Monday, June 22, 2015

The Vanishing Mind of Ruth Swerdloff - Fran Lewis, Author



Baked Parmesan Chicken
(Mom's Favorite)

2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves, chopped
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each)
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup panko or dried coarse baguette breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Mix the mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cayenne in a medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts and turn to coat completely; set aside.
In a medium shallow bowl, combine the parmesan and panko. Dredge the chicken pieces in the panko mixture, coating evenly and heavily, and pressing the coating into the meat.

Put the chicken on a rack set over a baking sheet, spray with a quick burst of cooking spray and put the sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake until the chicken is golden and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting or serving.

The Vanishing Mind of Ruth Swerdloff - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

How do you say goodbye when you are still here?  How do you say goodbye before your thoughts, desires, and wishes disappear from your mind?  What happens when all that's left of you is a human shell?  Everyone invites guests to their homes for dinner, or just to talk.  But, some guests overstay their welcome and others are just plain annoying.  Uninvited guests can be escorted out and asked to leave, hopefully never to return.  One uninvited guest mad its way into my mother's mind and refused to leave.

I've known people who have family members that have literally lost their minds.  Or better yet, lost everything stored within their minds.  They forget where they are, where they are going, who they are and who the strangers that keep showing up might be.  They forget to eat or can't remember if they did eat.  They forget the names of their favorite food and even their own children.  As the days go by they lose more and more of what took years to fill their minds.  Eventually that full mind is empty and hollow.  What causes this?  You've probably already answered that question with that terrible disease called Alzheimer.

I've personally never been exposed to Alzheimer but after reading The Vanishing Mind I feel that has changed.  The way the Author combined the experience as a caregivers/family member and the journals written by her mother when her mind was still there enough to write, you can't help but feel as if you're a part of the family or at least a close friend.  The insight I found through this book has me watching my own loved ones more closely with the possible chance that they may show some of these signs.  I'm also watching myself too.

Author Fran Lewis goes one step further in helping those who are faced with this dreadful disease.  She has included tips for the caregivers stressing on how to speak in a way that may be a little easier for them to understand; how to help them with simple things like eating, dressing and bathing;  how to find activities that they may understand and enjoy;  and she even gives you a list of agencies that can be beneficial in helping you with their care, understanding their problems and most important - how to deal with your own feelings.

This is a book that I recommend to everyone - young and old.  It might just be the book that will help you better cope with those you love who just might experience this heart breaking disease called Alzheimer.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Girl With Pencil, Drawing - Linda Maria Frank, Author



Irma’s Apple Cake
(An Annie Favorite)

4 to 5 apples, peeled and sliced
5 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
Combine and set aside.

In another bowl, hand mix the following:
3 Cups unsifted flour
2 1/3 Cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 Cup Orange Juice
8 oz. can walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda


Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a Bundt Pan.  Alternate batter and apples in pan, starting with batter.
Bake 1 1/2 hrs.


Girl With Pencil, Drawing - Review by Martha A. Cheves Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

He busied himself rummaging through the kitchen drawers, two sets of panic-stricken eyes following his every move.  He found some emergency candles and went into the small dinette adjoining the kitchen.  He lit them, let the was drip onto some paper plates from the counter and affixed the candles to the plates.  There were six candles in all.  Was he into satanic rituals?  He came back into the kitchen and turned on all the gas jets at the range and the oven, leaving its door ajar.  He blow out the flames, letting the gas escape freely.  "Bye, bye, ladies."  He hurried out the back door locking it behind him.

When I was a young girl I loved reading the Nancy Drew mysteries and to this day I still enjoy the style and mysteries of the young 'detective' but you can only read them so many times before you know them by heart.  Well... Author Linda Maria Frank has brought my young memories back.  Annie Tillery is today's Nancy Drew!  In fact, she is great at getting herself into trouble but working it out in a fashion that would make Nancy proud.  In Girl With Pencil, Drawing Annie goes to art school and finds that her instructor/teacher is mixed up in a murder that Annie doesn't believe she committed.  Can she prove her innocence without getting both of them killed?  What do you think?

This the second book in the Annie Tillery Mystery Series.  I've read the first, loved it and couldn't see how it could get any better.   Well it does.  I'm now looking forward to reading the third book to see what Nancy, oh excuse me, Annie gets into and how she gets through it.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Dead Burn - Emily Stone Series - Jennifer Chase, Author


Anytime Protein Blast Smoothie
(Emily's Favorite Energy Drink)

Ingredients:
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup milk (or almond or soy milk)
¾ cup strawberries (or any preferred berry)
½ banana
2 handfuls spinach (or kale leaves)
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 tsp. honey
 
Prep:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner smoothie, or less for a thicker smoothie. (Makes 1 serving)
 
Note: This is a great morning boost or a replacement meal. Use organic whenever possible.


Dead Burn - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

The man pushed his hands deep into his coat pockets, nervously pressing the thumbs against the forefingers, each time with more force, staying in the moment, wanting to experience life dwindling from another person, but not just any person - a sinner.  The screaming had stopped... The burning building captured the man's soul and deep seeded emotions with the hypnotizing and inviting spirits.  It amazed him each time with a wondrous performance.  A sin repaid.  The arsonist patiently waited for a hidden message to exit from the fire to commend him on his sacrifices of righteousness, but it never did... The deeds piled up, and once he reached the appointed number, the words would push him to the next level...

Emily Stone has finished a energy straining rescue she knows there is no time for rest.  Apparently there is a serial killer that is targeting those who have escaped justice and those who helped them.  And his mode of revenge is death by fire.

With each death, the clues evade the police as well as Emily.  With each fire there is only one specific victim in the carefully executed fires.  Could this be a different kind of serial killer?  As the bodies increase the case gets colder and colder leading Emily and her team in directions that fail to find a connection.

This is my 4th Emily Stone Series book and I have to say that as one ends I tell myself that the next one simply couldn't be better, but I'm wrong - it is.  This series has me turning pages, biting my nails and sitting on the edge of my chair.  Author Jennifer Chase just gets better with every book.  I would love to see these books made into a series of movies!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Phantasms in the Infirmary - Ram and Julie Gulrajani, Authors


Spinach Pie

Wash the spinach after removing the thick white stalks.  Roll up the leaves and cut very fine, place in a bowl and add salt.  Pour sufficient boiling water to cover and then squeeze out the water.  Now take 3 bunches of spinach, 3 beaten eggs, two Tbsp. of grated cheese, salt, pepper, a little garlic and a little oil.  Line a deep Pyrex dish with a pie crust and fill with the spinach mixed with all the other ingredients.  Make two wells and drop 2 eggs very carefully.  Cover with more crust, brush over with milk and bake for 2 hrs.



Phantasms in the Infirmary - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Not so long ago I took a friend to the hospital for an endoscopy.  In the past this was done at one of the smaller facilities but my friend had changed doctors and he only did the procedure at the hospital.  As we boarded the elevator I noticed that the nurse pushed the button for us to go down, not up.  OK, there are a lot of floors that I've never been on in this hospital and with all the new construction we are probably just going to another above ground floor in the back.  As we stepped off the elevator and started walking down the hall I started feeling closed in.  I felt like I was walking into air that was really thick with something but I had no idea what.  I sat by my friend's bed as they prepared him for the procedure and since there was only a curtain between us and the next patient I could hear his conversation with one of the nurses.  He was telling her that he was born in this hospital 80 years ago.  She proceeded to tell him that we were in the oldest part of the hospital in the basement which at one time was actually the morgue.  I still didn't make the connection between my feelings and the location until I started reading Phantasms in the Infirmary.

Even though Authors Ram and Julie Gulrajani created a single hospital for the events to take place, they are still stories from several hospitals that have been passed on by hospital workers over the years.  Both Authors work in the medical field which brings them in contact with those who have experienced the events as well as those who have heard the stories.  Many of the hospitals have long histories of being everything from asylums, orphanages, workhouses, convents and monasteries in their past.  They also all have one thing in common - death.  Some even carried the ghosts of these deaths into the halls of the modern hospitals.

Is this what I was feeling while in the basement/old morgue of the hospital I was in?  After reading this book of ghosts from the past I'm pretty sure that was exactly what I felt.  Read Phantasms in the Infirmary for yourself and see if you agree.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Mixed Messages (A Malone Mystery Book 1) -


"Dottie's Barbecue"

1 lb. ground beef
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tblsp. sugar
1 tblsp. dried mustard
1 tblsp. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. ketchup
Brown meat, add onion and pepper. Combine all remaining ingredients. Add to meat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour

Mixed Messages - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

She went directly to her grandmother's grave and stooped down to clear away the debris that covered the inscription on the tombstone.  She heard a noise behind her that sounded like light footsteps making their way through the dried leaves and twigs... But there was no one there.  It's probably your imagination, she said out loud but, when the sun went behind a cloud, she shivered.  Then, she heard the noise again... All of a sudden, a black cat sprang from the woods... As she turned back toward her grandmother's grave, she noticed a mound of freshly dug earth a few feet away.  Curious, she went over and looked down.  Her eyes opened wide and her hands flew to her mouth to stifle a scream.  There, printed in bold black paint on a large rock were the words, "FUTURE HOME OF ANN KERN."

Ann is a wife and mother of two beautiful children.  Most of her married life has been spent being a stay at home mother but now her husband David has decided that she should get a job.  He said he was tired of trying to support the family by himself.  The stress was getting to him and he was staying out late and drinking heavily.  His mother Louise takes her only living son's side and blames everything that he is going through, including the drinking, on Ann.  She agrees that Ann needs to earn her part of the income and even puts in a good word with Father Andrew from their church who is looking for a part-time assistant.

Father Andrew finds Ann very suitable for the position but also finds out who she really is.  He actually has a past with her family.  A bad past and this just might be his chance to get the revenge from years past.

You can't help but feel the love yet anger, sorrow, and pain that goes through Ann as she tries to be a good wife and mother.  But it seems that the harder she tries she can't help but watch everything slip away from her.  This story is so well written and so real that I found myself comparing it to people I knew in my own life.  I'm now looking forward to reading the next book in this series titled Unfinished Business.

Monday, March 16, 2015

The Madonna Ghost - Linda Maria Frank, Author



FAMOUS APPLE BREAD
 

3/4 cup of oil
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. NACL
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a loaf pan.  Combine dry ingredients.  Beat together eggs, sugar and oil.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Stir in apples and nuts.  Bake 1 1/2 hrs.
 

The Madonna Ghost - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"The story goes that the women lashed their small child to themselves with their shawls before they jumped overboard to swim ashore.  This action proved to be fatal for some of the children.  They couldn't struggle to the surface to breathe, and most of the mothers were not swimmers anyway.  They were at the mercy of the waves."... "Some could be revived, and this drove one woman in particular to wander up and down the beach, trying to find someone who could revive her baby.  When they saw that her child was dead, the good people from Bay Shore tried to comfort her.... She wandered the beach, her baby clutched to her, until she collapsed and died herself.  Her grave is in the old cemetery in Bay Shore... Even today, the Madonna Ghost, as she is called, is sighted by people on occasion."

Annie and her Aunt Jill are vacationing on a small island out from New York called Fire Island.  The island is small and Annie is really hoping that there will be at least a couple of people her own age.  She was in luck.  They were staying at the summer home of a friend of Jill's who just happened to have his nephew Ty staying with him.  Now the vacation was looking up and even more so when she learned there was a ghost on the island.  Maybe she would be able to see the Madonna Ghost for herself, making it a first for her.  And of course with Ty by her side, it would be fun.

What Annie and Ty soon learn is that there is more than a ghost on the island.  The men staying in the cottage next door seem a little strange.  And when Jill comes up missing, they are both sure the neighbors have something to do with it.

The suspense and mystery in this book had me rapidly turning the pages.  I read a lot of books and usually have them pegged at least halfway through.  Not this one.  It kept me guessing all the way to the end.  So much so that I've ordered the next two books by this author... Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys and Girl with Pencil , Drawings

Sunday, March 15, 2015

First Priority - B. J. Robinson





BJ's Strawberry Shortcake
(First direction:  Be sure you don't let
 some man knock it 
out of your
 hands while your delivering it)

1/2 cup light butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2-3 eggs
1-2 pints strawberries for mixture
strawberries for toppping
Whipped cream of your choice (I use light Cool Whip)



Stir margarine to soften and gradually add sugar. Cream together and add the vanilla. Beat eggs. Add ingredients and mix. Fold strawberries (washed, drained, sliced or mashed) into batter. Grease two round cake pans or use spray. Bake at 375 degrees until done. When it’s lightly brown and you can pull out a toothpick clean, it’s done. Let cool and remove from pans. 

Note: Some people may opt to leave the berries out of the batter and just use them as topping, but I like them in the cake for true homemade shortcake. Also, some may like a white icing, but I only use the whipped cream topping.

Eat and enjoy.

First Priority - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

The house stood battered and forlorn, surrounded by five live oaks that formed a horseshoe turnaround.  To the right, lay Myrtle's small strawberry patch.  The berry bushes hung with the red-ripened fruit ready for tomorrow's picking.  Berries were rotting on the bushes from all the rain.  To the left, lay her bell pepper patch.  Strawberries and bell peppers were the only living Myrtle knew.

June was Myrtle's only child.  In Myrtle's opinion, she should have been born a boy, then she would have someone to help her out around the farm.  But no, the same God that took her husband had only seen fit to give her a daughter.

June is determined to prove to her mother that she can do everything that a son could have done.  This has become her obsession with the hopes that her mother will finally accept her.

This short story brings warmth to the heart.  I felt for Myrtle as well as June, understanding them both.

 
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