil
  • 1 pound lean ground pork
  • ¼ cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 fresh Thai or habanero chile, seeded if desired, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil, more for drizzling
  • Cilantro or torn basil, for serving
  • Black vinegar, for serving

Preparation

  1. Trim bok choy and separate dark green tops from white stems; leave tops whole and thinly slice stems. Peel ginger and finely chop half of it. Slice remaining ginger into thin matchsticks.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package instructions. Drain and run under cool water; drain again.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, breaking up with a fork, until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar. Use a slotted spoon to transfer meat to a bowl.
  4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Stir in half the scallions, the finely chopped ginger, the garlic and the chile. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bok choy stems and a pinch of salt. Cook until bok choy is almost tender, about 2 minutes. Toss in leaves and return pork to skillet.
  5. Toss noodles, remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar into the pan. Cook until just warmed through.
  6. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with remaining scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil and herbs. In a small bowl, combine ginger matchsticks with just enough black vinegar to cover. Serve ginger mixture alongside noodles as a garnish. 

Have a great day
 

30 comments:

  1. We both love old school sci fi - Richard Matheson, Phillip K. Dick. etc. We'll have to check Robert Heinlein and this book in particular out. Sounds like an interesting premise.

    Also, I bet having to explain Matt's black eye as being from his latest operation makes for an interesting conversation piece. Next time someone asks how he got it just say, "Well he wouldn't listen to me the first time", shrug, and see how they react.

    (Oh, and glad he's okay)

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    1. I don't know either of those authors so I will have to check on them.

      Actually, Matt's glasses hide his black eye pretty well so probably nobody will notice anyway. Thanks - Bryan I assume.

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  2. Knew you'd like Heinlein! You like my books and I've been compared to him. (Although no way I am that good.)
    Happy reading!

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  3. It's always fun to discover a new author. Your TBR list keeps growing, mine too, but to have them all arrive at once, can make you wonder if you can do it - and then you do.
    Happy Reading!
    Glad Matt is doing better, black eye or not!

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    1. You're right Alex, it is. Especially this book. Yup, I'm getting through them.

      His black eye is fading nicely.

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  4. My husband would eat that.

    I wish I had more time to read. I miss curling up with a good book.

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  5. That does sound like a fascinating plot for the book; might have to check it out myself to read. I too have a lot of books on my tablet downloaded; I made a vow to get through them before adding any more to the "stack."

    betty

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    1. Well don't forget this one Betty, it's an excellent read.

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  6. Glad he was able to shower, sorry about the black eye. Cool on the book, it's great to find one that you love, and then go back and read the other books from that writer.

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    1. Well is fading Ivy. You are so right, and he has written a lot of books.

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  7. It does seem like all of the waiting list books become available at the same time. The recipe looks really good! I like the play on the dumplings. I love pork dumplings, but it seems like it would be a lot of trouble to make them. This looks more doable. I hope things go well with the stitches.

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    1. One book they recycled for me Danielle, but I am trying to read everything as quickly as I can. Especially the one people are waiting for. Delicious recipe I thought. Thanks for the good wishes.

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  8. The noodle dish delicious. I currently have 8 books from the library. I need to get busy.
    Susan Says

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  9. So hope all goes well at the doctors and glad to hear Matt is mostly fine after both of them so close together. I read SIASL when I was a teenager and it was one of the first books that truly took my breath away. I LOVED this book. I loved the ideas he had. I loved everything about it. So glad you've now read it too. Perhaps I'll have to read it again....

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    1. Thanks Lisa. If you read it again, make sure you get the full book. I understand there was a large chunk missing from the previous publications. I am toying with the idea of buying the book.

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  10. I've heard the name of this book but I always thought it was a movie. I looked it up on IMDB and apparently not. I'm glad that Matt's doing better overall. You guys must be happy to have the worst behind you.

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    1. I thought it was made into a movie too JoJo. It's a great story. Yes, it will be good once the stitches are out and we can get back to normal.

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  11. It sounds like it would make a good movie. I like some sci fi books. This sounds good to me. Have you read The Sparrow?

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    1. No Pinky. I thought you meant another book with a similar title which was about Africa which I believe I did read many years ago, but not this one.

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  12. Sorry. It's by Mary Doria Russell. I think you'd like it, Jo.

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    1. OK Pinky, I'll check it out.

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    2. The library have it Pinky, so have requested it.

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    3. Please let me know what you think of it after you've read it Jo :)

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    4. Will do Pinky. Not sure how soon I will get it. Hope not too soon as I am still somewhat loaded with books.

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  13. Isn't it fun to find a new author and have a new world open up when it comes to books. Hopefully all goes smoothly with the stitches and no more bleeding. I have a serious case of the munchies and this dish looks great

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    1. Yes it is Birgit but then I read a lot of books by different friends who write so they all start as new authors. Stitches today so hope it is then all over.

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  14. Those noodles look yummy Jo. And yes, it's great to find a new author and wonder where they've been all your life? Hmm. All the best to Matt as he continues to recuperate. I well remember that keeping it dry rule when I had my melanomas removed. It's such a treat when you can forget about getting it wet!!

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    1. Trouble is I haven't time to pursue his books at the moment. He only had to keep it dry for 48 hours then back to normal with a little ointment on twice a day.

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