Potatoes in the Mist

So...the Ruth Reichl pumpkin pancakes weren't very good. Not sweet enough. But I made pumpkin pancakes from a Jeanne Lemlin cookbook...much better.

Now I'm reading My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl. I've always enjoyed her books - Comfort Me With Apples, Tender at the Bone, Delicious. I can't relate to this one entirely, because she is grieving her job at Gourmet (an alien concept to me - I've never had a job I've missed). But it's full of appealing recipes. I got the ingredients for her pumpkin pancakes. I like the Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix, but it disappeared off the shelves early this year. Her recipe looks like a good substitute (but rich, with a stick of butter and four eggs). She says you can make it with half a stick, but it won't taste as good.

I just finished The Comfort Food Diaries by Emily Nunn. I really enjoyed it. I might even try a few of the recipes.

I was having trouble getting to sleep, so I finished up The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. I thought it might be too sentimental, based on the title, but it was lovely. I also read a string of good Alice Hoffman books lately: The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Faithful, The Dovekeepers.

About halfway through The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman. Really enjoying it. It's about Camille Pissaro's mother (although he is also a character in the story). They're living in Charlotte Amalia, St. Thomas.

I just finished The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. She is hit or miss for me, but I liked this one. I like the idea of being a witch.

Sometimes I get nostalgic about clothes. I miss a gray wool sweater from college and a purple velour dress, also from college.

The new Ladies' Detective Agency book is out today :)

I just finished Tom Perrotta's frankly rather icky book, Mrs. Fletcher. The subject matter was a little...but his voice is always readable and engaging.

Sometimes I wake up way too early for no reason.

There is something soothingly mindless about Pinterest, a respite from one's problems. I saw a pin for crock pot cheesy potato soup. I couldn't decide if it was disgusting or good (a cup of milk, half a cup of heavy cream, a pound of Velveeta). I'm leaning toward disgusting. But I saved it anyway.