Time flies when you are reading good books!

It's been a busy couple of weeks at KAXE - and I haven't been keeping up with blogging much at all! I'm headed off on a short vacation, but I'm excited about the upcoming authors I'll be interviewing and the stack of books I'm bringing with.

"Memory of Trees - A Daughter's Story of a Family Farm" by MN Author Gayla Marty. Here's how it is described on her website:

Memory of Trees is the story of a farm in east central Minnesota—Pine County, four miles west of the St. Croix River.

A farm accident triggers an urban woman’s search to understand her attachment to her family’s farm and the reasons—conflict, culture, economics, and illness—that it was sold. As she sits beside her uncle’s hospital bed during an October that ends in a blizzard, she wonders: Why were he and she, once close but now so different, the two who resisted the sale? The search through memory leads to the alpine valley of their ancestors, ruined farm towns of the Roman Empire in North Africa, and ancient Biblical texts about land and exile. The journey uncovers the relationship of forests, farms, and migration in Western civilization through the example of this farm in the “golden triangle” between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.

I'll also get a chance to talk with Elise Paschen again. Elise is a poet who was Executive

Director of the Poetry Society of America and co-founded Poetry in Motion that put poetry on buses and subways. I've talked to Elise before about her Poetry Speaks projects that have included audio CDs of famous poets reading their own works. She's already done a Poetry Speaks to Children that's a picture book with poetry... but this time she has created a collection for a little older crowd - middles school to high school age. It's called Poetry Speaks to Who I Am and has been described as "an energetic, visceral collection of poems for that point in life that is at the same time angst-ridden and incredibly exciting".

Other books I'm reviewing for upcoming shows:

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Carrier - Untangling the Danger in My DNA by Bonnie J. Rough

Anna Getty this week on Realgoodwords

I had the chance to talk with Anna Getty again this week. She's quite the woman! Anna Getty has played many roles over the course of her remarkable life: Actress. Fashion maven. Chef. Kundalini yoga teacher. Writer. Mother. Environmental Activist. And now green living and holistic lifestyle expert. She's also the sister of actor Balthazar Getty.

I'm hoping to try some of her recipes soon... until then, here's one for you to try!

INGREDIENTS

• 7 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

PREPARATION
1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium pot and keep it at a simmer until the risotto is done.

2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 tablespoon of the ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

3. Add the rice and stir. Stir in the wine and simmer until the liquid is evaporated. Begin adding stock, one ladle full at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock until the rice is cooked but still firm and creamy, 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, the remaining 2 teaspoons of ginger, and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.