Musing Monday...Do You Want Another Steamed Dumpling?

---

This week’s musing

from MizB at Should Be Reading, asks...

What’s at the top of your must-buy list, right now? (or, if you don’t wait — if you’re more impulsive — what books have you recently purchased?)

I sometimes think I am a rather bad bookish blogger.
Yes, I love to read.
Yes, I love to share some knowledge about books I have read with others.

But my discovery of these books seem a little haphazard compared to many of my fellow bloggers.
I have no Big Plan. I have no idea what books are coming out next month..or this month for that matter. I have no books, except on the rare occasion, that I am looking forward to, at least in part because I have no idea what is coming out.

"But don't you have some favorite writers whose next book you are looking forward to?" Awww....not really. Don't get me wrong. There are a number of writers I love, whose previous books I have enjoyed. But you know, there are so many great writers out there, some of whose books I have read in the past and may well read more of in the future, and there are also so many I have not read yet and would like to. Sometimes I read something by an author and look forward to reading some more by them and may search out another they have out or maybe get excited about a new book they have coming out soon. But honestly..I don't usually keep track of things like that and then I read some reviews about another book 'everyone' is talking about...and I forget all about it. There I am, once again, distracted by the shiny object someone is dangling in front of my eyes.

Then there is the issue that I often don't like to read too many books by one author.
Is that weird?
Well, maybe but true.
You love one of their books, but often, in my experience, the others are not as good. Even with someone you really love, maybe a great series, it has a certain lifespan and then it starts to be not quite as good. Not bad maybe, but same old/same old. You love the first, look forward to the second, the third was pretty good but..and then I am off to something else. I think it is hard to keep a series interesting and really fresh. Maybe you have to be willing to kill some central characters off, make some drastic changes, shake things up and I guess authors get a bit scared readers will not like that and often don't...and I get a little bored.

There are just so many authors out there, great writers, whose books I have never read. It seems a week does not go by that I don't read about a new to me author who I would love to check out. It is like a Giant Buffet of Books and while the steamed dumpling may be great and I love the steamed dumplings, I should go over and try the garlic chicken! I like the smorgasbord of books...one of these...one of those...a little of this... and look, they are bringing out a new tray of something tasty looking that I need to check out!
Remember, you can always go back and get another dumpling!

---

A So-So Sammy Sunday

 

 

Weekend Cooking...Kismet and Cake

It was all the Bundt pan's fault.

I was wandering around my favorite site, Cook's Illustrated...maybe it was the newsletter...maybe it was an old copy of the magazine...I am not sure...but I saw an article about Bundt pans and their rating for the very best one bundt pan on the market.
Sadly, I did not have a Bundt pan. I think I may have grown up Bundt free.
So, I decided to mosey over to my second favorite site, Amazon and see if they had the recommended one for sale.
You know they did!
The Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Original Bundt Pan/Model #50037.
I wanted a Bundt pan and I wanted the best, darn it!
In days it was mine.

Now, I needed a recipe.
On the back of the Bundt pan's cardboard collar was a recipe for Lady Bird Johnson' Lemon Bundt Cake. Now Lady Bird may have known her roadside wildflowers but this recipe calls for 10 egg yolks! What was I going to do with the ten egg whites? That seems excessive. So, I went looking for another idea.
In my array of recipes saved on my computer was one from a couple of years ago, a Lemon Bundt Cake from, yes, Cook's Illustrated. Also, on their latest newsletter was a video of them making the same cake. It was meant to be! It was kismet! It was cake...it was Lemon Bundt Kismet Cake.

Everyone at work seemed to like it!
It was very good, with a firm, pound cake texture and a lovely lemon flavor.

Lemon Bundt Cake
Serves 12 to 14.    

You will need between five and six tablespoons of lemon juice for this recipe. Because the amount of juice can vary from lemon to lemon, we suggest you first measure the juice from the three lemons you have zested, then juice a fourth lemon if necessary. Serve this cake as is or dress it up with lightly sweetened berries. The cake has a light, fluffy texture when eaten the day it is baked, but if well wrapped and held at room temperature overnight its texture becomes more dense -- like that of pound cake -- the following day. 

Ingredients

Cake
3	lemons , zest grated and saved, then juiced for 3 tablespoons juice (see note above)
3	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1	teaspoon baking power
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1	teaspoon salt
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4	cup low-fat buttermilk
3	large eggs , at room temperature
1	large egg yolk , at room temperature
18	tablespoons unsalted butter (2 1/4 sticks), at room temperature
2	cups sugar (14 ounces)
Glaze
2 - 3	tablespoons fresh lemon juice (see note above)
1	tablespoon buttermilk
2	cups confectioners' sugar (8 ounces)

Instructions

1. 1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour (alternatively, brush pan with mixture of 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon melted butter). Mince lemon zest to fine paste (you should have about 2 tablespoons). Combine zest and lemon juice in small bowl; set aside to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. 2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine lemon juice mixture, vanilla, and buttermilk in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce to medium speed and add half of eggs, mixing until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining eggs; scrape down bowl again. Reduce to low speed; add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition (about 5 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Scrape into prepared pan.
3. 3. Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.
4. 4. FOR THE GLAZE: While cake is baking, whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice, buttermilk, and confectioners' sugar until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable (mixture should leave faint trail across bottom of mixing bowl when drizzled from whisk). Cool cake in pan on wire rack set over baking sheet for 10 minutes, then invert cake directly onto rack. Pour half of glaze over warm cake and let cool for 1 hour; pour remaining glaze evenly over top of cake and continue to cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut into slices and serve.

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---

A Review of "gods in Alabama" [26]

gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
Hachette Audio, ISBN 978-1594832949
Unabridged edition (July 3, 2006)

---

"There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus. "

What in the heck was I doing, going to the library, to borrow the audio book of gods in Alabama?
See, first, I don't like audiobooks, right?.
Second, I have a huge number of books that I should be reading already. I do not need any more books at the moment. Or this year.
And third, and maybe worse, when I went to enter it into my Library Thing database, what did I discover but that I already own a copy of this book...here...somewhere.

Well, never mind. I borrowed it, I listened to it and I loved it.

Arlene Fleet, called Lena now, made a deal with God almost a dozen years ago. She promised that she would shop being a slut, fornicating with every guy in her high school class. She would stop lying. She would, upon her graduation, leave her hometown, never to return.
All she wanted from God in return was a miracle. Ok, it was a pretty big miracle, making a dead body disappear and all,  but when He seemed to have granted it, a deal was made.

Now, it is about 10 years after her graduation and she is living in Chicago, a university graduate student, teaching, with a boyfriend of two years, a lawyer named Burr. While she talks to her family every week, her aunt and uncle who took her and her mother in when her mom went off the deep end after her father's death, and her cousin Charline, who is like a sister to her, she has never been home since the day she graduated. Or told a lie..or had sex. A life not without it problems, but one she is willingly living. To keep her secret, to keep her deal with God.

Until a girl from her past shows up on Lena's front door, looking for an ex-boyfriend they went to school with, the high school quarterback named Jim Beverly. That is so not going to happen, because he is the dead body that was at the center of that deal she made with God. But with that visitor, Lena considers that God has broken His end of the bargain, and being push by her boyfriend to finally meet her family, and the need to get the story straight with her cousin before the secret comes bursting out, she and Burr are on the way to Alabama to meet the folks. Oh, did I mention that she is white and Burr is black? Oh, this is going to be interesting!

And it is.
At time this book is very funny, at times it is a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes and at times it is very sweet and moving. Maybe half the book is told in the present and the rest in flashbacks, Arlene's recollections. Slowly, piece by piece, she tells us how she came to this point in her life, slowing revealing her story, as layered and as full of hidden secrets as the always present piles of kudzu that dot her Alabama landscape. We think we know what happened, and in a way we do, but we find it is much more complicated...and much more interesting.

The book is full of great characters, each written so well that they will become quite real for the reader and by the surprising ending we can not help but like them, with all their strengths and weaknesses. Arlene is a hoot, making us laugh one minute and breaking our heart the next. Burr is excellent, always having her back, but never letting her get away with anything. And then we have the Alabama relatives, who may end up surprising you and will always hold your attention. At the end of the book you will hate to say goodbye to them all I think.
Arlene reminds us that Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain, but by the end of the book we also discover that love can move mountains too and overcome obstacles that might seem to be unconquerable.

As I mentioned, I 'read' the audio version of this book and once again, it was a good experience. I am no great judge of audiobook readers, but in my opinion Catherine Taber did a fine job. Her accent, how she changes her voice for each characters, even subtly changing it when portraying the characters in the present and when younger, always seemed genuine and never overdone. My one complaint with this edition would be the short bursts of background music that appeared from time to time, unnecessary and rather distracting, but it is a very minor issue.

This was, when it was published, Ms. Jackson's debut novel, but it will certainly not be her last one I read.

---

Top Ten Favorite Discussible Books of 2010

In Wednesday edition of Shelf Awareness, a publication you certainly should be reading if you are not already, was the results of an interesting little survey.

The  following were the "favorite discussible books of 2010" as chosen by a  survey of thousands of reading groups representing more than 100,000  members conducted by Reading Group Choices:

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
3. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
4. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
5. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
7. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
10. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

So, how many of those have you read?

I imagine a fair number of you may have read them all.
I am ashamed to say I have read exactly half of them, five.
The Help, Cutting For Stone, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And I have Still Alice sitting in my TBR pile, calling at me from time to time.
Not bad, in the world at large, but amongst book bloggers, I feel like a bit of a slacker.
So many book, so little time....

Now I am sure these are all excellent books, and I know that I loved the ones from the list that I read, but what do you think makes these 10, as opposed to all the other best sellers of 2010, what makes these particularly discussable?
Is it the plot...or the characters or the setting or a certain style?  All the books on the list are fiction...is that an issue or did you read a non-fiction book last year that you would consider especially discussable?
What is it about one book that makes us want to run off and share it with our bookish friends and maybe not another?

I have never, sadly, belonged to a book club, but I know that many of you do. What makes one book ideal to share with your club and not another, even if it is a very good book?
Is there a book that you read last year that you think should be on that list and didn't make the cut?

Oh, I am just full of questions today and so very short of answers.
So I am really hoping that if some of you have some ideals, you might share them with us in the comments.
And so ahead, tell me how you have read them all. I can take it.
Come on..I know you have an opinion!

Wordless Wednesday...More Sunrises..

What can I say...I love sunrises. At work or at home.

But it is Wordless Wednesday, so I should be saying nothing!

---

---

...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.

---

A Review of "One Was a Soldier" [25]

One Was a Soldier: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery  by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Minotaur Books, ISBN 978-0312334895
April 12, 2011, 336 pages

---

When the Reverend Clare Fergusson's National Guard unit was called up, and off she went to fly combat helicopter missions, all Russ Van Alstyne hoped was that she would come back home alive, not terribly injured in some way as may do. And that is what seems to have happened when she returned after 18 months to Millers Kill, NY and once again took up her job as Rector of St. Albans parish. But looks can be deceiving, because while she won't admit it, even to herself, she is in fact very damaged.

Even when she join a veteran's counseling group, with four others from the town, she is still playing her role as the fixer, the reconciler, to the others whose injuries may be more obvious. There is one young man, not even 20, who lost both his legs. There is the police officer whose bouts anger and rage since he has returned becomes, at times, uncontrollable to the point that it is about to cost him everything that he cares about. There is the doctor, trying his best to hide the memory loss a brain injury has cost him and there is the young woman who seems haunted by the terrible things she admits that she has done. They may not be very forthcoming about their problems in their sessions, but they are comrades, so when one of them ends up dead, seemingly by their own hand, it pulls them even closer together. Clare  is insistent that it must be murder, no matter what the facts seem to show. Readers of previous books in the series will not be surprised when she rushes out into the face of danger and...with Russ, trying to protect her back as always...find themselves in the middle of a crime much bigger than they first suspected.

It is no secret that I have enjoyed the previous books in this series, and this, the seventh book, does not disappoint fans. Yes, you could read it as a stand alone I think, but really, it should be read in order for fullest enjoyment. Because at the heart of this series is the relationship between Russ and Clare and it has taken them, and us, years to get to this point, the point where they may finally get married. Or will they? And while that relationship is always central to Spencer-Fleming's books, there is a lot more of interest here too. The story of each of the troubled, damaged returning soldiers, and the whole subject of the challenges these returning warriors and their families face, is often very moving. Also, the subplots of some returning characters, like Hadley and Kevin, are interesting, and the reader will certainly hope to see more of that storyline in future installments. And of course, as always, there is a quite satisfying mystery at the center of the story for us to try and figure out.

Readers of my reviews of the previous Spencer-Fleming books will know that sometime Clare drives me a little nuts and this book is no exception. For someone in the counseling business, at least in part, she is sure reluctant to get help when she needs it...but this time I noticed a difference in my reaction to some of the less than reasonable things she does. Yes, she is flawed, and stubborn, and sometimes you just want to yell at her, never more so than in this book...but you want to because you consider her like someone you know, someone you care about, a friend. And really, what better reaction can an author hope for from a reader?

One thing that I did think odd in this book was what a small role her beliefs, her relationship with God, played in Clare's attempt to deal with the effects of her experiences in combat. I mean, she is a minister, right? Unlike in previous books, this time we see little of her role as a minister, which I missed a bit, but her lack of making any connection between her religious beliefs and dealing with her experiences seems a little out of  character. Still, a damaged Clare, not so self assured as she usually seems, not able to handle everything thrown her way, also makes for a very interesting change.
And, as she so often does, the author finishes off this installment in the series with a classic cliffhanger. I can't say I was totally surprised...but wow, it was a great way to entice us back to see what happens. We fans can only hope that we don't have to wait too long to find out how that turns out!
A very good series and this book is as good as any of the previous books.

By the way, the publisher has also made available, for a limited time, a short collection of some letters some of the characters in One Was a Soldier sent to each other while oversees. It is called Letters To a Soldier and is available free, as an e-book, from all your favorite sources for e-books, including Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Borders,  Indiebound, Kobo and Sony. Fans will certainly want to check that out I think!

---

My thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book for my enjoyment.

---

Musing Monday...Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum

---

Hey kids, let's wander over to Should Be Reading and check out what MIzB has for us to think about his week.

This week’s musing asks…

If you’re a mood reader, what (genre) do your moods usually call you to read?

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.

A little gruesome, but don't be scared. It's only make believe.
No secret that my go-to, all-the-time favorite genre is mysteries.
Day, night..or in my case...middle of the night, I always love a mystery.
No, I am not really a moody reader, except that I am almost always in the mood for a few dead bodies, the police knocking at the door and a killer lurking in the shadows..or behind a mask in plain sight. Yep, them I am a happy camper.
Except when I'm not.

Yes, even I can have enough of murder and mayhem and need to read something else on the rare occasion. But it is rare because the wonderful world of mysteries is so varied, offers go many different things to fit your mood. You can find something very complex, or something straight forward, some with a touch of romance, some even wandering into the world of science fiction or other strange places. You can find a light and fluffy cozy, or a very dark and deadly bit of noir...and I tend toward the dark end of the spectrum. But sometimes when the stars align, I need a little sunshine and light. Or at least something different, a bit of a change. Maybe a sweet doggie tale...but no sad animal stories, please. I don't mind people getting killed in books, but not animals. Did I ever mention that I have never seen the movie Bambi because I heard that Bambi's mom dies...{{sob}}

Sometimes I even go in search a bit of non-fiction, although I will admit that it unusual for me. I haven't gone back and done a count, but I think it would be a handful of books in a year. Even then, it really has to be about a subject that really interests me. Not memoirs, which about 95% of the time seem very self indulgent to me. Not history. I am sorry, but most of it just bores me, unless maybe it it is about a place I have some connection to. Not science, which brings back unhappy high school lab class memories. That poor fetal pig..and that frog! Finance...psychology...biography...bleh. You can see my problem.
I must admit, I feel a little guilty about my minimal non-fiction reading. It seems like a good thing to do, mind enhancing, resulting in personal growth and such...but I don't care. For me reading is not really about education. I think I know enough. My brain is almost full. No reading is about pleasure. Reading is about escape.

The fact that the place I like to escape to is full of murder and death and killers..well, that is another story.

---

Weekend Cooking..When in Doubt, Make Scones!

What  did Robert Burns say...""The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Go oft awry."
When I was considering my Weekend Cooking post for this weekend I had a couple of grand ideas in mind. One involved kikis..the fruit, not the people...the other used dried shitake mushrooms.
But don't get your hopes up, because I didn't make either one.
I had set yesterday aside to do some food shopping and some cooking, but I seemed to have gotten some sort of stomach upsetness..or a touch of food poisoning...so no cooking was on the menu.

So what to post?
Well, as I was making my tea this morning, I though a nice warm scone would be just the thing, easy on the tummy, so I decide to make a batch and share my basic scone recipe with you.

Ok, it is actually my mother's recipe. Easy, quick, light and tender.
My mother used to say that the quicker you made them and the less you handled them, the better they would be. The old saying goes "you should be able to see your neighbor heading across the field, coming to visit, and you should be able to have a plate of scones, warm from the oven, on the table, before they get to your door.

I always though it would depend on the size of the field.

In the spirit of experimentation, I though I would make them in my new food processor...just because.
How did that turn out? Well, it was very easy. Add all the dry ingredients and pulse. Add the cut up, very cold butter and pulse. Add the liquids and run a few seconds until it comes together. Dump out, pat into shape, cut, bake.
Of course, figure up the clean up time and realized, yes, a bowl and pastry cutter might have been just as good.
So here it is. Not fancy. No additions. Just basic yumminess.

Scones

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. double acting baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar + 2 Tbs. sugar
6 Tbs. butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425º. Grease cookie sheet. With a fork, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut butter unto the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives scissor fashion until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a cup beat eggs, reserving 1 Tbs.
Stir milk into the remaining beaten eggs, and stir into flour mixture just until well mixed.
Turn dough onto well floured surface rolling lightly into a 9” x 6” rectangle, ½ “ thick. Cut into 3” squares, then each square into 2 triangles. Place triangles 1” apart on cookie sheet, brushing with the retained egg and sprinkle with 2 Tbs. sugar.
Bake 10-15 minutes, until golden

15- 20  minutes from start to finish.
Someone drops in? Make scones!
Need a snack? Make scones!
Want to treat yourself? Make scones!
When in doubt...make scones!

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---

A Review of "Secrets To The Grave" [24]

Secrets to the Grave By Tami Hoag
Random House Audio, ISBN 978-0739365830
December 28, 2010

---

In this, the sequel to Deeper Than the Dead, we are once again back in Oak Knoll, California in the late 1980's and once again police are pursuing the perpetrator of a horrible murder.
Marissa Fordham, a single mother and an artist, is found dead on the floor of her house by a neighbor, stabbed countless time and her body mutilated in a way that suggests both rage and a sexual component. And lying beside her is her four year old daughter, Haley, strangled and left for dead...but the killer did not quite complete the job and Haley has survived.

Also back from the first book are a number of the great characters Hoag introduced there, although after the events of that story, some have made some changes in their lives. Anne, almost the last victim of the See-No-Evil serial killer in the first book, is now married to former FBI profiler Vince Leone, both supporting each other in the repercussions they are dealing with from being victims of violence in the near past. Which makes them, especially Ann, the ideal candidates to understand the terror Haley is experiencing and to take her in while authorities search for any other family she might have, like a mysteriously missing father.
But caring for the only witness to the horrible murder may also put Anne and her little charge in the path of a killer who is not quite done killing yet.

I very much liked the first book in this series and I like this one even a bit more I think. The characters are very well developed, and while I guess you could read this as a standalone, it is a case where it would really be better to read them in order. Everything you need to know about everyone is here, but you will enjoy them more if you have read Deeper Than the Dead. And the characters, I think, are very much at the center of this story, including a number of great local residents that make some very good suspects. The subplots about a very troubled little boy from the first book and about the abduction of Melissa's friend were excellent..very creepy and very engaging.

Now, you know I can't help but point out a problem or two, right?
As in the first book, but thankfully to a lesser degree this time, we get these little discussions among the cops about how lacking is some of the technology available to them in the 80's, calling attention to what year it is, and talking about how much better it will be in the future. True...but totally unrealistic, that cops, or anyone really, would talk like that and it gets a bit annoying. Then there is the issue that always comes up in mysteries set in small towns. Just how many people can get killed before people start thinking it might be time to move? This is one dangerous little place! And once again Anne is personally in danger...again something that can get old very quickly in a series. If the killer has her in his sights in the next book, it will push me over the edge for sure.
But overall, these are small matters and take very little away from what is a very good book. Well written, fast paced, great characters, a good story with just enough red herrings to keep you thinking and guessing...most likely wrongly.

On a totally different matter, I just want to mention that this was the first audiobook that I actually finished and actually enjoyed. It took me awhile to get used to it, I will admit. I kept getting distracted by the accents the reader gave the characters, which often did not agree with how I "pictured" them in my head. Then, I would be distracted by the way she pronounced a certain word, wondering if I was saying it wrong all along..and have to replay the part I just missed.
Ok, maybe I am just too easily distracted. But I will give audios another try because it can be a great use of time, like when you are driving, and maybe I can get through some more books. Of course, since I don't have anymore audio books on hand, they would be new book from the library, which defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Oh well..it was an idea..lol

---

My thanks to my local library for this one..even if I meant to request the hardcover rather than the audiobook.

---

Wordless Wednesday...Longwood Gardens

---

Today, a little trip to the conservatory of  Pennsylvania's Longwood Gardens.

---

---

---

---

...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.

---

Sammy So-So Cute

You think he might be sad that his buddy, Bandit, went home for the week. But on the other hand, he had reason to be happy because he just had his hair done the other day and he knows that he looks So-So Cute when he just gets his hair done.
Even cuter than usual.
And that is pretty darn cute!

---

Musing Monday..Run, Here Come The Book Bullies!!

Ok, let's wander over to Should Be Reading and check out this weeks question from MizB...

This week’s musing asks…
When you were little did other children tease you about your reading habits?

Have I mentioned before that most of my childhood is only a vague memory to me? Granted, it was decades…and decades...ago, which may be why. Or maybe there is not that much to remember.
Ho hum..ho hum.

No, I can’t say that I have any recollection of my classmates teasing me about being a reader. But then, most of them were a bit dense. Ok, that sounds a bit harsh...lol
Let’s just say in grammar school, I do not remember most of my classmates being that interested in their education. I, on the other hand, was all about being a good student. Yes, I was a bit of a school nerd. I liked school…I was good at school, and that was my place in the hierarchy that is grammar school. So, if they were going to tease me, reading was probably the least of my issues.

But as to reading specifically, I tend to think that my reading as a child was a private matter, done in my home, in the comfort of my room. It was not intentional, not something I was hiding, it was just the way it was. I don’t think I was dragging books around with me, or sneaking off to read in the playground. Do, I would come home from school and change out of my uniform (yes, we wore little Catholic school uniforms. Love those saddle shoes.) and go off and ‘play’, which again, as I remember, seemed to consist of wandering around the neighborhood with my friends..aimlessly. Really, what were we doing….

Then I would come home, do my homework, have dinner and watch TV and read. As I discussed last week, probably several of those at the same time.

Reading was just a natural part of my life and I don’t think it would ever have occurred to me that it was unusual. It was certainly the accepted norm in my house, and that is where my reading took place for the most part. I still, as an adult, find those statistics that say most Americans do not read books shocking. I never knew!

..or... maybe they did tease me.
And I have blocked it all out, too terrible to remember.
One of those repressed memory things.
Maybe groups of wee ruffians gathered about me, mocking me, calling me nasty bibliophile name like...like..."BookWorm", trying to tear up my beloved library card, grab my Nero Wolfe, as I stared down at my uniform black and white oxford shoes and knee socks, my heart filled with fear..

No...I don't think so either..;-)

Weekend Cooking..The Reading Terminal Market

My yearly visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show would not be complete without a visit across the street to the always fascinating Reading Terminal Market. Located at 12th and Arch, with over 100 mercants, it is part tourist attraction, part lunchtime destination for area workers and part farmers market. It has a little something for everyone..and most of it is food related. And for book lovers, there are even a couple of bookstores, including one that sells only cookbooks.

"Mouth-watering aromas. Produce fresh from the field. Amish specialties. Fresh meats, seafood, and poultry. Unique, hand-made pottery, jewelry and crafts from around the world. The hustle and bustle of a multitude of diverse people. It’s all here in Philadelphia’s historic farmers market, Reading Terminal Market. An exhilarating selection of baked goods, meats, poultry, seafood, produce, flowers, ethnic foods, cookware and eclectic restaurants are peppered throughout the Market. We invite you to explore this unique and extraordinary historic farmers market in Center City Philadelphia."

The Market has a long history. Going back to the founding of Philadelphia there were countless produce stands in the area, with farmers from New Jersey (we are the Garden State) and rural areas outside the city bringing their fruits and vegetable, meat and cheeses and dairy products to the city for sale. But concerns about these outside stands being unhygienic pushed a move to establish an inside market and the Reading Terminal Market was opened for business in 1892 and in the following year, the mighty Reading Train Terminal, with it's newly elevated tracks, was opened above the market.

Times have changed and the area upstairs where once thousands of train passenger arrived and left every day is now a giant empty hall,  connected to and part of the Convention Center across the street. But the Market, after some hard times in past decades, seems to be doing very well these days and is really a place that every visitor to Philadelphia should see. Because, as I said, there is something for everyone there.

There are dozens of places selling a huge selection of produce, fishmongers and butchers, including my favorite Amish stand, L. Halteman Family Country Foods, where I usually pick up some scrapple and kielbasa to take home. I will not subject you to more of my opining about the wonderful thing that is scrapple, but they have the best.


And if you are looking for a place to grab lunch, you can't go wrong here. At lunch time the place can be packed with tourists and workers from the area, often enjoying some live music in the center court as they eat. From sushi to bar-be-que, gyros to Thai, or maybe a lovely crepe filled with Nutella and strawberries, it is all here, including Delilah's, which once won the contest on Oprah for America's best Mac and Cheese. And just across the aisle from Delilah's is the Bassetts Ice Cream stand, America's oldest ice cream company, producing their delicious concoctions in the City of Brotherly Love since 1861.  There is nothing better on a hot summer day.

And there are also a large number of great specialty stores. There are stalls with cheese, another with caviar. There is Blue Mountain Vineyards, selling their wines and a nice variety of wine related items, a very nice kitchenware store, a store that sells all sorts of honeys and beeswax items, another that sells French linens. Then there are the flower stalls, the well known Termini Brothers bakery (I suggest the almond horns...to die for)  and another place where I always make a stop, AJ Pickle Patch, a great place to get a quart of half sours to take home.

Now, a very important presence at the market are about a dozen Amish run businesses and they are maybe some of the most interesting to check out. Several butchers, including one that sells just poultry, one that sells jam and jellies and Amish crafts, a bakery and one that has hand-rolled soft pretzels.  Although if you are visiting, beware that the Amish owned business are usually open only Wednesday to Saturday. When I go to the flower show, it is my habit to arrive about 8, when the Market opens and 2 hours before the Flower Show begins. I usually start my day with breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place, an Amish run lunch counter restaurant serving the best pancakes and some very crispy scrapple and scope out that else I will need to buy later. Then usually in the late afternoon, I will leave the show and cross the street to head back to the market and have what is arguably the best roast pork sandwich in Philly, topped with melted sharp provolone and greens, at Dinics. Top with a little fresh hot horseradish...very nice indeed.
I think I need to not wait until next year's flower show to make my next visit! 

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---

A Review of "Beaglemania" [23]

Beaglemania (A Pet Rescue Mystery) by Linda O.Johnston
Berkley, ISBN 978-0425240212
March 1, 2100, 304 pages

---

Ok, once again I was totally roped in by the cute little doggies on the cover.
What can I say..a cute puppy melts my heart.

Now if we had actually had more of those little beagles in the story...or more of any of the doggies...I might have been a toatlaly happy camper. As it was, I am a partially happy camper.
So first, before I get to the pluses and negatives, what is the book about?

Lauren Vancouver is the head of HotRescues, a wonderful, no-kill animal shelter in an area just north of Los Angeles. And she is soon at the center of a murder and the number one suspect.

As the book opens, she hears word that a puppy mill is about to be raided by local animal control officers and shows up to see if she can help. She arrives to find one of her shelter employees, working with her to fulfill a court order because of his history of dog abuse, there and connected to the horrible puppy mill in an unknown way. Of course, she now wants this man nowhere near her facilities, angry words are exchanged, he threatens her and the facility...so when he turns up death, murdered, right in the midst of the kennels, and Lauren is standing there over the body, when police arrive, things look a bit bad.

As you may have noticed, I am a sucker for a nice doggie. There are a number of nice doggies in this book and it is at it's most appealing when they are front and center. Oddly, those beagle on the cover don't make much of an appearance, a loss for the book.
But enough about the dogs...what about the people characters? Well Lauren is appealing enough, although her tendency to get a little preachy gets a little old. The information about dogs and shelters and such is very interesting, but sometimes how we are given that information is a little like a lecture. Aside from her dog work, when we see her as a divorced mother of two college age children, with Dante DeFrancisco, the pet store millionaire who is the financial support behind her shelter, when we see her as a friend to her co-workers and in a growing romance with the Small Animal Rescue Team leader, Captain Matt Kingston, she is quite interesting, as are most of the minor characters in the book.
On the other hand, as to the mystery central to the book, the murder of Efram Kiley, things are not quite as good. The story is a bit disjointed and a bit rambling and. honestly, if it weren't for the dogs I would have lost interest before the murderer is at last revealed. And by that point, I was more interested in seeing how Matt and Lauren and their relationship would make out, than who had killed a character I was that connected to to begin with.

Bottom line, it is a pleasant, cozy mystery..a little light on the mystery.
I think this first book in a new series has some appealing characters, a great, interesting setting in the world of animal rescue, with a lot of great story possibilities but with a rather weak mystery that does not really provide the strong center for the book that it should. Entertaining but not all it could be.

---

In the spirit of disclosure, I receive a copy of this book from the publisher in a contest on the website of Pudgy Penguin Perusals.

---