September 2021 Reading Highlights

I used to share short reviews of every book I read. Generally, I read about 4-8 books a month, so that task wasn't greatly daunting.

And then the C-word hit in March 2020. The first few months, I floundered when it came to reading. Anxiety kept me from being able to focus. My mind raced all the time. And the small people were home almost every second for most of 6 months.

My reading has changed a lot in the last 18 months. Around July 2020, I went from those 4-8 books to a month to reading anywhere from 12 to 17 books a month since then. Why?

• I'm escaping real life through books. This equals reading more.
• I've read a lot more YA and romance, which are much quicker reads.
• Around November 2019, I figured out how to fit audiobooks in my life more. About a third of my reading is now via audiobook. Sometimes this means I don't listen to podcasts as much, but that's OK with me.

All that said, I hope to share about reading here again, but it's definitely going to be the highlights. I'm always happy to talk about every book I read, though, in comments or by email.

Favorite Book of the Month

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes - ON AUDIO - If you grew up on The Princess Bride, this book is for you and you should go RUN to listen to it right now. Sure, you could read it on paper, but why would you do that when Westley himself will read it to you, with the help of other actors and directors from the film? I loved every second and had to go watch the movie right after I was done.

(My beloved author Jenny B. Jones commented on my Instagram about As You Wish that the audiobook is absolutely the best audio ever created and is unrivaled. So listen to her if you won't listen to me.)

Favorite Romance of the Month

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun is a sweet debut novel taking place in a Bachelor-esque reality show. Producer Dev is pretty newly out of a long-term relationship that almost burst his fairy-tale-loving bubble. Charlie, the new star of the show, is trying to rehab his image and make it through the weeks of filming. Both struggle with mental health, and the novel deals with that in such a lovely way. When Charlie finds himself more attracted to Dev than any of the women trying to win his heart, it's more than a little complicated.

Favorite YA

What I Carry by Jennifer Longo not only has an insanely gorgeous cover it also contains a pretty fantastic and heartfelt story. Muir is 17 and has bounced from house to house to house in the foster system. With less than a year left, she finds herself at the home of Francine, a single, retired woman, on an island outside of Portland, Oregon. Muir has so many walls up and knows what she wants: to walk outside, often, and to just make it out of the foster system.

Slowly throughout the novel her walls are pushed by Francine, new friend Kira, and Sean, the boy who is just a little too perfect for her. (This is my one complaint about the novel - truly, he's just too perfect.) It's a beautiful story inspired by Longo's own daughter.

Here are the other books I finished in September!

• Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America by Amy Sutherland [from my shelves, hardback] (4 stars)
• Flash Fire by TJ Klune [audiobook] (4.5 stars - this is the *third* time I've read this book ... I ADORE this series and wanted to listen on audio because Michael Lesley, the narrator, is so fantastic)
• Truth or Beard by Penny Reid [digital via Hoopla] (3 stars)
• Love, Jacaranda by Alex Flinn [audiobook] (3 stars)
• Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase [from my shelves, paperback] (4 stars)
• Float Plan by Trish Doller [Kindle via library] (3 stars)
• Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk [read aloud] (2 stars)
• Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner [audiobook] (4 stars)
• Fault Lines by Emily Itami [paper via library] (3.5 stars)
• Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher [digital ARC via Netgalley] (4 stars)

What was your favorite book you read in September?

Lemon Drop Cupcakes

I'm sure by now we all know Pinterest is both a blessing and a curse. I really have done more crafts and tried more new recipes due to having a visual bookmarking system. But I also get those images stuck in my brain and I just can't seem to get them out. A cleaning solution can fly out of my head quicker than a wasp; but a picture of a dazzling cupcake has me hooked.

Ever since I saw these babies on someone's Pinterest board, my mind's been swimming with lemon. Well, I finally clicked through the link and found out ... there was no recipe. I had to do some searching, even, to find out these were mini-cupcakes from Tori and Dean's wedding vow renewals.  (They haven't been married THAT long ... right?)

So I had to settle for an easy recipe I found on another site. I made two dozen of these for the high-school boys we "dorm parent," and they disappeared extremely quickly. (Of course, they are high-school boys. So you might take that with a grain of salt.) The simple recipe takes almost no time to prepare, so I think these will be a go-to recipe of mine for feeding the boys or taking to a party. And they can be made very low-cal as well!

Lemon Cupcakes with Light Lemony Frosting

Adapted from Dashing Dish

Cake:
1 box lemon cake mix
12 ounces lemon-lime soda

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. Mix cake mix and soda together until all is incorporated and there are no lumps. Fill papers about halfway full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely.

Frosting:
8 oz. Cool Whip
one 8-oz. package instant lemon pudding mix
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup milk

Fold pudding mix and lemon juice into Cool Whip and beat until creamy. Add milk and stir until uniform. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Add sprinkles and fresh lemon zest if desired.

{A Little Boozy} Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies

 

I feel like I could set a world record for starting recipes that I don’t actually have the ingredients for. I feel like it happens a lot. I set out to make Chocolate Pecan Bourbon Cookies from Magnolia Days today. So I get out the chocolate chips and realize I don’t have any butter. This almost never happens. (Except apparently I’ve been on a baking binge lately, as I see my last two recipes are desserts, too!) I’d already dragged my two boys to Target today, but we hit up Bi-Lo for butter and a few other little things. 

So I start again. I melt the butter and chocolate. I mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. And then, you know what? I don’t have any pecans. But what is the kitchen for if not creativity? (And, well, basic sustenance.) 

I decided if we were going to have nut-free cookies I would jazz them up with Butterscotch Schnapps instead of the supercheap bourbon I happened to have a tiny bit of left after making homemade vanilla. I am guessing these would be really good with some chopped-up toasted almonds in them, too. Or with two cookies sandwiching some butter pecan ice cream. Yummm. 

 If you don’t want to use alcohol, you could substitute butterscotch syrup, the kind you make lattes with. (Butterscotch lattes are my FAVORITE, by the way. If you ever want to buy me a Starbucks.)  

{A Little Boozy} Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies 

Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 dozen cookies 

Adapted from Magnolia Days 

Ingredients 

• 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips 
• 6 T butter 
• 1 c. all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder 
•  1/4 tsp. salt 
• 1 c. light brown sugar 
• 3 eggs 
•  2 T butterscotch schnapps 
• 1 tsp. vanilla 

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and spray lightly with cooking spray. 
• Put chocolate chips and butter, cut into pieces, in a large measuring cup. Microwave on high 1 minute; stir. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until completely smooth. Let sit 10 minutes to cool. 
•  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 
• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together brown sugar, eggs, butterscotch schnapps, and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and mix until uniform. Add dry ingredients and mix on lowest speed until combined. Scrape sides and stir. 
• Let batter sit 5-10 minutes to set up slightly. Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to scoop batter onto cookie sheets. (You want 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons per cookie. I used a small cookie scoop.) Space cookies 2 inches apart. 
• Bake 10-12 minutes, until tops are crackled and edges of cookies are set. 
• Let cool on cookie sheets at least 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. 

  Do you have any favorite happy accidents in the kitchen?

 Originally published May 13, 2014.

Goodbye, Cookbooks

Dear Rachael Ray Cookbooks,

I think it might be time for us to part ways.

This is a hard thing for me to confess. I credit my being able to cook on watching 30 Minute Meals as a teen and college student. Yes, Rachael’s voice was always that aggravating, but her method spoke to me: simple, fresh, quick. I’m not saying I’ve made all or even many of the recipes in these books; in fact, half of them are so full of spicy ingredients, fresh tomatoes, olives, and bleu cheese that I’m surprised I even still have you. (Let’s be honest: I would eat most of the not-spicy recipes in you, but when your husband doesn’t eat mushrooms, squash, asparagus, cream cheese, sour cream, Ranch dressing, Brussels sprouts, greens, and more … it limits the options.)

Still, No Repeats was my favorite cookbook once upon a time. A time before we had kids, when I could make Chili-Sweet Potato Hash, Black Bean and Corn Salad, Jambalaya Burgers, or Smoky Chicken Patties without any complaining and starting a riot.

I know, I know. I should just make these things and expect my kids to eat them. Is it enough to promise that I do serve them vegetables? But one can only spend an hour cooking dinner (’cause we all know 30 minutes isn’t actually going to happen, especially with a toddler hanging on your leg) just to have it rejected by two-thirds of the family so many times before one feels like she is completely losing her mind.

I blame it on the dining hall, somewhat. Even though it feels like everyone else’s kids happily eat a variety of foods there. But we eat at the dining hall for dinner at least 75% of the year, and my children are so used to being presented with ALL THE OPTIONS. Usually including French fries. Even after summers of seeing it isn’t so, they still can’t understand most kids don’t get a choice on what they eat for dinner.

I’m sorry, cookbooks. I’m sorry, Rachael. I feel like I’ve failed you. But it’s time I stopped pretending I am going to get to cook more than two or three recipes from your pages for the next 10 years. I haven’t watched the Marie Kondo series, but I have read the book, and I know you are just not sparking joy anymore. You’re sparking defeat and self-loathing. Perhaps someday we’ll be reunited.

Until then, please ignore the boxes of generic Hamburger Helper that I’m making for dinner tonight. Yes, normally I would cook this from scratch at least, but when after-school seems like a giant mess, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.

With much love,

Jessie, Former Eater of Good Things and Current PBJ Chef

The Compounding of Grief

I went to a funeral this morning. 

While this was a shocking, awful death that affected someone I love, it was not someone I knew well but had only met a few times. For me, the funeral itself was not a time of true grieving but of simply being there for a friend whose life has been flipped upside down. 

But I sat there, and the images came flying through my mind, more and more rapid. Donnie’s funeral in 2004. The last funeral I went to at our church, last fall, for the dear woman who kept Hannah in the nursery. Jeffrey's funeral, that of a fallen soldier. Watching Mike's funeral via my computer, sobbing, haunted for weeks and months over his suicide. And always, always, Stephanie’s, the immense pressing sick feelings of that day just weeks before my high school graduation. 

You don’t know my names, my lost loved ones, but you know yours. 

As I grow older the list grows longer. I’ve gone to more funerals that I can count on both hands now, and I know they just come faster as I age. Maybe it’s my off-the-charts Meyers-Briggs “F” for feeling that rushes up every memory associated with death each time I sit in a pew grasping tissues. Maybe it’s just human. 

Grief is an odd acquaintance. It never goes completely away. It changes form and place, morphing into a nag at the back of the head that sometimes you forget is even there. And then, a trigger. And it’s there in your face, haunting you, once again. I don’t know what I’m trying to say except that today, I am grieving. For people gone one and six and ten and fourteen and eighteen years ago, and more. So if you’re grieving today, over a person or a loss or a dead dream, I want you to know I’m walking along with you. 

Grief is normal, and OK, and good. 

“We may thank God that we can feel pain and know sadness, for these are the human sentiments that constitute our glory as well as our grief.” -Eugene Kennedy, The Pain of Being Human

Cranberry Orange Cake with Triple Sec Frosting

I don’t ever watch TV in real time anymore.

Occasionally, my husband and I get to watch The Big Bang Theory together on a Thursday. (Please don’t ask why we’re still watching it. I would have given up years ago.) During the summer, sometimes I caught Big Brother live. But with the school year full force and fall truly here, it just doesn’t happen. Our only shows are both on Thursday, and my husband is almost always in the dorm Thursday nights, so we watch them later.

All that to say, I never saw The Great British Baking Show until they aired it on Netflix. And as much as I love it, I can’t remember to watch the new seasons when they’re on. So chained to Netflix I am, and so recently I got to devour the new season they released.

While I truly missed the old hosts and Mary Berry, it’s the simple British-ness of the show that I adore. They’re so NICE. The people are not professionals. I just love it.

So when Laura from Little House Big Alaska announced she was going to do a Great British Baking Show Bake-Along, I was ALL IN! I have really enjoyed expanding my baking horizons lately, and an excuse to bake even more makes me thrilled. Not to mention to try some of the British-y bakes that I’ve seen on the show.

Our first challenge was to do a fruity cake. Simply, a cake that had fresh or dried fruit. I recently made an Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze that is incredibly good, but I wanted to try something new – well, kind of. A while back, I tested out a Williamsburg Orange Cake from the 1970s Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook. (I’ve sang its accolades before.) It was OK, but I felt like the recipe needed some tweaking. It needed a little more height and maybe a little more interest.

Some minor changes and I had my fruit cake. I give you Cranberry-Orange Cake with Triple Sec Frosting, slightly adapted from Betty. It feels old-fashioned, with the fruit and walnuts, but the naked sides and three-layer style help modernize it. It was gobbled up right away, so I’m feeling like it’s a winner for fall! 

Cranberry-Orange Cake with Triple Sec Frosting
Yield: 12-16 servings 

Ingredients 

Cake 

• 2 3/4 c. cake flour 
• 2 tsp. baking soda 
• 3/4 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 c. butter, softened 
• 1/4 c. shortening, like Spectrum Palm Shortening 
• 1 1/2 c. sugar 
• 3 eggs, room temperature 
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 
• 1 1/2 c. whole buttermilk, room temperature 
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries, chopped and tossed in 2 tsp. flour 
• 1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts 
• 1 T. grated orange zest 

 Frosting 

• 1/2 c. butter, softened 
• 4 1/2 c. powdered sugar 
• 1/3 c. Triple Sec or other orange liqueur 
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest 
• 1 T. milk or cream 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray; line with parchment paper and spray again. (I will swear by pre-cut parchment circles for cakes. They are seriously sent from heaven.) 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 
3. With a mixer, beat together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time, beating after each. Add vanilla and mix. 
4. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry mixture, just until incorporated. 
5. Fold in cranberries, walnuts, and orange zest. 
6. Divide between pans and tap pans down to distribute batter. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 
7. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then move to cooling racks. Cool completely. 
8. Frosting: With a mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar together. Add Triple Sec and orange zest. Slowly add milk until the frosting is to your liking. Beat a few more minutes to make it extra fluffy! 
9. For the naked cake look, place on cake layer on a serving plate. Spread frosting on layer, making sure there is extra around the edge. Repeat with remaining layers. Cover top layer well, then run an offset spatula around the sides of the cake to spread remaining frosting. (You can frost the sides if desired but you might need to increase your amount of frosting made slightly.)

A Whole Summer of Book Reviews

I’d like to blame a lot of things for having three months of book reviews to post.

The fact that we bought a new laptop for me to use but it has a glitch and now we can’t get it charged.

Having a really fun, packed summer.

Having four kids and getting three of them back to school.

But we all know we have time for what we make time for. (Like reading, for example!) And I’ve made more time for trying to start a little bit of a business on Poshmark instead of writing. And while both are good, I miss writing more! I’m trying to find a happy balance as we work our way back into a schedule.

So I’ve decided I can spend one hour and I will write ALL THE REVIEWS. They can just only be two sentences. I will try to flesh these out over time on GoodReads, so follow me over there. 

June

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman – I absolutely love Backman’s style. This novella feels more My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and less Man Called Ove – kind of fantastical and slightly confusing but still beautiful.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes – I’ve heard a lot of people say they loved this third book in the Me Before You trilogy, but I can’t agree. The situations felt super predictable, and I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t love for me.

The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie – See my post about reading aloud with my kids here. Loved this treatise, and it encouraged me to keep on the read-aloud path as my kids grow.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman – Backman’s intense understanding of human nature and ability to convey it on the page is perfect. Five stars.

The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore – I was hoping for more considering how much I adored The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (review here). Enjoyable, funny, and quirky, but not the original.

My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg – I’d tried to read this maybe a year ago, when it was a new release, but it wasn’t the right time. The right time was at the beach on Tybee Island, where I delighted in the foibles of Bragg and his South (other than the sports essays).

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan – I’m sorry I haven’t seen this all over the web, because it is a fantastic debut YA novel chronicling the life of half-Taiwanese teenager Leigh after her mother commits suicide. (Not a spoiler – trigger warnings, obviously, but suicide is a MAJOR trigger for me and I did OK with this book.) 

July

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Reread for me, and so glad I did. Still amazing, still cried like a baby.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan – Excellent, Newberry medal-winning book with intersecting stories from around World War II. Loved the fantastical element in it, and the young heroes and heroine.

Home by Marilynne Robinson – For some reason, this appealed to me much more than Gilead. Heartfelt spiritual struggle, familial relationships, perfect prose.

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul – Memoir through books, based on the fact the author has kept a running list of what she’s read since high school (!!) (wish I had!). Not my favorite, but some good insights and fun book nerdiness.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before / P.S. I Still Love You / Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han – I had a really good binge on this trilogy during our Great Road Trip in late July. Thought the first one was great, the other two were pretty good, although what does it mean if you’re rooting for the other guy to win the girl? (Shrug.) (Definitely read the first one if you watched the movie. So much not fleshed out in the movie!) (Also I went to high school with Jenny Han.) (Six sentences because it is three books.)

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – I had really high hopes for this YA spy school start of a series, because several of my online book buddies have raved about it. Alas, just not for me, and now I know. 

August

Still Waters by Lindsey P. Brackett – Sweet Southern romance on Edisto Island, which reminds me of Tybee and I felt like I was there. Realistic family relationships and romances, while not being too angsty. Looking forward to the sequel. (GoodReads long review here.)

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander –
How can this author
Use so few words
And still make me feel
Right there in the midst of his tale?
Perfect poetry
and I cried, of course.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – Two women are sending emails at work, and one man is reading them all … and finding it hard to detach. Rowell is so witty and adorable and I loved this.

I’d Rather Be Reading: the Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel – A series of short essays from my beloved Anne about books, reading, bookstores, and of course, You’ve Got Mail. My only complaint is that I wanted more in each essay so I could keep reading! (This book was provided to me by the publisher as part of the author’s launch team. Full review here.)

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke – Snarky teen finds herself on a low-budget, community college reality show after a life crisis. While hilarity often ensues in this book through journal entries, the underlying spiritual questions are really very interesting.

____________

Twenty books over three months! It’s amazing what you can do when you just don’t clean your house. 😉 I hope you had a fantastic summer of reading, and I’d love to hear about your favorite title.

This will be added to Quick Lit at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

Numbers Two and Four

  

 

Back when we were in negotiations about having a fourth child*, Mr. V and I used to joke that we would only have a fourth if we knew it would be a girl with David’s disposition.

(*Negotiations mainly included me saying, “Another one baby, pleeeeease?” and Mr. V looking at me like I had three heads.)

We didn’t exactly decide to have a fourth baby, but she sprang into our lives nonetheless. And she is a girl. And an awful lot like her brother, David. 

(In case it’s been so long since I wrote about them you have no idea who I’m talking about, our kids are: Libbie [9], David [7], Joshua [5], and Hannah [22 months].)

While Libbie and Joshua seem to have sprung out of the womb independent and feisty, David emerged already a middle child, somehow. He was a difficult baby, but a shockingly easy toddler, happy to retreat to his bedroom and play quietly for hours. He threw fits over very few things, although he has always been on the more sensitive side and cried often. He nursed until he was 20 months, and possibly only stopped because I was pregnant with Joshua.

Now, at 7, David is still pretty quiet, happy to be playing by himself on his tablet or reading a book, and is often tugged back and forth between the more demanding Libbie and Joshua. He has the wild streak of a young boy, but his general temperament definitely feels like a middle child. (Whereas Joshua, although a middle child technically, seems to fit more into the role of youngest that he occupied for 3.5 years.) 

It’s struck me as funny the ways in which Hannah and David are alike. She doesn’t have that introverted temperament that we wished for, but it’s the smaller things that are striking. They both look more like my husband, where Libbie and Joshua are pretty much my mini-mes. They share a passionate love for fruit. Hannah also nursed well into toddlerhood; I had to cut her off because I went on a new antidepressant, and she was just shy of 21 months and still asking to nurse a LOT. They’re both tiny. They don’t laugh at EVERYTHING like Joshua, but their giggles are well-earned and infectious.

And Hannah LOVES her David. When he is there, she’ll happily ignore Mommy and Daddy to sink into his lap and demand he read her a book. Hold my hand in the parking lot? Not a chance. But David’s hand is just fine. They have a few phrases that David will repeat to her many, many times just because he knows it makes her laugh. And she shares his adoration for Captain Underpants. (Really, toddlers should not know the word “underpants,” but mine sure does.)

It’s sweet to see all of her relationships with her siblings, and this one seems extra-special. I hope David is always looking out for his loving little sis. 

Brownie Batter Hummus

A few months ago, ALDI had this brownie batter hummus I heard a few people talking about. We got it once, and not only was it delicious but it got my kids to willingly eat some beans! (They didn’t know that, but hey…)

We have rice and beans every Monday night in the summer, and sadly neither of my boys chooses to eat this meal. So they’re really hungry, but I have done my part in feeding them. This week, though, I decided to shake it up and serve some chocolate hummus alongside the standard red beans and rice.

ALDI has stopped carrying the Brownie Batter Hummus, but I whipped up some of my own and I think it turned out great. If you want to sneak some fiber into your kids, too, here’s one easy way. We like this with graham cracker pieces, pretzels, or apples.

(Sneak may not be the right word, as they are well aware this is beans. But apparently chocolate trumps that knowledge and they happily devour it.) 

 

Brownie Hummus

Yield: about 1 cup hummus 

This tasty dip is super healthy, gluten free, and can be dairy-free and vegan as well with almond milk. 

Ingredients

• 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 3 T cocoa powder 
• 1 heaping T coconut oil 
• pinch salt 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 2-3 T milk (can sub nut milk if needed) 

Instructions 

1. Add all ingredients except milk to the bowl of a food processor. 
2. Process until smooth. 
3. Add milk and process for another 15 seconds or so, until creamy and smooth. 
4. Serve with graham crackers, pretzels, or fruit. Or eat with a spoon. Whatever. 😉 

Notes For the smoothest hummus, remove the outer, translucent part of the chickpeas (the hulls). I didn't do this, but if you are fancy you go right ahead.

What I Read: May 2018

Yes, I’m fully aware that it is July 11. I’m playing catch-up (always, it seems), and I read too many books in May and June to squish them into one post! So here it goes. 

Empire Falls by Richard Russo – My short, initial review was that I give this a 4.8 stars. I LOVE Richard Russo’s writing. He does an excellent job building the town of Empire Falls and making you fall in love with its people. I don’t think it’s a mindset-changing book for me, but it’s an excellent example of a great novel. Two thumbs up. (Just beware, there’s an unexpected twist and if certain types of violence are a trigger for you, you might Google what it is before you read. I hope that’s not too spoiler-y.)

Rebound by Kwame Alexander – I didn’t realize when I started reading this that it is a prequel to The Crossover, probably Alexander’s biggest book (and a Newberry medal winner). I picked it up off the YA table at the library because I’ve heard of Alexander but never read anything by him. I started reading the novel in verse while my kids were picking out books and was engrossed enough 10 minutes in that I needed to take it home and finish! Charlie, a young teen who has just lost his father, is sent away to his grandparents’ house for a pivotal summer. I have to say, I love books in verse. They go fast but pack a punch, and this one is so vivid to me. A great read, and I am definitely going to find The Crossover and Alexander’s other books.

The Summer of the Great-Grandmother by Madeleine L’Engle – In this, her second of the Crosswicks Journals, L’Engle writes both about the last summer her mother was alive and the history of her mother’s side of the family. An only child, L’Engle had an exceptionally close relationship with her mother that continued until her mother started suffering from dementia. Raw, open, and lovely, L’Engle writes passionately about her family history and the gaping wound of losing her mother piece by piece.

Occasionally the Kindle set of the four Crosswicks Journals will go on sale for $2.99 or so, and they are so well worth picking up. I have read the first two and just adored them desperately. 

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison – I half listened to this on Audible, half read it on paper (because I am so slow with listening to audiobooks, I always pick podcasts!). It was a fantastic audiobook and I kind of wished I had listened to the whole thing! Much of this is wholly disturbing, but it’s a super important book in the history of books and especially books about race relations in America. Ellison’s memoir follows the disillusionment of one young man, as he travels from the South to Harlem and becomes a public figure. The rhythm of the sentences isn’t quite Jazz by Toni Morrison but it captures the fast pace of the city and the times. I don’t know that I can say I LOVED it but I can see how it is important and well deserving of all attention and awards.

Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam – I feel kind of ridiculous even putting this next to a classic. Had I read any reviews before picking this up, I would have stayed far away. It has awful ratings on GoodReads and Amazon and they aren’t wrong. While the idea of this book is interesting – can your childhood friendships grow with you? – and the writing isn’t bad, the book doesn’t seem to go anywhere. It was too racy for me in places, unnecessarily so, and just not great. 

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – In a way, this feels a lot like A Man Called Ove (my review here). Odd, misfit, grumpy protagonist. Learns to become somewhat normal socially. But it’s also completely different. Eleanor had a childhood trauma, grew up in foster homes, and is still not sure how to function among normal people. When she falls fast for a musician she sees in concert, she wants to figure out how to make herself more appropriate for him. Through the novel, we see her transformation and find out whether it sticks. It took me longer than I thought it would to sink into this story, but once I did, I couldn’t stop reading. I stayed up late to finish it. Honeyman’s quirky writing voice is a little humorous in places but goes to gut-wrenching really fast.

Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer – I love everything in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles universe. This is her second graphic novel that takes place after the series, mostly from the point of view of Iko, Cinder’s robot with personality. In this one, we find a little bit more about Iko’s back story and a lot about the gang of former Lunar mutant wolves making trouble on Earth. It’s a quick, fun read that made my heart happy.

_________

Those were my reads for May! June coming soon. Hopefully before July is over. I read so much great stuff in June I can’t wait to tell you about.

Our Island

 

The people behind me in the line at the grocery store have been coming to Tybee Island for 14 years.

“We informed our children we’re spending their inheritance buying a house here,” the man told me, a smile in his eyes. I understand completely. I’ve all but begged my own parents to spend my inheritance buying a house here.

It’s a magic place, one that now holds five summers’ of memories for us. When my husband and I first chose Tybee for our tenth anniversary getaway, we didn’t know how it would capture our hearts. From the simple, cement-floored ice-cream shop where we first ate a burger, to the pastel-colored cottages that line the narrow roads, to the always packed IGA grocery with aisles too small for two carts to fit through, Tybee’s charm is in the small things.

I’m sitting on a wraparound porch, looking at palm trees, and somehow the island breeze and sound of cicadas enchants me. My feet are bare and still slightly sandy, even after a shower. Bikes pedal down the roads, sometimes with children attached in trailers behind. If there are college kids and parties going on, I never hear them.

I rode the waves on a boogie board with my 9-year-old daughter today, and collectively we decided we didn’t need screens for a happy summer. All we need is family, the ocean, sand in our toes, good books, and fresh seafood.

It’s year five of our trip here. We almost didn’t come this year, as we’re taking another trip later in the summer to the East Coast. But no one could imagine a year without Tybee.

The Joy of Reading Aloud

 

This is the year we started to take reading aloud seriously. 

It’s not that we haven’t always, always, read aloud to our kids. It’s been our practice to do so every night before bed as long as they’ve been able to sit and listen. We’ve had months and years where we read Bible stories. Times when it was picture books. And lately – for the last year plus – we read the entire Harry Potter series. (We finished last weekend!) 

But after an episode of What Should I Read Next?, where a mother and college-aged daughter talked about their reading times together, I decided maybe a little extra reading was exactly what my daughter and I needed. 

She turned 9 this past fall, and our relationship has always been a little challenging. We both have hot tempers, and it felt like we were having a lot more fraught times than tender ones. We needed some one-on-one time, and with six people in the house that can be hard to come by. So one afternoon I asked her to come to my room and just let me read to her. 

She fought it. She thought it was a trick, I suppose. But, her trust won, she gave in. We started reading Frindle by Andrew Clements; it was new to both of us, and we were charmed. 

Quickly we realized the afternoon reading time was probably not going to work most days for our family, but I turned to reading just to her before bed. We’ve traveled through Ramona’s Oregon, Pippi Longstocking’s crazy home, the dollhouse home of a family of mice, the fantastic world of Arlo Finch, and more. 

Some time during these nights, I suggested my husband read to our sons, who share a room, during this same time. Their books are vastly different, but also much beloved; my husband is mainly trying to hook our 7-year-old on new series that he can devour. (And it’s worked!) 

We have loved this, and it’s been a wonderful point of connection for us with the kids. I feel closer to my daughter than I have in a long time, and the fact that I can simply mention that I see her “tattletale cloud” and it makes us both laugh is delightful. (And she loves that her brothers have no idea what we’re talking about. It’s a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic reference.) 

I didn’t really understand it all, though, until I started to devour The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie. Her thesis is that reading aloud to kids, all the way until they leave the home, is the best way to create family connection. Reading aloud is proven to improve grades, writing, and more, but her first point is that it makes a family culture. You have a whole series of “inside jokes” and references. You have stories to discuss and love and reread. 

It clicked for me. I love having those points of connection. Talking about books is basically my favorite thing in the world, and to do it with my kids makes my life so much more enjoyable. Our memories of reading Harry together will last a long time, and I’ll remember how much the kids enjoyed running around putting unforgiveable curses on each other when they are far past that phase. 

I love that my 9-year-old wants me to come to her room each night and read to her. I hope we’ll keep doing it another 9 years, until she graduates. And maybe even past then. 

It’s our own family book club, and I treasure it.

Three Meat Pizza Rolls

 

Pizza Rolls are one of our favorite lunchbox main dishes. I put a general how-to in my Free Ultimate Lunchbox Resource, but I wanted to be able to share more details of the process for those who might need a little more guidance.

This specific iteration came to me one night when my kids needed to eat before the monthly Parents’ Night Out at our church. A lot of times I go and get Little Caesar’s; but this night, I thought, Why should I get subpar pizza when I can make it at home and it tastes 20 times better? (My kids, of course, think Little Caesar’s is great. Because they have no taste. But never mind that.)

They love the 3 Meat Treat® pizza from LC’s; their version is Italian sausage, pepperoni, and bacon. Here I’m using ham instead of Italian sausage, because it’s easier and I usually have it on hand. Sometimes I buy the package of prechopped tiny cubes. Other times, I just cut up a few pieces of lunchmeat.

So let’s make pizza rolls, shall we?

First, we make or buy pizza dough. I use the Pioneer Woman’s dough recipe and substitute about 1 1/2 cups of the flour with whole wheat flour. You want enough dough for two crusts.

Divide the dough in half, then roll out a half on a well-floured board or counter into a big rectangle, the long side facing you.

Spread pizza sauce onto the dough, within 1/2 an inch of the edges. Alternately you can use olive oil for a sauce-less pizza, or alfredo sauce, or pesto!

Then sprinkle toppings on: first cheese, then bacon, ham, and pepperoni.

Next you roll it up from the edge furthest from you so you have a long cylinder. Then cut into 1-inch slices. Place the slices, face up, on a cookie sheet spread with parchment paper or a silpat. (If you want them really crusty, you can also put the rolls inside muffin tin cups sprayed with cooking spray.)

Bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and brown.

Three Meat Pizza Rolls

INGREDIENTS

  

Dough

• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 ½ c. warm water
• 2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour or sub additional all-purpose
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ⅓ c. olive oil

Toppings

• 1 c. pizza sauce jarred or homemade
• 1 ½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ c. bacon bits
• 16 slices pepperoni cut into fourths
• 6 slices lunchmeat ham diced

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Make the dough

• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.
• In a mixer with the dough hook, mix flour and kosher salt together. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the olive oil until all is added. Stir the yeast mixture and slowly add it to the flour until the dough forms a ball. (You can also mix by hand with a wooden spoon.) Transfer dough ball to an oiled glass or wooden bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours. After this time, use right away or refrigerate until you're ready to make the rolls.

Assembling and Baking

• On a well-floured surface, roll half the dough out into a large rectangle, as thin as you can get it. Spread with ½ cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle with ¾ cup cheese, 2 T bacon bits, half the ham, and half the pepperoni pieces. Roll like you would for cinnamon rolls: working from the long end furthest from you, tightly roll the dough toward you. Seal the edges, then cut into 1-inch slices. Place slices facing up on a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 450F for 12-14 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and browned. Repeat process with the second half of the dough and remaining ingredients.

Lunchbox Directions

• I let these cool, then drop into a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze. I put them frozen in the lunchboxes and they are defrosted by lunch. My kids don't mind eating them cool or at room temperature, although you could try heating them in the morning and wrapping them in foil to keep warm.

“Extra Slice” Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

 

If I had to pick one podcast above all others, it would have to be Sorta Awesome. I would deeply mourn for The Popcast and What Should I Read Next?, but Sorta Awesome has built the most incredible community. As much as I love to listen to Knox and Jamie’s things that entertain but do not matter, sometimes I need to hear about something that matters – in the same way I’d talk about it with my girlfriends. And that’s where Sorta Awesome falls.

This year Meg, the main host of SA, has been emphasizing the Awesome Manifesto and making this year The Year of the Awesome.

When the world – or at least our corner of it – seems to have lost its ever-loving mind, I am glad there other women out there committed to “extending grace, taking action, getting rest, and being excellent.”

Whenever the part about the extra slice of chocolate cake comes up, I can’t help thinking about my own divine chocolate cake. I fell in love with chocolate buttercream recently. Normally I am a vanilla fan, but this cake definitely fills all my requirements of not being overly sweet (seriously!), having great depth of flavor, and being not too difficult to make.

This same chocolate cake recipe is in my Peppermint Patty Cake; it’s pretty much the only chocolate cake recipe I use, and I’ve made it dozens of times.

So if you’re searching for the perfect chocolate cake that might make you reach for an extra slice – here you go. And thanks, Meg and team, and all the Awesomes, for giving me that permission and making my life a lot more Awesome.

Extra Slice Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Easy one-bowl chocolate cake with delicious chocolate buttercream made with cocoa.

 Print Recipe Pin Recipe

COURSEDessert

INGREDIENTS

  

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. sugar
• ¾ c. dark or regular cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 c. milk
• ½ c. canola oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. hot, strong-brewed coffee

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 c. butter room temperature
• 4 ½ to 5 c. powdered sugar
• ¼ c. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 5 T. whole milk or cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

 

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper and grease again.
• In a big (really big!) mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and mix together well. Pour in coffee and stir carefully until the mixture is uniform. It will be a thin batter.
• Pour batter into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove cake from pans to a wire rack and cool completely. (I leave the parchment paper on the bottoms so the cake doesn’t stick to the rack.
• For the frosting, add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium-high for 5-7 minutes, scraping the sides as needed. Add more powdered sugar or milk/cream if the frosting seems too runny or too stiff. Frost cake.

NOTES

More tips:

• This makes plenty of icing – I think you could easily make a 3-layer 8-inch cake if you prefer those.
• Use a really big mixing bowl so you aren’t splashing coffee all over your counter. I have a huge Pyrex glass bowl that is great.
• Did you know pre-cut parchment papers were a thing? I got some for Christmas and they are SO WONDERFUL. 8-inch ones; 9-inch ones

Cake recipe adapted from Sips and Spoonfuls; frosting is from Chef in Training.

Do you have a favorite chocolate cake?