Currently Reading: The Flying Troutmans

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews is one of those books on my Books-to-Read list that I don't even remember how it got there! Somewhere along the way I heard about this book and thought I might enjoy it. Sometimes these forgotten discoveries turn out to be great and sometimes they're not so good. But so far I'm liking this one. It's about 28-year-old Hattie who suddenly must care for her niece and nephew when her emotionally-disturbed sister enters a psychiatric hospital. Hattie decides to make the children on a road trip to find their long-lost father. Hopefully I can let you know soon if I recommend it!

Story Corps - Danny & Annie

Oh, this video made me cry - but it is so sweet and worth watching.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Pretty Things

The HGTV Design Happens blog is one of my favorite places online to go and look at pretty things. Here's a few things I found there today.

These bottles and pink flowers make me smile and for some reason remind me of my Mamaw.

Could this couch made out of an old bathtub be any cooler? I'm not convinced it would be totally comfy, but it's pretty to look at anyway.

I want to move into this bedroom right now. The indoor swing is super fun.
One day when we move back to the North Carolina mountains we'll need a sleeping porch like this.
And finally, I doubt I'll ever live anywhere as glamorous as this, but I'm kind of drooling over this room.

The Swell Season covers Neutral Milk Hotel

The Swell Season covers Neutral Milk Hotel

From A.V. Club. This song gives me goosebumps every time, and this cover by Swell Season is amazing.

This American Life.

I love This American Life and I was really excited to see Paste's recent list of great episodes. Cant' wait to listen to them all.

Paste Maganize: Seven Must-Listen This American Life Episodes

I Love Gladiolus!

My sweet husband surprised me with this huge bunch of my favorite flowers when I got home from work today. It's an early birthday present. Aren't they pretty?

Summer Vegetable Gratin Recipe

Last night I went to a vegetarian pot-luck. Andrew and I are not vegetarians, but I have one veggie recipe that I absolutely love. I think it's so delicious, I promise you won't miss the meat. The tomatoes and garlic oil give it an Italian flavor. Here's the recipe (from America's Test Kitchen):

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound zucchini , ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  
• 1 pound summer squash (yellow), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3 to 4 large), sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 medium onions , halved lengthwise and sliced thin pole to pole (about 3 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 large slice white sandwich bread , torn into quarters
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese , grated (about 1 cup)
• 2 medium shallots , minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 13- by 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside.
2. Toss zucchini and summer squash slices with 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl; transfer to colander set over bowl. Let stand until zucchini and squash release at least 3 tablespoons of liquid, about 45 minutes. Arrange slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible.
3. Place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set onions aside.
5. Combine garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme in small bowl. In large bowl, toss zucchini and summer squash in half of oil mixture, then arrange in greased baking dish. Arrange caramelized onions in even layer over squash. Slightly overlap tomato slices in single layer on top of onions. Spoon remaining garlic-oil mixture evenly over tomatoes. Bake until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to brown on edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, process bread in food processor until finely ground, about 10 seconds. (You should have about 1 cup crumbs.) Combine bread crumbs, remaining tablespoon oil, Parmesan, and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and increase heat to 450 degrees. Sprinkle bread-crumb mixture evenly on top of tomatoes. Bake gratin until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

It does take quite a bit of time to make this dish, but it is really yummy and perfect for all the summer vegetables available right now. For the breadcrumbs, I took the easy way out and used pre-made breadcrumbs.

Here's the finished product (although it looks less impressive than it tastes, actually):

And of course, I couldn't done any of it without my kitchen helper. Who, as it turns out, really likes summer squash.