A Dog's Purpose

This story follows a dog through several lifetimes.  Each life leaves the dog with bits of wisdom that he will use in the next lifetime. Each time he comes back into the world, he feels that he has not yet fulfilled his purpose. But he is getting increasingly depressed as he leaves people he loves.   I will not go into detail because there is a lot that happens in this book, but I will tell you that I cried like a baby. I mean, sitting on the couch absolutely sobbing.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that the book ends badly... This just made me look at my dog a bit differently. Like, what is he thinking? Is he having a good life? If he died and came back, would he remember me and think fondly of our time together?

Any dog owner (or animal-lover for that matter) will be able to relate to this book and will probably want to go give their pet a big hug after reading this touching story.

While I highly recommend this book, you've been warned! Come armed with a box of tissues:)

Dinner derailed...

So. I've been rather busy traveling around and I haven't been cooking all that much. So when I came home last night after a long weekend coaching, I decided to pop something in the oven for dinner. Well, that was the plan until I started smelling something quite repulsive. I thought maybe something had dripped to the bottom and was now burning. I kept opening the oven while it was preheating trying to find the source of the offending odor.  I finally looked close enough and saw it... underneath the bottom of the oven....where the gas flames were a-blazing...a bit more than usual. ICK. Really? So that is where the mice were communing. Perfect. Dinner derailed.

I knew I had mice. As much as I'd like to deny it, they popped up after my visit to Boston and we had set traps and finally caught 2.  Then I came home the other day and found my dog 'playing' with a baby mouse. Yuck.  There had been no new evidence of my furry nemeses for a few days until last night's adventure.  Luckily my handy brother was around to show me how to dismantle the oven to remove all the fluffy nesty stuff that I had almost blazed to a fiery inferno. 

So here's a tip. If you go on vacation, make sure to check the oven before you turn it on! Just in case some furry friends decided to take up residence.

Hummus

I love hummus... I've had the store-bought kind and I've had home-made.  I particularly liked the kind my mom makes and I've helped her make it. Not too difficult. IF you own a food processor.  So even though I've known how to make this for some time now, I've never actually owned a food processor and therefore haven't been able to make it.  I just recently remembered that I do in fact own one now and so I whipped this up the other day:)

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans; drained and rinsed
1 tea. minced garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 T. Tahini paste (sesame seed paste often found in the ethnic food aisles near the Mediterranean section)
1 tea. cumin
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 T. olive oil
1/2 tea. salt
1/8 tea. cayenne
1/4 tea. pepper
1/4 tea. paprika

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. This may take several minutes. You may need to add a bit more yogurt to get a smooth consistency.

Serve with toasted pita or fresh veggies:)

Brigadeiro- Traditional Brazilian BonBon

Sorry it's been forever... life happens:) I've been on vacation!

Well, as usual, I was craving chocolate and decided to make these delicious fudgy chocolate bites that I learned to make from my Brazilian cousin. She always made these for her daughter's birthday parties and I was always found near the dessert table shoving these in my mouth one after the other. yummmmm. When I asked her for the recipe, she told me there were embarrassingly easy- and they are!

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon butter
i bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
*additional cocoa powder and/or assorted sprinkles for coating

Directions:
 Mix all ingredients and cook over medium/low heat until melted and thick.

Pour into a glass bowl/pan to cool ( I like to refrigerate to speed things up)
Roll into balls (I use a little scooper) and coat with desired toppings. 

I believe they are traditionally covered in the chocolate sprinkles (jimmies), and my personal favorite is the cocoa powder, but my husband said the one coated in rainbow sprinkles tasted like a birthday cake;)

rolling in cocoa powder

rolled in cocoa powder

rolled in rainbow sprinkles

the traditional chocolate sprinkles

Sister of My Heart

This book is set in India and is told in alternating chapters by two girls, Anju and her cousin Sudha.  Anju is the daughter of an upper-class Calcutta family who has fallen on tough times.  Both Anju's and Sudha's fathers died while on an ill-fated adventure weeks before the girls' births.  Anju and Sudha are inseparable. Their bond is unbreakable. However, when Sudha learns the truth about her family's past, she questions this bond.  As a family illness develops, the young girls are pressured into marrying young.  They both find what they think to be love, but one will sacrifice her love in order to let her cousin have her own happiness.

As the girls grow up and distance is put between them, they realize that they can always count on one another when they are in need.

A good story with several unexpected twists!

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

Who doesn't like breakfast on-the-go? I'm usually in a hurry since I often dilly-dally around in the morning and then realize, "Oh shoot, I have to leave in 5 minutes!" So, breakfast is usually consumed on my way out the door. And I've quickly realized that cereal is not best consumed whilst driving... 'nuff said. So these can be made in advance and then heated up and carried out the door mess-free!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground sausage (I used the Bob Evans brand that comes in the tube by the bacon section of the grocery store)
1 tube crescent roll dough
cheddar cheese (original recipe called for 12 slices of Velveeta, but I prefer shredded cheddar- I used about a Tablespoon per muffin)
6 eggs, beaten
1/8 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.

Brown the sausage until no longer pink, and drain.
Line the bottom of each muffin cup with a portion of the croissant dough and press down. (I tried to make a few into cups by lining both bottom and sides- but you'll need more croissant dough)
Put a spoonful of browned sausage on top of the dough and sprinkle with cheese. 

In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Divide the egg mixture evenly between the 12 cups. Make sure not to fill to the very top.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

My friend lent me this book and I'm glad she did! This is the story of an African American woman born in the early 1900s to a poor southern farming family. Henrietta Lacks developed cervical cancer and was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was segregated at the time.  When doctors took a sample of her tumor and sent it off to the lab, Henrietta hadn't a clue.  This was before informed consent and such.  Henrietta's cells were the first to be successfully cultured in a lab. They multiplied ferociously and ended up being integral in the development of many important drugs, treatments and vaccines that helped millions and millions of people around the world.  Meanwhile, Henrietta dies at 30 leaving behind her husband and young children, none of which know anything about Henrietta's cells and what they've contributed to medical research and development.

While this is nonfiction, it reads very much like fiction.  This is the story of the author's journey to write Henrietta's story, which has never really been the focus before.  Most in the medical field have heard of HeLa cells and their contribution to their field, but very few knew where those cells came from; Henrietta Lacks. 

I highly recommend this book. While it is very informative, it is extremely interesting to know how a lot of our current medical practices came to be (albeit some were rather controversial and questionable).