most interesting vol. 5

Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing was just released this week and it was heart wrenching. One of the focuses of the documentary was to show the impact protege's of CEO Jack Welch have had - attempting to make profits at any cost including cutting quality and safety despite knowing it's potential to put the public in harms way causing injury and death. And also the interconnectedness and corruptness between large corporations and the government - to the extent that the government also ensures the judiciary process favors the corporation to protect GDP. This documentary also focused heavily on the whistleblowers, all which were exceptionally brave for coming forward! 

After the heaviness of the above, Relay is a fictional whistleblower plot. I found it to be a really unique and engrossing take on this plot idea.

Since watching and loving Shrill, I ran across Diary of a Ditched Girl on Netflix that gave me similar vibes. This Swedish series follows Amanda on her dating endeavors and also her relationships with family and friends. I especially loved that this main character is thirty and therefore somewhat eager in her dating life, which made the interactions so funny, cringeworthy, and relatable to my own life at that age. I also found the other relationship dynamics very accurate. 

recipe: beef and cabbage with wild rice

When the cabbage is bountiful in the garden and needs to be used up, this recipe of my moms for beef and cabbage with wild rice is the first recipe I reach for. The prep is a bit time consuming. Yet the flavorful result is so worth it!

beef and cabbage with wild rice

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried wild rice

6 eggs

1 pound ground beef

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

14 ounce can stewed tomatoes with Italian herbs 

2 tbsp ketchup

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 small head cabbage, shredded

Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions:

1) Cook wild rice per directions. Hard boil eggs, once cooled peel and dice. Set both cooked wild rice and diced eggs aside. 

2) Brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Push ground beef aside and melt butter in corner of pan. Mix flour in with the butter, then combine the butter flour mixture with the ground beef. Add to the pan canned tomatoes, ketchup, water, and garlic salt. Heat to a simmer. Add cooked rice and chopped eggs to the pan and stir to combine.

3) Butter 9x13 casserole dish. Spread half of the shredded cabbage in the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with half the ground beef mixture. Spread another layer of cabbage and then remaining meat mixture.

4) Cover with an oven safe lid or aluminum foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5) Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. 

Notes:

- A small head of cabbage or half of a larger cabbage is all that will fit with the beef mixture in a 9x13 pan. If you're like me and LOVE cabbage, you can use up a whole head of cabbage by layering the mixture in a 9x13 pan as well as an 8x8 pan. 

- To reduce the amount of pans overall needed to make this recipe, you can use a larger stockpot when cooking the meat mixture and add the cabbage directly into that stockpot. Once removing any handles, or other non-oven safe materials, you can stick this stockpot directly into the oven for cooking. Additionally, if you don't want to use the oven at all, you can cook the cabbage in a pan on the stovetop with a little butter and then combine that with the meat mixture, then serve.

book review: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry V-01 by Ransom Riggs

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 5/5

The faux-distressed VHS tape cover of this book instantly drew me in, reminiscent of my childhood. The story within the pages then managed to fully transport me.

Leopold Berry feels like a reflection of every one of our childhoods. I adored the bond with his best friend Emmett, although their play cinematography took them to the magical place of Sunder, something unfortunately my friends and I weren't capable of when growing up. 

These two friends, along with another companion they acquire along the way, try to uncover the clues left by Leopold's mother to determine whether his strange visions and knack for magic mean he could be the one to help save Sunder.

I was invested from page one, whether it was Rigg's delightful world-building or a desire to discover what would happen to the characters as the plot deepened. I wish this was wrapped together with volume 2 because I am dying to know what happens next! I have requested Vol 2 through NetGalley and am crossing my fingers I get it!