June Reading Update

The year is halfway over and I am ONE BOOK away from meeting my goal of 52 books in a year! Wow!

When I first started this "project" in January I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it.  I've always loved to read (so much so that my mom once grounded me from reading for a whole week as a punishment because she knew how much it would hurt), but got out of a habit of reading for pleasure sometime in the last several years.  The thought of reading a book a week intimidated me.  But, just like riding a bike, the more I read the more I wanted to read.  It was as if I'd rediscovered an important part of myself that I didn't know I'd lost.  Interestingly enough, this has also led to me feeling more inspired to write....

I just want to read ALL THE BOOKS!

Here's the updated list, newest 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)

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)

Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling)

In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)

Yes Please (Amy Poehler) – I could have lived without reading this.  It’s too crude for my taste, especially compared to Mindy Kaling’s book.

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson) – This gave me so much to think about…and is such a timely issue.  I highly recommend.

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)

The Next Always (Nora Roberts)

The Rosie Project / The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion)

The Outer Banks House / Return to the Outer Banks House (Diann Ducharme) –

Summer Island (Kristin Hannah)

Attachments (Rainbow Rowell)

Speak (Lauren Halse Anderson)

The Last Anniversary (Liane Moriarty)

Chasing Sunsets (Karen Kingsbury)

The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins) – this book is along the same vein as Gone Girl and it was a captivating read, although not quite as well written.

Bridge to Haven (Francine Rivers) – Rivers wrote one of my favorite Christian fiction books ever, and so I was excited to see she’d written something new.  This was a good read, but I didn’t love the happily ever after ending.  It seemed far-fetched.

If I Stay (Gayle Forman) – A YA book that got its own movie.  Didn’t like it.

Her Husband’s Secret (Liane Moriarty) – I can’t get enough of Moriarty’s style; an enjoyable read.

Eyes on You (Kate White) – got this as an audiobook through the library and listened while cleaning and knitting.  It held my attention but it’s not a must-read.

The Lost Wife (Alyson Richman) – This one is so precious and I shed a few tears.  Loosely based on a synthesis of a few true stories, this World War II novel offers a different, and difficult, picture of Jews in Nazi Europe.

The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah) – This is another World War II novel and focuses on the role of two sisters in the French resistance.  The best book by Kristin Hannah I’ve ever read.  So much substance.

March (Geraldine Brooks) – I realized about halfway through this book that I’d read it before...I kept reading anyway because I remembered that I enjoyed it the first time.  It combines two things I love – the book Little Women and the Civil War. Brookes writes in the midst of Alcott’s novel and gives the reader an idea of what Mr. March experienced while away at war.  One word of warning: if you don’t want to view your favorite literary characters as real, flawed people, don’t read this.

On Deck:

Orthodoxy (GK Chesterton) – working my way through this slowly

Cutting For Stone (Abraham Verghese) – this one is LONG….I’m a little over halfway through. 

Total Finished as of May 31, 2015 – 51

Sweet, Sweet Summer

I'd like to apologize to me 1.5 readers for my blogging silence....just when I'd been getting better.

My trip to the beach, as fantastic as it was, threw me off.  It shouldn't have, I know.  The hardest thing was my CSA batches got overwhelming since I had an extra week and I couldn't keep up with the cooking.  I will start again next week.  In the meantime, here are some snapshots of what's been showing up.

These are some of the most recent vegetables.  The snap peas are delicious and I love garlic scapes (now that I know what they are).  The purple kohlrabi is the next thing I will try.

My own garden has also been growing nicely.  I planted four tomato plants, zucchini, spaghetti squash, banana peppers, bell peppers, strawberries, basil, dill, oregano, cilantro, and thyme.  I think next year I will need to replace the soil as it quickly becomes depleted in the box.

My brother graduated from medical school in May.  We went straight from graduation to the beach for a week.

I attended my first ever Wine and Paint Night event last week with my friend Deb.  We had a blast! While I know I'm not the best artist, I am pleased with my first attempt at something other than stenciling.

And now for the big news.

Ashley's pregnant!  Actually, we've know that for a few months now.  Here she is at 18.5 weeks with their first child.  She's actually looking a little large...should have been a clue to what we found out at the 21 week gender ultrasound.

It's a GIRL!!!!

AND ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right.  Identical twin Mock girls coming sometime in September.  We simply couldn't be more thrilled.  Two babies! We get TWO BABIES!

And I'm knitting like there's no tomorrow :)

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!