May Reading Update: Beach Reading!

I read 14 books this month! 14 books! In May!

This is in no small part thanks to a week at the beach and several days spent proctoring AP tests.  That and the fact that I'm a speed reader...

Non-fiction:

Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

7 by Jen Hatmaker

Breaking Free by Beth Moore

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger

Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Depression: Looking Up From The Stubborn Darkness (Edward T. Welch)

Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)

The Fringe Hours (Jessica Turner)

Jesus the King (Timothy Keller)

A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet (Sophie Hudson)

He Chose the Nails (Max Lucado)

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard (Laura Bates)

Sabbath (Wayne Muller)

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis (Lauren Winner) – this book resonated with me far more than I expected it would.  There were many times I felt Lauren had copied my own journal directly into her book.  I borrowed it from the library but plan to buy my own copy.

Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling) – just a funny and enjoyable read

In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) – I read this because a good friend and coworker had her AP English class read it this year.  I read it thinking it was fiction and once I found out it was supposed to be non-fiction, my thoughts on it changed a bit.

Fiction:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)

The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

The Good Girl (Mary Kubica)

The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd)

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag (Alan Bradley)

Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks)

Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty)

Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)

The Things we do for Love (Kristin Hannah)

Angels Walking (Karen Kingsbury)

A Red Herring Without Mustard (Alan Bradley) – It’s not a month without Flavia de Luce

The Next Always (Nora Roberts) – beach reading at its finest.

The Rosie Project / The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion) – I loved the first one; could have down without the second, but it wasn’t terrible.  Simsion created some very interesting characters.

The Outer Banks House / Return to the Outer Banks House (Diann Ducharme) – I chose these because I was at the Outer Banks and like the series above, loved the first and was disappointed with the second.  I honestly wish I hadn’t read the second at all because the plot took a turn that still makes me mad when I think about it.  I wanted only happily ever after books for my beach reading.

Summer Island (Kristin Hannah) – it was fine; not my favorite from this author

Attachments (Rainbow Rowell) – I LOVED this book.  Highly recommend.  So sweet.

Speak (Lauren Halse Anderson) – this is a YA classic and I am glad I read it. Anderson makes the school counselor seem pretty useless and oblivious so I found that both annoying and convicting.  It definitely gave me something to think about.

The Last Anniversary (Liane Moriarty) – Another great one from Moriarty.  The tone of her books is also light and funny, but she brings attention to some dark topics at the same time.  This one is about post-partum depression – I feel like it’s important to know that before reading.

Chasing Sunsets (Karen Kingsbury) – the sequel to Angels Walking; I will continue to read the series but I’m starting to get frustrated with this author’s overly sappy and predictable stories.  Maybe if she hadn’t signed a contract that has her publishing multiple books year they’d be better……

On Deck:

Orthodoxy (GK Chesterton)

The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)

Yes Please (Amy Poehler)

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)

Total Finished as of May 31, 2015 – 41

Somehow I think getting to 52 is going to happen sooner than December.....

Farm to Table #2

Another fun week with the CSA!

This week's haul included the following:

Kale

Baby pak choi

Green onions

Radishes

Lettuce Mix

Braising mix

Alfalfa sprouts 

Eggs

I also bought three turnips at Kroger because I thought I was going to get some and I really just wanted some turnips with my radishes. :)

I haven't had the pak choi yet....still figuring out what I shall do with it tomorrow, but I've had some fun with the rest.

With the braising mix, I made a Quinoa and Greens Quiche of sorts.  I roasted the turnips and radishes with olive oil and parmesan.  And Sunday night for dinner I had my favorite meal to date.

I failed on the pictures this week but here are the turnips and radishes before they went in the oven.

And here's the braising mix/sauteed onion/quinoa mixture before adding eggs and milk.

And...the best! Toasted Ezekiel bread with avocado, sprouts, and a fried egg.  Perfect easy Sunday night meal. :)

Farm to Table #1

This year I bought a produce and egg share from the Rockbridge Farmer's Alliance, which is comprised of several area farms.  The thirty week season began last Thursday, and I thought it would be fun to document each share and how I eat it each week.  I will spare you from the salads, but will take a picture or two each week and document the new vegetables and recipes I try as a result.

What excited me most about the CSA share was the opportunity to try new vegetables and the first bag definitely did not disappoint.

Here you see:
Beets
Carrots
Radishes
Jerusalem Artichokes (also called Sunchokes)
Lettuce
Kale
Parsley
Scallions
One dozen farm fresh eggs

On Saturday, I dove right in and tried to new (to me) foods: beets and sunchokes.  I roasted the beets, carrots, and sunchokes with some fresh thyme (from Kroger) and garlic.  The verdict?  Honestly, the beets don't have much flavor, but they also taste somewhat....earthy.  I really liked the sunchokes and hope that future shares include them again.

Tonight I used the kale in a little dish I invented on my own.  

I browned a pound of ground turkey with garlic and onion, then mixed in about a cup of marinara sauce that I had on hand.  Meanwhile, I boiled 16oz of brown rice and quinoa fusilli (I'm not going GF, just avoiding white flour).  After draining the pasta, I put it back in the stockpot and immediately poured in the hot meat and my washed and chopped bunch of kale.  Once the kale had wilted, I put half the mixture into a casserole dish and added a half cup of mozzarella cheese, then added the rest of the noodles and topped with more cheese.  I baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes.  I'm quite pleased.

And the EGGS!  I always silently mocked (pun intended) those who waxed poetic on farm fresh eggs, but wow! Such a difference.  Below is my breakfast from this morning.

Looking forward to Thursday!

April Reading Update

One third of the way through the year....over halfway to achieving my goal of reading 52 books!  Without further ado, here's the entire list, with the ones I read in April in bold.

Non-fiction:

Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

7 by Jen Hatmaker

Breaking Free by Beth Moore

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger

Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Depression: Looking Up From The Stubborn Darkness (Edward T. Welch)

Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)

The Fringe Hours (Jessica Turner)

Jesus the King (Timothy Keller)

A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet (Sophie Hudson) - this is such a fun memoir.  Sophie has another book that I can't wait to read.

He Chose the Nails (Max Lucado) - I do love the devotional and contemplative style Lucado uses in his books.

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard (Laura Bates) - I must confess that I skimmed this one.  I checked it out from the Library on my Kindle and couldn't renew it so I had to read it in a day.  I may revisit it soon.

Sabbath (Wayne Muller) - I would have been fine with only reading the first half of this book.  The second half got a little too meditative and new age-y for me.  

Fiction:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)

The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

The Good Girl (Mary Kubica)

The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd)

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag (Alan Bradley) - this is the second book in the Flavia de Luce series.  I just love them -- entertaining and an easy read.

Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks) - historical fiction is quickly becoming my favorite genre.  This one did not disappoint.  It's about the Black Plague so it's sad - don't say I didn't warn you.

Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty) - I actually listened to this one on Audible.  I didn't like it as much as Big Little Lies.

Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline) - by far the BEST book I read in April.  It's probably second only to The Invention of Wings.

The Things we do for Love (Kristin Hannah) - enjoyable.  Definitely a beach read that I wasn't reading on the beach.

Angels Walking (Karen Kingsbury) - it was fine. 

On Deck:

Still by Lauren Winner

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling

Total Finished as of April 30, 2015 -- 28

So I really am going to the beach later this month.  What should I be sure to bring with me?