Honey-Wheat Batter Bread

Honey-Wheat Batter Bread

Ingredients:

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 ¼ cup warm water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp wheat germ

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup crushed walnuts or olives

 

Method:

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

Add all ingredients except 1 cup whole wheat flour and walnuts or olives.

Beat on on medium speed 2 min.

Stir in remaining flour, beating 2 min.

Add nuts or olives, mixing well.

Cover to let rise 45 min.

Grease 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, or two smaller pans.

Stir down beating 25 strokes.

Spread in pan(s).

Smooth top by patting with flour.

Cover and let rise 30 min.

Bake 375 degree for 45 min (tap loaf till it sounds hollow).

Remove immediately & cool on rack.

Winter's Bone

Last night I watched Winter's Bone and was captivated by the beautiful images on screen. Jennifer Lawrence did a great job depicting the struggles of a 17 year old in charge of her brother and sister and sick mother. This is not your typical Hollywood action movie, so if you're looking for speed, this is not the movie for you. However, if you're looking for great performance, beautiful cinematography, and a thrilling depiction of human struggle, then this is definitely worth watching.

Aside from Lawrence, the rest of the actors did a splendid job. Debra Granik, director, knew what images to capture. One of my favorite scenes was when Lawrence is teaching her brother and sister how to hunt, then skin a squirrel. That was priceless.

If you haven't done so already, get your copy and watch the movie. It has definitely earned the Sundance award it won and the four Academy Award nominations as well.

Alison Wong: As the Earth Turns Silver

Set in New Zealand, this is the story of Katherine and her two children as in interlocks with the story of Yung, a Chinese man who moves to Wellington with his brother to support their families in China. The story focusses mostly on the prejudices against Chinese immigrants and how that led Katherine's son to kill Yung when he discovers his mother's affair with him. Wong wants to sketch a rather grotesque story of intolerance early in the 20th century and its effects both on the Chinese family that lost a promising member, and the New Zealand family that suffered as a result of the mother's affair with a Chinaman. 

Alison Wong is a New Zealanders of Chinese descent whose grandparents migrated from China in the 1890s. Though the story presents some accurate historical information on people and events in New Zealand in the early 20th century, the story itself is not that of Wong herself or of her family as she declares in the author's note that ends the book.

It was a pleasant enough read though not greatly captivating. The characters lacked a certain charisma that left them, at least for me, rather distant and uninteresting. There were instances when the story managed to grab my attention and I did not have to force myself to finish it. However, I wouldn't strongly recommend it as a must read. The shift back and forth between Katherine's point of view and that of Yung is interesting enough. But having read quite a few Asian and Asian American novels, this was not specifically new to me and failed to make the book a specially original one where I'm concenred.