January Books

David Foster Wallace - Consider The Lobster
Fun stuff in this collection of essays from the 90's and early 2000's. Though ironic that I read it WHILE reading Infinite Jest (see below...). I really enjoyed the 9/11 and the Adult Convention essays, felt like classic DFW stuff. Reminded me that I might like his nonfiction better than his fiction, but still...

David Grann - The Lost City of Z
Now this was super fun. Although maybe a little long (basically its a book length version of the New Yorker article from a few years ago, and didn't need that much expansion) it was incredibly entertaining and informative. I was also reading this while I was planning to visit the Amazon, though unfortunately I then found out that the Leticia region in February is the rainy season in the rain forest, and opted not to go this round. But this book is a fascinating look at hundreds of years of history and anthropology of the Amazon, told through a thread of searching for a lost city in the Amazon region. Although the ending was a bit of a letdown, especially having already read the article, I'd still highly recommend this for a solid adventure travel book complete with crazy-ass stories of the past and present in the Amazon region of South America.

Malcolm Gladwell - What the Dog Saw
So basically this is just a collection of his New Yorker pieces over the last five or ten years. Which frankly, are a lot better and more engaging than his last book (Ouliers) which felt really scattered. I was kind of getting sick of his glib "you think its this way, but look at this quirky counterintuitive explanation for how the world really works and get your mind blown" shtick, which is usually backed up by cherry-picked evidence and mediocre-at-best science. This collection though reminded me of why I do/did enjoy Gladwell's older and shorter pieces, which don't make as many claims so much as put forth ideas for consideration. I'd still definitely recommend this, in spite of not thinking so much of Outliers, and its nice to pick it up and just read a piece or two and then put back down.

Superfreakonomics - Leavitt and Dubner
Basically, see my previous complaint about Gladwell's "Outliers." Though this had some thought provoking ideas that were sort of fun to think about, a lot of them felt a little bit half-baked at best, particularly the global warming ideas. However, some of the stuff about neuro-economics and decision-mkaing was interesting, and certainly more engagingly written than the disappointingly dry "Nudge" by Thaler and Sunstein I read last year.

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Yeah thats right. I finally finished it. (Let me clarify, this was an 8 month ordeal in which I read many other books, passed my boards and wrote a book....) And frankly, I'm not sure if it was worth it. (I know, I know...) I think I would have liked it more when I was younger. Thats not to say I didnt like it, or think it was well-written, I just didnt think it was terribly mature I guess. Although the recovery/halfway house stuff was brilliant (and accurate to a T!), I didnt exactly find the non-plot compelling (not the point, I know, I know...). And you know what, I'm not afraid to say he could have used a good editor and it would have made for a better book.

Resumption of Recipes: Thai Iced Tea Ice Cream

With graduate school and now the licensing exam receding into the past, time, though not abundant, does create some space in my life for cooking and posting recipes. This evening I am making Pad Thai (from Hot/Sour/Salty/Sweet) and for dessert homemade Thai Iced Tea flavored ice cream, I invented this recipe, though when I googled the concept, I clearly was not the only one to come up with the idea of thai iced tea flavored ice cream:

THAI ICED TEA ICE CREAM

3 Cups of Light Cream (or 2 cups 1/2&1/2, 1 cup heavy cream)
2-3 egg yolks (I like this ice cream relatively light, though still think a custard is important for texture)
1 Can condensed milk
1 Cup Thai Tea (From good ol' Super 88)
1 tsp vanilla

Gently heat cream mix with thai tea until almost simmering, then let steep for about 30 minutes.
Strain the mix, and make custard by constantly whisking yolks into cream over gentle heat until bubbling and thickened. Stir in vanilla and condensed milk. Let chill, and freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions to yield about a quart.

VIETNAMESE (THAI) ICED COFFEE ICE CREAM
So really, this is the same thing, except using espresso (or finely ground french roast, or cafe du monde coffee), in the place of the tea. I also don't let it seep for so long, and of course leave out the vanilla. If you are using cafe du monde (used commonly in vietnamese coffee in america after so many vietnamese refugees settled in louisiana and near the gulf of mexico), let it seep longer or grind it more finely.
If your strainer is particularly fine, you may want to add a teaspoon of fresh grounds for texture before putting into your machine.

Either of these ice creams (or both!) make a wonderful treat to end a southeast asian style dinner.