March Reads and Eats

      As we roll into March, it appears that winter isn't quite finished yet with Kentucky. As we anticipate what we hope is our last measurable snowfall, I am looking for some good reads to snuggle up on the couch with my pup. Our Boston Terrier, Phil, that we rescued seven years ago in February, is a loyal companion. He can be a diva and command attention at times, but he is always by my side. He curls up on the couch by me when I read and he encourages me to go on walks. Between 6:00 and 7:00 pm every evening, he will pester me until I take him for his long walk. I swear he has an internal clock. I always say that he rescued me as much as we rescued him. Now, on to the books. 

My buddy Phil who just turned nine this February. 

     The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh is a galley copy that came out March 1st. I had the copy for a few weeks, but just now got around to reading it. It is a great thriller that has twists and turns that you do not expect. A husband and wife, who are happy with their young daughter, face a secret that will test their marriage. Emma is hiding a secret that her husband of ten years knows nothing about. When he starts getting ideas that Emma is hiding something, he investigates and learns her secret may be something that ultimately tests their marriage. Just when you think he has figured out Emma's secret, things twist. This is one you will not be able to put down. The author is British and I love learning the British terms as I read.  I have read enough books by British authors now that I might feel comfortable traveling in London. :)

     One of the audiobooks I read this month was a thriller as well. The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen reminds me of the book Room by Emma Donoghue. A family of five is living in a basement due to something that happened with one of their children. While they are in the basement, the mother and daughter both give birth. The one son, boy, is bright despite being raised in a basement with just his family teaching him about life outside of their underground prison. This was another page turner that has you  cheering the boy on to see if he will ever get to see his fireflies. 

     A colleague at work shared a picture book she found that is just the most precious story. The art work is beautiful and it has a wonderful story of self worth and friendship.  You Are a Beautiful Beginning by Nina Laden, Kelsey Garrity- Riley, illustrutator, is a must for your collection of you have little ones or grands. 

     Another book I read that was a recommendation by a coworker is The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf. It is another thriller about a woman writing a book about a true crime and she goes to a small town for quiet so she can write. This story is told from three perspectives. First, it is the author's story, Wylie, who is telling her story about going to this town where  brutal murders were committed against this family, kind of like In Cold Blood. Then you have the story of the family leading up to the attack, and then a third viewpoint from a young girl and her mother living in a basement at the whim of the child's father. As you read you will see how these all collide into one story. Just when you think you figured out who the shooter is, you change your mind when you get more information. This the second book I read this month involving people living in a basement. Not sure how I did that, but I have had enough of it for a while. This one is a great thriller if you enjoy trying to figure out the crime as you read. 

pic from goodreads.com

     Ruta Sepetys's newest book, I Must Betray You does not disappoint. I have read three of her other books, and I gave them all four stars. They are engaging, you connect to the characters and she always addresses a time in history that may not always be on your historical fiction radar. This story takes place in Romania during the communist control in the late 1980's. I was a teenager and in college during this time and was not aware of all that was going on. I didn't always pay attention to what was going on in the world at that time. It is a heart wrenching story with facts and bios to accompany it at the end. Follow seventeen year old Cristian as he tries to figure out who he can trust, and who he can't in his hometown, his country, and even in his own home. 

     The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams may be added to my list of all time favorite books. This is a story of a young girl working at the library for the summer and she stumbles upon a list of books. There is no name on the list and Alesha finds the list randomly. This is a great story about how books can comfort us, let us escape for a while, and keep us company when we are lonely. I love the relationship that develops between the young girl working the library desk and the older man who discovers books after the death of his wife. This book has also caused me to want to read some of the books on the list that I haven't read yet. 

      The last book I wish to share with you is one I found on Hoopla. It just came out the first of March, The Letter From Briarton Park by Sarah E. Ladd. If you enjoy Downton Abbey or other British drama, you will enjoy this story. It is about a young girl, Cassandra Hale, who is teaching at an all girls school. She is an orphan, at least she thought she was until her headmistress of the school, her mentor, makes a deathbed confession and gives Cassandra a letter from her father. She then goes to Briarton Park to find out the truth about her parentage. While there, she become a governess for the now master of Briarton Park and becomes the gossip of the town. It was a delight to listen to on audio book with the British accents. 

     As the weather warms up, I tend to enjoy making more salads. One of my favorites is a tossed salad with air fryer chicken tenders. I always make my own honey mustard dressing. It is very simple and that way the dressing is always fresh. My own recipe: Darlah's Honey Mustard Salad Dressing has plain greek yogurt, a little mayo, mustard, honey, and black pepper. I just eyeball it and mix it together then taste it and add whatever you need to get the flavor you like. 

     As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we were expecting our last, hopefully, measurable snow fall of winter. I had to do a pot of chili or soup. So, I found this Tex-Mex potato soup and had to try it. My husband and I both think we like it better than regular taco soup. Here is the recipe. http://auntbeesrecipes.com/2015/08/ultimate-tex-mex-tater-soup.html

     Last month I told you about my recipe for making homemade granola. This month I experimented with making my own homemade Greek yogurt. If you have an Instapot, it even has a yogurt setting. It is very easy, but does take some time.  Once you sanitize your Instapot, pour 1/2 gallon of milk into it. On my pressure cooker it has a yogurt button. If you push it once, it has a boil setting. Boil your milk for about 30 minutes until it reaches 180 degrees if you are boiling it on the stove. Once it reaches 180 degrees, stop and cool it down to about 110 degrees. Once it has cooled, add two tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt like you buy from the store as a "starter" kind of like when you do sour dough. Make sure it has active cultures in it. Once you mix in the two tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt, then stir it, or I use a whisk to mix it well. Turn your Instapot to yogurt setting for a minimum of 8 hours. This is when the yogurt is in the fermentation stage. Depends on how thick you like your yogurt. After six hours, you can open the Instapot and see how it is progressing. Do not open it before six hours. If you prefer a tangier yogurt, leave it in the Instapot on the yogurt setting for up to 10 hours. The next step is straining your yogurt. You strain the whey off of the curds. I do not have a yogurt strainer, so I use a regular strainer with coffee filters. You can also use cheesecloth. Let it drain for about two hours. You can then save the whey or get rid of it. Then keep the yogurt in the strainer and store in the fridge. More whey will drain over night. Now your yogurt is ready to put in a container and use to eat or make dressings or dips. We ate ours with fruit. Just mix some Truvia with a serving of yogurt. Add fruit and drizzle with honey if you wish. I then topped it with my granola. It is a healthy and delicious snack. https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-greek-yogurt/

     Another delicious snack is the two ingredient air fryer bagels. These have a different texture from regular bagels, but when you toast them, they are very comparable to regular bagels. You can use your homemade plain Greek yogurt and flour. (you use self-rising flour but I use all purpose and add my own salt and baking powder) These were everything bagels, one of my faves. 

     The summer of 2020 I found some beautiful heads of cabbage at the farmers market. I wanted to make my  own sauerkraut. One of my favorite meals is kraut and mashed potatoes. I tried canning some kraut and it has been in the cabinet for almost two years. I opened one this month to try and it was good. It was a little salty. I think I may need to rinse the kraut as I strain it before cooking it. But it has a good kraut taste. 

          Over the holidays I saw a recipe on Pinterest for strawberry blondies. I wanted to make them but never got around to it. So, for one of our Delta Kappa Gamma State Organization meetings, I made some along with some chewy chocolate cookies. They were both delicious. The strawberry blondies use strawberry cake mix. They are very easy and have a great flavor. I did not put a glaze on them. I just used sprinkles. The chewy chocolate cookies are from an old recipe that I have used since I was a teenager. They are kind of a brownie cookie. You can add many different kinds of items like mint chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate, nuts, toffee, etc. They are very good plain as well. They are chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

love this old card catalog card with my Mom's handwriting of the recipe

     You know how I like finding ways to use leftovers and to reinvent them in another dish. I made mashed potatoes with the kraut as I mentioned above. We had lots of extra potatoes, so I made a shepherd's pie. I haven't made one of these in years. They are fairly easy to make and it is great comfort food. All you need to do is brown your ground beef, set aside. Then brown your onions and garlic in the skillet where you browned your beef. Add some beef broth and some flour to make a roux. Then add frozen peas and carrots. Stir until it starts to thicken. Add the ground beef and stir. Then pour into a baking dish and let it cool. Once the meat mixture is cool, spread the leftover mashed potatoes on top and bake. If you make the little fork marks, it gives the potatoes a crunch.  

     Please share any great recipes or books that you have tried or discovered. I love learning about both. Let's hope this chilly weather doesn't hang around too long and we can have some warm weather soon. Thanks again for stopping by my blog and happy reading. 📕💜 🍲

February..the LONGEST Shortest Month

      For February to be the shortest month, it sure does seem to drag on forever. As I have mentioned before I am not a cold weather person, and this winter in Kentucky has been cold, wet, and dark. The first book I finished this February was a galley book by Kim Michele Richardson called The Book Woman's Daughter. It comes out in May, 2022. I was anxious to read this one because I enjoyed her other book, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. It was about the pack horse librarians in Eastern Kentucky during the 1930's or 40's. This story continues with the main character's daughter, Honey. Honey, is just trying to survive while her parents are in prison for getting married. Honey's mother is a "Blue" and they are not allowed to marry regular people. If you are not familiar with the Eastern Kentucky Blue people, do your research. It is a genetic disorder that causes blue tinged skin which in turn causes discrimination due to ignorance. Honey picks up her mother's book route with her mule, determined to gain her independence and possibly become emancipated. What I really enjoy about this book is that the author also addresses females in the roles of forestry, horse back nurses, and coal mining.  I always love to read a book with a strong female lead. 

     One of the nonfiction books I read this month was an autobiography by Stanley Tucci Taste: My Life Through Food.  I was a little bit familiar with this actor and had seen some of his movies. I did not realize he was Italian. If you are a foodie, you will appreciate this book. Stanley tells about his childhood and how important food is in his Italian family. I have always heard that Italians take their food seriously, and believe me, they love to eat. I would almost think I have a little Italian blood in me the way I enjoy food. He shares some beloved recipes and family stories. The book hit me with a surprise towards the end. You will learn what inspired him to write this book about his family and his love of food. 

     Another galley book I read was Book Lovers by Emily Henry. It comes out in May of 2022. I chose this book #1 because of it's title and #2 I thought it would be a love story. Since it was February and near Valentine's Day, I thought why not try a romance. Emily Henry has had several books out the last few years, but I haven't read any of hers before. This story is about a book agent who lives in New York. Being the oldest sister, she feels the need to take care of her younger sister after their mother dies. Their father really wasn't a part of their lives and they were both fairly young when their mother passes away. Nora, while working with a male editor, takes a girls trip with her sister Libby to Sunshine Falls, the setting for one of the besting selling books of an author she works with. Nora goes from busy New York City to the sleepy country town and learns so much about herself and her relationship with her sister. It is a cute romance and the book references are a plus. 

     The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera won the 2022 John Newbery Medal. I listened to it on Hoopla through an audiobook.  A cuentista is a story teller. This is an outstanding dystopian story about a comet destroying Earth and a small group of scientist and their children leave to go to the planet Sagan, which I assume is a nod to Carl Sagan. The children are put into pods to sleep and to listen to audios of various educational topics while they travel to the new planet. Petra's sedation does not work and she is awake while she travels in her pod. Her lessons get replaced with many stories from Earth. Her dream is to be a story teller, but she was afraid she would not get to fulfill her dream once they left Earth and the source of her stories.  Hundreds of years later, once they exit their pods, Petra and the other children are to continue the human race. However, Petra realizes she is the only one who remembers and has memories of the planet Earth. Things are not as her parents had prepared her. This story is so intriguing and original. I love how the Hispanic culture is the basis for the story telling. I could very easily see this book as the first of a series. 

     I read another young adult novel that I have been wanting to read for a while, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz.  The second one in the series recently came out so I decided I need to read the first one so that I don't get too far behind. It is a sweet story about two boys coming of age. They are both of Mexican/American heritage. They are both unique and do not fit in with the other kids at school. They become best friends. During an incident, Ari saves Dante's life, but causes himself a great injury. The boys friendship grows into something more. I love their innocence and naivety as they grow up and learn about life. This book makes you realize how much kids grow up in just a year and how a life changing incident can make them grow up quickly. This story has some beautiful moments and it was one that I read in just a couple of days. I will definitely have to read the second book that just came out. 

     The other nonfiction book I read during February was a difficult read. My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair. A woman is in the library one day and she sees a book on the shelf about Nazis and she recognizes her mother and grandmother in a picture in the book. She checks the book out and realizes that her grandfather was Amon Goeth, who shot hundreds of Jews in the concentration camps. This book is about her journey of finding out about her grandfather, getting to know her birth mother and grandmother, who was Amon Goeth's lover and fiance. I can't imagine what she went through as she researched and discovered her family history. Her pain came out through her writing which made this a difficult read. 

       Another struggle during February has been my life time struggle with my weight. I had the fluid removed from my lap band on January 31st, so I now can freely eat what I want without getting sick. I was constantly getting sick and could not eat more than about 4 bites at a meal. If I tried to eat more than 4 bites, I would get sick. I was throwing up 3 to 4 days a week. It even caused my esophagus to be irritated. So, for the month of February I have been adjusting to being able to eat as much as I want and to get back into a good frame of mind to control that eating. When it is cold and rainy and dreary and you can't get out as much, this is more of a struggle for me. When I can get outside and do things in the yard or exercise then I  do better with my eating. So, I have taken a few steps back in my weight loss journey, but I am in a good frame of mind now. I am back on the intermittent fasting train and I am taking advantage of the longer days of sunshine to get out and walk. It is easy to get down and to want to give up, but I do not like how I feel when I eat in excess and become less active. With that said, I want so share a few items I experimented with in February. 

     This first recipe is not a new one. I have probably even shared it before but it is one of my favorites and I wanted to show off my new recipe box that my husband got me for Christmas. It is bamboo and has a plexi-glass piece you can slide your recipe in while you are using it. My mom's two week refrigerator muffins. This recipe is so flexible. I added flax seeds, pumpkin, and pecans. I usually always add cinnamon to these delicious moist bran muffins. I like that I can make a big batch and keep the mix in the fridge for weeks, however it rarely lasts that long.  

     I eat Greek yogurt nightly. It is a way to appease my sweet tooth and to balance my gut as well. I enjoy my yogurt with granola on top. I have wanted to make homemade granola but have never tried it. This was delicious!! It has maple syrup, oats, nuts, and just a little dried fruit. I also added flax seed and pumpkin seeds. The house smelled wonderful while it was baking. Here is my recipe from Pinterest https://pin.it/5IETKbN

     This next recipe has been all over Instagram and Tiktok. It is the Green Goddess salad. I thought I would at least try it once. It was soooo good. Everything in it is green. The dressing base is spinach, nuts, herbs, olive oil and a few more items. I did substitute Parmesan cheese for the nutritional yeast. I did not have any and as I researched it, it is used as a protein. Since I am not vegan, I just subbed Parmesan. There is also a version where you add avocado, cilantro and jalapeno to the dressing.

I tried this version and it is really good too. I like eating it with tortilla chips.  This is the recipe I used, https://pin.it/5IETKbN but if you just Google Green Goddess salad dressing you will find it. 

     If you remember last month I got a doughnut pan with my Christmas money. I first made buttermilk doughnuts. They were a little heavy, but very good flavored. This month I tried the cake mix doughnuts. I love strawberry cake, so I made mine with strawberry cake mix and I added a vanilla cream icing with valentine sprinkles. They were very soft and they did tear up a little bit coming out of the silicon pan. But the flavor was wonderful. There are lots of cake mix doughnut recipes on Pinterest. 

A new item I have discovered at Kroger is the fire roasted salsa style diced tomatoes. These are great to have on hand. They come with peppers and onions already in them, but I always add fresh garlic, onion, and jalapeno. I also add cilantro if I have it on hand. Mix it all together in my food processor and it is a wonderful salsa. Next time you are at Kroger, grab a can or two to keep in your cabinet for a last minute Mexican meal. 

     This last item I just finished prior to writing this entry. I have never made a king cake for Fat Tuesday. I have a coworker that has family in New Orleans and I wanted to make a king cake to bring a little Mardi Gras to the public library. The kitchen smelled sooo good. It is a cinnamon and clove yeast cake with a vanilla icing and sprinkles. I couldn't find a small baby to hid in the baked cake, so I found a small fairy and hid her in the cake. I hope my coworkers have fun with it tomorrow. It was a very easy recipe to follow and it looks like it is going to taste good. I will have to let you know. 

Thanks for stopping by and giving my blog a read. Hopefully we are about finished with this long, dark winter weather. I am going to enjoy this sunny week of warmer weather and try to get back to my #walkingdaily. Have a great Fat Tuesday and a reflective lent season. Happy Reading and Eating!! See you next month. 

 

 

     

Fighting the Winter Blues

      As we ring in 2022, I decided to change up how I was going to do my reading goal and blog. Last year, I kind of did a theme for each month. I have to admit, I did read some books that I probably wouldn't normally pick up to read.  I decided that I would cut my reading goal in half this year and concentrate on some meaningful books that may take a little more time to read. I think I will try to incorporate more nonfiction into my reading as well. My mom and sister actually prefer nonfiction, and I do enjoy discussing books with them, so one of my selections each month is going to be a nonfiction. I also want to stay connected to young adult (YA)/juvenile fiction, so I will also include at least one from this category each month too. I feel like this will still give me a wide variety in my reading each month.      

                                                     

     The first book I read this year was The Matzah Ball  by Jean Meltzer. I chose this book because it got great reviews on social media and I was curious about the Jewish culture during the holiday season. I like to read about various cultures, races, and religions. Not only do I like to read for enjoyment, but it is a big plus if I learn something as well. This is her first novel and I can't wait to read more of her books. She has another book coming out in August, Mr. Perfect on Paper.  I will have to keep my eyes open for it. The Matzah Ball not only tells a story about celebrating Hanukkah, but it also addresses different issues, such as chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs), homosexuality, and  Jews living in a predominately Christian society during the month of December. The main character Rachel is a hoot. I really enjoyed her story and quickly got emotionally attached to her character. This is a great story about being true to yourself, plus it is a cute little romance. If  you ever had a crush on someone at camp when you were twelve years old, then wonder what they are doing twenty years later as an adult, this story will relate to you. 

 npr.org    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a book that was a Reese Witherspoon book club read. It was all over social media and it was available at the library right before we closed for the holidays. So, I grabbed it and thought I would give it a try. This is a story about nature that gets tangled up in a love story. Ada is a teenager that lost her mother at a young age and has a distanced relationship with her plant obsessed father. The story goes back and forth between Ada's story and her parents story about how they met. Her mom is Turkish and her dad is Greek, which are rivals on the island. It is kind of a Romeo and Juliet story with a twist. Also woven in the book is the story of the fig tree which was growing in the tavern where Ada's parents used to meet as they were courting. They found a tavern where they could meet in the back room and no one would see them and tell their parents they were dating. Not only do we get the story from Ada's view point, but we also get the fig tree's story and view. It is a unique format that appealed to the nature lover in me. This one was worth the try. 

simonandschuster.com

     The YA novel that I started off the year with is All This Time by Mikki Daughtry. This is the same author of Five Feet Apart. I haven't read it yet, but her latest book was on a top pick list on Amazon. As I order books at our public library, I am always consulting lots of "best of", "best selling" and "top reads" lists. This was a unique story with a twist. It is about a teen couple who are graduating, have dated for all of high school, then struggle with what to do after high school with college and career goals in their future. They argue and are involved in a car wreck. I can't tell you much beyond that without spoiling the book. It is a unique twist to a typical teen story. It makes the characters look into themselves and find who they really are, with or without each other. Not the best YA book I have ever read, but if you like a romance with a twist, it is a fairly engaging story. 

                                                 

     One of the audio books I read this month was The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian. Set in the 1920's, during prohibition, it takes place in the swamps of Natchez, Mississippi.  Two girls, one a poor white girl, the other a daughter of a black sharecropper, tell their stories of how they plan on escaping the trace. The racial conflicts of the south during this time period are addressed, as well as the lifestyle of the poor living in the stilt houses on the swamp. Your heart will go out to these characters as you get to know these girls.

    This next book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a nonfiction book. My goal is to read at least one nonfiction book a month. I have never been a big nonfiction reader, but as I have gotten older, I seem to enjoy it even more. I am a life long learner, so I tend to choose nonfiction in which I can learn something rather than to be entertained. Braiding Sweetgrass is not a your typical nonfiction book. Not only did I learn so much about science and biology, but it is a beautifully written book. You do not hear that very often when referring to nonfiction books. There were even a couple of parts in the book where I cried and I do not ever remember crying while reading nonfiction, except maybe the Bible. The author's love and respect for nature shines through as she embraces her indigenous roots. From strawberries being the queen of the berries to welcome in Spring to the three sisters- corn, beans, and squash- growing in harmony, to a mother working hard to clean up a pond for her children to swim in to rescuing salamanders as they cross a road at night she captures nature in a way I have never witnessed before. There were parts that were a little too "sciencey " for me, but overall I highly recommend this book if you love nature. It will make you appreciate it even more. 

                                           

     Hamnet by Maggie O' Farrell was my book club read for this month. Our book club took a break due to the covid resurgence and we were able to get back together this month. This book is a fictional story about Shakespeare's family. His son dies from the plague and it inspires him to write the play Hamlet. Even though we have no way of knowing anything about Shakespeare's life, this is a well told story about the time period of when the black death was going around Europe. His wife, Agnes in the story, was an eccentric non conventional woman. They had three children, a daughter and twins, a boy and a girl. We go into the book knowing his son dies of the plague, so no spoiler alerts here, but the writing in this book is just beautiful. I actually had tears after reading how the mother suffered through her son's death. It is an interesting play on the relationship between Shakespeare and his wife and their families. I wasn't sure how I would like this one going in because I am really not a big Shakespeare fan, but it was a very engaging book. If you enjoy beautiful literature, you will like this book. 

       The last book I read in January was The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay. It is about a beloved woman who owns a bookshop in one of the small towns outside of Chicago. She and two lady friends run the shop after her husband dies. After her death, her niece who, went to school in Chicago and lived in the city but never went to visit her aunt, inherits the shop. Why? As her niece contemplates what to do with the shop she befriends the two other ladies, older than her, who helped her aunt run the shop. Along the way, she finds out about some family issues that caused confusion as she was growing up. The relationship that develops between the three ladies is wonderful. It is a very uplifting book that examines family, forgiveness, and grace. It was a delightful read. 

     The two months after Christmas is always the most difficult for me. I do not like the cold. I do not like the dark days. And, did I mention, I do not like the cold?! I tend to have seasonal depression in the winter and it can be a tough time. I fell off of the fasting wagon during January and I was just miserable. We always have lots of leftover goodies around the house from the holidays. I have extra groceries in the house that I don't usually keep other times of the year and I hate for them to go to waste. So, I tend to snack more and bake more and just cook items I wouldn't normally cook. Not good for a plus sized girl who can gain weight just smelling of food.   Thankfully, starting February 1st, I have a fresh new look on eating and am going to try and get back into the intermittent fasting lifestyle.  I always feel so much better when I am on it.  With all of that being said, I thought I would share some of the dishes I made with all of the holiday "extras" we had around the house. 

     First, I made a tiramisu for my son's birthday. His birthday is December 31st, but we weren't able to celebrate with him until after New Year's day. Tiramisu is one of his favorites and I wanted to make it from scratch. I did make the wonderful filling or custard from scratch, but I could not find ladyfingers, the cookie which is traditionally used in tiramisu. I did use a German cookie that I found at Aldi. It is a biscuit type sandwich cookie that had dark chocolate as the filling. It made a WONDERFUL substitution. The dark chocolate went great with the rum and coffee flavors of the traditional tiramisu. 

     Next, I had been craving scones all during the holidays and never made any so I decided to make some with the left over whipping cream I had in my fridge. The recipe I usually use always says to brush the scones with heavy cream before baking them. I usually do not do this to save a few calories. I didn't think it made that big of a difference. Boy were they good. Here I made blueberry scones with some blueberries  I had in the freezer from the blueberry farm where we picked berries this past summer. I made a simple vanilla glaze to drizzle over them. Scones are my favorite. 

       One of my favorite soups is broccoli cheddar, especially the one you can get at Panera.  I found a copy cat recipe on Pinterest and it is a wonderful soup. One thing about the broccoli cheese soup is that it usually calls for cream. I don't always use cream. Again, I try to save a few calories and I usually use 2% milk. I had a quart of heavy whipping cream left over in the fridge from a recipe I made over Christmas and so I used some in the soup. It was wonderful!! My husband doesn't eat broccoli cheddar soup so I usually freeze leftovers and can enjoy it throughout the winter. 

     With some of my Christmas gift cards, I ordered a doughnut pan. I have always wanted one. Cake doughnuts are just as good to me as the fried ones. So, I thought maybe I needed to test my new pan. I had leftover buttermilk in the fridge from the holidays as well, so I made some buttermilk doughnuts with a vanilla icing. OH MY!! Needless to say they did not last long in this house. 

          Since the banana pudding cookies that I shared with you last month were so good, I had to make another batch of those since I had a package of banana pudding left over. (Do you see my addiction to sweets?) This cookie recipe is so easy and the cookies come out so pretty and delicious. We did make these last at least a week. I hid the cookie jar in a cabinet and we rationed them, If I did not do that, we could probably down them in two sittings. If you haven't tried these yet, why not? 

     As I was cleaning out the freezer, I found that I had bought two packages of pie crusts. So, I thought why not make some chicken pot pie. I do not do a double crust with my chicken pot pie. I just do a top crust. I have a very simple recipe I made up in my head. I cook my chicken in the crock pot all day while I am at work. When I get home, I cut up or pull the chicken, add a can of potato soup, I usually fill the soup can about half full of chicken broth and add it. I then add a bag of mixed veggies and some poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Stir it up until it is as thick as you like it. Add more broth as needed then pour into a pie dish or a square baking dish. Then I roll out one of the pie crust and put it on top. Brush egg on top and cut a few vent holes. Once it comes out of the oven and cools, it has the best flavor. The secret is to cook your chicken slowly in the crockpot with seasonings. Our new favorite all purpose seasoning is Dan O's. We do not do the spicy, just the traditional. It is wonderful on everything including chicken, burgers, pork chops, baked potatoes, etc. 

     The next three items I am going to share were for my Mom's birthday. My sister and I planned to make soup and dessert for Mom's birthday and to take it to her and Dad so that they didn't have to get out in the cold. It always seems to snow on Mom's birthday and this year it snowed. I usually make Mom a chocolate cake for her birthday of some sort because chocolate is her favorite. But this year, I stepped outside the box and tried something different. I made a lemon blueberry cake with lemon curd filing and a lemon buttercream frosting. It was very good! I even tried to candy the lemon slices, but that was a fail. The insides fell apart. I followed directions I found on Pinterest, but don't know what I did wrong or if it was just because lemons are out of season. Here is the recipe link https://pin.it/2KHWiaI and I also made homemade lemon curd, which was a success. https://pin.it/24GmKHj

I think I baked the cake just a little too long, but it is difficult to get a cake just right for me. I always make it just a little too done. I am always afraid I am going to take it out too early and the center will be doughy. But the flavors are very good together. I used some of the blueberries I had in the freezer from the blueberry farm. I may try this again in the summer. 

my failed candied lemons

My beautiful Mom with her cake and birthday flowers.

          The other items I took to share with Mom for her birthday was a 15 bean soup. I bought one of those bags with all the different beans and legumes in it. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a bean and ham soup. It has Italian seasonings and a tomato base. It was not your typical ham and bean soup. It was very tasty. https://pin.it/AxTEbMM

     I also made some potato chip/chocolate chip cookies. My Dad is not real big on lemon, so I made a dozen of these to take over with the lemon blueberry cake. I used the kitchen sink cookies recipe that I shared last month. I just added potato chip crumbs, those little nuggets at the bottom of a chip bag and some chocolate chips. They were awesome! I am a sucker for the whole salty sweet combo. Yes, the chocolate chips were also left over from the holiday groceries. 

     As I mentioned above, our book club met this month for the first time since before Thanksgiving. We read Hamnet  which has a scene where Shakespeare and his future wife to be meet in the cellar and have a tryst which involves knocking apples off of shelves. So, since I am always in charge of the dessert for book club, I made apple crisp cheesecake bars. They have a shortbread cookie crust with a cheesecake filling then topped with apples and crumble. You then drizzle the bars with caramel after they cool or before serving. They were a hit! https://pin.it/7pQ3p2k

     The final item I will share with you involves my sour dough starter. I was going to get my starter out of the fridge to make some bread and it had gone bad. So I had to begin again. When making starter, it involves feeding it and then dumping half of your new starter and feeding it again. There are lots of recipes for the extra you dump so I found a recipe for homemade crackers. I have never made crackers before. This recipe called for sour dough and wheat flour. So, I thought I would try it. You can add any herb or seasoning you like to the crackers. I used the Everything bagel seasoning I had in the cabinet. The crackers turned our pretty good. I just made a small batch to try. They were easier than I thought they would be. I will definitely be trying to make more of these. https://pin.it/7eKyWwS

                                          

     Now you understand why I have to get back on the intermittent fasting wagon. I love to bake and cook and when I can't get out and walk or work in the yard because of the cold, I tend to pack on more pounds. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I hope you found a new read or a new recipe to try. Feel free to share books or recipes. I love both! 

Keep reading!