My new produce find!

Ever heard of, or seen, a Sumo Citrus Fruit?!  Well, if I had to describe it (after just having eaten my first one for breakfast!) I would say that it's a delicious cross between an orange, tangerine, and clementine!  It is sweet, super easy to peel, seedless, and not at all messy :-)  We can thank the Japanese for this amazing new citrus varietal, complete with its rather odd appearance...

Does it make you think of a Sumo wrestler?

Lucky for us, it is now grown in California!  I'm hoping that as it gains popularity, and becomes more widely produced, it will also decrease in price.  As of now, these beauties (uglies?) are more than $2.00 each at my local grocery store!  Hence, why I purchased just one Sumo this time around, and bought a large bag of navel oranges to keep me satisfied the rest of the week.  

If you want to learn more about this unique new fruit, visit the official website: http://www.sumocitrus.com/sumo_description.html

To experiencing new foods...

Librarian turned Foodie

Book Break 2

Honestly, if I could have any superpower, it would be the ability to speed-read a book in under an hour.  That way, when someone asks if I've read 'this' or 'that' book, I can say 'Why, yes, I have!' instead of, 'No, not yet... but it's on my list!'  The latter response is typically met with: "And you call yourself a 'Librarian'?!"

Does everyone think that all a "Librarian" does is sit around and read books all day? I wish!

I do have a busy life [shocker, I know!], and, therefore, my list of books-to-read is getting longer and longer.  So, to make myself feel like I'm accomplishing (aka reading) more, I have chosen to tackle several books at one time!  I recently finished reading Quiet [featured in my first Book Break post].   It was excellent... so very insightful and educational.  I highly recommend reading it if you haven't yet.

Here are a few others that I recently read or I am currently reading:

Life of Pi is the current reading selection for the student Book Club at the high school where I work.   The film adaptation of this story was recently released, so we decided to read the book first... which is always a wise decision, in my opinion!  As the saying goes... Don't judge a book by its movie :-)  

I found this book to be a little slow at first due to the incredible amount of detail the author puts into his writing.  As a result, the reader is able to readily picture the setting of his story, and therefore, has no choice but to become engrossed in the life of the main character, Pi.  Once I reached the halfway point of Martel's novel, it picked up a bit.  It is the ultimate story of adventure and the strength of the human spirit.  Although it doesn't make my "favorite books" list, I'll still give it 3 out of 5 stars.  

This book came highly recommended by a fellow literature buff/teacher at my workplace.  I  happened upon it at the beginning of the school year, and considered reading it then.  After reading the first few chapters, I can tell it will be a very engrossing (gross?), shocking, and somewhat irreverent experience that I'm going to absolutely devour from beginning to end!  I'm thinking this will be a book that some people may hate if they have a hard time facing the hard facts about death and the fate of bodies donated to Science.  If you find this stuff interesting, I urge you to give it a try, as I have :-)

This was the book I started reading during my recent trip to Marco Island, Florida!  I have read about a third of the book so far, and it is a brutally honest depiction of a struggling single mother who is trying to keep her life on track while raising her daughter.   I love the truth behind the characters in this story... it is incredibly believable and heart-wrenching at the same time.
A full synopsis can be found here:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14781200-the-boy   

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Happy Reading!

Librarian turned Foodie

Victory 44 is a winner!

Victory 44 is the perfect trendy, off-the-beaten-path hot-spot for an affordable, yet gourmet dinner!  With its energetic atmosphere, punctuated by a 'Praise the Lard' motto, it is a meat-eaters delight.  Yet, this isn't your ordinary carnivore-pleasing restaurant.  It boasts a surprisingly inventive and diverse menu that features, among other things, vegetables selections prepared 3 different ways on one plate (there is even a vegetable 9-course tasting menu!).  Our server was excellent, and he described the nuances of each dish in a way that made my head swim.  Being an adventurous eater, I was not deterred by the verbose descriptions, but rather, enticed by the culinary complexities I was about to discover here!

Let me back up a bit. My husband and I discovered Victory 44 via an internet search for a great dessert place in Minneapolis.  We promptly visited their website to gather more information; http://www.victory-44.com/home.php.  Needless to say, once we read the menu, http://www.victory-44.com/menu.php, which features small plates that change seasonally, we simply HAD to go.

We tend to skip the majority of the usual Valentine's Day hoopla.  Instead, it has become a tradition to celebrate our love of food and each other with a delicious dinner at a new restaurant sometime during the month of February.  This year, Victory 44 won us over!

I can't say enough about this place...  we went in without expectations, and left extremely satisfied!  Since Victory 44 does not accept reservations, we arrived around 6pm.  We were told it would be a 25 minute wait to be seated, yet, after only 5 minutes, our table was ready!

We began by ordering drinks.  I ordered a Chenin Blanc, and Jeff ordered a Belgian Triple Ale.  For appetizers, we ordered the Devils on Horseback ($8), dates wrapped in bacon, stuffed with blue cheese, and the Beet Textures ($8), beets, 3-ways.  For entrees, we decided on the Brisket ($14), braised with Sunchokes, and the Pork Loin ($13) prepared with bananas and cipollini onions.  Dessert was the Amarena Cherry & Chocolate ($8), which is best described as a work of art on a plate complete with brownie-like chocolate, chocolate ganache, cherries, and chocolate crumbles!  With dessert, we split a glass of dessert wine, which paired beautifully.  The presentation was impeccable from our first plate to our last.

My description does not do this dinner justice.  Unfortunately, the dim [mood] lighting did not provide the best setting for capturing the beauty of our food; the details would have been completely lost amidst the shadowy background.

If you decide to experience Victory 44 yourself, be prepared to be blown away by the magic that takes place in the kitchen, and the beauty of each item as it arrives at your table.  If you go on a weekend, plan on a 2 hour dinner from start to finish.  Sit back and relax with a glass of wine or beer while waiting.  There is no rush at Victory 44, so take your time enjoying each bite.  The amount of food we ordered was perfect for the two of us, and we plan to go back sometime soon to experience 'The Perfect Burger' (it won Best Burger of 2011) which is half-off everyday from 5:00pm - 5:44pm - that's a $14 burger for just $7!

Cheers to love & good food :-)

Librarian turned Foodie