Monthly Reads: June

June inadvertently was a month of intense reads. This could be partially due to the fact that there was only one young adult novel in the mix which is less than my average. And even that one YA book that was included was not a light hearted read. Even with all of the intensity I enjoyed the books I read this month and would recommend all of them. 

Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk

The first book I picked up in June was Doomed. This is the sequel to Chuck Palahniuk's book, Damned which I read in May. I was hesitant to read Doomed after experiencing the graphic gruesomeness of Damned, but I also can't handle leaving a story unfinished. Since Damned was a bit of a cliff hanger I had to read Doomed to find out what happened. It was definitely a different tone since the main character, Madison Spencer, is out of hell and back on Earth as a ghost. More details of her past are filled in throughout the story and you discover the way that her destiny and the potential end of the world are connected. Although this story does not deal with the gory images of hell it is still pretty graphic and some content could be considered offensive. Without giving away the end I will warn that I read this story because of my desire to find out the rest of the story and I was disappointed at the end to find out that this is actually a trilogy, a trilogy that has not been completed. So I am now left unsatisfied until Chuck decides to publish the third book. 

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Coincidentally the next book I chose to read was also the second book in a trilogy. Hollow City is part of the Miss Peregrine's series and continues following the peculiar children as they try to save Miss Peregrine, find other peculiars and escape the grasp of the Hollows all against the backdrop of war torn England. I look forward to picking up the third story in the series next April when it comes out in paperback. 

The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel

I can't remember if this book was recommended to me or if I stumbled upon it on a shelf in Powell's, but either way it was worth my time. The Forgotten Girls is a mystery that takes place in a small town in Denmark. The main character, Louise Rick, takes over the new missing persons department of the local police station and is quickly thrown into the case of a young woman found in the woods. The mystery of the young woman crosses paths with other crimes that are taking place in the town and Louise is tasked to figure out what is going on. As I looked into this book more on Goodreads it appears that there is a series of books starring Louise Rick, and based on my impressions of this book I would consider reading more in the series. 

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

Finally, I ended the month on an oddly sad yet funny story. All My Puny Sorrows is about Yoli, a woman dealing with her sister's unending desire to die. Elf is a world-renowned pianist who can think of nothing else but her need to die and Yoli is her mess of a sister that can't decide between fighting to keep her sister alive or giving into her sisters wish of going to Switzerland to commit suicide. Yoli's narrative bounces between depressing and hilarious. It really made me reflect on the way that we function when dealing with tragedy and how we continue moving through the monotony of life. I would say that this book may need a trigger warning for anyone having dealt with suicide in some form. 

Hiking in Forest Park

I love going on day hikes, and living in Portland offers plenty of places to explore. A few weekends ago a few friends from Levé decided to go on a hike in Forest Park to enjoy the outdoors and catch up on life. We started the day by meeting at St. Honoré Boulangerie on NW Thurman Street. 

After grabbing a quick bite and a coffee we started our adventure. We had a vague idea of where we were going but figured we would work out the details as we went. We approached the bridge and decided to take the stairs down to Macleay Park. 

We started along the Lower Macleay Trail and followed along the creek until we reached what locals call 'Witches'. It is known on the map as Witches Castle and many believe that it has a haunted past. Not to spoil anyone's fun, but the creepy stone building was actually a ranger station and restroom before it was abandoned. 

None the less, it is a great place for a photo opportunity.

We continued along the trail, commenting on the citrusy floral smell that was emanating from the woods and our curiosity was confirmed by some strangers that passed by discussing the same smell. A short way past 'Witches' the trail split and we walked along the Wildwood trail for a bit. Wildwood winds through all of Forest Park and is much more than we were looking to take on for the day so when we came upon another split we chose the Aspen Trail and headed back into the nearby civilization. 

Winding through the old northwest homes we talked about which houses were our favorites and where we imagined living some day. My favorite part of the whole hike was stumbling upon a Dinosaur National Park. It was such a fun surprise to see and so creative. 

The hike lasted a little over 3 miles and took us just over an hour (and the rain held off until I reached my car). It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning and I look forward to the next day hike in or around Portland. 

Tomato Shrimp Linguine

I've always loved cooking and when I have the time I enjoy making extravagant dishes. However, lately my time is limited and I'm always looking for quick and easy ideas. An added difficulty to these meals is my vast amount of food allergies. Most of the items on my list of allergies are easy to get around, but the trickiest (and the things I miss the most) are eggs, dairy and sesame. 
After watching a video of Anna, from Vivianna Does Makeup, making a shrimp pasta dish I was inspired to create my own. I headed to the store and picked up some ingredients to throw together. The outcome was simple and pretty great. 

Ingredients:
2 tbsp - Olive Oil
2 tsp - Chopped Garlic
2 tsp - Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
3 to 4 cups - Tomatoes
1 box - Linguine
12 - Peeled Shrimp (frozen or fresh)
Sprinkle - Nutritional yeast or parmigiano-reggiano

Something to know about my style of cooking is that I tend to estimate when adding ingredients. I only measure when following a recipe, but for the sake of this blog I will do my best to give measurements although they will be approximate and you should feel free to adjust to your liking. 

Warm olive oil in a large pan

Add garlic stirring often to prevent burning

Stir in crushed garlic

Boil water in large pot

Cook linguine

Add sliced tomatoes to the garlic pepper mixture

Add shrimp and cover until shrimp turns pink

Mix into the pasta and enjoy

This would be the point where I would add a ton of parmigiano-reggiano in the old days (before I knew about my allergies). This time I decided to sprinkle a little bit of nutritional yeast on top to add a slight cheesy flavor. This was the perfect dish to enjoy with a sauteed vegetable or garden salad. I packed it up in containers to take as my lunch for the week.