Critiquing and a Contest

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From the world of Dan Alatorre, author and writing advice humorist, comes a bit about giving good critique. He’s also running a contest in April. Check it out!

My job as your mentor and/or guide… …and/or critique partner and/or editor and/or sounding board… is to figure out the things you’ve done that make your story less perfect, point them out, and try to help you figure out ways to correct them. It’s also my job when I review my own writing. I consider […]

via 3 Tips To Be An Awesome Critique Partner — Dan Alatorre – AUTHOR

Book Review: Sushi for Beginners

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I have the vague sensation I have read Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes before. Perhaps while I was pregnant and on bed rest. I consumed A LOT of books and don’t remember most of them due to hormones, yeah, hormones.

I enjoyed this book in the way that you know vaguely what’s coming because you’ve read it before but don’t precisely remember the details. On top of which, I have a much different perspective on life than I did all those years ago.

So onto the book. Sushi is set in Ireland. There’s a fun slight culture change. Everyone smokes in the book. Even those who have quit still smoke. LOL. I don’t know if that’s the culture or the time the book was written (2000 published) but it made me long for the days when I still smoked ridiculously expensive French cigarettes with abandon. There really is something to be said for a book, cigarette, and coffee.

The main character is forced out of her comfortably life and into one where she confronts not only her own fears but a lot of truths about who she is and how the world works. She finds her own footing. Yes, that is a popular theme with me. I suppose some things don’t change.

I had a really hard time finding any connection with one of the secondary mains. She is married, her children go to school daily, and she has a house cleaner but still complains about how rough her life is. Yeah, sorry, not buying that one.

℘℘℘℘ – Four pages. Breezed through in 2 days. Probably did the first time I read it as well. Makes me wonder if I finished reading all Keyes books or no the first time round. It’s a good chick lit book. Amusing, I laughed out loud several times. Mostly light read, although reality rears it’s ugly head more than once. But I like that in a book.

Sunday Sup: It’s finally Spring Pasta

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It’s officially Spring according to the calendar. We topped fifty degrees. I shaved my legs and broke out my spring skirts. Ahhh, spring. Just two weeks ago I was complaining I was soooo cold, this winter had been so harsh, why did I go to Europe in the dead of winter instead of somewhere warm? But now all is forgotten, because the sun shown on my pale as snow legs yesterday. smiles

I don’t know where I got the original recipe for this. It’s scribbled on a half sheet of note paper in my binder of recipes scribbled on bits of this and that.

Spring Pasta

This is a very forgiving recipe. Double it, half it. Change the amount of each veg, that’s all good. It will change the taste a bit but still be tasty.

Start oven preheating to 400. Get out a large glass baking dish, I use a 9X18. I suppose it doesn’t have to be glass as long as it is non reactive and large enough to hold everything without letting the sauce run everywhere.

Chop the woody ends off one pound asparagus. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Toss into the dish.

Cut the bright white and dark green portions off 2 medium leeks. Slice into half moons. Rinse well. Allow to drain.

Cut three handfuls of grape tomatoes in half. I like mixed heirloom ones. Add to the dish.

Toss in 2 handfuls of golden raisins.

Add those drained leeks. IMG_20170329_161659

Crumble up 1 pound of chicken Italian sausage, sweet or hot, your call. You can also use pork sausage if that floats your boat.

Mix 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c good balsamic, a tsp of minced garlic in a bowl until all incorporated. Pour over the veg. Stir everything around. Pop it in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Stir when the timer goes off, put it back in, and start your water for your pasta. You can use whatever pasta you like. I used edamame pasta on this one. And a low amount as I try to minimize carbs. Zoodles would also work but this dish will be a bit soupy as zoodles don’t absorb IMG_20170329_183254sauce.

By the time your pasta is done, 15-20 minutes later, your veg are done as well. Drain the pasta and add to the veg pan. Mix all together. Serve with parm.

Fiendish Friday: I hear it in your voice…

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This will be a short one. Not all rants are created equal but this one bugs the living bleep out of me. It mostly happens at co-op. I have a bit of a rep for being a hard ass. I tend to be a very polite bulldog. I don’t yell, scream, name call, or anything else overtly rude but I don’t let up if I think I am in the right. I’m giving you all this wind up so you get the scene in mind.

Fairly often, some parent I don’t really know or that I know just well enough to realize doesn’t like me, will come up to me and in tones of utter shock and disbelief tell me how sweet, polite, kind, and adorable my son is.

And while the compliment could be lovely, the rub is there. Their total gobsmacked confusion that a biotch like me produced this amazing kid. You know they curse me at night, “how did I get so damn lucky cause I certainly don’t deserve it?” LOL

First Quarter 2017 One Star Reviews

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The Cat, The Collector, and the Killer – Leann Sweeney

Apparently this author is a New York Times Best Seller. I slogged through 89 pages but had to stop. Everyone is obsessed with cats. And the writing was not good. But mainly it was the cat thing.

If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance – Paige Shelton

This is a national best selling author or so her book tells me. It was barely ok but a few major things lowered it’s rating. First, the author spends a lot of time setting up the rules of her world, then breaks them with a whirly “this usually can’t happen but…” Um, no. And in a number of places the author contradicts things previously said. There are two mysteries running at the same time and they don’t get equal effort. So the lower priority mystery, where people are being held hostage, is revealed in a poof. And the long drawn out, time consuming mystery is solved in the “this usually can’t happen” manner. I will not be reading the other books in the series.

Cruel Intent – J.A. Jance

I see J.A. Jance’s books all over the place. I assumed they would be good. I wish I could pin point what was missing for me, but I just didn’t care about the plot or the characters. I felt no suspense what so ever. I read a 140 pages of this “suspense mystery” and I am returning it to the library without a care as to who dun it or if he will be caught. I just feel nothing about the book. Blah.

Sunday Sup: Glorious Carbie Pancakes

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I almost never indulge in this sort of carb fest for breakfast. It just sets the wrong tone for the whole day. Start off with pancakes and end up with french fries for dinner and five pounds on the scale. But we were flipping my son’s room and the guest room and deep cleaning both for the third time in the 3.5 years we have lived here. That much furniture moving requires a little carbo loading. LOL

So my favorite pancakes. Originally from The Pioneer Woman, I’ve made a few adjustments.

Put 1 1/2 c gluten free flour blend into a large bowl. I use Trader Joe’s flour but your preference is fine, I am sure.

Add one tablespoon Baking Power and 3 tablespoons coconut sugar. Stir.

In a medium bowl, 1 1/2 c milk. Your pick. I usually use 3/4 a cup half/half and 3/4 a cup almond milk because that’s what I always have on hand. Add the juice of 1 1/2 medium lemons. Add the zest of those juiced lemons. Stir to combine and let it sit five minutes.

Put 2 tbsp good butter into the micro to melt.

Turn on your griddle to preheat. I like 325 degrees.

Go back to your milk/lemon bowl. Add one egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and the melted
butter. Stir. Add to dry ingredients. Stir. Should be soupy.

Add 1 c blueberries. Fresh or frozen, does not mattIMG_20170325_103913er. But if you use frozen be aware it will make your butter solidify a bit in the batter. This is fine. Still tastes good and the butter melts back into the batter on the griddle. It will also take a smidge more cooking time if using frozen blueberries. Cook each side until brown. I am sure you all know not to flip that pancake until all the air bubbles pop and the brown edge becomes visible.

 

I like to keep mine warm on the stove, covered by a clean towel. It helps if you are broiling sausage or bacon at the same time as the stove top will be slightly warmed.

IMG_20170325_103922

Fiendish Friday: Polar Bear

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I find whenever I talk to someone I haven’t seen in a while or a friend I’ve known forever, they always ask if I am happy. What I want to say is yes, I am happy and sad and annoyed, angry, joyful, excited, tired, irritated, frustrated, cheerful…these are emotions, which come and go and I feel them all at various times.

I think what they really want to know is am I content? And I am. I have an amazing life which is nothing like what I ever imagined for myself. And I think that’s why people ask if I am happy. It’s not what they expect to see for me. It’s not the world they expected me to live in.

But I feel like a wild animal who once caught and put in captivity, adjusted and has now realized, it’s not so bad here. No one is hunting me. I am well fed. I have things to play with and people who play with me. People routinely line up to admire me.

I am this polar bear.  polar bear

His world maybe be concrete and limited, but the water is cold, it is snowing, and all is well for him in this moment.

Side Note: I actually had this awesome video of him swimming laps I took at the Berlin zoo but WordPress wants me to give them more money to be able to show videos. So you get a still shot. LOL

Book Review: Solo

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A bit back I reviewed a book by Jill Mansell which I liked a lot but which made me cry. I do not like books that make me cry. So I decided to grab another one of her books and see how that went. Solo. 

wrinkles nose. It went on way too long. It’s the typical story of boy and girl meet, misunderstandings occur, they split, they come back together, they split, etc. But it happens like 37 times in this book because it goes on for 472 pages. I rather enjoyed the book for the first 250. Not “woot this is awesome”, but a solid four rating. But then it kept going on. Rather like when the guy I was dating dragged me to see the Fellowship of the Ring. I am not a Tolkien fan. I know, I know, just get over it already….

Over it yet? So, in the movie when they formed the ring, I thought “Oh thank god, this has been the longest 3 hours of my life.” But then the movie didn’t end. It went on and on. And I realized after looking surreptitiously at my phone, that we were only half way through.

This book was like that. There was a natural ending that would have made it a solid four rating but on it went for another 200 pages. Bleh. And look surprise, she willfully misunderstands him yet again. And he takes it, again. And Again. And Again.

℘℘ – Two Pages. I finished out of the sheer hope that something unpredictable would happen. My hopes were dashed.

Sunday Sup: Chicken Cream Pasta

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 1 Comment

I am not usually one for dishes this fussy but I have to admit the final taste was worth every minute. The basis for this dish comes from Jess over at HowSweetEats. You can check her version out here.

For this one, you need to prep ahead of time. The sauce is fussy. So chop 1 lb of asparagus into 1 inch pieces, no woody ends. Chop 1 lb of cooked chick breast into bites sized pieces. I used the pre cooked, pre sliced chicken that comes in handy one pound packages at the the store.

Start your water for your pasta.

Start a second small pot of water to boil. Add 2 egg yolks, 2 packages of creme fraiche (1.5 cups total), and 1 c parm cheese shredded, to a metal bowl. Place the bowl over the small pot of water and stir. You need to keep an eagle eye on this sauce, stir frequently, and NEVER let it bubble.

When the pasta water boils, toss yours in. I used a Quinoa and Brown Rice spiral noddle. You could use zoodles if so inclined or edamame pasta. I had neither on hand and so subbed this. I would pick a pasta that can actually absorb sauce though. Zoodles aren’t so good at that.

Keep stirring that sauce.

Put a skillet over medium heat. Add a good helping of butter, let it melt, throw in asparagus and chicken. Stir occasionally.

Keep stirring that sauce. As thing get warm and start to melt, stir constantly, whisk like mad. It is totally worth it. Pull the bowl from the under pot when it is all combined and a thick cheese sauce.

Drain your pasta. Add the asparagus, chicken, and cheese sauce to the pasta. Toss. Top with shredded parm. I have no pics of this. It got decimated in one night at my house. LOL.

Fiendish Friday: That was my time you wasted

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 8 Comments

I just want to growl. I have a friend who sent me a story for help. Line editing and some developmental advice. Ok. No problem. I like to help my friends and really I love to edit the written word. I made tons of suggestions and sent the document back.

Flash forward 18 months. Same friend asks if I will take another look. Sure.

You have got to be fucking kidding me. It is clear NOT a single change was made from the first set of editing suggestions I made. And I’m not talking about I suggested the plot needed x, y, z, and the friend declined to make those changes, I mean…

There used repeatedly instead of their.

Also were instead of we’re.

Running all the lines of dialogue into a single paragraph so you don’t actually know who is speaking.

Please shoot me now. To me that just says, you can’t be bothered to fix your shit but you want me to waste hours of my time. I didn’t go to yoga this morning to do this editing. I am not with my family on a Sunday, to do this editing. Because I gave a deadline, when I would have it back to you. And it means something to me to keep my commitments.

Sigh.

I have turned on my NO sign.

No one ask me for anything today, my answer will be no. It is Noday, all day. Nope. Nada. Nothing for you. No.