Twenty-Eight

Give Away 30 of My Favorite Things

Today is my birthday. And I had a Favorite Things Dinner Party. We had yummy Black Bean Pumpkin Soup (I would share the recipe, but I just kind of improvised, but I'll post what I think I put in there); Panini; Pear and Strawberry Salad; and my absolute favorite Pumpkin Pie! 

For my 30th birthday, I decided that I wanted to have all of my favorite things: soup, salad, sandwiches, pumpkin pie, and friends. But I also love giving gifts. So I decided to give out my 30 favorite books as party favors. Inside each book is a note written on Thai stationery (also my favorite) with a short story of when I read the book and how I came to love it. 

I could write a massively long post about each of these books and why I love them so much. But I won't. You can check out my Goodreads page where I've posted reviews for some of them.

In no particular order: 

1. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
2. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Year 3) by J.K. Rowling
4. Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
5. Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
6. King Lear by William Shakespeare
7. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoessini 
9. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alverez
10. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
11. Night by Elie Wiesel
12. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
13. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
14. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
16. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 
17. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene' Brown
18. Funny in Farsi by Firoozah Dumas
19. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
20. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
21. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
22. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 
23. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
24. StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Roth
25. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
26. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
27. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
28. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
29. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
30. The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde 

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup Recipe (as I remember it...)

4 c. Beef Broth (I use bullion cubes)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 onion diced (I hate cutting onions because my eyes are super sensitive, so I always cheat and use dried onion flakes)

3 cans of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1 c. (I did not measure) lentils

1 TBSP (I did not measure this either) pumpkin pie spice

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Here was my process (totally unorthodox as well, but it was yummy and that's what really matters, right?)

Boil 4 c. water and beef bullion cubes. Add garlic and onion. Puree two cans of black beans and diced tomatoes in blender. Add pureed mixture to soup. Add remaining ingredients to soup. Stir and simmer. Served with a dollop (I love that word!) of plain greek yogurt and grated mozzarella cheese. Easy-peasy.