Here's a novel by George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones that has become a great new HBO Series, also....
Season 1....
Read first? or Watch First? You decide. We have both available here at the library...
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
From Our Recipe Box to Yours...
As for this new recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com.....(don't forget to check out her cooking show on the Food Network. A new season is starting soon...)
When does chocolate not look good??
When does chocolate not look good??
Recipe: Chocolate Mint Brownie Bites
| | |
Ingredients
- 50 whole Andes Mints
- 1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate
- 2 whole Eggs
- 3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Mint Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 ounce, weight Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped Fine
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan generously with baking spray.
Melt unsweetened chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. Remove from microwave and stir in 8 Andes mints until all melted. Let cool slightly.
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream 1 stick of butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the cooled chocolate mixture slowly, mixing until it's combined. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add mint extract, then mix again.
Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop batter into mini muffin tins. Bake until done, about 13 to 15 minutes. Turn upside down out of pan and allow to cool.
Combine 25 unwrapped Andes mints in a bowl with the tablespoon of butter and chopped bittersweet chocolate. Microwave and stir until melted and smooth.
Dip the brownie bites in the chocolate, concentrating on the top "cone" part. Allow to set for a few minutes. Chop the remaining Andes mints and sprinkle them on the top.
Set in the freezer for 10 minutes if you need them to set right away. Yum!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Thoughts on a Thursday...
Here's a word for you today in honor of my leaving and my state of mind....
va·ca·tion
[vey-key-shuhn, vuh-] Show IPA
noun
1.
a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity,usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday:Schoolchildren are on vacation now.
2.
a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activitiesof law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.
3.
freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
4.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?
It's Wednesday again and I am still in my No Reading, Reading Rut. How about you? Is the heat getting to you or are you reading up a storm? Tell me about it. Maybe I can find something new to pique my reading interest...
In the mean time, let's talk movies. Have you seen any new ones lately? I watch a lot of movies with my family in our movie theater room. The favorites seem to be the super hero movies, like Iron Man, the Transformers movies, The Incredible Hulk... But some of my absolute favorites are the Jason Bourne movies. I've heard the new Spider-Man movie, The Amazing Spider-Man is great, too! It adds humor and super powers!!
Then, of course, you've got some great old stand bys, like Big Daddy with Adam Sandler. My boys just die laughing watching this movie. Really, all of Adam Sandler movies are funny. Big Daddy also happens to be the movie the Teens are watching this week for their final Summer Reading Event.
How about some good Disney/Pixar movies like, Up, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Tangled and Despicable Me. Disney is loved by young and old alike. What are your favorites?
The library has new and old movies, funny and sad, adventure and super heros, all available for check out! So, Beat the heat and stop in for a movie! Or a book!
In the mean time, let's talk movies. Have you seen any new ones lately? I watch a lot of movies with my family in our movie theater room. The favorites seem to be the super hero movies, like Iron Man, the Transformers movies, The Incredible Hulk... But some of my absolute favorites are the Jason Bourne movies. I've heard the new Spider-Man movie, The Amazing Spider-Man is great, too! It adds humor and super powers!!
Then, of course, you've got some great old stand bys, like Big Daddy with Adam Sandler. My boys just die laughing watching this movie. Really, all of Adam Sandler movies are funny. Big Daddy also happens to be the movie the Teens are watching this week for their final Summer Reading Event.
How about some good Disney/Pixar movies like, Up, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Tangled and Despicable Me. Disney is loved by young and old alike. What are your favorites?
The library has new and old movies, funny and sad, adventure and super heros, all available for check out! So, Beat the heat and stop in for a movie! Or a book!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?
Wowie is it ever hot!!! It's Wednesday (it's actually Thursday, but I thought we'd still talk about what we're reading anyway) and I'm wondering if it's too hot to read or if that means you are spending all of your time inside reading instead of heading outdoors? At. all. I have to say, I haven't read much at all. It's surprising cause I love to read! Maybe it's all the heat; maybe it's just a totally different kind of a rut. I don't know; I've just been hanging out with my kids and being in the sun. Heat or not heat!!
I did have a customer the other day asking about new authors to read that were like Andy McDermott. So, since I did the research, I thought I'd share with you what I came up with... Andy McDermott writes characters that are ex-CIA, with espionage and high adventure. The name that popped into my head first was Clive Cussler and his Dirk Pitt novels. It's not CIA, but definitely high adventure. Another few are Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille, and Ken Follet. More good ones to try would include Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Dan Brown, Harry Turtledove, and James Rollins.
I hope this list sends you on a new adventure of your own...
I did have a customer the other day asking about new authors to read that were like Andy McDermott. So, since I did the research, I thought I'd share with you what I came up with... Andy McDermott writes characters that are ex-CIA, with espionage and high adventure. The name that popped into my head first was Clive Cussler and his Dirk Pitt novels. It's not CIA, but definitely high adventure. Another few are Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille, and Ken Follet. More good ones to try would include Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Dan Brown, Harry Turtledove, and James Rollins.
I hope this list sends you on a new adventure of your own...
Monday, July 16, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
From Our Recipe Box to Yours...
I was browsing The Pioneer Woman again the other day. Do you watch her show on the Food Network. It's quite interesting and as always the recipes look yummy. This one on her blog caught my eye as something I'd like to try. Here it is. See what you think...
Remember www.thepioneerwoman.com is a fun place to browse...
Remember www.thepioneerwoman.com is a fun place to browse...
| Prep Time Cook Time | Servings 6 | Difficulty Easy |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Tenderized Round Steak Or Cube Steak, Cut Into 1-inch Strips
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
- ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoons Cayenne
- 3 whole Eggs
- 1 cup Milk
- Canola Oil And Butter For Frying
- 2 cups Milk (additional)
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
Preparation Instructions
Combine flour, seasoned salt, pepper, and cayenne in a dish.
Whisk together milk and eggs in a separate dish.
To bread the meat, first dredge in flour, then dip quickly in egg mixture, then put back into the flour to coat on both sides. Continue until all the meat is breaded.
Heat canola oil with 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Fry steak strips 4 or 5 at a time, turning midway through. When golden brown, remove from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate. Continue until all the meat is done. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
To make the gravy, pour off all the grease from the pan. Add 1/4 cup of the grease back in, then sprinkle on 2 to 4 tablespoons of the flour mixture (or you can use fresh flour.) Whisk mixture till it becomes a paste (add more flour if you need to) and cook the paste over medium-low heat until it’s deep golden brown. Pour in milk, whisking constantly. Allow the gravy to cook and thicken, whisking regularly and adding more milk if it seems too thick right off the bat.
Season gravy with salt and pepper.
Serve steak fingers with gravy and a salad. Yum!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?...
Hello Reading Friends!! What's in Your Library Bag this fine Wednesday! Okay, so to update you on the Blind Date With A Book Program....I'm on my third book, but have put it down for a bit, so I can read something I really like. Let's call it, Getting my Romance Fix.
That said, the second book I got was Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This book has been on my To Read list for quite some time, so I was happy to pick it. A very readable memoir, this book really makes you think about the way people live. Jeannette is one of four children; her mother is a certified teacher, but really an artist and her father seems highly intelligent but never really keeps a job. This is the story of their lives living with basically no food and no roof over their heads and moving from one town/job to another. Her parents believed that children benefited from no structure, so they were unsupervised much of the time; her earliest memory being of getting 2nd degree burns from making hot dogs by herself at age 3. Later in life, around age 10, she talks of living on basically no food and scrounging in dumpsters to survive. Her dad was an alcoholic and even though her mother was a certified teacher, she only took jobs when they were in fear of someone coming and taking the children out of the home due to neglect. When she took the jobs, she hated structure so much, her children did much of the grading of papers and assignments for her.
Throughout the story, the reader does however feel love for these children. They spend hours on end reading books together and talking about them. Her dad dreams of one day building a glass castle for them all to live in that is totally self sustainable running on solar power. The parents just seem oblivious to what their choices in life are doing to their family. As soon as they can, all of the children leave home and move away to New York. They stay close to each other and get good jobs. By the end of the book, Jeannette is married and owns her own home in the country and obviously is an accomplished writer, while her mother is homeless in New York City. By choice. Both are happy.
I, myself, have been heard saying how much structure stifles me. How I just can't do it. After reading this book, I begin to think how good structure really is and how a little bit of freedom can be found within that structure to make each of us happy and who we are.
Stop in and try Blind Date With a Book. It might surprise you.
That said, the second book I got was Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This book has been on my To Read list for quite some time, so I was happy to pick it. A very readable memoir, this book really makes you think about the way people live. Jeannette is one of four children; her mother is a certified teacher, but really an artist and her father seems highly intelligent but never really keeps a job. This is the story of their lives living with basically no food and no roof over their heads and moving from one town/job to another. Her parents believed that children benefited from no structure, so they were unsupervised much of the time; her earliest memory being of getting 2nd degree burns from making hot dogs by herself at age 3. Later in life, around age 10, she talks of living on basically no food and scrounging in dumpsters to survive. Her dad was an alcoholic and even though her mother was a certified teacher, she only took jobs when they were in fear of someone coming and taking the children out of the home due to neglect. When she took the jobs, she hated structure so much, her children did much of the grading of papers and assignments for her.
Throughout the story, the reader does however feel love for these children. They spend hours on end reading books together and talking about them. Her dad dreams of one day building a glass castle for them all to live in that is totally self sustainable running on solar power. The parents just seem oblivious to what their choices in life are doing to their family. As soon as they can, all of the children leave home and move away to New York. They stay close to each other and get good jobs. By the end of the book, Jeannette is married and owns her own home in the country and obviously is an accomplished writer, while her mother is homeless in New York City. By choice. Both are happy.
I, myself, have been heard saying how much structure stifles me. How I just can't do it. After reading this book, I begin to think how good structure really is and how a little bit of freedom can be found within that structure to make each of us happy and who we are.
Stop in and try Blind Date With a Book. It might surprise you.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Book Trailer Monday...
Here's a trilogy that became 6 and was made into an anime movie. The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula Le Guin...
What do you think?
What do you think?
Friday, July 6, 2012
From Our Recipe Box to Yours...Something cool on this hottest of all days!!
Here's a fun recipe for this hottest of all days!!!
what you need
1/2cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
8OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12vanilla ice cream sandwichesmake it
POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.ARRANGE 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long sheet of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.FREEZE 4 hours or until firm.kraft kitchens tips
SIZE-WISESince this ice cream cake makes 12 servings, it is the perfect dessert to serve at your next party.NOTEThe consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on what brand you purchase. If the fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, stir in 1/4 cup milk.SPECIAL EXTRAPrepare using your favorite flavor ice cream sandwiches, such as Neapolitan or chocolate.- servingstotal:
12 servings
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