The Smell of Corn (?)

I grew up in West Virginia, and lived the vast majority of my life so far there, though we moved away about 3 years ago. I'm sure everyone has heard of science fairs. We had those in West Virginia, but we also had a Social Studies Fair we could participate in as well. I LOVED the Social Studies Fair and took part in it pretty much every year from the time I was in 5th grade. I got pretty good at it and placed just about every year at school level and county level. A couple of times I placed 1st at county level and so got to move up to the state level of the Fair! This included a fun trip to Charleston, the state capital, where the fair took place. I loved it.
One year, Mom and I were headed to (or maybe from, I don't remember) Charleston. They call West Virginia "The Mountain State" for an excellent reason: most of the state really is a sea of mountains and nothing else. It's gorgeous but can get a little monotonous after driving through it a while. Anyway, we were partway through the drive, in the middle of the mountains, stuck in a radio wasteland. Mom was flipping through the radio channels, trying to find something good to listen to. At one point, we heard a snatch of an extremely bizarre song. It sounded like a really old song, and some guy was singing soulfully, "The smell of coal...". Then the radio flipped to the next station and it was gone. It was just so weird and random Mom and I looked at each other and started laughing. I'd heard "the smell of coal" but Mom thought she'd heard "the smell of corn". In any case, it's something we laugh about to this day. We've never been able to figure out what we heard. So if any of you know of any songs about the smell of coal or corn, let me know what they are! It's a mystery I'd love to solve.
Anyway, speaking of the smell of corn, here's a recipe that smells of corn and deliciousness; skillet corn. This is one of our favorite side dishes- it goes great with so many meals. It's an easy recipe and a delicious treat of a way to get your veggies.

The ingredients are pretty much pantry staples, and you can use fresh or frozen corn. You'll need: 3 cups of corn, 1/2 c water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/4 c butter,  1/4 c milk, and 1 tbsp flour. (The recipe calls for 3 cups of corn, but the package of frozen corn I used only had about 2 and 1/2 cups' worth in it- that worked just fine).

Place all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the milk and flour into a saucepan and cover it with a lid. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer.

Next, stir the flour into the milk until it is thoroughly mixed. Pour this mixture into the corn mixture. (You can leave the lid off the pan now). Cook and stir the corn until the sauce thickens.

And that's about it! Simple and delicious. It's buttery, creamy, and warm, with the fresh, sweet taste of corn- a definite comfort food.

--Taylee

Recipe found at: http://www.plainchicken.com/2008/05/my-favorite-corn.html 

Book Review: Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

I have now read three of Michelle Moran's books and I've loved all of them! I love her style and subject matter. She really makes history come to life. Her writing style sort of reminds me of Philippa Gregory's in The Other Boleyn Girl.


OVERVIEW: Cleopatra's Daughter begins at the defeat of Alexandria by Octavian. At the time, Selene, Cleopatra's daughter (hence the title) is 11 years old. The story focuses on Selene and her life as a political prisoner in Octavian's household. As far as prisoners have it, she has it great- she lives comfortably, as if she is part of her captor's family. She makes friends with the other kids in the household and she is given an excellent education. She is given the opportunity to study architecture and even contribute to many of the architectural projects Octavian's family sponsors. However, she is not content: she is suffering from unrequited love, she is deeply worried about her twin brother's life (as a male heir of the enemy, will he be killed once he reaches the age of 15?), she is worried about where she will end up (most likely married to some gross old man for political gain), she mourns her dead family and misses her home, and she chafes under the injustices of the Roman culture (woman have extremely limited rights, 1/3 of the population is enslaved, babies are thrown away like garbage, etc.). In the meantime, there is a rebel in the midst of Rome. He calls himself the Red Eagle and he fights against slavery. He leaves propaganda all over the city. What's worse, he seems to know what's happening even within the emperor's family. Octavian is angered at the unrest and fearful of what could happen if this Red Eagle inspires enough rebellion in the populace, and stops at nothing to find and kill him. He even suspects members of his household could be involved. Selene is intrigued by the Red Eagle and supports his cause.

THE GOOD STUFF: I love Michelle Moran's writing! It really sweeps me into the story. I really reacted emotionally to much of what happened in the story. I was sad, I was angry, I was heartbroken, I was intrigued. The book was well-researched and I learned quite a bit about the history and culture of Rome. (I also decided that the Roman empire was a crappy place to live, especially as a woman and/or a slave, and I'm grateful not to have lived then!) Happily, it has a pretty happy ending, and that made me happy too. I appreciated that other than some raunchy Roman poetry, most of the sexual content (rape, prostitution, homosexuality, adultery) was only alluded to and not at all graphic.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF: I don't have too many complaints about this novel. There were a lot of sad and maddening things that happen in the story, but it was a good story. My biggest complaint (not to give too much away) is probably that the love story near the end was dropped on us rather suddenly. I feel like it could have used a little more build-up. But that is a minor complaint.

TO SUM UP: Seriously, read Michelle Moran's books, especially if you're a fan of historical fiction! They're awesome!

(above image found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/8141616-cleopatra-s-daughter)

Hooray Sports!

If I'm ever in a bad mood, I like to go on Pinterest and scroll through my humor boards. It gets me laughing every time. I don't know about you guys, but to me it's been a long week and IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY...!!! Time for some hilarious memes.

I come from a pretty athletic family- my grandpa was HUGE into sports and was a renowned coach, many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins are amazing athletes and coaches, and we even have a (former and hopefully future!) NBA player in the mix. Somehow, that gene did not make its way to me. I pwned everyone in the sit n' reach in gym class in elementary school... but otherwise, I HATED PE with my entire being. I did ballet for several years, and I do some mean yoga now, but that's about the extent of my athleticism. You'll have to ask my husband about having me help him choose his college basketball brackets last year- pretty hilarious story, actually. The only sports I'm interested in are the Olympics and BYU football and basketball- and even then, it's mostly just me enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of having sports on TV (reminds me of fun times playing with cousins at Grandma's when sports were ALWAYS on TV). I also enjoy cheering on BYU, watching the crowds looking for hilarious signs and costumes, and searching for Cosmo the Cougar.  I've attended a few BYU games too, which were fun- I love the excitement and the Cougar Tails. But otherwise, this is me regarding sports:




In any case, here is a roundup of some sports-related humor I've pinned on Pinterest.

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Ahhh, hooray sports!!


--Taylee

(So, I do not own any of the above images! I'm too lazy to go find all the urls and copy them here. If you really want to find that info, go to my Pinterest board and work from there: https://www.pinterest.com/littlebird121/it-cracked-me-up/  And please don't sue me!!)

Book Review: Medicus by Ruth Downie

Looking for a book that combines mystery and humor in an ancient historical setting? Medicus by Ruth Downie is a great choice!

SYNOPSIS: Medicus takes place in Roman-occupied Brittannia. It follows Ruso, a military doctor at the hospital in the occupied town of Deva. He has recently been transferred to Deva from a post in Africa. He is recently divorced and is struggling, along with his brother, to keep the family farm and reputation afloat, as their father left them deeply in debt. The farm is located in Gaul, and while the brother and his family work to make the farm profitable and keep their creditors at bay, Ruso sends home as much of his salary as he can. On top of these stressors, he finds Britannia to be a backward, savage, dirty place. His lodgings are filthy and the food is terrible. The bureaucracy of the hospital, not to mention the military post, is in disarray; and Ruso has to perform the work of several men. His supervisor is a nosy, micromanaging creep with bad hair. He is kind of having a tough time, to say the least. Soon after the story begins, Ruso witnesses the terrible treatment of a slave girl, and before he knows what he has done, he has spent his badly needed money to buy and thus rescue her. In the meantime, a body has been found and identified as one of the dancing girls from the local bar. Later, another body is found, another girl from the same bar. Ruso, stepping outside of his responsibilities, finds himself swept up in investigating the murders and landing himself in plenty of frustration and danger in the process. Once he has healed her, he finds his new slave, Tilla, to be an invaluable help to him, not only in domestic life, but also in solving the murders.

GOOD STUFF!! This was an enjoyable read. I LOVED the sense of humor in this book. Even the pages introducing the cast of characters was funny and creative- I love how it was done. Ruso seemed to be a decent guy with a dry sense of humor, the girls at the local bar were fun characters, Tilla, the rescued slave girl, is intriguing and funny, Ruso's roomate is funny.... just great characters all around. The antagonists are despicable and (some of them) get what they deserve at the end. I loved the setting- obviously it's impossible to tell how accurate it was historically, but it was a great imagining of it. I don't know tons about Ancient Rome or Britain, and learned some things about the cultures. I appreciate that, despite the story largely surrounding a brothel, there weren't copious amounts of sexual content, and none of it was too graphic. I also liked how the book wrapped up. I believe it is the first in a series, but it stands alone quite well.

NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF: The story kind of dragged. I wasn't really swept up in the mystery; there wasn't much suspense or urgency to it until the end of the book.

TO SUM UP: This was a fun book! I don't know that I was impressed enough to read the next book in the series, at least not immediately. But it was worth the read. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

(Above image found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8489416-medicus)

Salted Dark Chocolate-Covered Clementine Slices... of Amazingness and Wonder

Chocolate- especially dark chocolate- is life. Let's just accept that fact right now. :P

I know a lot of you are working on New Year's weight loss and/or healthy eating goals- props to you! I know how difficult it can be. If you are looking for a smart way to indulge, I have a great recipe for you!

ORANGES. Specifically small varieties, like clementines, or manadarins (though I don't see why this wouldn't work with regular navel oranges, too. They'd just be larger, obviously). Juicy, fresh, delicious, and healthy.

DARK CHOCOLATE. Rich, indulgent, and also healthy (in small doses).

SALT- for the right amount of crunch and savor.

Put them all together and you have a simple yet special treat!

This is wicked easy, guys. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with a sheet or wax paper, or a silpat. Peel yourself 4 clementines. Discard (or eat) any segments that are leaking juice- the orange needs to be dry in order for the chocolate to stick to it.

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Nuke it for 30 seconds, stir, then heat it in 10-second intervals, stirring after each time, until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth. (It took me a total of 60 seconds).

Dunk each (dry!) orange slice into the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off. I like to cover the orange slices halfway. Then place the slices onto the wax paper.

Sprinkle the slices with coarse salt. I used chunky kosher salt. Make sure to do this quickly, while the chocolate is still sticky enough!

Place the pan of oranges into the fridge for about 20 minutes or until the chocolate is firmly set. Then, dig in!! Store any remaining orange slices tightly covered in the fridge. These keep for a couple of days- though I doubt they'll last that long! :) Seriously- these things are amazing.

--Taylee

Recipe inspired by: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20583009,00.html/view-all#salted-chocolate-clementine-wedges-1

Salted Dark Chocolate Clementines

• 4 clementines, peeled
• 1/2 c dark chocolate chips*
• dash coarse salt

Make sure your clementine segments are dry, so the chocolate will stick. Place chocolate into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave until melted and smooth. Dip half of each clementine wedge into the melted chocolate, and place onto a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Sprinkle the chocolate-dipped half of each wedge with coarse salt. Chill clementines in the fridge until chocolate is set, about 20 minutes. Store tightly covered in the fridge.

*While peeling my clementines, I had to set aside a few wedges because they were too juicy. So in reality I used about 3 1/2 clementines. I had just enough chocolate to cover them. Depending on how thickly you coat your segments in chocolate, and on how many you need to set aside, you may want to add an extra tablespoon or two of chocolate chips to ensure you have enough to cover all of your clementine slices.

BOOOOOOOOOOOKS.

Books are amazing Beautiful. Wonderful. We loves them, precious. Last year I read 73 books! This year, I set a goal to read 50 books. I use Goodreads, and it's great. I love being able to keep track of the books I've read, set reading goals, read book reviews other readers have submitted, and look for new books to read! I have a HUGE list on my "to-read" shelf, and it's nice to have it as a reference whenever I visit the library to find more to read.

I plan to start reviewing the books I read here on my blog. I've long begun to sort of "write" reviews in my head after I finish a book, but have never actually written them down. I hope that this blog will help someone find their next great book to read!

So, on to business: the first book I read this year was The Widow's War, by Sally Gunning.

(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8378248-the-widow-s-war)


SYNOPSIS: It's the story of Lydia Berry, a woman in her late 30's who becomes widowed when her husband dies at sea. The book mostly covers her fight to regain a measure of independence in her life. The story takes place in mid-1700's colonial New England.

As she recovers from the loss of her husband, Lydia goes through much mental and personal growth. She is an independent person and better educated than many women of the time, and comes to realize how this sets her apart. She realizes more clearly who she is and what she wants in life; unfortunately, that does not fit in well with the society she lives in. Her son-in-law legally inherited 2/3 of her husband's property upon his death, as well as the "care and keeping" of Lydia. Unfortunately, her son-in-law is also a jerk, and her own daughter makes no effort to comfort or welcome her mother into their home. Quite understandably, Lydia longs to go back and live in her husband's house and live on her own terms. Legally, she is entitled to 1/3 of the house, so eventually she moves back into the house and uses exactly 1/3 of it. This creates all sorts of upheaval in her family and town.

GOOD STUFF: On Goodreads, I rated this book as 3 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed reading it, especially as a historical piece. It was interesting to learn about the culture, lifestyle, and some of the legalities of the time and place. The author does a great job of invoking the atmosphere of the time and place. It was fun to immerse myself in the setting and imagine what life was like then.Lydia was a good, strong, character, though, and I enjoyed reading about her. The book did a great job of portraying the fact that life as a woman back then was completely unfair , and really kind of sucked. I wanted to smack the son-in-law so bad several times. I HATE the hypocritical attitude held back then on morals: men can indulge in certain bad behaviors, and it's totally okay, but if a woman dares to do so, she's outcast. Women were pretty much thought of as livestock (there is a scene that points this out beautifully in the book- that was well-written!)

NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF:  I don't know that I'll ever pick it up and read it again. The story was good, but didn't blow me away. I was left slightly disappointed, though I can't quite put a finger on why. Most of the characters annoyed me: the son-in-law was a total jerk, the daughter was a weak, ungrateful person, and the lawyer was horribly disappointing.  I was also disappointed by a few of the decisions Lydia makes.

TO SUM UP: If you like historical fiction, you will probably find this book to be an enjoyable, quick read. Pretty good, but not my favorite book ever.

Let's Stick to Fuzzy Kittens, Glitter, Unicorns, and Cupcakes With Sprinkles! Or I'll Punch You In The Face.

Lately I've seen several of my friends on Facebook complaining about the general negativity they've been seeing online lately. And trust me, I've seen it too. And it makes me sad. It turns me into this:


(buy the t-shirt here! I know I want one! I may even need one: http://www.teeturtle.com/products/the-magical-kittencorn?variant=24994148681)

Full disclosure: I am a very sensitive person. So sensitive, I think I've entered empath territory. I also have anxiety. Things that have little to no direct affect on me can upset me HORRIBLY if I let them. I have to be very careful about the things I read and watch, particularly on social media. I believe it is possible to be aware of things that are going on, but to also protect oneself and avoid things that hurt, too. Not only possible, but smart, and for some personalities, extremely necessary.

With that in mind, I'd like to lay out my policy with content and comments on my blog. I want this to be a place to come and find fun, positive content. I will avoid controversial topics as much as I can. With that said, in this day and age, people are offended by anything and everything- I've seen horrible, nasty arguments erupt in the comments for a FREAKING COOKIE RECIPE before. So please keep in mind that it is NEVER my intent to offend or belittle anyone. I ascribe to the following:

(image taken from http://www.azquotes.com/quote/369668)

So let's do our best to give Mr. T a break, shall we? :)  (wah wah wahhhhhhhhhh....)

I reserve the right to state my opinions and beliefs, but I will do my best to be polite. (You will probably find more potentially "flammable" material in my book reviews, since books make one think and decide...). In any case, you can respectfully disagree (in your own mind, preferably) and then move on. Like an adult. That's what I do, and it's totally worth it.

PLEASE BE KIND AND COURTEOUS WHENEVER YOU COMMENT! If it doesn't need to be said, than don't say it. At least not here. Don't be a jerk, 'kay? I don't like contention, so I really don't want to see arguments and trolling here. I reserve the right to delete any contentious comments. Because darn it, this is MY blog and I want it to stay warm, fuzzy and welcoming!! Let's fill this piece of the blogosphere (and heck, the world in general!) with warm fuzzies! There's already more than enough crap out there, folks. Be nice. Or else I'll punch you in the face. :P XOXOXO


(on certain days I need this shirt, too. Found at: http://www.teeturtle.com/products/stabby-the-unicorn?variant=24994273353)


--Taylee