July Book Report: The Wives of Henry VIII

http://www.michellehenry.fr/tudors.htm

On the (long ago) recommendation of my friend Summer, this month I read the The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser.  A biography of - you guessed it - the six wives of Henry VIII.  Before reading this, I didn't have more than a perfunctory familiarity with Henry VIII or the Tudor dynasty and Fraser's approach of focusing on the women of the court provides a perspective that speaks more to the everyday realities than the politics of the era.  For me, these personal stories are infinitely more interesting and certainly inform the politics in ways that are ignored by recounts of battles and decries.  One theme that struck me as unifying these women, and really all women of their era, is their helplessness in the face of staggeringly high infant and maternal rates.  As Fraser concludes, the desire for at least one male heir (and preferably a backup as well) influenced not only the marriages of Henry VIII, but religion, war, and diplomacy.  This book is exceptionally well researched and provides a level of nuance that is difficult to achieve in biographies of women from so long ago. The prose is dense but compelling and I really enjoyed this book.  

Foto Friday

Saturday July 23: Prickly Pear Margaritas are Delicious!!!

Sunday July 24: Crazy Large Flag over Gas Station 

Monday July 25: Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix + Fresh Blueberries

Tuesday July 26: Loving this Biography

Wednesday July 27: I adore the fabric store

Thursday July 28: New necklace 

Friday July 29: Movie at Outdoor Ampitheatre by the River!

Fringe Benefits Giveaway! - UPDATED

Last night on the way home, I wanted to make something.  But I was feeling impatient and wanted something that I could finish in one night.  So I stopped by the craft store and picked up a few pendants and some chain.

I liked the rose gold and brass accents on these two pendants and I was able to find matching chains.  Put pendants on chains (All on sale!).  Add clasps.  3 minute necklace.  Yay!

But then I was ready for a little more of a challenge, so I made this cute fringe necklace that I had seen at a bit of sunshine.  It is just chain and jumprings.  It takes a little bit of time to make (I would say one rerun of The Office), but it is straightforward and pretty.

I liked it so much that I made an extra just for you!!!!  Well, one of you.  Leave a comment before Sunday July 21st at midnight central time to enter for your chance to win!


I remade the necklace and I like this version better, so you get to win it instead!  I've extended the giveaway until midnight on Wednesday August 3rd.  Just leave a comment to win!

Craft Blog Survey

There is a giveaway coming later today, but first I wanted to pass along this link to a survey about craft blogging:
http://craftbookproject.com/?page_id=2

It is for a thesis in English, so answer just a few short questions about your craft blog and help this girl get out of grad school!

Pad Thai Triumph

I have tried many, many pad thai recipes in my cooking career.  Several of them, I suppose, I should have known wouldn't work out from the get go.  Ketchup is a somewhat questionable Thai ingredient.  I can never seem to get the noodles the right texture, the tofu chunks are too large, the overall taste is bland and we add so much sriracha that I may as well have just boiled up some spaghetti.  So this time, I was determined to figure out why I couldn't make this dish at home.  There must be a secret ingredient.  It turns out there are two.

Dried shrimp and tamarind concentrate.  We ate pad thai three times this month and I can confidently say that this recipe from Nongkran Daks is the best I've ever tried. She lists the dried shrimp as optional, but I went ahead and included it  when I made the sauce.  But first, you have to pound them up into a nice, fluffy shimp powder.

I did tweak this recipe ever so slightly.  I have never, ever had success with soaking my noodles in cold water so I soaked them in warm water for about 20 minutes.  I also couldn't find preserved radish - I do wonder if kim chi might work?  I'm not sure.  And the biggest change I made was replacing the shrimp and pork with tofu.  I like my pad thai vegetarian.

I tried several ways of preparing tofu for pad thai and this is my favorite.  It takes some extra steps, but the texture is perfect.  First, freeze a block of extra firm tofu and then defrost.  The texture will have become crumbly, sort of like ground beef.  Drain as much of the moisture as possible and then cook in a hot pan with a bit of oil until browned.  Do this while cooking down the sauce to the consistency of molasses.  (The best thing about this recipe is that you can make the sauce and soak the noodles ahead of time and then throw the pad thai together in just a few minutes.)

Once the tofu is browned, add the drained noodles you have been soaking and a bit of water.  Keep adding water and cooking it in until the noodles are the texture you are looking for.  This is the step that I have missed in the passed and the way to get perfectly chewy - not crunchy - noodles.  I've made this with and without the egg and it is good either way.  Then you toss with the sauce, mung beans, and some peanuts.  The key to keeping the pad thai from being too soupy (a common problem with my previous attempts) is to use this concentrated sauce and work in small batches with a hot pan.  Enjoy!!!

Think you have a better pad thai recipe?  Please link to it in the comments - I'm always looking to improve!