Wayne and Rebecca Madsen

What a fun week. We spent the first half of the week getting ready for our trip. I made sure I could connect to work remotely, since we were planning on having me work remotely a couple of days so I didn't have to dip into negative PTO hours. We packed and cleaned out our fridge of almost all our food. We took our keys to Star's sitters (and enjoyed a silly, fun movie called Shaolin Soccer with Chris and Alyssa). We arranged for the taxi to come pick us up. And then we laid low until Wednesday morning.  read more »

Victor: Every time I eat bleu cheese dressing I remember the time I first had it in Vegas.

Mom Madsen: It's the same thing every time I take a shower.

*End with Camilla on the floor and Rebecca's water every where except in her mouth.*

The Chronicles of Prydain
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The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron
The Castle of Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King
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Warning: Spoilers  read more »

The following text is taken from a presentation I gave on my work up to the end of my first semester in graduate school. It follows a powerpoint presentation.  read more »

The only thing bad about a holiday is it is followed by a non-holiday.

-Anonymous

Rebecca and I have decided that this year was a terrible year for movies. After eight months since we've last been to the theaters, we rented Pirates of the Caribbean 2, to see if it was worth it. And I think the first time we watched it we were just as confused as the first time we watched Master and Servant -- totally lost. Not only could we not understand what half the characters were saying, but the plot made no sense. So we watched it again. The next day. And then I think I can reconcile it as being an "alright" film.  read more »

Aigo Bouido
(Garlic and Sage Soup)
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6-8 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp sage
2 tsp thyme
4 cups water
1 TBS butter
6 oz vermicelli (any broken noodles do great)
2 TBS lemon juice
6 egg yolks lightly beaten
salt and pepper
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
6 TBS shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the garlic, sage, thyme and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the head to low and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.  read more »

Apple Walnut Salad
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2 cups ciabatta bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup celeriac (celery root), thinly sliced
1/2 cup seedless grapes (green), halved
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, slightly crushed
1 apple, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup creamy salad dressing (recommended: blue cheese, asiago caesar, or plain mayo)
2 TBS fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the ciabatta in 1 TBS olive oil. Place the bread cubes in a single layer and toast them in the oven until browned (approximately 7 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool. After bread is cooled, place into a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Season with some salt and pepper.

Serves 4 people (for a side dish).

Naan Bread
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Scant 4 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
water to mix
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
olive oil for frying

Put the flour, salt, and yeast into a bowl with enough water to make a soft, but not sloppy dough. Add the seeds, then divide the dough into three pieces. Let rest of 1 hour.

Divide the dough once more, making six pieces (you can divide it further if you desire, but optimal is six from this recipe). Using a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a circle and let rest for 5 more minutes.

Heat a skillet to medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Shallow fry each naan until browned on both sides, then set aside to cool before serving.

Makes six pieces (one per person).

I had a great idea this week. Christmas is my favorite holiday of all, mostly because we have such great traditions that we enjoy and look forward to. Some holidays (like the 4th of July) we end up doing something different all the time so it's just...different. There's something to be said for persistent traditions. That said, we started off the holiday season with our advent calendar (with little chocolate pieces in each day) and reading a story and singing a Christmas song and reading a scripture about the Savior every day until Christmas.  read more »