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.
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