Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef #pinitdoit

I picked some eggplants at Costco as a lark. I honestly had no plan for them. Worst case scenario, I'd make baba ganoush or eggplant parm. While surfing Pinterest, I came across a stuffed eggplant dish. It was diary and gluten free. I decided to give it a whirl.

It took a little longer than my regular evening meals so I saved it for a weekend night. I followed the recipe pretty closely. I even had some almond meal and parsley so I was able to do the garnish! Everyone loved it. I guess I'll pick up eggplants again from Costco.

Here's the original pin:


Here's mine:

How do you like to prepare eggplant?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The All New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook

I quit eating commercially made bread. Most of it has potassium or sodium bromide which I discovered was causing my IBS like symptoms. Now if I want bread I either make it at home or buy it fresh. Time to pull out the bread machine.

Hawkeye vol 2

I really enjoyed the first volume of this graphic novel centering around Clint Barton. Looking forward to the second volume.

What did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"It was an idea, vague and outlandish, full of promise and mystery. Something bloomed inside me as I traced its jagged line with my finger on a map." 

pg 4 Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 

Pumpkin Muffins #pinitdoit

I don't have much to say about these pumpkin muffins other than you should make them right now. They were so moist and delicious. I had trouble not eating the whole dozen at one. Yummers.

Here's the original pin:


Here's mine:

I'll be making these again soon.

Weekend Cooking: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts #pinitdoit

I've done bacon wrapped chicken a few times before (A whole chicken wrapped in Bacon and Sweet Bacon Chicken Bites) but I liked this one because it was stuffed and wrapped.

Here's the original:

Here's mine:

I only had thicker cut bacon on hand. Thinner cut would be easier to work with. It was difficult to wrap the thicker bacon around the chicken. For the stuffing, I used marinated artichokes, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and fresh rosemary. It was very easy to make. Everyone determined this one a keeper. 

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, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

I'd heard nothing but good things about Where Did You Go Bernadette. So when I spotted it on the library shelf, I grabbed it. While I enjoyed it overall, there were a couple of rough patches.

Where'd You Go Bernadette is almost entirely told through emails, notes, and messages. Bernadette's fifteen year old daughter, Bee, narrates the parts where either the email needs explanation or when Bee feels that the reader needs to know more about her parents. Bernadette is an eccentric former architect who lives in a deteriorating Seattle mansion. Her husband, Elgin, is devoted to his Microsoft job. And Bee is whip smart and headed to a great East Coast boarding school in the fall. As Bee's graduation present, Bee asks for a family vacation to Antarctica. This is what starts the whole mess/adventure.

At first I loved Where'd You Go Bernadette. The writing was clever and the characters were funny. Plus all the Seattle references. How could it go wrong? About half way through the book, it took a turn. Not unexpected but just unwelcome. After Bernadette disappears, the book turned (momentarily) into a Desperate Housewives episode. Drug addicted children, spiritual awakenings, unexpected pregnancies, a lackluster affair. It didn't seem in keeping with the rest of the book which had been light and funny until then. But once we got past that, it didn't go back to light and funny (not til the end) but I felt like the ship righted itself.

The other gripe I had with Where'd You Go Bernadette was that for fifteen, Bee sure talked like an adult. And she did some things that I didn't feel were keeping with a fifteen year old girl. I still enjoyed Where'd You Go Bernadette but some parts didn't feel realistic. Although I think Semple did an excellent job capturing the parents at Bee's school and some of the other Seattle quirks. Overall it was an enjoyable book. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments. Others who shared their thoughts on Where'd You Go Bernadette: She Loved Life, That's What She Read, Rhapsody In Books, Devourer of Books, Coffee, Books, and Me, and A Lovely Shore Breeze.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Steelheart

Sanderson's latest. 

Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express

I love quick meal cookbooks. I'm looking forward to trying a few recipes out of this one.

Express Lane Meals

This looks like Rachel's version of Mark's book. It'll be interesting to compare the two.

A Wrinkle In Time

After reading about the graphic novel version of A Wrinkle In Time on The Discriminating Fangirl's blog, I immediately put it in my library queue. I loved A Wrinkle In Time as a child. I can't wait to see how the graphic novel compares.

House of Leaves

My hairstylist recommended this book to me. She warned me that it's weird but sometimes that's ok. 

Keepsake

After reading Sandra's teaser last Tuesday, I added Keepsake to my library list. When Sandra said she stayed up til 2am reading Keepsake, I knew I wanted to read it. 

45 pounds (more or less)

I think this was one that was recommended to me by Goodreads, Sounded interesting. 

What did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"When he finally drifts off, our fingers are twisted together in the space between the beds. 

I smile a little, and let myself go too."

pg 137 Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Duh, Rainbow wrote it so of course I had to read Fangirl. I am definitely a Rainbow fan girl. I've read all of her books in less than a year. How I am I going to survive til Landline comes out next year?

Anyway, Cath and Wren are twin sisters. They are headed to college but instead of being joined at the hip, Wren wants them to live separately and meet new people. This is not what Cath wants at all. Cath doesn't want to meet new people. She wants to stay with Wren and keep writing her Simon Snow fan fiction. Simon Snow is similar to Harry Potter, wizards and goblins. Cath is devoted to her Simon Snow fan fiction. Will Cath be able to adjust to life without Wren or Simon Snow?

I didn't immediately like Cath. She seemed a little whiny. But slowly I grew to love Cath. By the end I felt like I was saying goodbye to a friend. Confession, I used to write fan fiction myself. I wrote fan fiction about The Babysitter's Club. I was very much into writing about a world I adored. So I could easily understand Cath's devotion to Simon Snow.

Levi. Levi. So wonderful. I adore the guys Rainbow creates. So amazing. I don't know how to explain Levi. He's understanding, kind, geeky, and thoughtful. I love how he insinuates himself in Cath's world.

Of course Rainbow's writing is witty and so engaging. There were references to She's All That and Twilight. I was laughing so hard through most of this book. All I had to tell Tai was that I was reading Rainbow (as he likes to say) and he knew that I wasn't crazy.

As with all of Rainbow's books, read it now. So funny, touching, and charming. Others who shared their thoughts on Fangirl: Once Upon A Prologue, Jenna Does Books, Perpetual Page-turner, The Starry-Eyed Revue, and Estella's Revenge.

Weekend Cooking: Pumpkin Poppers #pinitdoit

I love pumpkin. I look forward all year to fall so I can make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie. I broke out my cans of pumpkin last weekend and made these pumpkin poppers. I wanted something for the Readathon that I could snack on. I ate most of them at breakfast!

Here's mine:

Here's the original:


I used whole white flour rather than just plain white. But pumpkin covered with butter and sugar, who wouldn't like that? I didn't wait too long to cover them with butter and sugar. Next time I would wait til the poppers were fully cooled first. I think they'd be more like donut holes at that point.


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, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh

I read about Love Minus Eighty on The Offbeat Home & Life blog. When Ariel said it was "It's the perfect combination of intriguing and just fucking creepy", I knew I had to read it. Sadly I had to request from the library twice because life got in the way the first time I had it. I'm glad I relooted it because it was everything I promised. 
It seems like there are a lot of characters in Love Minus Eighty but eventually they all connect it and it's like a sci-fi Valentine's Day. McIntosh creates a world where people are so dependent on their computers, they wear them like a second skin. Yet these six people become so tangled into each other's life due to real non-internet life. Rob runs Winter over with his car. Veronika tries to save Lycan. Nathan and Veronika use the same coffee shop for their work but wind up talking and connecting. Even though they all hide behind their computer systems they crave human interaction, love, and companionship. Things they can't get from holograms or blog followers. It was an odd juxtaposition. 
So they title-Love Minus Eighty. Women who either purchase freezing insurance or women that the cryo company finds attractive are frozen (minus eighty). They are held in these creches, waiting to meet men who would be interested in reviving them. So it's a dating center. Men come in and revive a woman and have a "date" with her. If a man likes a woman, he can come back and visit again or marry her. In marrying her, she is bound to him for life and he's responsible for the cost of repairing the damage to her. In the end, the woman is sort of like a servant since she can't divorce or leave the man responsible for reviving her. It was a little odd to say the least. 
Love Minus Eighty was one of those sci-fi books that I love. The world wasn't too hard to imagine. The characters were marvelously flawed and very engaging. McIntosh definitely made me think.  Others who shared their thoughts on Love Minus Eighty: Beth Revis, A Dribble of Ink, The British Fantasy Society, Stainless Steel Droppings, and The Little Red Reviewer.

Pin It And Do It: Cashew Crusted Mahi Mahi and Green Bean Almondine

I bought a big bag of mahi mahi last time I was at Costco. Don't be surprised if you see more mahi mahi recipes for the Pin It and Do It Challenge. Both of these recipes were keepers.
Here's mine:

Here are the original pins:



I'm a huge fan of coconut butter so I was thrilled to use it in the mahi mahi recipe. Both recipes were pretty quick so it was a great weeknight meal.

What's your favorite way to make mahi mahi?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Spirit and Dust

I've enjoyed Clement-Moore's other books so I'm looking forward to her latest. 

The Orchardist

I don't remember where I heard about The Orchardist but it made it onto my library queue.

What did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She bent over to pick up her glasses.
"Do you need those?" Reagan asked.
" Yes-" Cath put them on-"I need them to keep me from becoming the girl in She's All That."

pg 190 Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Ever since I read The Raven Boys, I've been anxiously awaiting the day The Dream Thieves would arrive in my hands. I did not wait in vain. The Dream Thieves fulfilled my expectations and then some.
The Dream Thieves picks up where The Raven Boys left off. I was very excited that The Dream Thieves would feature more Ronan. I love Gansey but Ronan is mysterious and got that whole bad boy vibe. I really enjoyed learning more of his back story.
Stiefvater took her time with The Dream Thieves. It was a much slower book than The Raven Boys. But it was so worth it. I enjoyed every detail Stiefvater gave me. While I love The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves was written better. Plus the end of The Dream Thieves was worth every extra minute.
Overall, I'm in love with this series. Sigh. I have to wait til next year for next book to come out. *pouts*
Others who shared their thoughts on The Dream Thieves: Nerdy Book Club, Wrapped Up In Books, Love, Literature, Art, and Reason, Bookshelf Bombshells, and Midnight Book Girl.

Readathon - The Wrap Up Post

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 20 again. I can't seem to make it past midnight my time. 

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Again I suggest graphic novels. Although the 2 I read this year were a little more thought provoking than I anticipated.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope. I think it's a great event.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Everything. The volunteers, cheerleaders, and hosts make the Read-a-thon a great event.

How many books did you read?

Three.

What were the names of the books you read?

Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh, The Arrival by Shaun Tan, and Rubber Stuck Baby by Howard Cruse.

Which book did you enjoy most?

All three were very enjoyable.

Which did you enjoy least?

Rubber Stuck Baby was a little slower to read than I anticipated. I kept thinking I would put aside but I decided to keep reading it. 

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Wasn't a cheerleader but thought the cheerleaders did a great job.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Will definitely participate in April as a reader again.

The Readathon - The Midway Point

1. How are you doing? Sleepy? Are eyes tired?
Well, I just took a nap so no. Wide awake and ready for some more reading.

2. What have you finished reading?
I have finished Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh and The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

3. What's your favorite read so far?
I've really enjoyed both.

4. What about your favorite snack?
I haven't been too snacky but a friend made us brownies.I'm saving those for later.

5. Have you found any new blogs through the readathon?
I haven't been very social. I plan on fishing the book I'm currently reading (Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse) then blog hop some.

How's the readathon going for you?

Readathon- The Introductory Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
A suburb of Seattle, WA.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I think Tai and I might take a movie break to see Gravity this afternoon so I say popcorn.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I love to read. I enjoy cooking. I hoping to also have a baking break tonight as well. 
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
I'm going to read more graphic novels today. That way it looks like I read a lot of books :)

Here are my book stacks:

The Graphic Novels:

The Novels:

Autumn Meme

I spotted this meme on Lit and Life and thought it would be fun.

What is your favorite thing about autumn? The cool, crisp days. The changing of the weather. I wish our leaves changed more dramatically like in the above picture. 

What book reminds you of school? No specific book reminds me of school. But autumn does make me feel like starting school.

What is one of your favorite autumn-related book covers?

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

The cover looks very fallish and a little spooky.

What is your favorite horror or Halloween story? It's a tie between Misery by Stephen King and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

What are some of your favorite horror films? I'm a big wuss when it comes to horror movies. But I loved Cabin In The Woods. 

What is a book release you're looking forward to this autumn? Allegiant by Veronica Roth

What is a film release you're looking forward to this autumn? Thor and Catching Fire.

What are three books you want to read this autumn? Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. 

Awkward And Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

-I've cut bread out of my diet mostly. I'll still eat it sometimes. But it make my tummy most unhappy. It's hard for some of my friends to understand especially since they know how I feel about bread. It's usually not worth the pain.

-Speaking of bread and pain, Friday night I had to bail on date night with Tai. I stupidly ate some bread. So instead of watching Gravity, I was curled up in the fetal position in bed.

-The ridiculous amount of money I spent at Costco this week. I'm glad we are Executive members. I'm looking forward to that 1% check we get back.

Awesome:

-Marta moved back from Las Vegas! Yay for one of my besties being local again!

-We got a new tv and a Roku. I love being able to watch tv on something larger than Tai's laptop.

-I bought a Sodastream. I love it. 

-I did the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk with my friends Erin and Sean and their two kids, Finn and Winnie. Such a easy walk and we had a beautiful day, hanging out in the sunshine. 

What's been awkward and awesome for you this week?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The Mists of Avalon

The Mists of Avalon has been on my tbr list forever. Hopefully I'll get to it. 

Almost Like Being In Love

My library puts out these bookmarks featuring different genres or book topics. Almost Like Being In Love was on the LGBTQ one.

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Another one off my Fill In The Gaps list. I didn't realize it was so short. Perhaps I'll read it during the Readathon.

What did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"It was all quilts and antiques cradles and dim portraits of now-dead Victorian children. It smelled like two hundred years of salt ham."
pg 30 The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black

I haven't read a lot of Holly Black's books but I've been looking forward to The Coldest Girl In Coldtown because it's about vampires. I do love me some vampires and I wasn't disappointed at all. The Coldest Girl In Coldtown is high on my best of 2013 list.
Tana wakes up after a party. At first she thinks she's alone, that everyone has left but in reality everyone else has died. As Tana moves through the corpses, she discovers that she is not alone. Tana's ex who's been bitten and a vampire remain. Tana, Aidan, Gavriel start a long road trip to the nearest Coldtown. Coldtowns are where the vampires and those who've been infected are quarantined.
I really liked Tana but I loved Gavriel. He was amazing. I want more Gavriel. I enjoyed the whole world that Black created.
I highly recommend The Coldest Girl In Coldtown.  It was a wonderful adventure. I wouldn't mind more books in this world. Others who shared their thoughts on The Coldest Girl In Coldtown: YA Love, The Book Girl, The Diary of A Bookworm, and That's What She Read.

Weekend Cooking: Mustardy Kale Salad With Sweet Potatoes #pinitdoit

Ah, Pin It And Do It. So glad Trish was able to run this challenge this month. I love Pin It and Do it. I have lots of pins planned so let's see how many I can get to!

First, we've been eating a lot of kale. I like kale. This is has been my go to kale salad for months. But when I spotted this kale salad with sweet potatoes I was intrigued. It was full of flavors I liked-apples, almonds, mustard. I skipped the cheese but it was a hit. Everyone enjoyed this salad.

Here's my salad:

Here's the original pin:

I'll be making this salad again!


What's your favorite way to eat kale?

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, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.