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
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.
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