Reading in the time of COVID - Ghosted

The book Ghosted can definitely be added to your summer reading list. 

Imagine you are walking and you run into this person on the road.  I am talking run in figuratively.  You are out taking a walk and meet a stranger on the road.  You walk into town to the nearest pub or bar and you find the two of you really hit it off.

You spend every minute with this person for a week, seven glorious days. Then because of a previous booked holiday you separate with the promise that you will see each other in a week. He or she tells you they will text you when they get back but sadly on the designated day you hear nothing.  

You are heart sick but you wait hoping that contact will be made the next day and then the next.  But nothing. Radio silence. You thought this person was the one who you would share your life with and you know with every fiber of your being that the other person felt the same.

You can't accept the fact that they were just not that into you or that you were convenient.  You know that something happened to the person or they would have made contact.

Sarah is sure Eddie was as into her as she was to him.  They shared so much of their life stories and even though they had only spent 7 days together they new this was real.  Eddie had plans to go on holiday to Spain but promised Sarah he would speak with her when he got back.  On the promised day Sarah heard nothing and continued to hear nothing.  Eddie had disappeared. Sarah was Ghosted. However in her heart she knew something happened or Eddie hadn't been completely honest with her.  Either way she was going to find out. Read the book to find out the story.

Binge Watching in the Time of COVID - After Life

I watch The Graham Norton Show, the BBC equivalent of Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel.  He is very funny and he usually puts together a couch with celebrities that work well together.   

Prior to COVID, Ricky Gervais was on the Graham Norton show talking about this series he wrote and directed as well as acted in.  The series After Life, is about a man who has lost his soul mate, the love of his life his wife.

It is very rare to have a series about a man so broken hearted that he no longer wants to live.  Not because men don't have these feelings its just that women are usually portrayed in this type of role since women are supposedly more open about their emotions.  

Tony has just lost his wife to cancer. Do you remember the line in Jerry Maguire where he says "you complete me" to Dorothy. That is how Tony feels about his wife.  She literally knew him better than anyone in the world and he misses her desperately.  When asked how he is feeling he says "A good day is when I don't want to shoot random strangers in the face."  

The cast of characters that surround him at his job as a journalist are quirky but believable.  They really play well against each other. The series is both humorous and sad.

Gervais wrote, directed and starred in After Life  does an amazing job with the character Tony. I sat in front of my television with a box of tissues. It happened to be raining so I binge watched the two seasons on Netflix.  Sadly, in this time of COVID, there are far too many deaths and many people are facing the loss of loved ones. Hopefully they have a cast of characters around them to help them through.  I know I do.

A Twist on the Macarena in the time of COVID

I am not particularly into reality show with one exception, Dancing with the Stars. I love dance.  My dream of dancing professionally came to roaring stop when I hurt my back when I was 11. 

 I was watching You tube and found some interesting dance videos. I want to share one with you.

Everyone at some time in their life has been at some party when the Macarena plays. People swarm the dance floor and just have fun. The reason for the popularity of this dance song is that everyone can do some version of the dance even if you have two left feet.  

Two dancers participated in the Budafest West Coast Swing 2020.   The couples are matched right before they dance and get to choose their music but they only have three music choices.  They listen to the first choice and can either stick or twist.  If they twist they hear the second choice.  Again they can stick or twist but the third time they listen to the music choice they must stick. 

It is hard enough to dance with a person that you have rehearsed with for days, weeks, months or years. This couple looked like they were dancing together for a long time.  They are dancing and improvising as the go. Their song choice ended up to be the macarena and they danced a swing/macarena fusion. It was soooo good. Check out the you tube video.

Variations on the Theme of Tater Tots in the time of COVID

Tater Tot Shepherd Pie

We are all cooking more these days since going out to eat is difficult and since we are spending more time at home.  I am not the greatest cook but I do like to experiment.  I even took a class in cooking with out a recipe.  

One of my family's favorite casseroles is Shepherd Pie.  I started out making it  from a basic recipe. After a while I decided to put my own spin on it. Some people make the pie with lamb but I always use ground beef.  I usually use red or yellow potatoes but this time I used tater tots.   Fresh corn is in season and really good this year so I used fresh corn.

Here is my recipe:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef 80/20
1 medium onion diced finely
2 ears of fresh corn
2 fresh carrots diced finely
1 envelope of brown gravy mix
2 tsps fresh rosemary diced finely
1 tsp fresh thyme diced finely

salt and pepper to taste
If you use potatoes 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes
Tater tots about 1-1 1/2 pounds.  The amount you use depends on how dense you want the potato layer.

1.  Brown the ground beef.
2.  Add onions and carrots to ground beef and mix.
3.  Remove the corn from the ear add to ground beef.
4.  Add spices, salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Add the packet of brown gravy and cook until the beef is browned well.
6.  Pour beef in baking pan.
7.  Place tater tots on top of ground beef
8.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until the tater tots are brown and crispy.

Before I wrap up, here is some interesting Tot Trivia.  Tater tots were developed int the Ore-Ida labs and hit the market in 1953.  The Name means little potato, Tatter for potato and Tot for a little child. Americans eat over 70 million tater tots  year.  February 2 is National Tater Tots day.  
  
I am working on a Tater tot frittata.  If it comes out ok, I will share it with you. Until then eat some Tater tots.  They are so good.

Traditional Shepherd P 

Having a Laugh in the time of COVID

I needed a laugh so I went onto you tube and I watched my favorite Talking dog video. I don't know if it is the dogs expression or the voice.  Whatever it is, if you haven't watched it click on the link.

IF you like singing donkeys and who doesn't, check out this link. It is Harriet the singing donkey straight from Ireland.

Enjoy

The Silent Patient

This was my book clubs read for May.  Not daunted by COVID restrictions we had a virtual Zoom meeting.  It is not the same as meeting in person but at least we got the opportunity to see each other and catch up on each others lives.


The book centers around the murder of a fashion photographer.  The wife is the prime suspect but nothing is for certain since the potential murderer refuses to talk and is confined to an institution. 

The story develops through several  forms of communication, diary entries, art work and narrative.  What makes this book different than other psycho thrillers is the way the author weaves the tale of the characters and your just not sure how it will end until it does.

I really enjoyed the book

Escaping to the Mountains in the Time of COVID

The COVID restrictions had been eased a bit.  Governor Hogan and Northam moved to stage one of recovery.  I hadn't seen my daughter since Christmas so I decided to head to Southwest Virginia.  We didn't want to be inside because the sun actually decided to shine for a while. Since we were still not ready for prime time, we took a drive up to Mill Mountain Park. 

We found a walking trail that passed though a wildflower garden. The greenery was beautiful but there weren't very many flowers yet due to the cold May that we are experiencing.  I still found some pretty flowers and I thought I would share a few with you.

One of the neat things we found among the greenery was this time capsule that was created in 1976.  Based on the date noted of 2076, I am assuming there are plans to retrieve the time capsule then.  I love time capsules.  As intended they give you a great snapshot of the past.

The day turned out to be a welcomed reprieve to the last several months of being confined to my house.

A Picnic in the time of COVID

It was a Saturday afternoon, the Governor announced that the state was moving into Stage one of a gradual return to everyday life.  What it meant was things were starting to open to the public.  Not confident about being to close to people, we decided  to go to a park and have a picnic and enjoy the great outdoors.

Wouldn't you know it, it rained.  Did that deter us.  Heck no.  We brought the picnic indoors.   My friend Pam is the Picnic queen.  Her picnics are a foodie dream.  So I channeled her creativity and I looked in my fridge and pantry and here is what I came up with.

The main course was a wrap made with a sun dried tomato basil tortilla. For all of you watching your carbs and calories, the tortilla is only 60 calories, 6 g net carbs, 6 g fiber and surprisingly very tasty.  I spread some spicy guacamole on the tortilla, then added a marinated, chicken tender and several fresh red pepper strips.

I had a small side side salad and then created a fruit parfait with blueberries and strawberries layered in vanilla greek yogurt.   Brownies, store bought rounded out the meal. I wasn't up to baking brownies.

It turned out to be a lovely picnic. 

Binge Watching in the time of COVID - Modern Love

Modern Love on Amazon is not what I expected.  I was expecting a full length move with different stories intertwined.  This is not what this is at all.  Rather it is a series of Vignettes.  Tina Fey, Ann Hathaway, and Dev Patel each star in an "episode" which is what attracted me to this series of 8 episodes.  They are unique love stories with different relationships that unfold in a very captivating way. 

I love the development of each story with no two stories having the same theme.  I high recommend choosing Modern Love as a binge watching possibility.

Amazon Prime video in the time of COVID The future

I am an Amazon Prime member and with that membership I get to  binge watch just like I do on Netflix.  I must say Amazon has done a good job with original content. Here are four of my favorites in no particular order.


          Upload
          Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
          The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
        
I started watching Upload as soon as it was released.  It takes place in 2033 only thirteen years from now.  That's not really that far in the future.  You see people wearing 95 masks and there isn't even a COVID Pandemic.  Maybe no on told them that it was over.

Things look pretty much the same except that there is little more advanced technology, especially when dealing with the after life.  Technology now exists that captures the knowledge stored in your brain and what makes you, you. They Upload everything on servers and you are transported to a new existence.  The premise being that science will catch up with this technology and you will be returned to your body or if that is not what you want, your loved ones can join you in the afterlife and you can live for an eternity together.

But all is not what it appears to be when this man is killed when his self driving ?car malfunctions or dies it malfunction.  Was it tampered with.  Will his thought processes be tampered with to get information on projects he was working on?

Watch it and see.  I has me hooked.

The Heirloom Garden

The Heirloom Garden is a perfect summer read.  Two families affected by war.  Not the same war two different wars.

Iris has suffered great personal losses, one being the death of her husband shortly before World War II was over. Abby technically hasn't lost her husband he came back from the war in the Mid East, but he is not the same man who left.  

After Iris' devastating losses she  has found great solace from her fenced in heirloom garden.  The plants she grows are either from plants her Grandmother and Mother cultivated or the ones she has designed.  Her plants are her children and her garden is her world. She rarely if ever leaves the walls of that garden.

That is until Abby and her family rent the house next door, owned by Iris. Iris and Abby are very much alike even though it does not at first seem obvious. 

Like many plants that creep underneath fences and make their way into the neighbors yard, Abby and her family slowly grow until they too are part of Iris' world and her garden.

Losing the ones you love is so very painful.  Yes they will be remembered and yes you will carry their memory with you everyday but the fact still remains they are gone. Help comes from the living. I know being surrounded by my friends and family helped me gain normalcy. 

Friendships heal wounds sometimes better than anything else.  Sharing activities like gardening heals wounds as well.  Both families help each other get over pain.

Give the book a Try

Baking in the time of COVID 3 - Melted Butter Pecan Ice Cream Cake

It seems the  COVID virus has awakened my sweet tooth because I have suddenly started to bake a lot. Maybe it is just the stress.  Normally when I am stressed I bake bread to release the stress.  There is nothing like kneading dough but as you all know yeast is very hard to find making yeast bread hard to make. 

In a recent post, I shared a recipe for beer bread.  Beer bread uses the yeast found in beer to assist with the rising process and self rising flour so no additional yeast is needed.  Please see my post if you want to make the bread.

I am a kitchen gadget and cookbook fan.  I have become addicted to In the Kitchen with David that airs on QVC on Sundays. It is entertaining and I have picked up a number of gadgets that I I love.  I will share them with you at a later time.


Around the holiday last year I picked up the cookbook Comfort Food Shortcuts.  since I am a really bad baker and don't like recipes with lots of ingredients,  the Melted Ice Cream cake really appealed to me. The name of the cake is really Melted Strawberry Ice Cream Cake, but  I am not a fan of strawberry ice cream so I chose to use Butter Pecan and a yellow cake instead. 

It was yummy and so I thought I would share the recipe with you. Basically as long as you use the same amount of each ingredient, you can swap the cake mix and or/ the ice cream or both and make your own creation.  I was thinking of going seasonal and maybe try peach ice cream with a yellow cake. 

Unfortunately, QVC no longer has this cookbook available but if you want it here is the link on Amazon.

Cake                                                           Glaze

1 box strawberry cake mix                             1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups melted strawberry ice cream                4 teaspoons milk
3 large eggs                                                  Fresh strawberries to garnish

Preheat the oven to 350

Generously coat a Bundt pan with vegetable spray. 

Mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer at medium speed until batter is well blended.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Invert cake onto a plate.

Mix all the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl.

When the cake is completely cool, pour the glaze on the cake.  You can serve it with a scoop of the remaining ice cream or just eat it alone.

Hope you enjoy it.

What Alice Forgot

How would you feel if you woke up one day and found you did not remember the last 10 years of your life.  That is exactly what happened when Alice wakes up at her gym surrounded by people looking at her.  

She thinks she is 29, madly in love with her husband and expecting her first child. Reality check.  When she gets discharged from the hospital she realizes this is no longer true and she is given the opportunity to inspect her life and her choices from a new perspective.


Talk about knocking some sense into a person.  That is exactly what happened to Alice.  Everyone needs a wake up call to help them re-balance their life. See what Alice did.

I really like Lianne Moriarty. Aside from What Alice Forgot here are two of her books that I would recommend: Nine Strangers and Pretty Little Lies which has been developed into a series on HBO. 

Staycations in the time of COVID

Everybody needs a holiday especially in the time of COVID.  Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem possible without risking your health. To try and trick myself into thinking I am on vacation, I try to shuffle around my usually scheduled day with things I don't do everyday.

The weekends are an example of changing my routine.  Saturday or Sunday mornings, I have started making more elaborate breakfasts.  So far I have made Banana Pancakes, blueberry waffles and some incredible omelettes.  Actually, I can't take credit for the omelettes, that is my husband's area of expertise.  My two favorites of his are Pastrami and Swiss Omelette and the Chili Cheese omelette.  I can guarantee you will not be hungry for awhile after eating either of those dishes.  Of course I make bacon, because isn't everything better with bacon?

I also set the table,  No paper.  Pour orange juice and just relax and chat and eat.  

I always have my kindle loaded with books and a stack by my bed.  I have just decided to start my summer reading now.  Romance novels and thrillers are top on my list.  If it is sunny and warm I put my feet up on the chaise on the deck.  If it is cold I sit by my fireplace.  In the last two weeks it was actually cold enough to light the fire.  Crazy I know.

It's also margarita Saturdays at my house.  The ninja is out from under the cabinet and I am becoming quite the expert at making fruity adult beverages.  This past Saturday I made a mixed berry margarita made with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries and Tequila. It definitely put me in a more jovial mood.  They go well with nachos. Heck they go well with everything and think of all the vitamins and antioxidants they contain.  

Hey I am not delusional.  Nothing beats a real vacation but Here are some suggestions you might want to try. Desperate times means desperate measures.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

This was one of my book club's pick. It was on the best seller list in the top 5 for thirty weeks. I can understand why.  

Eleanor is socially awkward.  People at work look at her as if she is crazy.  She dresses conservatively and tries to stay under the radar.  Her life is very orderly; get up, go to work, go home, eat dinner and drink vodka.

But two things change her life.  The first is when she meets the unkempt IT guy from her company and the second when both of them are on the street when a man collapses and they both come to his assistance. From that day on her life as she knew it was over.  

I don't want to say more.  I want you to enjoy her metamorphosis. It's a good read. Give it a try.

Baseball - A league of their own Mary Pratt

If you have never seen A League of Their Own, now is the time to watch it.  In this time of the COVID virus,  it may be the only baseball you get to this season. Just in case you have not watched it yet, it is about the all American Girl's Professional Baseball League. Watching Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna and Geena Davis star in this movie is worth the price of admission. OMG I actually almost forgot to mention Tom Hanks whose line "There's no crying in baseball"  has become a classic.

Sadly, Mary Pratt one of the original players, a pitcher who started with the Rockford Peaches recently passed away.  She was 101. We thank her for sharing her athletic talent with us and being an inspiration to young female athletes. May she rest in peace.

Bread in the time of COVID Let's use beer

In case you hadn't noticed, yeast is extremely hard to find in the grocery stores these days. That is why I decided to make beer bread.  The recipe is very simple. There are three ingredients with the beer providing the yeast to allow the bread to rise.  There is no kneading and the bread is ready in 45 minutes. 

If your house is like mine, there is always beer in the fridge.  I mean how can you have Poker night without beer, even if it is a virtual game?

The taste of the bread is influenced by the type of beer you use.  I used a Sam Adams lager which is a full bodied beer.  There was a little bit of an after taste.  If you are a beer lover this should be no problem .  I am not a big beer lover so I plan to make this bread again with a milder beer.

You can also add other ingredients which is what I did.  I add fresh rosemary.  I think it added a little something something. I think next time  I might add dried herbs and some cheddar.  

To my foodie friends, Go Wild!! Let me know what you come up with. Here is the recipe.

3 cups self rising flour

1- 12 ounce beer at room temperature

1/4 cup of sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan

2.  In a large bowl combine all the ingredients.  Pour mix into the loaf pan

3.  Bake for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's post about a brewery in New York  delivering by Doggie Delivery.

Beer Delivery in the time of Covid

There is a reason that dogs are known as man's best friend and in Huntington, New York a local brewery is capitalizing on the relationship.  Dogs are being used to deliver beer and getting a wonderful reception.  Their names Buddy and Barley and people are loving them.  After all, even without a beer delivery these dogs are adorable.  Having the beer just makes them that much more lovable. 

Our dog was incredibly smart but we never thought to train him to bring us a beer.  Duh!  Unfortunately he passed away and we have not had the heart to replace him.  When we do, I am sure my husband will start working with him immediately.  Maybe he can even teach him to open the fridge, get a beer out and deliver it to his recliner.  

Amazon can keep their drones.  I would rather have a doggie delivery anyday.  Click on the link "local brewery to see the dogs in action.

***Update***** My Lettuce in the time of COVID

In a previous post on May 1st, I talked about growing lettuce from scraps.
I really didn't believe that it was possible to grow lettuce from the bottom of a head of lettuce. BUT I am pleases and excited to say that my lettuce is growing and I have included the picture to prove it. 

We eat a lot of salads and so far I have three more "scraps" of lettuce growing. They are growing as well.  I have tried growing lettuce from seed and was not successful so I am thrilled that this is working out.  Give it a try!!

Lemony Baking in the time of COVID - Lemon Brownies

I was looking on the to make a new  easy dessert recipes to because while my banana cake recipe is easy and delicious I needed to mix it up a little bit and expand my repertoire.  After all you can't live on bananas alone. I went to my pantry and surprisingly did not a find a box of brownie mix.  Not to be defeated I went to the internet and searched on brownies.  

During my search, I found a Lemon Brownie recipe. At first I was a little skeptical about this recipe.  I mean in my book brownies are chocolate or I will even goes as far as to concede that blonde brownies might fit the brownie category.  But Lemon Brownies to me were not Brownies. The thing is I love the flavor of lemon cake and it is after all Spring so I put my prejudices aside and tried Making the the lemon brownie recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BROWNIES:

• 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon  baking powder

FOR THE GLAZE:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• zest of 1/2 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8x8" pan by spraying with cooking spray or lining with foil, and set aside.
• In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the lemon juice. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
• To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, then pour over the brownies, spreading evenly to coat. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

The verdict is in.  The lemon "brownies" tasted great however, they still don't fit the brownie description.  That should not stop you from making and eating them.  The stay at home restriction may be eased soon and I am thinking a picnic in a park with my family.  This would be dessert.

I would love to know what category you would put this recipe in; cake, brownie, bar?

Barefoot Season

If you need a nice romance novel, read Barefoot Season. It has a good story line about a female Vet returning home from Afghanistan to heal from a gunshot wound.  Her unit was ambushed and she is the sole survivor.  

Her Father gave her an Inn that was run by her Mom while she was away.  I don't want to give any more than that away but she is helped by people on the island that she has known and that are new acquaintances.   

What the World Needs Now is Love in the time of COVID

This is the link to What the World needs Now Is Love sung by some pretty great people. I is similar to We Are the World  released in 1985.  It is not a new video either but I think it is very relevant to this time during the COVID Pandemic where love and acts of kindness are conveyed from 6 feet away. 

This pandemic has people so stressed out that some are forgetting how to act toward each other.  Before COVID I used to love waking up early to do my food shopping.  It was quiet and don't tell the Giant but I use to power walk the store before I actually shopped.  Sometimes I saw some friends there doing the same thing, shopping before the crowd.  It was relaxing.  It was peaceful.

Now I hate going to the grocery store even though it is the only outing I have unless I go into work.  The stores have arrows on the floor directing you which way to go.  The first time they added these arrows I went down the aisle the wrong way.  I got chewed out by a store associate and this older couple. I apologized but they kept grumbling about following the arrows. I promise to do better.

But there are plenty of nice people.  I am 5 feet tall and needed something that was way back on an almost empty shelf.  This lovely 6 foot tall  man stopped and help me reaching up and getting what I needed.  He just did it. When I asked this other person where he found the English muffins in his cart since I was unable to find that brand, he said that he had taken the last two but he gladly offered to give me one of his packs.  I thanked him and said I really didn't need them but how great that he offered.

I am very fortunate to work with a great team with great hearts.  We work for a health organization in End User Mobility.  We configure the phones, tablets, workstations on wheels for our hospitals and ambulatory sites. I am not exactly on the front line but I like to think that our team is helping those treating patients by providing the tools they need to do their job. It is a lot of pressure and things can literally change in minutes.  It is stressful but we all try to huddle in the morning and laugh together.

The video and the song have reminded me that I and every body else needs to show some kindness towards one another.  If a security guard some where asks you to wear your mask Just DO IT!  Think of it as you helping others from getting sick and not an inconvenience.  You can grit your teeth and bare it, not give the person doing their job a hard time and certainly don't shot them. It's crazy it happened, a security guard was shot for asking someone to wear a mask in the store. 

Listen to the music.  Show some love and kindness.  Cherish your friends and family.

Exercise part 2 in the time of COVID - KINRGY

KINRGY is Moving our body, breathing and activating our imagination  This according to Julianne Hough who has created the workout.  For those of you who are not familiar with Julianne, she started out on Dancing With the Stars. She then moved onto acting where she starred as Sandy in the live presentation of Grease and was the lead female in Footloose among other performancee.  More recently, she was a judge on Americas got Talent.

This work out is a down and dirty, high intensity work out. After all Julianne didn't get her rock solid bod by doing Carole Bertuzzi Luciani's workout.



Skip the first 17 minutes of talk by her and Gwenyth Paltrow and go straight to the workout Working Out with Julianne Huff. Prepare to sweat!