Room

I actually listened to this book because I was being stingy and didn't want to buy it and the library only had an audio book available. No ebook...  I've never listened to a book on tape... and I discovered that I'm really not a fan of audio books.  I got distracted or fall asleep, waking up chapters later and had to try and find the exact point where I dozed off. HOWEVER, I did manage to make it through the book and it was good.  I think I would have liked it even better if I was actually reading and not listening to it.

This is a story about a young woman and her young son who are being held captive in a small one room 'apartment'. The story is told by the young son, Jack and his mother.  Jack's voice in the beginning is simplistic and was a bit irritating (especially since I was listening to some actor's version of his voice). But once the mom joined in the story-telling, it was much better.  Anyways, Jack describes the world as he knows it, which centers around their daily schedule of games, TV watching and the nightly routine of Jack hiding in the wardrobe until "Old Nick" (their captor and Jack's father) leaves for the night.  It was interesting to see how a 5 year old perceives the world around him and how his mother tried to explain things that didn't make any sense to Jack.  Eventually, the mom makes some bold decisions and Jack must be exceptionally brave as they plot their escape to rejoin a world Jack doesn't believe exists and cannot even begin to comprehend what awaits him on the other side of "Door".

Like I said, this was a great book and I would have liked it even more if I was actually reading it and not listening to it. 

Caprese Skewers

A perfect summer appetizer that is ridiculously easy!  All you need is some bamboo skewers, fresh basil leaves, grape or cherry tomatoes, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I could only find the long bamboo skewers, so I cut them into thirds.  I found these little mozzarella balls in the fancy cheese section;)

All you do is skewer one grape tomato followed by one basil leaf (folded in half) and one mozzarella ball. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper if you want and enjoy!
Little portable Caprese salads!

Grape Pizza

So I know this sounds strange, but I encountered this pizza last weekend when we were in Fayetteville, WV white water rafting.  We went to this place called Pies and Pints, which seemed to be the only 'hoppin' place around.  They had quite a few interesting pizza options (kinda Dewey's-ish) but we settled on this lovely pie.  It was absolutely delicious! And I got to thinking... I could probably make this myself.

So for lunch today, I tried and successfully created my own version! Yummmm!


I kinda cheated again, and used a pizza crust mix that you only have to add water to.  I'm a big fan and like the way it tastes as it gets a little crispy but still stays soft.

I flattened my dough onto my pizza stone and pricked it with a fork several times.

Then I spread about 1 clove of chopped garlic onto the dough, followed by about 1/2 cup mozzerella cheese.  Then I sprinkled about 1 Tablespoon of coarsely chopped rosemary followed by about 4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese.  Last came the 1/2 cup sliced red grapes.

I baked it according to the package directions, about 12 minutes.
Voila!

Trust me, it is amazing!


Ingredients breakdown:
1 pizza crust (I used a mix)
1 clove chopped garlic
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2-1/3 cup sliced red grapes (halved)

The Apothecary's Daughter

This was one of the books I hadn't heard of, but purchased on my Nook because it was on sale or free... When you read as much as I do, you read just about anything that is free since you don't want to spend a fortune on books.  I still frequent the library, especially since they lend ebooks too, but when I need a book instantly, I'll check out what Barnes and Noble has for free.

This was actually a cute book. Nothing earth-shattering in terms on literary genius or anything, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Set in rural England in the time where medicine was an even more inexact science and apothecaries were frequented for remedies and tonics, Lilly Haswell longs for more than being the apothecary's daughter.  While she excels in the field, she is not respected due to the fact that she is a woman.  She longs to travel the world as she believes her mother is doing. Her mother mysteriously left the family a few years prior, and she still holds onto hope that she may return. 

The story takes some unexpected turns, but Lilly ends up discovering she had everything she always wanted, she just didn't realize it yet.

Stuffed Strawberries

I was struggling to find something new to bring to my cousin's cookout awhile back and I had already decided to bring something really really bad for you... so I tried to find something a bit healthier to balance it out;) I stumbled upon this 'recipe'. It doesn't require any cooking or anything truly special, but it does look impressive, and tastes delicious!

The original post says these were for the 4th of July, which would be cute- I ignored this fact considering it was May.

Start with washed strawberries. I ended up using about a pint and a half since I had some gigantic berries in there.

Hull the berries- I twisted off the leaves and then used my vegetable peeler to scoop out the insides.  I was curious to see if there was some fancy schmancy gadget out there that does this for you. And by George, they do.... Here's a boring one.... and a super cute, but totally unnecessary version....

Cut the very ends off the berries so they'll stand upright.

Grab some whipped cream. Homemade would have been very Martha Stewart-y, but the handy-dandy Reddi Whip worked wonderfully with the tip that fits right into the berry's middle.

Fill 'er up!

Top with a blueberry or other berry of your choice.

The original post had you drizzle some warmed-up apricot jelly over top, but I skipped that step. Figured there's enough going on there....

I will say, trying to travel with these things was a challenge.  They slid around a bit in the car in this glass dish, but they still looked good enough to eat apparently! They would be much better suited to being served at the same place where they were made.  So maybe next time, bring all the prepped berries and fill them up on site;)