Getting into a hard reading groove, I guess

Guess who finally finished Uncommon Grounds?! It took forever, but it was a great read. So much fascinating history. I also FINALLY started Warrior Girl Unearthed! Victory! I'm about 3/4 of the way through and I love it so much. It's heartbreaking but hopeful and just making me feel so many things. 

I also finished reading Pakistan (my first ever interlibrary loan!) and Third Culture Cooking, although I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of Zaatari (I am realizing now that I could probably have done an interlibrary loan request for that one too...I requested my library buy a copy, so we'll see). I've got a bunch more recipes saved to try, but for now, since I always make pasta salads on Sundays to take to work for the week, I've tried out a pasta salad recipe from Third Culture Cooking and really loved it. I've included the recipe (not exactly as written, since I'm adding it from my notes, but if you want to see the recipe exactly as written, check out the book!) at the end of this post.

Books I still have to read and hopefully will soon:

• Worst-Case Scenario (this one especially, because I think I'm out of renewals for it)
• Does My Body Offend You 
• Algorithms of Oppression
• Daughters of Nri
• The Heirs
• Free Verse Society

Hopefully with fall break I'll be able to catch up on some of my lingering books in addition to reading some of my new challenges: #11, read a book by a d/Deaf author and #17, read a book about a cult or cults. For the first challenge, I chose fiction On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino and nonfiction Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco. I loved the first Anna Sortino book I read, so I'm looking forward to another, and Nyle DiMarco's book has been on my TBR for sooooo long, I'm very excited to finally get to it!

Ooooooooooh, the second challenge. Listen...as a person who grew up in a cult, this is so up my alley. It was really hard to narrow down what I wanted to read, but I finally got it down to two, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer and Going Clear by Lawrence Wright. This was one of the hardest to whittle down, though - so many good options!

Za'atar Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons salt + salt for pasta water
• 2 cups chopped herbs (mint, dill, parsley recommended)
• 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tablespoons za'atar (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound dried pasta (I used penne)
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 7 oz crumbled feta

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and while you do, combine chopped herbs, olives, and tomatoes in a heat-safe bowl. Combine olive oil and garlic in a small skillet over medium heat and cook until garlic is golden around the edges.

Add za'atar and red pepper flakes to olive oil and cook until fragrant, about thirty seconds. Remove from heat and pour over the ingredients in the bowl, letting sit undisturbed for about five minutes to allow time to soften the tomatoes.

Cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Add vinegar, honey, and salt to the bowl with the oil and other ingredients, stir to combine, and gently press on some of the tomatoes to encourage them to burst. Add pasta to bowl and toss to combine, then finish with feta.