Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Freezer directions!

These are the yummiest chocolate chip pancakes ever!  No syrup needed for these delicious treats unless you like a little strawberry sauce on top of your chocolatey goodness.  First I'll give you the recipe then I'll post pictures of how I freeze them after making a double batch, then my kids can have a warm breakfast and I don't have to dirty pans and bowls so often!  Forget about buying Eggo or Aunt Jemima frozen foods with all those preservatives and who knows what else.  Spend 1 morning a week making pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos or whatever else you love and freeze it.  Just pick one thing each week and make it and before you know it you will have a freezer full of wonderful breakfast items to warm in the microwave and enjoy.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes  (double batch)

4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
3 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Put dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Whip eggs first then add all wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until it's all moist.  There will still be lumps in the batter.  Do not over mix pancake batter or it doesn't stay fluffy and light.  Pour about 1/4 cup for each pancake.  When the top is bubbly flip it.

There you have it, they should look something like this....

Now you lay them on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a single layer and place the whole pan in the freezer. 

Once they are frozen you will stack them in freezer bags or into freezer safe containers then return it to the freezer where you and your kids can grab as many or as few as you would like and enjoy!! 

Drought by Pam Bachorz

I don't know if you have read Candor, by Pam Bachorz, but I have.  I read it in a single day and spent about 2 days constantly thinking about whether I loved it or hated it, in the end I decided that any book that made me dwell for that long must be a book that I love.  Well, Bachorz has done it yet again!  Where does she come up with these ideas?  I don't know, but they are new and fresh and thought provoking! 

I read drought in 2 days (only because my husband is gone and I couldn't sit and read the entire thing in one day).  I simply could not put it down!  I was thinking about Ruby and Ford and wanted to know what they were doing and how it would work out. 

My brief summary is... Ruby and her mother, Sula, are members of the "congregation".  They worship and follow the teachings of Otto, the person that is god for them, but he is a person and left them 200 years ago.  Yes, 200 years ago.  Otto (and his daughter Ruby) have special healing power in their blood that sustains the congregation and keeps them alive forever.  Without the blood they would whither away quickly.  Ruby must add drops of her blood to their water to keep the congregation strong and healthy because they live under the reign  and torture of Darwin.  He keeps them working night and day collecting water in a peculiar way that he believes gives the water its power.  The Elders of the congregation has protected Ruby her entire life and protected her but they can't protect her from love and from Ford, the kind new overseer that has come to work for the summer.  Even Ruby's mother can do nothing to keep them from falling in love and the decisions that must be made will affect everyone on the mountain.

I enjoyed the book a lot, and really liked how she handled Ruby's cult-like world view and showed shadows of doubt the crept in over time showing that Ruby was thinking for herself and not just following what everyone else told her.  She made Ruby a strong and likable protagonist, not whiny and not shallow.  The whole premise of the book was hard to wrap my mind around and figure out, people living for 200 years and more and how did overseers never catch on and how did Ruby grow up over 200 years and still look only about 17 with her mother still treating her like a child when she was really 200 yrs old.  I didn't understand that at all.  There were weird things about it but overall I would say I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

My thought is that as strange and different as the story was, any book that keeps my attention that closely and makes me continue thinking about the characters for days after deserves at least the 4 stars. 

Spiritual Content....
It does deal A LOT with worshiping and thanking Otto.  Ford tries to tell her about Jesus and tells her she is sinning by thinking her blood can save anyone because Jesus is the only one that can save by his blood.  She argues with him about whether he has seen this Jesus person heal and he says no at which point he can't argue anymore.  So there are a lot of spiritual implications in the story since they whole thing is based around the fact that she is the daughter of their god and her blood does save people on a daily basis.

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Clarity is a debut novel by Kim Harrington.  It is set in a coastal tourist town around the character Clarity Fern and her family.  The Ferns aren't your typical family, they are all a little unique.  Her mother is a telepath, her brother, Periwinkle, is a Medium and Clare is psychic.  Her abilities are very specific though, she can only see events that have already occured and only when she touches an object associated with the event.  They have a family business that is pretty successful with the tourists although the local towns people don't really approve of their line of work believing they are fakes. 

Suddenly this normally peaceful, happy town gets turned upside down by the investigation of a teenage tourist found murdered in her hotel room.  A new detective is brought in to help solve the case and he brings along his teenage son, Gabriel.  You get where this is going, right?  Of course, he's good looking and of couse, he and Clare have an immediate connection... but, Clare is just coming out of a relationship with a long time boyfriend that has left her feeling burned and left the guy still in love with her and wanting her back.  Your classic YA love triangle! But before you get me wrong in thinking this is just like every other YA out there of "girl torn between 2 gorgeous guys both pining after her" let me tell you there is more to the story that makes it well worth reading! 

Clare is asked to assist in the murder investigation in hopes that leads can be found.  Her special gift of getting images of the past from objects could prove helpful in a case that has no leads, the problem is everything she finds is pointing in one direction... Her brother.  She is torn between family loyalty and love and the thought that her brother is somehow involved in the only murder to happen in decades.  As the investigation proceeds, the danger to Clare increases and she must untangle the mess of evidence she is "seeing" that no one else can see and somehow convince them that she knows what she's talking about.

This book was a very easy read for two reasons... first, it's short and secondly it was well written and flowed nicely.  The story was different from anything I've read but still had the classic bits that we all know we love (ie. love triangles, murder mystery, sassy teenage girl nonconformist).  I loved the relationship between Clare and Perry (Periwinkle, her brother).  They were connected and protective but not over the top.  Perry is a bit of a womanizer, he is older than Clare, and she makes it well known to him that she doesn't approve of the way he treats girls.  The mother was caring and authoritative yet a little vulnerable as a single mother of 2 teenagers and doing the best she could.  I have had issues in the past with other books portraying parents in a stand-off role but their mom is very much aware and in their lives.

I think Kim Harrington did a wonderful job in this first YA novel.  I would definitely read more from her and look forward to seeing what she comes out with. 

*I received an ARC (advanced reader's copy) of this book through the Amazon Vine Program and receive no reimbursement for this review, it is an honest review and my opinion of this novel.

Blueberry bread

I made blueberry bread (in a 9x9 pan instead of a loaf pan) for my Usborne Book party today and several people asked to share the recipe so here it is.  :)

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups blueberries (I used Wyland's of Maine brand frozen Wild Blueberries.  I love these)

2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp chilled butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cream butter and sugars.  Add one egg at a time beating each one well.  Mix in vanilla.  In a bowl or large measuring cup mix the 3 dry ingredients.  Alternate adding 1/3 flour mixture, then 1/3 of the milk back and forth stirring with a spoon.  Measure out the frozen blueberries and coat them in flour, this will keep your batter from turning blue and keep the blueberries in place while baking.  Coat a baking dish (loaf pan, 9x9 or muffins) with butter or whatever you use for nonstick baking.  I prefer butter.  Pour batter into pan.

Cut together the remaining 4 ingredients until it's coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of batter and bake for 20-25 minutes for muffins or 9x9 pan and about 40 minutes for a loaf pan.  When you can lightly touch the top and it springs back and doesn't sink in OR when you can poke it with a toothpick and it comes out clean of batter then it is done.

Cheesecake Strawberries

Here are the directions to make the cheesecake strawberries.  It's not really a recipe.  It can take a loooooong time if you are making a lot of strawberries.  What you will need...

Strawberries, (not too small since you'll have to fill them with cheesecake)
Cheesecake or cheesecake filling
White chocolate chips (i prefer ghirardelli)
Milk chocolate chips (ghirardelli again)
graham crackers (I don't recommend the crumbs I've used in the picture, they weren't very good)
a little bit of shortening to thin up the white chips

The first thing you need to do is cut up into the strawberry through the tip to hollow out the middle of the strawberry.  Then you cut about half of the length off the piece you remove.  Throw away the center part but KEEP THE TIP!  Put the tip back into the strawberry so you know which tip goes to which berry.

  Now you will need a gallon sized zippered Freezer bag OR a pastry bag.  You can't use regular storage zippered bags because they are too week and the cheesecake will bust through the sides from the force of pushing it out of the hole into the berry.  Put 2-3 slices of cheesecake or a big scoop of cheesecake filling into the bag, press the air out and close it.  cut a dime sized hole out of the corner of the bag.

Squeeze enough cheesecake into each strawberry that it fills the hole but doesn't come out of the top, then push the tip back on to it.  Do this to all of the strawberries then put them in the fridge until they are chilled (if you have done a large number and they need to be chilled, otherwise, continue on...)

After your strawberries are chilled you will melt the white chocolate chips with a scoop of shortening added to them.  The shortening is necessary because without it the white chocolate is very thick and when you try to pull the strawberry back up out of it while dipping it will pull the tip right off of the stuffed berry.  You'll need about 1 Tbsp of shortening per bag of chips.  Add a little more at a time if it's still very thick.  DO NOT OVERHEAT.  If you do it in a microwave then heat it for 30 seconds, stir it well then heat for 10-15 seconds at a time stirring in between each.  Only heat until it is smooth and you can stir all lumps out of it.  Dip the berry then lightly scrape it along the edge of the bowl to create a flattened surface to lay the berry on without having a puddle of chocolate under it.  Set it on waxed paper to harden.

If the strawberries are chilled before dipping it shouldn't take long for the chocolate to harden, then you will do the same with the milk chocolate except you won't need the shortening.  After dipping it in the milk chocolate you lightly scrape the same side you did before, then dip the bottom into the crushed graham cracker and place it on the same waxed paper until it is completely set. 

If you want to make them look pretty you can put some white chocolate into a sandwich baggie and cut a tiny hole in the tip then drizzle on the top. 

Apparently it's harder than it seems... 365/ 3-4-5

SO... apparently remembering to write a blog post every day when you have 4 children around you all the time is easier said than done!  I have taken pictures, but I haven't remembered to actually load them on and share them.  So here I go...

365/3   Kara and her dogs.  She is the only reason we have animals and they mean the world to her.

365/4   Fresh Homemade Blueberry Bread.  YUM.  Made with Wild Maine Blueberries, none better!

365/ 5  The best picture I've been able to get of Darien for years.  She was having a great day!!

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan is a companion book to her first YA novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  It is a continuation of the story but not so much a sequel.  It is the story of Gabrielle, Gabry for short, and her life living with her mother in the lighthouse on the ocean where the mudo (unconsecrated from the first book) wash up on to the shore and must be decapitated before they 'wake up' and get into the village they live in.  This is the job of Gabry's mom, Mary... Yes, this is the same Mary from Forest of Hands and Teeth, many years later, I'm guessing at least 25 years... we never actually find out.

Gabry is the opposite of Mary, she is quiet and shy and has no desire to see anything outside of their village.  She believes in the rules that are set and follows them knowing it keeps her safe from the mudo.  One night, after succumbing to peer pressure from her best friend and many others, they climb the wall built to protect the city so they can go to an amusement park just outside that was long since abandoned to the undead.  Things start out mild and chaos quickly breaks out which leads to several teens being bitten and many more being held by the local autorities for breaking very strictly enforced rules. 

The rest of the story leads through a roller coaster of emotions as well as issues of loyalty, love and abandonment.  I found that I enjoyed Dead Tossed Waves much more than Forest of Hands and Teeth, mostly because I loved the protagonist.  Gabry was so much easier to empathize with and want to follow than Mary was.  This book actually allows us to open up and understand Mary a little more and see a different side of her. 

Overall the book is written well and moved along allowing the characters to grow and adapt to different situations.  I would recommend this to people that enjoy post-apocalyptic style YA books, but I would definitely recommend reading Forest of Hands and Teeth first if you haven't already.  There are references to the first book in this second one, nothing that requires that you read it but it would just fill in a few gaps for you in the story telling.

For my Christian friends that read my reviews for either yourself or your daughters here is my opinion on that matter.  Unconsecrated or Mudo, depending on the book you're reading, are Zombies.  They are walking dead that are infected with a virus that takes over their body and keeps it "alive" while the person is actually gone.  Definitely not a Christian theme.  You'll have to use your judgement on your own child reading these books.  There are a couple of instances where Gabry kisses a guy, nothing intense and nothing more sexual than that.  There is a lot of physical altercations and injuries while dealing with the undead.  There is a cult in the book that worships the Mudo because they believe they are the way to everlasting life... definitely not a good thing. 

Project 365...

So I just heard of this whole 365 thing (yeah, I'm kinda slow... I know it), and I was thinking that since I use my camera almost daily anyway, I might as well turn a few of the pics into blog posts.  To start it off I took pictures last night while my boys were playing.  They can always make me smile (and scream, but last night it was mostly smile).  So here's the picture I was feeling last night of my beebee.  My youngest and cutest, mostly because he is the youngest.

Next is today's picture.  In honor of the momentous occasion of making my very first smoothie all by myself without a little frozen kit, I took a picture of the stuff thrown into it.  I have to say that it actually tasted pretty good after I added a little agave nectar to sweeten it up a bit.  It's gonna take some practice to actually make it taste good enough for Kara to drink it, she's a tough one to please lately when it comes to snacks and stuff.

Torment by Lauren Kate

Torment is the second book in a series written by Lauren Kate, the first book being Fallen .  You can read my review of Fallen by clicking the link, do not read this review unless you have already read the first book.

Luce is beginning to accept her role in the supernatural world amongst angels and half-angels.  Nothing much surprises her anymore after what happened at Sword & Cross.  Now the angels have placed her in California at a rich private school that is populated by mostly humans but has a special group that, unknown to the people, are nephilim... half angel.  Her roommate is Shelby, a nephilim teen.  With the help of Shelby and Miles, the good looking nephilim guy because we all know Luce has to have someone to pull her affection from Daniel, Luce goes on an adventure to explore her past lives and try to figure out why, through all of those lives and subsequent deaths, she has stuck with Daniel instead of choosing to lead a normal life with a human that could allow her to actually live.  Along the way she knows that she is hurting Daniel by exploring these thoughts but she also knows she owes it to herself to finally get some answers. 

Torment seemed to be a little better than Fallen for me.  I'm not sure exactly what it was, possibly that it moved along a little more, gave a little more information, wasn't a constant 'Which boy do a choose?' situation.  Luce was really questioning things and wanting to find the right path for herself regardless of what everyone else tells her her fate will be.  Just because the Luce's of the past loved Daniel and died for him doesn't mean this present time Luce must do the same.  Luce learns new things from her angel teachers and her half angel friends and gains new confidence. 

This book was well-written and continues on pretty smoothly from the first book.  If you read Fallen and liked it then Torment is definitely worth the time to read, but be prepared to recieve only a few more puzzle pieces.  As I said in my review of Fallen, it was like an incomplete puzzle... Torment is definitely not a completion of that puzzle and leaves a lot hanging, making us wait for the third book.  As with the first book, I was certainly not pleased with the ending.  Nothing makes me more frustrated than a series of books that each individual novel cannot stand on it's own merit.  These books do not tell a complete story on their own which makes it difficult to truly enjoy each one separate of the others.  If you haven't begun reading these books yet then I recommend you wait until the third comes out to read them all at once.  I'm assuming that since you've read this review that you've already finished Fallen, in which case you should go ahead with Torment because you'll get a few new tidbits of info and have an interesting story to fill some spare time, but don't expect any big revelations.  It will be another waiting game...