Perlkönig

About Me

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

My name is Aaron Dalton. I have a BA (Hon.) and an MA in musicology from the University of Calgary. My area of focus was sixteenth-century Italian secular vocal music. I can speak, read, and write English, French, and Italian. More information on my academic work can be found on my Academia.edu page . I also discuss my thesis on my master’s thesis page . I am a professional editor and typesetter, with expertise in music editing and typesetting.

Master's Thesis

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is the (hopefully permanent) landing page for my master’s thesis and the sheet music I have released separately, available on GitHub . The music source files are released under the CC By 4.0 International licence . They are based on the work at http://www.bibliotecamusica.it/cmbm/scripts/gaspari/scheda.asp?id=7630 . Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available upon request. My master’s thesis is entitled Philippe de Monte’s Primo libro de madrigalil a tre voci (1582): A Modern Edition and Analysis and can be downloaded in its entirety from the University of Calgary’s institutional repository (doi:10.

Editors Weekly: Literacy in Canada; What You Need to Know

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: "Brag Docs"; An Aide-Mémoire

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: What Is Plain Language? Part 5; The Nitty-Gritty

Sun, 22 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: What Is Plain Language? Part 4; Craftsmanship

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: What Is Plain Language? Part 3; When You Assume …

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Review; The Chicago Manual of Style for PerfectIt

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: What Is Plain Language? Part 2; Reading is a Skill

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Gaming Glut: Post-Covid (Fall 2021)

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

After a long hiatus, I was finally able to go see my sister in BC and play games with her kids. My records indicated that I hadn’t played a board game since February 2020! So I was super excited not just to visit with family, but to also play as many games as we could squeeze in. There’s never enough time, and there were a number of favourites we couldn’t get to, but we did get through a fair bit.

Editors Weekly: What Is Plain Language? Part 1; A Definition

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Zen and the Art of Editing

Tue, 11 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Editing Face to Face

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Wildcards and Regular Expressions

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Learning From History

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Laws of UX

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Empirical Editors; Fluency

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Editors Weekly: Empirical Editors; Curse of Knowledge

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Recipes: Butter Chicken Meatballs

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve finally found a basic butter chicken sauce recipe that I’ve tweaked and am very happy with. I love how flexible it is. Adjust to taste! I used it to make butter chicken meatballs for a work event. I liked them so much I made them at least three or four times over the holidays.

Editors Weekly: Notes on Notes

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Podcasts – 2019

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For the first time in quite a while, I finally emptied my podcast queue. I listen to so many that there’s always another one to listen to, but I guess I’ve been listening a lot, recently. Since it has been a few years since I last talked about podcasts, I thought I’d do another post and just list a few of my favourites. Here are 20 or so (out of about 80), roughly categorized, in no specific order.

Editors Weekly: Checklists; Sharing Knowledge

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

FallCon 32 (2019) Wrap-Up

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

FallCon is an annual Calgary boardgaming convention. This year was number 32! It’s 28 hours of gaming goodness that includes hosted events, a massive game library and open gaming area, an auction and flea market, merchants, and even has an escape room and an Artemis Bridge Simulator area.

Before going further, let me just say how great the FallCon team is. Every team member I interacted with was happy to be there. Every game host taught with patience and enthusiasm. From Brent’s warm welcome at the door that first night to the “see you next year” as I left Sunday afternoon, everybody was smiling and helpful. And the fellow attendees were similarly great. I’ve yet to have an unpleasant experience at the table (knocks on wood), and you start to recognize people from year to year. The venue is also great—easy to get to, plenty of room, and a few food options nearby. It’s just a great way to spend a weekend.

Editors Weekly: The Ethical Imperative for Plain Language

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Gaming Glut: Summer 2019

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Finally took a summer vacation and went and visited some family in BC. Got a little gaming done the first week, got a lot done the second. Here’s what we played.

Editors Weekly: Empirical Editors; Acronyms

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Active Voice: Proactive Editing

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published in Active Voice , the magazine of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

This is a very brief summary of a conference presentation I gave at the 2018 Editors Canada conference in Saskatoon.

Editors Weekly: Language Resources for Non-Native English Speakers

Tue, 07 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on The Editors’ Weekly , the official blog of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

Make Time for Games – 2019

Sat, 04 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Some friends and I were complaining that we never had time to play games. I commonly say that one has to “make time for games,” so I decided to organize a weekend where we would just block the time off and play as many games as want. Since there’s already a big boardgame convention in the fall , I thought booking one in the spring would be best. Since my birthday is in May, that was the month we chose. Not everyone could make it, but we got some playtime in regardless. We played Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening. Here’s what we played, in alphabetical order.

Two-Player Gaming Glut

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I had a chance to spend a few days with some cousins, and that meant some dedicated hours of two-player gaming. Most of the games I discuss here can be played by more than two players, but my reviews will focus on the two-player experience. I’m just going to list them in alphabetical order.

FallCon 31 (2018) Wrap-Up

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

FallCon is an annual boardgaming convention that takes place in Calgary, Alberta, over three days (Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning/afternoon; 28 hours total). This year was FallCon 31. I haven’t been able to attend FallCon for a while, but I’m so happy to be back and don’t plan on missing another year, if I can help it. Being the “game guy” in the family, I almost never have opportunities to play games I didn’t purchase myself. So FallCon is a rare opportunity to experience new games first hand.

A huge thank you to the FallCon committee and volunteers for making the convention possible!

Two-Player Games

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Someone at work asked me for some good two-player games. Since this is a whole topic in itself, I thought I’d write a blog post about it. It’s a long one, so get comfortable.

Active Voice: Tech Talk #2

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published in Active Voice , the magazine of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

This is the second in a series of articles on technology as it relates to editing.

Active Voice: Tech Talk #1

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published in Active Voice , the magazine of the Editors’ Association of Canada .

This is the first in a series of articles on technology as it relates to editing.

Gaming Glut: Fall 2017

Sun, 22 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Had the privilege of looking after a cousin’s kids for a few weeks over September and October. They live close to my sister, too, so I also get to spend extra time with them. I was still working, and now that the kids are older there was much driving around, so things were really busy, but I made sure to bring lots of games because I knew there would be at least a few days where we could game ourselves sick. I brought maybe half my collection. It’s hard to say. Two huge suitcases and a box full.

What I Watched: 2016

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

After our bunny Sport died, his brother, Mr. Floopy, needed lots more personal attention. (Rabbits are very social animals. Single rabbits need at least 2 hours a day of interaction.) Floopy also happens to enjoy watching TV. The result has been me being “forced” (Ouch! Stop twisting my arm!) to sit and groom Floopy most weeknights while watching Netflix. So I did more binge watching than usual last year. A few people had asked for recommendations, so I thought I’d just do a quick list of the shows I’ve seen and mostly liked. I’m not going to talk about stuff I ended up not liking. Enjoy!

Gaming Glut: Winter 2016

Wed, 04 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Spent time with some in-laws over Christmas and the new year and got some gaming in. Here’s what we played.

Gaming Glut: Thanksgiving 2016

Wed, 19 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I got away last week and was able to spend time with a bunch of nieces and nephews (ages 9–18). I brought three suitcases of games and we got through most of them. The total ended up being 25 individual games played over 60 times. Here’s an alphabetical list of games we played, including a link to Board Game Geek (where you can get more information on the game) and a count of the number of times we played. This is a long post, so dig in.

What I'm Listening To (2016)

Sun, 16 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Just finished a 26-hour (return) road trip that was saved only by the many, many podcasts I had on hand. Then I realized I hadn’t talked about my podcasts yet this year. So here we go! Instead of breaking up my podcast list over multiple posts as I’ve done in previous years, I’m going to just list them all 78 of them in a single table that you can sort and look through.

Baking with Store-Bought Egg Whites

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t know why I never thought of it before, but you can go and buy egg whites in a carton at the store. How do they work when making meringues? Actually, they work really well!

Recipes: Indian Food

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been trying to be more adventurous in my cooking lately. It was getting to the point where there were really only a handful of dishes I could reliably make. It gets boring! I’m also trying to find more meals with fewer carbs and more meals with leftovers I can bring to work.

New Blog Software!

Mon, 29 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

To further reduce my hosting costs (which were already quite low), I decided to move away from WordPress (which requires a relatively expensive database backend) and move to a flat-file system—specifically, Grav .

Einkorn Flour

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve read a few things about einkorn flour , so have kept my eye out for it. I happened across some BC-grown einkorn in my local organic food store. I thought I’d give it a try. The package insisted it could used one for one for regular whole wheat flour. The only way to find out is to try!

Recipes: Seven-Grain Bread

Mon, 27 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Finally got all the ingredients together for an excellent-looking seven-grain bread from the ever-excellent Gisslen book Professional Baking. It may just be my favourite bread so far! But Adele says I say that about every new bread recipe I try 🙂 She still prefers the oatmeal bread , but I’m going to keep making the multi-grain for a while methinks. As mentioned in previous posts, the recipe is done by weight.

Recipes: Biscuits and Flatbread

Sun, 29 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

We’re hosting two sets of holiday dinners this month (one of them vegetarian), and we’re going nontraditional. I’m still scared of killing everybody with a poorly cooked turkey. That means new recipes, which means practice. I have the whole month off, so fortunately I have the time. I’ll share the recipes I finally end up using. Anyway, Smitten Kitchen is a beautiful food blog where I’ve found a number of great recipes.

Gaming Glut: Fall 2015

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I got to spend a whole week with 12 nieces and nephews this month and got some grown-up gaming in, too. I was able to play a whopping 24 different games! In this post I’ll list them all in alphabetical order and talk a little bit about each one. BoardGameGeek.com (BGG) is the definitive source of boardgame information. I link to each game’s BGG page below. If you want to see all my games, comments, and ratings, visit my BGG collection page .

Some thoughts on the film version of "Les Misérables"

Sat, 15 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I know the new Les Misérables film has been out since 2012, but I’ve just had no interest in watching it. Even after hearing some good things, including from my sisters, I still couldn’t summon the will to go watch it. There are a few reasons for this: I really love the music of Les Misérables. It’s among my favourite of any musical. And I’m really familiar with it. I’ve heard dozens of different versions many hundreds of times growing up.

Podcasts: Summary (2015)

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

So that’s it. Those are the podcasts I’m listening to as of mid-2015. That’s a total of 74 for your listening pleasure. And just to sum everything up, I’m copying & pasting my 22 über favourites into this one post. There’s nothing new here. I just put all the “heart” entries in one place. Enjoy! The Bugle (info ) Rating: 3/3 Frequency: weekly Duration: 60 minutes Content: frequent strong language (bleeped) In The Bugle, comedians John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman riff on current events.

Podcasts: Foreign Language

Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists podcasts I listen to in foreign languages (French and Italian). The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Education – Various Topics

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists educational podcasts that discuss all sorts of different podcasts, so don’t belong in any specific category. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available.

Podcasts: Education – Language, Law & More

Fri, 17 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists educational podcasts about numerous topics, including language, law, and more. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Education – Health & Science

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists educational podcasts about health and science. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: News

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists news-related podcasts. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. As for ratings, clearly I like the podcast at least somewhat or I wouldn’t have it on the list at all, so I’m going with a 3-star system.

Podcasts: Money & Business

Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists podcasts about money and business. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Music

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post talks about podcasts about music. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Tech & General Geekery

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists podcasts about general tech and geek-related topics. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Art, Culture & Movies

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post talks about podcasts about art, culture, and movies. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Politics

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post talks about podcasts about politics. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: General Talk

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists general talk shows that don’t seem to fit into any other category. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Stories

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post talks about podcasts that tell stories. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app). The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage, where available. The “content” field tries to give you an idea what to expect as to language or disturbing content.

Podcasts: Comedy

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post talks about comedy podcasts. There is some crossover with the “general talk” category, but these are podcasts whose main intent is comedy. Some of my favourite podcasts appear here. The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app).

Podcasts: Gaming

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my 2015 series on podcasts I’m currently listening to . This post lists podcasts about my favourite pastime: gaming. There are tons of great boardgaming podcasts that I just don’t have time to listen to. To find more boardgaming podcasts that I don’t list here, the best place to start is the Dice Tower Network . The list is in alphabetical order. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself (what you’d copy and paste into your podcast app).

Podcasts: What I’m Listening To (2015)

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

As much as I love listening to lots of music, I am completely hooked on podcasts. I listen to something pretty much nonstop. My favourite feature of the podcast app I use, BeyondPod , is SmartPlay. It lets you automate in a very customizable way how the player goes from episode to episode. This means I have a constant stream of interesting music and talk all day with no manual intervention needed.

"Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Neal Stephenson, Anathem (New York, NY: William Morrow, 2008). This is a book that’s all about the journey. It’s quite long (almost a thousand pages), and I’d certainly classify it as a “slow burn.” The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world (but not your run-of-the-mill post-apocalypse) in which theorists are forbidden from contact with actual technology and isolated from the rest of the world in what they call “maths.

Gaming Glut: Christmas 2014

Sat, 10 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to have another gaming glut over the holidays. I just don’t get enough gaming time! As much as I love concentrated playing periods like this, I would much rather have regular play sessions throughout the year. I can’t complain, though! It was great to spend time with the nieces and nephews. Over the two weeks we played 15 different games 40 total times. Not too shabby. As with the other gaming glut posts, I’ll discuss each game individually in order of number of plays.

Recipes: Cucumber Lemonade

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Smitten Kitchen is a very attractive and long-standing food blog. I haven’t been able to make any of her more complicated recipes, but I have quite the list of things I want to try. Adele and I love lemonade, and when I saw this idea I had to make it. I know summer is over (this is something ideal for a really hot day), but it could also make for something a little different at a dinner party.

"Spin" by Robert Charles Wilson

Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Robert Charles Wilson, Spin (New York: Tor Books, 2005). I managed to squeeze in at least one new book this summer. Wilson’s Spin is a sci-fi novel that follows two families (three main protagonists) as the world tries to figure out what happened to the suddenly invisible stars. The narrative alternates between “now” and the recounting of the events that led to it. This approach can be problematic because some tension is removed (you know who survives) and the author runs the risk of telegraphing important points too early or clearly.

Gaming Glut: Summer 2014

Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Adele and I were able to visit with some close friends and their kids for a couple weeks this summer. Normally we would spend 8 hours a day blowing each other up in various video games, but this time ’round we didn’t have all the computers available, so we played board games instead—lots of them, it turned out. Over 13 days we played 16 different games 68 times. I thought I’d take some time to talk briefly about each game.

"Riddle-Master" Trilogy by Patricia McKillip

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Patricia A. McKillip, Riddle-Master (New York, NY: Berkely Trade [imprint of Penguin], 1999). The Riddle-Master trilogy is an oldie (1976) but goodie. I read it as a kid and absolutely loved it. I’ve read it a few more times over the years, but it had been quite a while since my last reading. I wanted Adele to read it and was super excited to see they finally released a single-volume edition.

Recipes: Oatmeal Bread

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is my favourite bread. I skipped a couple of weeks, and when I finally got back to it, I was reminded all over again how delicious this bread is. It’s soft, moist, and much more flavourful than plain white bread and has a nice chewy crust. This recipe is adapted from one found in: Eric Kastel and Cathy Charles, Artisan Breads, At Home with the Culinary Institute of America (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010) 54–5.

"Wool" by Hugh Howey

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Hugh Howey, Wool (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013). What a pleasant surprise! I just kept hearing about this book from all sorts of different people, so I finally checked it out from the library. I’m so glad I did! When it comes to speculative fiction, authors are faced with the very difficult challenge of introducing the reader to a new and unfamiliar setting without overloading them with boring expository history or spoiling important plot twists or story beats.

Recipes: Best Brownies Ever

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I love, love these brownies! No sooner do we finish a pan, I make another one! This recipe only uses chopped chocolate (no cocoa powder), so the quality of your chocolate is really important. Use the best you can get your hands on. Go make a pan now. You won’t regret it. The following yields a 9×13 pan. Cut it in half for an 8×8 pan. 3 sticks butter 12 oz.

Podcasts: Uncategorized

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my podcast series of posts (the last, if I’m not mistaken). Below is a list of the various podcasts (in alphabetical order) and my thoughts on each of them. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself. The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage. As for ratings, clearly I like the podcast at least somewhat or I wouldn’t have it on the list at all.

Podcasts: News

Fri, 24 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my podcast series of posts . Below is a list of the various podcasts (in alphabetical order) and my thoughts on each of them. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself. The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage. As for ratings, clearly I like the podcast at least somewhat or I wouldn’t have it on the list at all. So I’m going with a 3-star system.

Podcasts: Business & Finance

Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my podcast series of posts. Below is a list of the various podcasts (in alphabetical order) and my thoughts on each of them. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself. The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage. As for ratings, clearly I like the podcast at least somewhat or I wouldn’t have it on the list at all. So I’m going with a 3-star system.

Podcasts: Science & Technology

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is part of my podcast series of posts. Below is a list of the various podcasts (in alphabetical order) and my thoughts on each of them. The name of the podcast is linked to the feed itself. The “(info)” link will take you to the podcast’s homepage. As for ratings, clearly I like the podcast at least somewhat or I wouldn’t have it on the list at all. So I’m going with a 3-star system.

Podcasts: Music

Fri, 03 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Gaming Glut: New Year’s 2013/14

Thu, 02 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

For the past few years, we have spent New Year’s Eve with Adele’s family. This year we had some neighbours join in, too. I look forward to these gatherings because they are one of the few times I get to play lots of games with larger groups of people (though I’ve been pretty lucky this year and had more gaming opportunities than I generally do). As always, we had an eclectic group of people, some of which weren’t really gamers or had only been exposed to traditional card games.

Podcasts: Education & Culture

Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Podcasts: Entertainment

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Podcasts: Gaming

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Podcasts: What I’m Listening To

Thu, 28 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

As much as I love listening to lots of music, I recently started listening to podcasts and am completely hooked. I’ve tried in the past, but it has never been very convenient. Now that I have a computer in my pocket and the excellent podcast management app BeyondPod , I listen to something pretty much nonstop. My favourite feature of BeyondPod is SmartPlay. It lets you automate in a very customizable way how the player goes from episode to episode.

FallCon 26 (2013) Wrap-Up

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

FallCon is an annual boardgaming convention that takes place in Calgary, Alberta, over three days (Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning/afternoon). This year was FallCon 26. Being the “game guy” in the family, I almost never have opportunities to play games I didn’t purchase myself. For me, this is one of the biggest draws of FallCon. Open gaming is a great way to be exposed to new games (they have a library of almost 700 games), but my preferred way is through FallCon’s hosted games.

Recipes: Pecan Pie

Sun, 08 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Adele loves pecan pie. I’ve been looking for a good recipe and have thus far failed. I came across a new book by The Culinary Institute of America called Baking & Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft. It’s another text book similar to the Gisslen book I refer to often. Overall, though, I prefer Gisslen’s book. Baking & Pastry has lots of great recipes and good pictures, but the recipes are, for the most part, high yield.

Recipes: Homemade Yogurt

Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

There are lots of sites out there with yogurt recipes. Here’s the one I ended up using: At least 1 litre milk (I use whole) 1–2 tbsp sugar per litre of milk 1/4 cup powdered milk per litre of milk 2–3 tbsp starter per litre of milk (optional) 1 tbsp vanilla per litre of milk Heat milk in a double boiler or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water until it reaches 180F, stirring frequently.

Recipes: Whole Wheat, Hamburger Buns, and Scones

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

It has been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve had a couple people ask for my most recent recipes. Here they are. All recipes are adapted from Gisslen’s book Professional Baking . No photos, I’m afraid! 100% Whole Wheat Bread This is the most moist and delicious whole wheat bread I’ve ever tasted. It makes enough for two large 9×5 loaves. The secret to soft whole wheat bread is enough water and powdered milk.

"Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4.5/5 Brian Sanderson, Warbreaker (New York: Tor, 2009), 592 p. This book reminded me of why I love (and, yes, in some ways hate) single-volume novels. They’re great in that they completely sidestep the “soap opera” problem so prevalent with massive series such as Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones. The author is forced to get to the point, tell a compelling story, and then get out. The longer the series goes, the more ridiculous they tend to become.

Recipes: Pretzels and Pita

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I made soft pretzels and pita bread today. The pretzels don’t quite taste like pretzels I’ve had in the past, but they were still delicious. The pita bread turned out really well for a first try. The pockets formed beautifully. I did half directly on the baking stone and half on a dry baking sheet. They both worked out great. I didn’t have the whole wheat flour for the pita, but the all-white-flour version worked out just fine.

"Story of Ain’t" by David Skinner

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 David Skinner, The Story of Ain’t: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published (New York: Harper, 2012). It’s books like this that make me question my sanity. I read the jacket and promotional copy, I read the reviews, and I have to start to wonder if it’s just me. This book was awful! The only reason it’s getting 2 stars is because there is some kernel of interesting history here; it’s just very, very difficult to find.

Recipes: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2012/10/chocolate-pumpkin-cake-and-cupcakes-with-vanilla-bean-swiss-meringue-buttercream/ I had a bunch of pumpkin left over from the pumpkin cheesecake I made , and the person in the office that loves pumpkin ended up not loving cheesecake, so I had to make something else. The first place I went was Grace Langlois’s excellent baking blog. Her recipes have been very reliable and delicious! Well back in 2012 she posted a recipe for chocolate pumpkin cake, and I gave it a shot.

Recipes: Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://www.womansday.com/recipefinder/swirled-pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe-122759 I’m running a little behind on my blog postings. I baked this cake back on my birthday along with a neapolitan mousse cake and an angel food cake . There are a half-dozen people in our group who also have birthdays in May, so I brought in cake for all of us. This pumpkin cheesecake was a new one for me, and it turned out marvelously! It was super creamy and full of that pumpkin pie flavour.

"This Book is Full of Spiders" by David Wong

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 David Wong, This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2012). This book is a sequel to the excellent John Dies at the End by the same author. Go read that review first . Essentially the same comments apply. These books are a cross between Lovecraftian “weird fiction,” modern horror, and humour. I found myself laughing out loud very, very often.

"The Disciple of Las Vegas" by Ian Hamilton

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Ian Hamilton, The Disciple of Las Vegas (Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2011). This is the second book in Hamilton’s Ava Lee series of novels. As you may recall, I wasn’t a big fan of the first book . I liked this book a little better. Ava Lee is a forensic accountant who works with “Uncle” in retrieving stolen money. She’s Chinese-Canadian and is an accomplished practitioner of Bak Mei .

"Pandora’s Star" by Peter F. Hamilton

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Peter F. Hamilton, Pandora’s Star, Commonwealth Saga #1 (New York: Ballantine Books, 2004). This thousand-page tome is the first of two novels in the Commonwealth Saga. It’s apparently popular in Calgary because I had to keep returning it to the library because of holds. It took me three attempts, but I finally got through it. Overall, Hamilton is a good writer. The story is fast moving and even compelling at parts.

Recipes: Neapolitan Mousse Cake(s)

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2013/04/neapolitan-mousse-cakes/ Tasty! I love strawberries, so the idea of a strawberry mousse was too much not to try. I don’t have 3-inch ring molds, so I decided to make a single large cake. I did some math and thought a 9-inch springform would be enough, but not quite. Next time I’ll use my 10-inch pan; I’m confident it will contain it all. I didn’t bother with the ganache topping this time.

Movies: Secret of Kells

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Last night Adele and I watched an animated movie called “The Secret of Kells.” What an awesome film! The animation style is very different and the overall design is fantastic. (I loved the wolves!) The story is an imagination of how the gorgeous Book of Kells was created. (If you’re not familiar with the book, I actually recommend reading the Wikipedia article before watching the movie.) I was just enthralled from beginning to end.

"The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan (New York: Random House, 2007). This book was a disappointment. It started off OK, but it became apparent quite quickly that Taleb is—how should I say this?—arrogant and a bit of a jerk. The main thrust of the book (in itself interesting) could have easily been conveyed in a short 20-page essay. The book just goes on and on and on with some really silly examples and case studies.

"Water Rat of Wanchai" by Ian Hamilton

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 Ian Hamilton, The Water Rat of Wanchai (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2011). Yawn! This has to be one of the most boring “action stories” I’ve ever read. I hate to break it to you, but this story about a forensic accountant is exactly as exciting as it sounds. I get that Ava was conceived as a continuing character, and you have to set her up somehow, but there is literally no tension, no action at all until the halfway point of the book.

Recipes: Biscotti (again)

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://dinnerontheweb.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/biscotti-toscana/ I’ve tried twice previously to make biscotti, with less-than-ideal results. After my second failed attempt, a colleague sent me a link to her sister’s blog and her biscotti recipe. I finally had time to try it out. Success! I finally got the texture I was expecting. They taste great. There’s still lots to experiment with, but I’m encouraged now that I have a place to start from.

Recipes: White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Pudding

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2012/11/white-chocolate-vanilla-bean-pudding-tarts-easy-halloween-treats/ Nothing beats the flavour of real vanilla beans! I’ll never go back. Adele is a big white chocolate fan, so I decided to try this pudding recipe. I didn’t bother with the whole tart thing. I just made the pudding. It was awesome, but not quite chocolatey enough. The vanilla flavour was very dominant. Next time I’ll try 8 or even 10 ounces of chocolate. Delicious though!

Recipes: Butter Tarts

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ButterTarts.html Adele loves pecan butter tarts, so I finally set out to find a recipe. This one is easy to make, and using a muffin tin is a great way to do these if you don’t have tart tins. I’ve made this recipe twice now. The first time I did mini-tarts, and the second time I made a single 9-inch tart. In both cases I just put some chopped pecans in the bottom of the tart before filling.

"Networks, Crowds, and Markets" by Easley & Kleinberg

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 David Easley and Jon Kleinberg, Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World (Cambridge University Press, 2010). I really, really enjoyed this book. I learned so much. As far as textbooks go—I’ve read my share—this one is very well organized. I thought the progression of topics was perfect. The book is divided into seven overall parts: Graph Theory and Social Networks Here they introduce the basics of graph theory and how it applies to social networks.

Recipes: Lemon Meringue Tart

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2013/01/lemon-meringue-tart/ You will notice that I get a lot of recipes from Grace Langlois’s blog . That’s because finding good recipes online can be a real bear. When you find a person who posts as regularly as Grace, who knows how to write good recipes that you can replicate with relative certainty, and who, on top of it all, is responsive to questions, you stick with them! If I want a recipe, the first place I’ll go is Grace’s blog and then branch out from there.

Recipes: Sour Cream Doughnuts

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://christiescorner.com/2011/10/19/recipe-old-fashioned-sour-cream-doughnuts/ My favourite Tim Hortons doughnut is the sour cream glazed. I just can’t get enough of them. Now that I have a deep fryer, I decided to do some searching for a recipe. This one made some big claims, and it’s close, but not quite right. They were good, though. Yield: Only made 6 four-inch doughnuts and holes; glaze recipe makes far too much Verdict: I will have to try this again.

Gaming Glut: New Year’s 2012/13

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For New Year’s Eve, Adele’s family got together for dinner and fun. Attending were 13 adults and 8 kids ranging from 3 months to 11 years old. Most everybody enjoys gaming, but their experience with “designer games” is limited. I’ve tried a few times in the past to interest them in selections from my collection but with limited success. For whatever reason, the stars aligned this time and there was a common desire to see what I had in that big box I am rarely without at a family gathering.

Recipes: Bomboloni Redux

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Adele bought me a deep fryer for Christmas! What does that mean? Doughnuts! Specifically, a delicious Italian pastry called bombolone. I’ve made these before , but this is the first time I had access to vanilla beans and the proper “doppio zero” flour. (Costco sells vanilla beans for $1.20 each. A far cry from the $4.00 each at WalMart.) The original recipe can be found here. It’s the orange zest that really sets these doughnuts apart.

Recipes: Plain White Bread

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Well I’ve made a half-dozen different types of bread lately but I’ve yet to make just a plain white loaf of bread. That changed yesterday. I tried Gisslen’s white pan bread recipe. I was hoping for two loaves, but apparently the only pans I have are 9×5, which appears to be relatively large. So I only got one (albeit large) loaf. The result was absolutely delicious. It had a great texture, was nice and soft, and very tasty.

"100 Ideas that Changed..." by various authors

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 I finished these books months ago, but I’m just now getting around to posting about them. This is a series of coffee-table-style books (meaning mostly full-colour photos) that take a discipline and present one author’s take on the 100 ideas that changed that field. There are six books in the series:art, graphic design, photography, film, architecture, and fashion. I wasn’t able to get a hold of the art and photography books.

Recipes: Christmas 2012: Baking Plates

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I’m discovering that I suck at taking photos. I just get so involved in the baking that I don’t even think about it until we’ve eaten (or in this case given away) all of it and I go to post on the blog! I do apologize. In the interest of saving my marriage, let me set the record straight. Adele is the one who started and has maintained the tradition of Christmas baking plates for the past many years.

Recipes: Christmas 2012: Party Food

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Now that we have an actual home with a little space, we were finally able to throw a Christmas party this year. Many couldn’t make it, but we really enjoyed spending time with those that could. We also took the opportunity to do some more holiday baking, but of things that people didn’t get on the baking plates . Also unlike the plates, I can actually share these recipes. Unfortunately I did not take pictures!

Recipes: Malted Ice Cream

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve been making gallons and gallons of ice cream in the past months. We have a 2-quart Cuisinart ice cream maker and have lately tried making malted ice cream. First, my base sweet cream recipe: 2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream 2 cups (1 pint) other dairy 1 cup sugar 1/8 tsp salt (optional) 6 egg yolks I like a really high-fat ice cream, so I use 18% table cream as my “other dairy.

Recipes: Pizza, brioche, and angel food

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We had some family staying with us this last week and we had a larger family dinner to boot, so I had three baking opportunities. Here’s the breakdown. Pizza I love pizza—specifically, real honest-to-goodness Italian pizza napoletana. I even bought a baking stone for my oven just so I could at least try to re-create such deliciousness at home. It takes a little work, and a standard home kitchen generally does not have the tools to make the process as easy as possible, but when it’s all said and done, it’s so worth it—even if the results are not (yet) quite what I’m aiming for.

Recipes: Bread Week

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I am clearly insane. I know my body does better on almost no carbs. The pounds fall off, a host of minor annoying symptoms decrease, and I just feel better all around. So what do I go and do? I learn to make bread—good bread. My favourite book acquisition of late has been Wayne Gisslen’s Professional Baking . So far everything has worked out very well. He gives excellent theoretical and technical information followed by many scores of recipes.

Assassin’s Creed III: Fail!

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 This past weekend I had the opportunity of visiting with a brother- and sister-in-law, their daughter, and their newborn son. My brother-in-law also went out and bought Assassin’s Creed III (AC3) the day we arrived with the hope of getting at least part way through it over the weekend. We only played the single-player story, so I can’t speak to the new multi-player content. AC3 is actually the fifth installment in the Assassin’s Creed line.

"Unaccountable" by Marty Makary

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Marty Makary, MD, Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2012). A vital issue, harrowing stories, and reasonable solutions. The problem is the corporatization of health care and the lack of incentives to improve health care. The stories he shares of medical mistakes and issues are scary, to say the least. The answer he proposes is complete transparency of outcome data.

"John Dies at the End" by David Wong

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 David Wong, John Dies at the End (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2010). David Wong is the pen name of Jason Pargin, senior editor at Cracked.com . If you’ve never visited the site, and you’re OK with a little coarse language, check it out. You will laugh out loud. This book is a fascinating cross between the “weird fiction” of H. P. Lovecraft and Cracked.com humour. Parts were so creepy but interspersed with spurt-beverage-out-your-nose moments of laughter.

Fallcon 2012 Report

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

FallCon is a 26-hours-over-three-days boardgaming convention that happens in Calgary the last weekend of every September. This year was their 25th anniversary. Talk about overstimulation! There are hosted events, where you are taught the games by an “ambassador” (always the best way), and of course open gaming is happening throughout. Darren and Jasen (2 members of the FallCon committee) provided a library of 450 games you could check out and play.

Recipes: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Just made vanilla ice cream with vanilla beans for the first time. WOW! I don’t think I can ever go back to vanilla ice cream with extract ever again—even high-quality extract! Absolutely delicious! I just might eat this entire batch right now! Costco here in Calgary currently sells Rodelle-brand vanilla beans in batches of 10 beans for under $13 dollars. That’s the cheapest per-bean price I’ve ever found. 2 cups cream 1 cup table cream 2/3 cup sugar 2 vanilla beans 6 egg yolks Standard process: Combine all the cream/milk and sugar in a pot.

"Jerusalem" by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011). This is one serious piece of work! This 650-page tome presents an excellent high-level summary of the history behind the conflicts we are seeing today in the Middle East. It does what a good history book should do: that is, go beyond just presenting a sequence of events and instead present a cohesive and meaningful narrative. The subtitle is “The Biography” because the book examines the people and families integral to the history of Jerusalem.

"Evolution of Language" by W. Tecumseh Fitch

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 W. Tecumseh Fitch, The Evolution of Language (Cambridge University Press, 2010). This is a textbook that surveys the state of research into the evolution of language. It does a high-level survey of our current understanding of human evolution, and Fitch then goes through seemingly each and every hypothesis on language evolution specifically and explicates their strengths and weaknesses. Fitch refrains from stating a strong personal preference for any given theory, but you can certainly sense which ideas resonate more with him.

"Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1" edited by Robert Silverberg

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Robert Silverberg (ed.), Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929–1964 (New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1970). I typically really enjoy historic science fiction, and I was really looking forward to reading this collection. I wasn’t totally disappointed. About half the stories were really enjoyable, and a few were truly exceptional. “Microcosmic God” was great and “Nightfall” is a classic. I really enjoyed “The Weapon Shop” and “Huddling Place” was chilling.

Recipes: Coconut Dacquoise

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, 5th ed. (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009), p. 349. Ingredients Powdered almonds (60%) Sugar (80%) Cake flour (28%) [I just used all purpose flour] Coconut, grated (10%) Egg whites (100%) Sugar (80%) Method I don’t bother with almond flour because it is more expensive than raw almonds. Instead, if you have a decent blender, process the almonds in the blender until finely ground.

Recipes: Raspberry Gelato

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

(yields 2 quarts) Original Recipe: Cuisinart® Instruction and Recipe Booklet for the CIM-60PCC Series Ingredients 4 cups red raspberries (thawed, if frozen) 1 cup sugar 2 ¼ cups half-and-half, divided 6 large egg yolks ¼ cup skim milk powder 1 cup heavy cream 2 tsp vanilla Method Purée the raspberries in a food processor or blender until smooth. Press the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds and pulp. I ended up with 2 ¼ cups of purée of the most appetizing colour.

"Developmental Editing" by Scott Norton

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Scott Norton, Developmental Editing: A Handbook for Freelancers, Authors, and Publishers (University of Chicago Press, 2009). I’ve never read a book on developmental editing before, so I can’t speak to how it compares to others. I always find it interesting to watch other editors work, though. It’s one of the reasons I love working in house. I have to admit, some of the edited excerpts gave me pause. There were things I would never think to change.

"CookWise" by Shirley O. Corriher

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Shirley O. Corriher, CookWise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed (New York: William Marrow, 2011). I thought BakeWise was a much better book. Not only does this book (which was written before BakeWise, I’ll grant) spend half the book talking about baking, I think the book could have been better organized as well. It’s still a good book and has some great-looking recipes, but I found BakeWise to be more intuitively and usefully organized, with more specific information.

"Echo Burning" by Lee Child

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Lee Child, Echo Burning (New York: Jove Books, 2008). This is certainly the most boring of the Reacher books so far. There are really only two action set pieces and the rest is just driving around not sure if Carmen is lying or not. It’s a fine book, don’t get me wrong, but compared the the previous four, it’s very slow. I think I’m going to stop reading Reacher novels for a little bit.

"Pie in the Sky" by Susan Purdy

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Susan G. Purdy, Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes; 100 Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Breads, and Pastries Home-Tested for Baking at Sea Level, 3000, 5000, 70000, and 10000 feet (and Anywhere in Between) (New York: William Morrow, 2005). If you bake, and you live above 3000 feet, then this book is for you. It’s an excellent resource for concrete, trustworthy advice about high-altitude baking. I love that every recipe has been tested.

"Professional Baking" by Wayne Gisslen

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, 5th ed. (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009). I love this book! This is a textbook used in cooking schools. It’s perfect if you really want to learn how baking works from the ground up. I love, love, love it! Not only does it have all the standard recipes, it goes through in painstaking detail how they work, why they work, and what to do when things go wrong.

"Running Blind" by Lee Child

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Lee Child, Running Blind (New York: Berkley Books, 2005). I’m rating this book highly because I enjoyed it so much, but it is not without its flaws. This is the sort of book you read when you don’t want to think too hard. For me it’s like sitting down and watching CSI: I don’t try to figure it out; I just watch the story unfold. In fact, if I do figure it out, that usually means they really didn’t try very hard, because I’m pretty dense that way.

"Tripwire" by Lee Child

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Lee Child, Tripwire (New York: Berkeley Books, 2005). What an improvement! Of the first three books, this is the best. The characters are better rounded, the plot line was much more interesting, and the writing was greatly improved. Finally characters learned to do things other than shrugging! (Though there is still a lot of shrugging going on.) There weren’t as many pithy quips as in the first book. You start to see more of Reacher’s personality.

"BakeWise" by Shirley O. Corriher

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Shirley O. Corriher, BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes (New York: Scribner, 2008). Awesome, awesome, awesome! Corriher goes through all the main categories of baking: cakes, meringues, pies, cookies, and breads. She goes through all the ingredients, the chemistry behind how they work, as well as some awesome basic recipes. For people like me who want to take the next baby step from slavishly following recipes to starting to understand how recipes work (and don’t work), this is an awesome book.

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (New York: Ballantine Books, 1996). There was a lull in the flow of books from the library, so I picked something off my shelf to re-read. I hadn’t read this story for many years. I had forgotten how great it was! Philip K. Dick was as much a philosopher as a sci-fi writer. This book explores themes of posthumanism, empathy, and theology—all in the context of a detective-genre story.

"Die Trying" by Lee Child

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 Lee Child, Die Trying (New York: Berkeley Books, 1998). I give the first book of a series a lot of leeway, especially if it’s early in an author’s career. But I expect a lot more from the later books. Child disappointed me, I’m afraid. (I suspected as much after reading the cover and fly pages. The “advance praise” blurbs were contrived and non-committal.) He seemed to regress. Gone was the punchy writing style.

"Just My Type" by Simon Garfield

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 1/5 Simon Garfield, Just My Type: A Book About Fonts (New York: Gotham Books, 2011). Well I don’t know what I was expecting, but apparently it was more than I got. I ended up skimming through the book in an hour or so. Nothing really jumped out at me. There’s some biographical information on the various font designers, and there was some information on the origins of some fonts, but nothing really grabbed me as new or engaging.

"Debt: The First 5,000 Years" by David Graeber

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years (New York: Melville House, 2011). I really, really enjoyed this book. This is not a manifesto. It’s an honest-to-goodness anthropological history of money, debt, and everything that goes with it. What I love about the book is how it builds. After going through all the history, when he finally gets to modern times, everything makes sense, without him having to spell it all out.

"Zima Blue" by Alastair Reynolds

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Alastair Reynolds, Zima Blue (London: Gollancz, 2009). I had forgotten how much I enjoy Alastair Reynolds’s writing. He is an expert in the “space opera” genre. Short stories give authors a great opportunity to distill a story down to its very essence. Reynolds does not waste words. I really enjoyed this collection. My favourite stories would have to be the Merlin sequence (Hideaway, Minla’s Flowers, and Merlin’s Gun). He covered a lot of ground in those three stories.

Recipes: Mississippi Mud Pie

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2012/06/mississippi-mud-pie-best-chocolate-cake-pie/ Well this is my last baking experiment until we move into the new house. I’ve been packing the pounds back on. Once we’re in the new place, we’re going to move to a weekend-only baking schedule. (Yeah, right. We’ll see.) There are just too many recipes to try!! This is one of those cakes that are meant for show. If you just want the flavours, it’s easier to make the cake, dole some pudding and whipped cream on top, and then sprinkle it with Oreo crumbs.

Recipes: Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/biscotti/ChocolateHazelnutBiscotti.html Well, you really should have a stand mixer to get the dough the right consistency. I also didn’t flatten my logs enough, so they didn’t cook all the way through. The final product was bitter, but I think that’s because of the nuts. I may have over-toasted them. I’m going to try the recipe again once I can get my stand mixer out, and I’ll report back. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t delicious either.

Recipes: Quiche Shell and Filling

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://foododelmundo.com/2009/11/15/quiche-with-a-perfect-crust/ I’ve made quiche before, but I didn’t want to buy pre-made shells this time, so I found this recipe and gave it a try. It worked out really well! Two cups of liquid is too much. One and a half is plenty. I used Swiss Gruyère cheese, which has a slightly higher fat content than plain Swiss, so that added to the final liquid amount. The crust was good, but it didn’t seem to get all crispy.

"Killing Floor" by Lee Child

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Lee Child, Killing Floor (New York: Jove Books, 1997). Apparently I’m a little late coming to the Jack Reacher party. Both my father and one of my sisters has been talking up these book for a long time, and I’ve just never made the time to read them. Well I finally did, and wow, I’ve been missing out! I do enjoy detective fiction. I even took a summer class in university on that very subject.

"Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Ernest Cline, Ready Player One (New York: Crown Publishers, 2011). Well the book was a fun read, but saccharine. Like the best Disney and Pixar films, Ready Player One is targetted to younger readers but cannot be fully appreciated except by older ones. Unfortunately, unlike movies like Wall-E (my favourite), Finding Nemo, and Up, Ready Player One lacks the grown-up “hook” that forms the foundation that supports the movies.

"Best American Essays 2003" edited by Robert Atwan and Anne Fadiman

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Robert Atwan and Anne Fadiman (eds.), The Best American Essays 2003 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003). What I am loving most about these essay collections is the diversity. To use a Gumpism, “it’s like a box of chocolates.” There were a handful that I ended up skimming (toffee or peanut butter), and one that just made me sick (orange or cherry), but most were delicious (caramel or mint). They’re also bite sized, so I generally can read one or two on the bus and can stop if one was particularly poignant or thought provoking.

Editing/Publishing Rant and Mission

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Just to clarify, this rant is intended for people interested in professional document production. My new life’s mission is to convince the publishing world to move to a plain-text-based, XML workflow. Here’s the dirty little secret: InDesign (and even, *sighs*, QuarkXpress ) is no harder to learn than Word . In many ways it’s far easier. The problem is that Word seems at first glance to be powerful enough for real publishing needs, but as soon as you actually sit down and try to compose anything longer or more complex than a letter to mom, it sinks in how limited it is.

"Rereadings" edited by Anne Fadiman

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman (ed.), Rereadings (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005). Well I’ve decided that Anne Fadiman is pretty awesome :) I’ve also decided that the “essay” as a genre is pretty awesome too. I don’t know why I’ve had so little exposure to it so far in my life, but there it is. I’m glad I found it now, and I plan on seeking out more. While on my lunch break the other day (reading, of course) a coworker walked by and commented on how I was taking a break from reading to read.

"At Large and At Small" by Anne Fadiman

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman, At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007). Another delightful read. While not as intentionally hilarious as Ex Libris , it certainly has it’s guffaw-inducing moments. She’s a tremendous writer and succeeds well at creating vivid imagery. This book is her contribution to the genre of the “familiar essay,” a genre that is intended as an intimate conversation between the author and a single reader.

"Innumeracy" by John Allen Paulos

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 John Allen Paulos, Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (New York: Hill and Wang, 1988). Numeracy (critical thinking in general, really) is a topic I read about fairly often (e.g., here , here , here , here , here , and here , plus others that never made it to the blog). Certainly not because I think I am somehow super numerate. Far from it. It is something I’m aware of, though, and one reason I’m drawn to these books is a desire to improve in this area.

"The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century" by Robert Lomas

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Robert Lomas, The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century: Nikola Tesla, Forgotten Genius of Electricity (London: Headline, 1999). This is an excellent non-academic biography (no source notes) of Nikola Tesla. I knew of Tesla, but it was nice to read his story from beginning to end. Lomas is obviously sympathetic towards Tesla, but I don’t care what you say, there is no way to spin Tesla’s story in such a way as to redeem Edison, Westinghouse, and JP Morgan.

"The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 1/5 Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (New York: Viking, 2007). Wow. This book is the perfect example of how writing style can totally obscure (nay, all but obliterate) an otherwise sound and fascinating message. I found this book physically painful to read. Don’t get me wrong. I have no issue with the fundamental thesis of the book, which appears to be that neuroplasticity is real and that the neuroplastic model can provide novel and effective treatments for diseases and traumas previously thought untreatable.

"Thesis and the Book" by Harman, Montagnes, McMenemy, and Bucci

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Eleanor Harman, Ian, Montagnes, Siobhan McMenemy, and Chris Bucci (eds.), The Thesis and the Book: A Guide for First-Time Academic Authors, 2nd edition (University of Toronto Press, 2003). Writing a PhD dissertation? Finished writing? Hope to publish it (or part of it) in book form? Then you must read this book. A thesis is not a book. They are unfortunately different beasts. The advice in this book will help you start the arduous journey of transforming those years of blood, sweat, and tears into something truly publishable.

"Ex Libris" by Anne Fadiman

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998). I just finished reading the most wonderful book! It came up in one of the editing mailing lists I subscribe to. (I wish I could remember who recommended it!) It’s a series of essays by Anne Fadiman (someone I had never heard of before) that talks about her and her family’s obsession with words, books, and reading.

"Manufacturing Consent" by Herman and Chomsky

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York: Pantheon Books, 2002). Herman and Chomsky assert that the best way to understand modern mass media and how it operates is using a “propaganda model.” They introduce the model and then give a slew of case studies to support their view. Let’s start with the model itself. It’s not that they believe there’s some conspiracy or government department that forces certain stories to be treated in certain ways.

"Chicago Manual of Style," 16th ed.

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (University of Chicago: 2010). It’s unusual to “review” reference works, perhaps, but the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS, or the “orange bible” [don’t let the dust cover fool you, the book is actually bright orange]) is too exceptional to not mention here. While in my line of work there are sections that see constant, recurring use, I’ve only read the entire 1000+ pages cover to cover three times: I finished the third time today.

"Panic Virus" by Seth Mnookin

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Seth Mnookin, The Panic Virus (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011). This book is a history of both vaccination itself and its opponents. The take-away message is that the media is not the place to go for truly balanced and accurate information about science and health. They are far more interested in ratings and catchy headlines than truth. Epidemiology is not something you can just pick up from the University of Google.

"How I Killed Pluto" by Mike Brown

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Mike Brown, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010). When Pluto got demoted, I remember hearing about it, but I apparently didn’t care enough to do any reading about it. I had no idea how it happened or why. So when I saw this book sitting on the shelf, I felt a responsibility to pick it up. It’s a personal (IMO, too personal) account of the discoveries and events that led up to Pluto’s demise and some of the fallout therefrom.

"Recipe Writer’s Handbook" by Ostmann and Baker

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane L. Baker, The Recipe Writer’s Handbook: Revised and Expanded (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001). Well this is a book for editors. What it is is a style guide specifically for cookbooks. Should you use “green onions” or “scallions”? “Red pepper” or “red bell pepper”? What are the best practices for recipe testing? How should you manage metric vs. imperial measurements? What about copyright and plagiarism?

"Against a Dark Background" by Iain M. Banks

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Iain M. Banks, Against a Dark Background (London: Orbit, 1995). Well I’m afraid this is it for me and Iain M. Banks. It’s so frustrating! The first two thirds were the best I’ve read of him yet. I loved the characters, the humour was effective, and the action was awesome. He uses flashbacks very effectively to reveal at just the right moment a character’s motivation. The last third, though, just kind of “jumps the shark ,” if you will.

"Almost Christian" by Kenda Creasy Dean

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church (Oxford University Press, 2010). I’ve been holding off writing this review so I could let the book percolate a bit in my head. Regardless of where you might stand theologically, the debate/struggle/discussion this book represents is, in my opinion, vital. I happen to believe strongly in the reality of God, Jesus Christ, and all that that entails.

"Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Drilling and Production" by Norman J. Hyne

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Norman J. Hyne, Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Drilling and Production (Tulsa: Pennwell, 2001). In my new job I edit materials surrounding the regulation of natural resource production in Alberta. While I have a background in science in general, oil and gas is not something I’ve had lots of experience with. Fortunately this book was sitting on my desk. The book is exactly what it says it is. It starts by explaining the geological foundation of hydrocarbons and goes through the technicalities of how these resources are found, assessed, and produced.

"State of the Art" by Iain M. Banks

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Iain M. Banks, The State of the Art (London: Orbit, 1991). Well this book is more of a novella. It’s grouped with a number of short stories, not of all of which take place in the Culture universe. They do sort of belong together, though. The main story “The State of the Art” is a recounting of the Culture’s encounter with Earth. While I wish Banks wasn’t quite so preoccupied with sex, I do enjoy his take on humanity and culture.

"A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K. Dick

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly (New York: Doubleday, 2011 [1977]). I studied Philip K. Dick’s (PDK) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner) in a college English class and just loved it. I went out and read a bunch of PKD’s short stories. I had heard the title A Scanner Darkly many times but didn’t know anything about it. I came across it in the bookstore the other day—in this new edition—and couldn’t resist.

"Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt"

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985). And now for something completely different. As yet I haven’t reviewed any church-related literature, of which I read a great deal. Certainly not because I am ashamed in any way of my faith. Any who know me at all well are aware that I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints .

"Use of Weapons" by Iain M. Banks

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Iain M. Banks, Use of Weapons (London: Orbit, 1992). Well this was a huge step up from Player of Games . The characters in this book are very well defined and engaging, the action is visceral, and the whole story just keeps you reading. The structure is challenging and requires careful attention while reading and takes some reflection after reading. Many people just go right back and re-read it once things are more clear.

"Magician: Apprentice" by Raymond E. Feist

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 1/5 Raymond E. Feist, Magician: Apprentice, The author’s preferred edition (New York: Bantam, 2004). This book was profoundly disappointing. I finished it simply because I had started it, and I will not be reading the second installment, Magician: Master. To be fair, this was Feist’s first foray into novel writing (or so he admits in his foreword to this new edition), but why it continues to be published decades later and why all the lavish praise heaped upon it is a mystery to me.

Recipes: Vanilla-Coconut Panna Cotta with Strawberry Jelly

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipes: http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/12/vanilla-coconut-panna-cotta-with-pomegranate-jelly/ combined with http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/03/strawberry-shortcake-trifle/ I didn’t have any pomegranate juice, and I wasn’t in the mood to make an angel food cake, so I combined the two recipes and made the panna cotta with the strawberry jelly. I also didn’t want to fill the fridge with 12 individual desert cups, so I just did a large 9×13 pan. (It has to hold almost 12 cups of liquid!) For the jelly, I doubled the recipe and used a full three packets of gelatine.

Recipes: Chocolate Panna Cotta

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/05/milk-chocolate-panna-cotta-with-port-cherry-sauce/ This was my first panna cotta. I didn’t have milk chocolate, so I had to use bittersweet with some added sugar (1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup). Ultimately, it would taste much better with milk chocolate. It still tasted good, don’t get me wrong, but it was a very rich chocolate flavour. Fortunately, Adele and Ellen really like dark chocolate. It was a little rich for me. The texture was a little grainy, too.

Recipes: Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2012/01/hazelnut-cookies-with-chocolate-chunks-biscotti-alle-nocciole-e-cioccolato/ These are pretty tasty cookies, but they’re no better than my standby chocolate chip recipe. I do like the hazelnut crunch, though. I measured this recipe by weight instead of volume. (Doubled, I used more like 3 cups of flour instead of 4.) The dough is indeed runnier than other cookies doughs, so it does help to set it up in the fridge for that hour. Yield: Doubled, using tbsp-sized balls, about 6 dozen (a little more).

"Consider Phlebas" by Iain M. Banks

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Iain M. Banks, Consider Phlebas (London: Orbit, 1988). This is the first of what Banks calls his “Culture Novels.” These consist of standalone novels set in the same essential milieu. The centre of this setting is the society known as the Culture: advanced humans with highly advanced sentient machines and capabilities of genetic manipulation. From the first page to the last, the book really hums. The action is almost non-stop.

"Player of Games" by Iain M. Banks

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 2/5 Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games (London: Orbit, 1989). Being a gamer myself, I had high hopes for this book. I was a little disappointed. It was pretty good overall, but the specific game aspects were highly romanticized and frustratingly non-specific. I did find his views on randomness in games interesting. There wasn’t as much coarse language in this book as in the first, but the sexual innuendo was much stronger (bordering on explicit).

Recipes: Homemade Ice Cream

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Who doesn’t love ice cream?!! It is hands down my favourite food. I can eat it any time, anywhere, and indefinitely. Here at the Brooks house, they have a 2-gallon ice cream maker, and we have put it through its paces. We have made and consumed about 20 gallons of ice cream over this past month and experimented with a few new recipes. Here are the two winners (in my view).

The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 The Death Gate Cycle is a series of seven books. I remember starting it years ago and never finishing. I picked it up again in the new year and yesterday finished the last book. The story is fundamentally about fear—about different manifestations of and reactions to it. It was an enjoyable read with some exciting moments. I think the series falls clearly, though, in the realm of young adult/juvenile fiction.

Recipes: Cannoli Siciliani

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/06/cannoli-siciliani-the-ultimate-italian-pastry/ Well, things kinda worked out. The recipe appears to be sound, but not cooking with alcohol meant using grape juice instead. I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it. I also didn’t have proper cannoli molds. (I’m in the middle of nowhere and things take forever to get to us.) I instead used wooden dowels, which worked OK after being fried a couple of times, but it took some work to get the cannolis off the mold the first few times, plus they float, so I had to use the basket to hold them under the oil.

Recipes: Amaretto Cheesecake with Almond Crust and Amaretto-Caramel Sauce

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/05/amaretto-cheesecake-with-almond-crust-and-amaretto-caramel-sauce/ I had a big container of mascarpone cheese and wanted to do more than just mix it in with whipped cream (which is delicious, too, by the way). I did a search and found this recipe for a mascarpone cheesecake! It still uses some philly, but it’s mostly mascarpone, and it completely changes the flavour and texture. Even I wanted a few bites! It doesn’t have as strong a cheese flavour, and the texture is smoother than a traditional cheesecake.

Recipes: Angel Food Cake

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/heavenly-angel-food-cake/detail.aspx Well, I’ve been making pastry cream by the boat load, so I’ve been freezing egg whites by the dozen. We finally decided it was time to do something about them. Ellen had never made an angel food cake from scratch, so we decided to try. We found this super easy recipe and it turned out beautifully! So delicious! Since we made bomboloni again yesterday, we have a ton of pastry cream and egg whites.

Recipes: Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Crème

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2012/01/chocolate-hazelnut-pots-de-creme-pots-de-creme-al-cioccolato/ Well we tried to make creme brulee, but the recipe we used didn’t set up properly. Once we find the one that works, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, we decided to make these pots de creme (which are essentially chocolate creme brulees). It took twice as long to setup than what the recipe recommended, but they did finally bake. They were way rich, but still very delicious.

Recipes: Bomboloni

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original Recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/08/bomboloni-alla-crema-krapfen-italian-cream-filled-donuts/ Bomboloni are a traditional Italian pastry. This recipe worked great, and the resulting doughnuts were delicious! They were just so light and full of air. The orange zest added a little freshness and of course the pastry cream was marvelous! There wasn’t enough cream, though, to fill all the bomboloni the same. We did a few the proper way for pictures, but the rest just received a little dollop of cream injected through the side.

Recipes: Chocolate Cheesecake with Butter Caramel Sauce

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/09/chocolate-cheesecake-with-chocolate-sauce-butter-caramel-sauce-and-hazelnuts/ I really don’t like cheesecake, so I’m sorry my reviews can’t be more detailed. Adele and Ellen tell me it’s a very good cheesecake. I didn’t make the chocolate sauce as I had some leftover ganache from a previous recipe. I made the caramel sauce, but I was not impressed with it. It was fine if used right away, but once it hardened, no amount of microwaving could reconstitute it smoothly.

Recipes: Homemade Oreos Redux

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

When I started my Adventures in Baking , Homemade Oreos was one of the first things I made. The girls had a bake sale today, so we made more of these cookies last night. We tripled the dough recipe and doubled the filling recipe. I use 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie and 1 tablespoon of filling. The recipe yielded 8 dozen individual cookies and enough filling to make 3.

Recipes: Double Chocolate Brownie Semifreddo

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/07/donna-hays-double-chocolate-brownie-semifreddo/ This worked out really nice. It’s super rich, just like the chocolate mousse, but it doesn’t have the same structure. At room temperature, it does start to “melt.” What’s wonderful is how easy it is to stir in whatever you like. It doesn’t require an ice cream maker, and it’s just different enough from the mousse to have a place in the cookbook. We didn’t have brownies, so I was going to fold in toasted hazelnuts.

Recipes: Dark Chocolate Almond Crackles and Chocolate Thumbprints

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/05/dark-chocolate-almond-crackles-chocolate-thumbprints/ Made two different kinds of cookies today: Dark Chocolate Almond Crackles and Chocolate Thumbprints. Almond Crackles: This is a straightforward recipe except for the blanched almonds. What a pain! It took 30+ minutes just to blanch 1 cup. You can buy blanched, but I’m told you lose a lot of flavour if you don’t do it yourself just before using them. *shrugs* The cookie is just not worth it to me if I have to blanch almonds.

Recipes: Strawberry Tart

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/06/crostata-di-fragole-con-crema-pasticcera-e-chantilly-strawberry-tart/ This recipe turned out beautifully! The pastry was delicious, it didn’t break when transferring, the pastry cream worked the very first time, and all together it was just gorgeous! I didn’t have vanilla beans, so I used 2 tsp of excellent Mexican vanilla extract. Next time I’ll add a third teaspoon. It was also just the littlest bit not sweet enough. I used normal sugar instead of caster sugar, so in the future I’ll add a few more tablespoons of sugar.

"The Words We Live By" by Linda Monk

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 Linda R. Monk, The Words We Live By (New York: Hyperion, 2003). This book is the entire text of the US Constitution and its 27 amendments, annotated line by line with explanations, historical motivations, and ramifications thereof. If you’re a US citizen, or just interested in politics, then understanding the Constitution is essential. This book gives you not just the text but also the tools to understand this incredible document.

Recipes: Torta Caprese (Flour-less chocolate cake)

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/05/torta-caprese-flourless-chocolate-torte-graces-sweet-life-goes-to-print/ I’ve made a few flour-less chocolate cakes, but none of them turned out as excellent as this one! This recipe used more eggs than others that I’ve tried, and the addition of the nut meal is genius. The nut flavour is actually quite subtle, but the little crunch adds so much. The real magic, though, is the addition of the Paneangeli “Lievito Pane Degli Angeli” Vaniglinato – per Dolci, an Italian “yeast for cake” baking product.

"A First-Rate Madness" by Nassir Ghaemi

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Nassir Ghaemi, A First-Rate Madness (New York: Penguin, 2011). The thesis of the book is that in times of peace and plenty, the best leader is a mentally normative (or “homoclite”) one. In crisis, however, you need an exceptional leader. Ghaemi asserts that the best such leaders are mentally abnormal. He focuses mainly on depression and mania, selecting four major traits of manic-depressives (creativity, realism, empathy, and resilience) and examines the careers of leaders such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King, FDR, JFK, and others.

"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (New York: DAW, 2008). I have a general rule that forbids me from starting a series of books that’s not already finished. It can take years for a sequel to make it through production, and by that time I’ve read so many other books that I basically have to start over anyway. When I first picked this book up, I wasn’t aware that it was the first of a trilogy.

"The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles (New York: Avon, 2011). Originally published in 1950, The Martian Chronicles is another of those classics that I have known about but never taken the time to read. This is a true piece of literary art—poetry. The core story is of the colonization of Mars. It doesn’t sound very poetic, but trust me. Even if you’re not a science fiction fan, you will find something in these stories that moves you.

Recipes: Nutella Cream Pie

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Original recipe: http://makinglifedelicious.com/2011/02/05/happy-5th-world-nutella-day-nutella-cream-pie/ The recipe was straightforward and seemed to work out really well. It wasn’t too cheese cakey, and the toasted hazelnuts of course taste great. I used a store-bought Oreo crust. I under baked it a little bit, but it was still tasty. The topping recipe made way too much whipped cream, and you really should put the topping on just before serving. After making so many pure chocolate desserts lately, the hazelnut was a nice change.

"Ringworld" by Larry Niven

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5 Larry Niven, Ringworld (New York: Del Rey, 1985). Before starting the second leg of our trip, I looked up some lists of top sci-fi and fantasy books and picked a few up. Ringworld was the first I finished. It’s a story about an alien race called puppeteers and how they discovered an artifact they call the Ringworld. (The picture to the left gives you the idea.) The puppeteers send one of their own to recruit a team to go and explore it.

"Wheat Belly" by William Davis

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 5/5 William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health (New York: Rodale, 2011). This is another book that talks about the low-carb diet, wheat in particular. Did you know that wheat impacts your blood sugar even more than table sugar? One of his main points is that the wheat we eat today is simply not the same wheat we were eating even 50 years ago.

AiB: Sorbet

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/StrawberrySorbet.html I’ve always assumed sorbet is pretty easy to make, but I never really tried. This recipe worked great! Purée fruit, add some lemon juice, mix with simple syrup, freeze. Couldn’t be easier! I did a batch with 4 pounds of strawberries and 1 pound of Saskatoon berries. De-li-cious. Actual yield: However much fruit you start with. Verdict: Keeper!

Board Game: "Condottiere"

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5 “Condottiere” by Fantasy Flight Games Condottiere is a card game of bluffing and second guessing. It has been around since 1995, but I am just now getting around to playing it! 2–6 players (the game works best with 3+) fight to control city states in Renaissance Italy. You do this by playing cards to your battle line. The strongest line wins, but beware the bishop who can hamstring an army in a stroke, the vagaries of winter, or a well timed surrender.

AiB: Good ol’ fashioned Chocolate Pudding

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolatePudding.html I love chocolate pudding! It’s an absolute favourite of mine. I really enjoy the chocolate mousse I’ve been making , but it’s really rich. Sometimes you just want that smooth chocolate texture. I finally decided to find a cooked pudding recipe that worked. I decided I couldn’t go far wrong with Joy of Baking, so that’s the recipe I went with.

AiB: No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars Redux

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://picky-palate.com/2011/03/17/no-bake-chewy-cookies-and-cream-bars/ I have made these four times now , and I think I’ve decided what I like best. Because there are seven kids, you have to double it, which gives you a 9×13 pan. We like them a little denser with coarsely crushed Oreos. The best so far is a bag and a half of marshmallows (approx. 675 g) with a half cup of butter and two trays of Oreos (each tray had three rows of 10 cookies each, so a total 60 cookies).

AiB: Sweet Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://ohmysugarhigh.com/chocolate-chip-waffle-cookies-recipe/ These turned out quite nicely! They firm up but still remain a little chewy. The coconut adds a great flavour, and the waffle texture is a nice change from plain (but still yummy!) chocolate chip cookies. It’s a little bit of extra work—you can only do 4 cookies at a time instead of a dozen, but the final product is worth it.

AiB: Craggy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/craggy-chocolate-cake/recipe.html?dishid=10332 I kinda liked it! It’s a different texture, but a really nice flavour. It’s crisp on the outside but light—almost like a souflé—on the inside. I think the texture would be even better if I had the 8″ pan. You’ll notice in the picture that the outside is quite a bit higher than the middle. This is because I only had a 9.

AiB: Oreo Chocolate Truffle Tart with Chocolate Glaze

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/04/oreo-chocolate-truffle-tart-with-chocolate-glaze/ This was delicious! I used a 9″ pie pan because I didn’t have an 8″ tart tin. It’s much faster to make than the Chocolate Mousse Cake but still satisfies much of the chocolate craving. It gives a nice smooth texture and rich flavour. It beats plain chocolate cream pie any day. Actual yield: N/A Verdict: Keeper! Glaze from above

AiB: Mini Boston Cream Pies

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://gracessweetlife.com/2011/03/mini-boston-cream-pies/ Well the sponge cake tastes good, though I baked it a little thin. The pastry cream recipe didn’t work at all, though that’s at least partly my fault. I overcooked it. In my own defense, the recipe does say to boil the milk, but that’s at least partly why my cream turned to jelly. I instead found a different pastry cream recipe and used that.

AiB: Cookie Dough Dip

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/12/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-dip/ Yuck! I’m afraid this recipe does not succeed. I don’t like cream cheese much, so I ran it by Adele and Ellen (both big cheesecake fans) and they didn’t like it either. We even let it sit for a couple days, but it didn’t help. Skip this one. Actual yield: 1 soup bowl of dip Verdict: No good!

AiB: Butter Cookies Redux

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. This is the second time I have made butter cookies. Because I have used so much butter lately, and I was making three different recipes with butter today, I thought I’d use margarine and see how it went. Well they still taste great, but the texture is completely different. I know many of you will roll your eyes and say “I could have told you that,” but don’t make these unless you’re going to use real butter.

AiB: Banana Streusel Crumb Cake

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.noraisinsonmyparade.com/2011/05/banana-streusal-crumb-cake-make-this.html Oh my, this was delicious! So moist! This is a killer recipe. I didn’t have cake flour, so I did the 2 tbsp of corn starch thing. Go and make this right away. You will not regret it. Actual yield: Doubled, it yielded a nice deep 9×13 pan. Verdict: Keeper!

AiB: Cinnamon Buns

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://sorumblyinmytumbly.blogspot.com/2011/05/clone-of-cinnabon.html This recipe yields a dough that’s a little hard. I’ll go easier on the flour next time. They still worked out OK and tasted great. The frosting was delish. Next time I’m going to add a splash of lemon. Actual yield: 12 buns Verdict: Keeper (but needs a little work)

AiB: Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/03/cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-bread/ So delicious! This was my first attempt at any bread recipe. I still have lots to learn, but it still tastes great! Go and try it—now! Actual yield: 1 loaf Verdict: Keeper.

AiB: Brownie Challenge

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Previously I tried a “perfect brownie” recipe. In the comments section of that original recipe was a recipe for supposed Martha Stewart brownies. We also happened to have a box of Ghiradelli’s triple chocolate brownies. The ultimate verdict was mixed. For me the Giradelli’s was dead last. It tastes good, but it has too much flour for my taste. The Martha Stewart brownie was equally moist and I think it has a nice flavour.

AiB: Chocolate Mousse Redux

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. This is the second time I have made the chocolate mousse. This time I did it as a layered parfait, and I used bittersweet chocolate. The bittersweet chocolate makes all the difference. Semi-sweet chocolate is just that little bit too sweet. Num!

AiB: Cinn-a-bun Cheesecake

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.perrysplate.com/2008/02/cinn-bun-cheesecake.html I made this two days ago but it just got eaten yesterday. I had a 10″ pan, so I only did two layers instead of three. I used gingersnaps for for the cookie. I hate cheesecake, so I can only go by what Adele and Ellen have said—namely, “Yum!” They really liked it. It certainly looks delicious! This appears to be a good recipe.

AiB: The "Perfect" Brownie

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2009/07/how-to-make-perfect-brownies/ Made a pan for before the girls came home, but they were half eaten by the hunters and guides before they could even cool! At least I got one piece set aside for each of the kids. I used Hershey’s cocoa powder. There is no way enough batter for a 9×13 pan. The brownies literally melt in your mouth. They’re quite delish, though I’m not sure yet if they’re perfect.

AiB: Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.thehazelbloom.com/2010/11/caramel-apple-upside-down-cake-with-cinnamon-whipped-cream/ Well I broke the cardinal rule and baked something new when company was coming. My heat was a little high when I browned the butter, so part got burned. That meant when the cake was baked and I flipped it, it stuck and tore. It tasted great, though! The cake batter itself tasted delicious. I will definitely try this one again.

AiB: Chocolate Banana Muffins

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.thehazelbloom.com/2011/02/chocolate-banana-marble-muffins/ Well these are pretty good, but not terrific (and that may very well be my fault). I doubled the recipe, and perhaps I should stop doing that. Doubled, the batter was quite thick. There was no way I could marble the chocolate mixture as it was even stiffer. The first batch I think I undercooked. I cooked the second batch for about 4 minutes longer.

AiB: Chocolate Mousse Cake

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.sugarduchess.com/2011/04/chocolate-mousse-cake/ Oh—my—goodness. This was divine! It is super, super rich. A tiny slice is all you need. Because I know nobody would believe that I made this, I’m attaching pictures. I only had a 10-inch pan, so it’s not as tall, but for a first attempt, I think it looks pretty good. It tastes terrific! Actual yield: N/A Verdict: Delicious! Keeper!

AiB: Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://picky-palate.com/2010/02/11/cinnamon-roll-sugar-cookies-yes/ These cookies turned out awesome! Even hours later, chilled, they are soft and delicious. The kids love them. They really do taste like little cinnamon buns! There wasn’t nearly enough icing, though. Depending on how much you like on the cookies, you could almost double the icing recipe. The cookies are a little fiddly to prepare, but they are really worth it.

AiB: Coffee Cake Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Crust

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/08/02/cinnamon-sugar-crusted-coffee-cake-muffins/ The original blogger appears to have used some sort of mini muffin pan. I only had cupcake pans. As a result, I didn’t try to encrust the whole thing in cinnamon and sugar—just the top. It’s not the best coffee cake I’ve ever had, but it is still quite good—especially fresh, hot, with butter. They only take a few minutes to make, 15 minutes to cook, and were a nice addition to breakfast this morning.

AiB: Korova Cookies

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.ledelicieux.com/2011/01/17/korova-cookies/ My cookies just came out of the oven and they are delicious! This is a great (and incidentally, eggless) double-chocolate cookie recipe. I only have salted butter, so I reduced the salt somewhat. I also used plain table salt. My research says that using fleur de sel as anything other than a finishing touch is wasted. If it’s baked in, table salt or kosher salt is fine.

AiB: Millionaire’s Shortbread

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.blueeyedbakers.com/home/2010/9/7/millionaires-shortbread.html This recipe did not turn out so good. The shortbread is not particularly good. The butter cookies I made earlier are far superior. The caramel recipe resulted in essentially toffee. The layer was impossible to cut through without cracking and it was far too hard for my liking. The idea sounds good, but I would use completely different recipes for the different layers.

AiB: No-Bake Nutella Cookies

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/01/28/no-bake-nutella-cookies-2/ Delicious! I didn’t have a cookie scoop, so I had to use an ice cream scoop instead. Mine didn’t flatten like the pictures show, and they’re a little brittle. I think smaller cookies would help with that. Regardless, they taste great! We’ll see what the kids think when they get home, though I can’t imagine them not liking them.

AiB: Hasselback Potatoes

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/06/16/hasselback-potatoes/ I made crockpot roast and potatoes tonight. It was also my first attempt at gravy. It didn’t thicken much, but it was tasty. For potatoes I decided to do the hasselback. I just did an olive oil coating on top, a glob of butter, and Italian seasoning. They were quite tasty. They’re a nice change from straight baked potatoes. The kids liked that they could be broken up into discs.

AiB: Apple Crisp Truffles

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/?p=12651 Well I found something my wondrous Vitamix does not do that well. The mixture this recipe creates is a thick chunky paste that ends up mostly stuck under the blades of the blender. It did an OK job, but I’m going to try to find another way. I was pretty sure the kids wouldn’t love these, so I just did one batch.

AiB: Lemon Meringue Custard with Butter Cookies

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2011/05/lemon-meringue-custards-with-butter.html So this is actually two complementary recipes. I made them yesterday. First the custard: Crap! It didn’t look anything like the picture. It was only the faintest yellow, and while it had a lemon flavour, it didn’t taste anything like lemon meringue pie. The recipe made hardly any, too! I doubled the recipe and still only got 6 1/2–3/4 cup servings.

AiB: Samoa M&M Blondies

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Part of the Adventures in Baking (AiB) series. Original recipe: http://www.eatatallies.com/2010/08/samoa-m-blondies.html These are delicious—assuming you like coconut! The recipe called for a 9×13 pan, but since all my brownies so far have been too skimpy on the batter, I went with an 8×11.5 pan. Well as luck would have it, this recipe actually creates enough batter. The result were brownies slightly undercooked in the middle. They’re supposed to be moist in the middle, but the next time I make these I will use a 9×13 and see what I get.

AiB: Brown Sugar Peach Semifreddos