Resolution Recipe: glop

I dislike squashes. Not with a deep, abiding passion (unlike, say, eggplant or zucchini); but a vague dislike. I will occasionally eat squashes if they are served to me, but I generally will avoid buying them voluntarily.

I trace this back to my mother, who was generally a good cook. Her blind spot, apparently, was squashes. Her usual method of preparation was to saute them in olive oil until they were brown and slimy. I was forced to eat them. So now, I generally don't.

One of the things about getting a CSA basket every week is the variety. We've already paid for it, so I try to use up the veggies we get. I knew that squashes would be part of the package.

We got two kinds last week. So far I've made vegetarian lasagna a few times (disguise squash in layers of cheese and sauce) but I wanted to try something different. Thus, the glop I made last night.

( Official name: squash and mushroom casserole )

What I'm reading: Peter F. Hamilton, The Naked God

The pushers know my habit

I just got off the phone with my local independent bookstore. I ordered a book coming out in October - since the tragic demise of Future Fantasy, there are no dedicated SF bookstores on this side of the bay. The biggest change for me, though, has been coming to terms with bookstores not carrying everything in print.

No, really. That was a great thing about Future Fantasy. They stocked everything. In quantities. I never worried about them having a book in stock, because in the 15 years they existed they always had it, as soon as it came out, for as long as it was in print (or longer).

Sigh. So now I call ahead and place an order. This makes me one of the local bookstore's best customers. It also means that the staff know me - when I gave my name, the woman's response was "Ah. I guessed right."

"I'm not a bibliophile, I'm a bibliophiliac. When I enter a bookstore, my wallet bleeds."
--metageek