Saturday, July 6, 2013
The next book ...
Our next meeting has been moved to Tuesday, August 27... I realize that's a busy week for teachers, but it's not as busy as the following week when school starts! Anyway, we will be discussing "Arthur and George" by Julian Barnes. I'll post discussion questions and a reminder of the date in mid-August.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Another Chimichanga Recipe
OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN CHIMICHANGAS
2/3 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp crushed oregano
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped with some tops (about ¼ cup)
6-8 medium tortillas
2 tbsp margarine, melted
Shredded cheddar cheese chopped green onions, salsa, for
serving
Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese, and onions.
Place about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture in the centre of
each tortilla.
Fold opposite sides over filling; roll up from the bottom,
and place seam-side down on a baking sheet.
Brush with melted margarine.
Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes or until golden.
Garnish with additional cheese and green onions, and serve
salsa on the side.
Recipe--Finally!!
Ladies, here is the recipe for Chimichangas. Sorry that it has taken me 4 months to post this!
CHIMICHANGAS
1-1
½ lb ground beef
1 onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
2 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin (I always use at least 1 tsp)
1 can refried beans
½ cup tomato sauce (reserve the rest of the can)
8 medium tortilla wraps
Butter or margarine
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
·
Fry the ground beef; drain fat.
·
Add onions and garlic; fry until onions are
soft.
·
Add the rest of the ingredients; stir well, and
heat thoroughly.
·
Spread a small amount of butter or margarine on
one side of each tortilla. (Another
option is to spray them with cooking spray AFTER you have filled and rolled
them.)
·
Place 1/3-1/2 cup of meat mixture in the middle
of each tortilla. Tuck in each side and roll up neatly.
·
Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Tortillas will
be crispy.
·
Heat remaining tomato sauce. (Possible variation is to add hot sauce or a
small can of green chili peppers to the tomato sauce, or to use salsa instead
of the tomato sauce.)
·
Serve with tomato sauce, sour cream, and
shredded cheese.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Hi girls: Well I almost feel like I need to apologize for putting you through this book! It has been a challenge for me to finish it. I also wanted to mention that if you haven't finished it and plan to come to the meeting that we will need to give away the ending in order to fully discuss this book. Here are some questions. I hope to see you at Lois' on Friday, November 23rd at 8 pm.
1. Non-maternal, ambivalent mothers are one of the last taboos -- and Eva is a prime example. Were her motives for having a baby entirely selfish? And if so, how much can that have factored into the outcome of an abnormally difficult baby and apathetic child? In contrast to Kevin, Celia was loving, needy and sweet -- and her mother's favorite, if not her father's. By the very end of the novel, has Eva's love for Kevin, or at least her primitive loyalty to him, finally become unconditional? How does this fit in with the feminist ideal of motherhood?
2. Is Eva's view of Kevin colored by her ambivalence about motherhood in general, or perhaps by hindsight knowledge of his eventual violence? Is Eva responsible for creating a child she sees as a monster, or was he a monster all along?
3. Eva's tone changes throughout the course of her letter-writing. She is in turns angry, frustrated and mystified. Could you describe Eva as a loving mother -- in deed if not in thought? Was Kevin overly indulged by a parenting style that let him potty train and learn at his own pace?
4. Did the inclusion of a child into Eva and Franklin's stable, loving relationship cause the rift between them? Did the fact of a child threaten their marriage? How was Kevin perceived as a threat by Eva from conception? What expectations did Eva have of motherhood and how did she meet the reality of it? Was Franklin unsupportive of Eva?
5. The irony of Eva having read Robin Hood to an ailing, needy Kevin at a time of almost shocking mother-son bonding is played out in the way Kevin massacred his fellow students and the teacher who took an interest in him. Since it is Eva who connects Kevin's fevered state with her recollection of his unusual interest in anything whatsoever, is it possible that Kevin's methods were meant to figuratively slay his mother?
6. After Eva throws Kevin across the room, she takes him to the hospital. She confesses later on to Franklin, "However much I deserved rebuke, I still preferred the slow burn of private self-excoriation to the hot lash of public reproof." Are Eva's letters to Franklin her form of self-excoriation, though she is suffering public reproof as the mother of a mass murderer?
7. Does Eva feel responsible for Kevin's series of nasty deeds and childhood "pranks?" Does she think she could have prevented any of it? Does she come to realize why Kevin would harm other children or does she give up trying to understand? How can we sympathize with a mother and father who saw all the warning signs but failed to stop the violence?
8. Given that the story is told from Eva's perspective only, can she be trusted as reliable? How do you think Franklin's version of events would have differed? Might Eva choose to portray Kevin in childhood as more wicked than he really was, if only to make her seem less culpable for his crimes as a teenager?
9. What were Eva's reasons for having a second child? Did Franklin forgive her for the deception? Was she repentant? How closely were her expectations met and was she gratified? How did Franklin's attitude toward Kevin and Celia differ?
10. Toward the end of the novel, it is revealed that Kevin has more complicated feelings about his mother and some of the 9 people he murdered. This gives us a hint as to why he might have carefully planned and carried out Thursday. Does he seem pathetic or more deserving of compassion because he may have had a motive, after all?
11. At the conclusion of the novel, did you find Eva sympathetic in a way you may not have initially? Do you think Eva has sympathy and forgiveness for herself? Is she able to accept Kevin, and to see his personality as, however uncomfortably, akin to her own?
1. Non-maternal, ambivalent mothers are one of the last taboos -- and Eva is a prime example. Were her motives for having a baby entirely selfish? And if so, how much can that have factored into the outcome of an abnormally difficult baby and apathetic child? In contrast to Kevin, Celia was loving, needy and sweet -- and her mother's favorite, if not her father's. By the very end of the novel, has Eva's love for Kevin, or at least her primitive loyalty to him, finally become unconditional? How does this fit in with the feminist ideal of motherhood?
2. Is Eva's view of Kevin colored by her ambivalence about motherhood in general, or perhaps by hindsight knowledge of his eventual violence? Is Eva responsible for creating a child she sees as a monster, or was he a monster all along?
3. Eva's tone changes throughout the course of her letter-writing. She is in turns angry, frustrated and mystified. Could you describe Eva as a loving mother -- in deed if not in thought? Was Kevin overly indulged by a parenting style that let him potty train and learn at his own pace?
4. Did the inclusion of a child into Eva and Franklin's stable, loving relationship cause the rift between them? Did the fact of a child threaten their marriage? How was Kevin perceived as a threat by Eva from conception? What expectations did Eva have of motherhood and how did she meet the reality of it? Was Franklin unsupportive of Eva?
5. The irony of Eva having read Robin Hood to an ailing, needy Kevin at a time of almost shocking mother-son bonding is played out in the way Kevin massacred his fellow students and the teacher who took an interest in him. Since it is Eva who connects Kevin's fevered state with her recollection of his unusual interest in anything whatsoever, is it possible that Kevin's methods were meant to figuratively slay his mother?
6. After Eva throws Kevin across the room, she takes him to the hospital. She confesses later on to Franklin, "However much I deserved rebuke, I still preferred the slow burn of private self-excoriation to the hot lash of public reproof." Are Eva's letters to Franklin her form of self-excoriation, though she is suffering public reproof as the mother of a mass murderer?
7. Does Eva feel responsible for Kevin's series of nasty deeds and childhood "pranks?" Does she think she could have prevented any of it? Does she come to realize why Kevin would harm other children or does she give up trying to understand? How can we sympathize with a mother and father who saw all the warning signs but failed to stop the violence?
8. Given that the story is told from Eva's perspective only, can she be trusted as reliable? How do you think Franklin's version of events would have differed? Might Eva choose to portray Kevin in childhood as more wicked than he really was, if only to make her seem less culpable for his crimes as a teenager?
9. What were Eva's reasons for having a second child? Did Franklin forgive her for the deception? Was she repentant? How closely were her expectations met and was she gratified? How did Franklin's attitude toward Kevin and Celia differ?
10. Toward the end of the novel, it is revealed that Kevin has more complicated feelings about his mother and some of the 9 people he murdered. This gives us a hint as to why he might have carefully planned and carried out Thursday. Does he seem pathetic or more deserving of compassion because he may have had a motive, after all?
11. At the conclusion of the novel, did you find Eva sympathetic in a way you may not have initially? Do you think Eva has sympathy and forgiveness for herself? Is she able to accept Kevin, and to see his personality as, however uncomfortably, akin to her own?
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