Weekend Cooking: Girl's Night In Slow Cooker Night

This month the Cancer Council of Australia  are running a number of fund raising promotions, one of which is the Girls Night In. The idea is that you get a group of your friends together and have a great time, and donate the money you would have spent going out to the Cancer Council which supports people with cancer and research!

A group of my friends are getting together tonight for a Slow Cooker night, which means lots of food and drink! Part of the reason for having a slow cooker night was that I had given one to my friend as a housewarming gift, and she wanted to have a chance to use it!

One good thing is that I don't have to cook, but I was involved in choosing the recipes, so I thought I would share the two slow cooker recipes we are having. In addition to these, we are also having Jamie Oliver's French Potato bake and various vegetables, and apparently a Honeycomb Fool, which I am looking forward to trying as I haven't had it before.

The first recipe was one I originally saw on the now defunct blog Whipped Out, but they originally saw this recipe at Busy Mommy. If you check out the Busy Mommy blog, she actually has pictures up of the process, although her chicken is breast down, but the recipe is for breast up.

I have made this a few times now. The best thing is that my son loves mixing the herb mix and rubbing it into the chicken. I just have to make sure he hasn't missed any parts. The second best thing is that it is really easy to make and then just come back hours later to do the accompaniments!

Slow Cooker Chicken

1 chicken (3.5-4 lbs)
2 Tbsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder or 3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Place all of your ingredients in a small bowl and stir in water by the teaspoon until a paste forms. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray and place the chicken in, breast side up.

Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3.5-4.5 hours. Make sure the thickest part of the thigh registers at 180 degrees.




The second recipe comes from a website that I have mentioned multiple times now, Taste.com.au. When my friend and I were looking for ideas about what to cook, we both saw this and thought it looked good so it went on the list. Apparently we may have had a bit of an issue in that the butcher gave us the wrong meat, but this is what we were supposed to be eating:

Slow Cooked Pork with Chorizo and Whitebeans

1.5kg-piece boneless pork leg, trussed

olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
400g can whitebeans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
1 apple, cut into wedges
steamed vegetables and crusty bread, to serve

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and spray with oil spray. Rub the pork with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Cook the pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate.


Place pork in the slow cooker along with the rosemary, chorizo and stock. Cover and cook according to the slow cooker manufacturers instructions (see note).

Twenty minutes before serving, stir in the whitebeans and apple. Cover and continue to cook. Transfer pork to a plate, cover and rest for 10 minutes, then slice and divide between serving plates along with the chorizo and whitebean mixture. Drizzle with cooking juices and serve with steamed vegetables and crusty bread.

Notes

Most slow cookers will cook your meal in 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, but this varies depending on the brand of your slow cooker. Refer to your slow cooker instruction manual for the manufacturer’s individual cooking time recommendations.


If you don't have a slow cooker, cook in a casserole dish with lid on or a baking pan covered in foil. The oven temperature should be on a low heat (130°C ), cook meal for 2-3 hours, or until meat falls off fork when tested. Extra liquid may be needed, baste regularly.


So now I am off to put on something pink, go and enjoy good company and good food, whilst raising money for a really worthwhile cause!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Currently Reading: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

It has been a long time since we have had a Jennifer Crusie book. Yes, she has done collaborations with all kinds of people, but for pure Jennifer Crusie, the last one was Bet Me which was released in 2004.

Here's the blurb:

The New York Times bestselling author of Bet Me, Tell Me Lies and Welcome to Temptation delivers her long-awaited novel

Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What’s worse, Andie’s fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting.

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-inlaw, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.

If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she’s pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…

A very important part of this book seems to be music and on her website Jennifer Crusie shares the soundtrack to the book. There are references to early 90s music and also to music from the early 80s. Andie and North's song was Somebody's Baby by Jackson Browne, which I must confess I didn't recall. Here it is from Youtube.

Princess Bride Readalong - Milestone 3

The Princess Bride readalong continues, and this week we were to read the sixth chapter of the book. As we are getting towards the end of the book, things should be coming towards the conclusion, and yet somewhat curiously, not a lot happened in this chapter. Things happened, but really there was a lot of repetitiveness and didn't really move things forward all that quickly.

What I did finish the chapter contemplating was how dark this chapter was. The author(s) use a very light language to describe very dark actions. We have murder plots, torture and deception amongst other things.

I was reminded that Goldman is not the only one to use this kind of tactic when it comes to these dark themes. Many of our nursery rhymes and children's songs have darker meanings than you would think if you didn't know about them.

For example, Ring a Ring O' Rosy is supposed to reference the Black Plague. It was commonly believed that sneezing was a sign that you were going to die, hence the all fall down (dead)

Ring a Ring O' Roses,
A pocketful of posies,
Atishoo! Atishoo!
We all fall down!

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary refers to either Mary, Queen of Scots or Queen Mary (Tudor) with silver bells and cockle shells referring to torture tools if it is Bloody Mary!

Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow,
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row

I am sure that there are other nursery rhymes whose macabre beginnings have been lost over the years. Do you know of any?

Library Loot: October 20 to 26

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Claire is still not feeling well, so I am hosting Mr Linky again this week! Once again, I hope she is feeling better soon!

Here's my loot this week:

Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons - I think this is the second time I have borrowed this book. I have heard such good things about it, so I hope that I get to read it this time.

The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden - The next book in the Tomorrow series.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan - This is another reloot. I was recently listened to a podcast where they talked about how much they enjoyed this book so I put it back on request.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett - The next book in the Discworld YA series.

Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson - This is the latest book in the Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson. I hadn't heard much about it until suddently it was out!

Teaser Tuesday: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

I am thoroughly enjoying my read of this, the fourth book in the Lady Julia Grey series of mysteries by Deanna Raybourn. I am sure that the people on the train must have been looking at me somewhat quizzically this afternoon as I was grinning madly while reading away! I am already looking forward to the next one!

My teaser comes from page 11:

Within minutes the porters had fished me out and restored me to dry land where I was both piqued and relieved to find that my little peccadillo had caused my siblings so much mirth they were clasped in each other's arms, stilll wiping their eyes.

"I hope you find it amusing when I die of some dread disease," I hissed at them, tipping the water from my hat.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Autobuy music

Whilst I have any number of authors that I consider auto-buy, or at the very least seriously contemplate auto-buy, but I can't say the same about music. I probably only buy a couple of CDs every year, but there is on artist that I can guarantee I will buy if he has a new album out.

That artist is Keith Urban, and I was thrilled to learn that there is a new single out now, and that it is only a month or so until the new album is out. Of course, that also leads to tour announcements, and hopefully this time his concert here in Melbourne won't clash with major family events like the last one did!

Here's the new single, which I have replayed several times today. By putting it here, I can easily locate it whenever I want to listen to it!

TSS: Adventures of an e-reader reader

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had bought an e-reader. I have used it a bit more now, so I thought it might be a good idea to have a bit more of a look at my reactions to the e-reader experience, albeit a bit tongue in cheek.

Here are the advantages so far:

1. Reading on the train - When you are forced to stand for some or all of your homeward bound train journey, it can be awkward to read a book, especially at that moment when the ride is a bit bumpy and you need to turn the page. Letting go of the pole, turning the page and then finding your grip again can be a little problematic! Not so with the Sony Touch e-reader because you can hold the device and turn the page with the button with the thumb, leaving you free to hold on for dear life.

2. Reading on the train (ii) - It doesn't matter what you are reading, whether it be a very staid classic, or the steamiest erotica novel, you don't have to worry about what the cover looks like because your fellow passenger would have to be paying marked attention to be able to tell exactly what you are reading!

3. Reading in bed - One of the reasons I put off buying an e-reader was because I couldn't imaging curling up in bed holding an e-reader, but it is actually better, especially in winter. When you are reading a book in winter, one hand gets really really cold because it is outside the covers holding the book and the other gets a bit cold from turning the page. With the e-reader, only one hand has to get cold!

4. Changing text size - The other day I went out at lunch time and somewhat forgetfully left my glasses on my desk. Normally that would mean that I just wouldn't read because my eyes would get sore, but with the e-reader, just change the text size and voila! I can see without glasses! Of course it does mean that you have to turn the page more regularly!

This to this at the click of a button!

5. Contests - Over the years I have won quite a few e-books in contests, with every intention of reading them, but it was always too hard on the computer. I have finally started reading these books.

6. Freebies - If you keep an eye out there are a bunch of freebies around available to download, from short stories by favourite authors, to books by new to you authors. This includes some fab options available through NetGalley.

7. Prestige - I have been showing off my toy to lots of my reader friends, and they have all been super impressed. The non-readers are probably a bit sick of hearing about it.

8. Buying books - I deliberately made the decision not to get a reader that I could connect to the internet and buy books instantaneously because I wanted that buffer between when I started thinking I might want a book to the point where I actually purchased the book. I am not sure that buffer is sufficient because I have bought a heap of books this month, and not only e-books. At this stage I definitely don't see e-books completely replacing paper books, but definitely providing another option.

9. Keeping the charge - So far I have only charged up my e-reader once, but that wasn't because it needed it. It was still around three quarters full, but I wanted to transfer some books so I plugged it in and left it in for a while.

There are some disadvantages:

1. Reading on the train - I am a bit nosy, and like to take a quick look at what other people are reading. If everyone starts using an e-reader I am not going to be able to do that anymore!

2. Author signings - I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I went to an author event. Whilst it was fun showing off my new gadget to the friend I went with, it became obvious that the e-reader is likely not going to cut it when it comes to getting your book signed. I did see someone suggest that you could get the model I have signed using the notes facility and stylus included but it's not quite the same! Besides, I haven't really played with the notes and stylus just yet.

3. Reading the last page - I have long been one of those readers who at some point or another will skip to the end of the book just to see what happens on the last couple of pages. I know it isn't impossible with an e-reader, but it is certainly more difficult.

If I get a little more serious for the remainder, I honestly have thoroughly loved my e-reader experience so far.

There are definitely still issues that need to be resolved, but I am sure that will happen in due course. One of the most frustrating at this time has been the regional rights issue. For example, a couple of weeks ago I had decided exactly which book was going to be the first ebook that I actually purchased. When I went to a specific site, I couldn't find the book when I searched. I mentioned this on Twitter, and one of my lovely fellow bloggers tried searching for the same book and came up with a link. She lives in Japan, and could buy the book, but as an Australian reader I can not. These difficulties seem to be especially relevant to new releases.

Once I have actually purchased a book though, I haven't had trouble transferring to my computer and then to the ereader itself, which I know can be a bit problematic. Fingers crossed it stays working.

Before I started seriously looking for an e-reader, I used to glaze over at the plethora of blog posts about e-readers etc. Now I am thinking I should have paid a bit more attention because I am not sure that I understand DRM, let alone why so many people strip it from their ebook purchases.

Bernadette from Reactions to Reading has also written expanding on her experiences of being a newbie e-reader user recently.

So far I am more than happy with my decision to purchase a Sony Touch e-reader, and I really can't see that changing any time soon.

And now I am going to spend the rest of my Sunday afternoon snuggled under the blankets with my ereader!

Currently Reading: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

This morning I started reading the latest instalment in the Lady Julia Grey series. I hadn't forgotten how much I like the books, but I had forgotten how amusing they are.

In a way, they are reminding me more and more of the Amelia Peabody mysteries in that they are funny, very sexy (but all the action happens behind closed doors), strong characters, and the lead male character, Nicholas Brisbane is very charismatic.

There was also an obscure connection to the last books I finished which were the first two Adrien English mysteries by Josh Lanyon. They are mysteries featuring a gay bookseller and wannabe mystery writer. The connection - both reference the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus!

Opening Paragraph:

"I thought there would be camels," I protested. "I thought there would be pink marble palaces and dusty deserts and strings of camels to ride. Instead there is this." I waved a hand toward the motley collection of bullocks, donkeys and one rather bored-looking elephant that had carried us from Darjeeling town. I did not look at the river. We were meant to cross it, but one glance had decided me firmly against it.

Library Loot: October 13 to 19

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I didn't bring a lot home from the library this week, which in a way is quite lucky seeing as I didn't get many library books read either! I am getting right up near the maximum number of books out again. I just can't seem to help myself.

The books that I got were:

Outback by Aaron Fletcher - This is going to be the first group read at the Sweeping Sagas group at Goodreads. It sounds exactly like a book that I will love!

Comrades by Dominic Knight - This is the second novel from an Australian comedian.I liked the first book, so hopefully this one will be as good.

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner - Feels like I have been waiting ages for this last book in the Thief series. This is a brand new book, so it is especially nice to get that new book feeling without the new book price.

Claire should be hosting Library Loot this week, but she is not feeling well, so I am doing it instead! Hope you feel better soon Claire.

Share your loot by adding your link to Mr Linky below:

Songs that should be played more on the radio

Every morning my alarm is the radio. Some times I get up and go and mess around on the computer in the main room, but lately I have been using the laptop in bed, and still listening to the radio.

As soon as I heard this song I tried to think how long it must have been since I last heard it, and my very vague answer is years, and yet it is a cool song.

I was interested to see that this video was originally banned, and that Sophie B Hawkins had other songs. I am pretty sure this is the only song of hers that made any impression here.

Teaser Tuesday: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by CW Gortner

This week my teaser comes from page 104 of the so far very good The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by CW Gortner:

Less than a year after Francois's death, I couldn't venture outside my apartments without encountering her and Henri's entwined initials everywhere, sprouting on tapestries and eaves like mushrooms after a raid. God forbid Diane ever desired something of mine, for hard-pressed would I be to defend it.

In my readathon mini-challenge post, I mentioned that I have in the past been compelled to spend time searching for images online relating to Russia, Scotland and Tuscany for example, but I should have mentioned France as well. I spent ages at one point looking at Carcassonne, and another place that I have enjoyed looking at online is the Loire Valley, particularly some of the absolutely gorgeous chateaus that are scattered through. This is another reason why I like watching the Tour de France as well!

One of the gorgeous chateaus that I would love to visit one day is connected with Catherine de Medici and the Diane mentioned in my teaser and that is Chenonceau! This image is from the official website for the chateau.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Princess Bride Readalong: Rats

This week is the second week of the Princess Bride readalong being hosted by Chrisbookarama.

In my post last week, I mentioned that I was half expecting to find a character something like Reepicheep from the Narnia novels to come bounding into the storyline. It seems like I have been having a ratty kind of week, because not only did ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size for the uninitiated) appear in the story (nothing like Reepicheep unfortunately) but I was also reading Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents which was chock full of walking, talking, thinking rats!

For everything that I heard about this book/movie before I started reading the book, the character I had heard the most quotes from, or the most about, was Inigo Montoya, and in the fifth chapter of the novel we get to meet Inigo, along with his co-horts, Fezzik and Vizzini. Each of them got to face off against the man in black who follows them up the Cliffs of Insanity. Who is that masked man?

For the trio of characters we get to meet in Chapter 5, we learn not only of their strengths, but also their motivations and how it was that they came to be sailing towards the Cliffs of Insanity trailed not only by the man in black but also by the flotilla of ships that Prince Humperdink has gathered together.

First we meet Inigo. For years now I have been hearing the name Inigo Montoya mentioned in relation to this book. I know that Mandy Patinkin played the role in the movie despite the fact that I hadn't read the book or seen the movie. We find out about Inigo and his sword making father, and we learn of Inigo's determination to become more than a sword fighter master - he is beyond that level. He is a wizard in swordsmanship, and he has worked to achieve that level in order to be able to take revenge against the six fingered man who killed his father.

Secondly we meet the giant Fezzik. Weighing 85 pounds as a one year old, and continuing to grow and develop his strength over many years, Fezzik's family quickly worked out how to use their son's size and strength to their own advantage by putting him into the prize fighting circuit. They travelled the world forcing their son to fight against much older and more experience fighters. Fezzik isn't necessarily the brightest spark, although he does love rhymes, and he is much more sensitive than you would normally give a prize fighting giant credit for!

And then there is Vizzini, the brains of the outfit. There is probably not much that I can say about Vizzini that he couldn't say much better himself:

There are no words to contain all my wisdom. I am so cunning, crafty and clever, so filled with deceit, guile and chicanery, such a knave, so shrewd, cagey as well as calculating, as diabolical as I am vulpine, as tricky as I am untrustworthy....well, I told you there were not words invented yet to explain how great my brain is, but let me put it this way: the world is several million years old and several billion people have at one time or another trod upon it but I, Vizzini the Sicilian, am, speaking with pure candor and modesty, the slickest, sleekest, sliest and wiliest fellow who has yet come down the pike. 

.

This fifth chapter was very long, even with the significant abridgements that Goldman was keen to stress that he had taken out. With the structure the way it was though there were short sections within the chapter where we learnt about the three characters, plus their action with the man in black, and then the final scenes where we find out who the man in black is and what he wants with Buttercup.

If there is one character who I am having a little trouble warming up to it is Buttercup. At this stage it seems that her main merit is her beauty, and I am definitely not impressed with the choices that she made at the end of this chapter. I am sure though that she will redeem herself in due course!

So far I am having a lot of fun with this readalong. The thought did cross my mind tonight that maybe I should buy the book, and what the heck, might as well buy the movie straight away too, as I am pretty sure I am going to love it when I do eventually watch it!

Currently Reading: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by CW Gortner

Catherine de Medici is one of those characters from history who seems to have ended up with a pretty bad reputation. I have definitely seen her portrayed more as one of the bad guys in the fiction I have read. For example, she was the very scary and evil queen in Susan Carroll's excellent Faire Isle novels (I really need to read the last couple of those!)

I am looking forward to seeing what C W Gortner does with her in the course of his book. I thoroughly enjoyed his last book on Juana the Mad, so I have high hopes for this one too.

Opening Line: I am not a sentimental woman.

Dewey's Readathon: The Wrap-up

I feel a bit cheeky doing a wrap up post because quite frankly this hasn't been the best readathon for me. Better than April when I ended up not doing anything, but not by much!

My excuses - the time zones are a bit inconvenient, it was a gorgeous spring day here and it was a family members birthday so we spent most of the day outside indulging in retail therapy and sunshine.

I did manage to get up to date in Princess Bride Readalong, read a few pages of The Amazing Maurice and I not only started, but also finished The Exile by Diana Gabaldon.

I hosted a mini-challenge and had such a great time doing so! Thank you again to everyone who participated.

I spent quite a bit of time cheerleading, visiting everyone I was allocated, and also I think I managed to visit all my mini-challenge participants.

As usual I also spent a fair bit of time on Twitter. If I had to sum up my readathon experience in just one sentence it would probably be "lots of sunshine, not much reading, but heaps of fun!

And now it is time to go to bed!

Dewey's readathon: Mini-challenge winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in my Armchair Travelling mini-challenge. If I haven't been to comment on your post yet, I will do so before the end of the event!

Now, I am happy to announce the winner of the main prize!

Trisha from Eclectic/Eccentric

who wanted to visit the steampunk/paranormal world that Gail Carriger's book Soulless is set in.


Brandileigh from Blkosiner's Book Blog and  Erin from Erin Reads both win a set of 2 handmade travel themed bookmarks!

If all the winner's can email me their postal addresses, and Trisha the details of which book she would like, I will get the prizes on the way!

Dewey's Readathon: I'm up!

Morning!

So Sunday is here, and it is time to get reading and cheering! I actually got a little bit of reading done, so I have at least met two of my objectives that I specified in my initial readathon post. I read up to the current goal for the Princess Bride and started The Exile.

Now to go and have a look at the posts from the participants in my mini-challenge, do a bit of cheering and then get a couple of hours reading time in.

It's going to be a gorgeous spring day here, and it is a family member's birthday so we we are going out to take advantage of the sunshine and have some lunch but after that I should be able to get some full scale reading in.

Dewey's Readathon Mini-Challenge: Armchair Travelling

Welcome to my Armchair Travelling mini-challenge as part of this weekend's Dewey's Readathon.

My love of being taken to different places through reading started as a very young child, when my favourite Enid Blyton books were The Adventures of the Wishing Chair and The Magic Faraway Tree. In the Faraway Tree, the children climb to the top meeting a variety of characters who live in the tree, and when they get to the very top there is often a different land to explore. That sense of adventure through reading inspired my blog name and description, and now the look of my blog.

As an adult, I love to read books that make me want to visit new places. These days I can't afford to travel much, so when I read a book like that, I am limited to cyber travelling which involves searching the net for images of locations mentioned in the book, and seeing the major sites of those cities or countries.

For example, when I read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons, I can't tell you how long I spent looking at images from St Petersburg. From the statue of The Bronze Horseman, to the Field of Mars,from The Hermitage to St Isaacs Cathedral, from The Summer Palace to many, many more sites.

Over the years I have spent time armchair travelling to places like Scotland, Charleston, New York, Tuscany and so many more.

The Challenge:

My challenge to you (if you choose to accept it) is to write a post sharing some of the sites from your books, or some facts about the place where your books are set. It could be books that you are reading for readathon, or books you have read recently, or some of your favourite books ever.

In conjunction with this mini challenge I am offering up a prize to the participants. The winner will receive a book of their choice from The Book Depository and some travel themed bookmarks. I will also send some bookmarks to a couple of runners up as well.

The bookmarks may (or may not) look similar to the examples below (only because I am still making them!).

To enter this mini-challenge, leave the link to your post in Mr Linky below. The winner will be chosen using random.org. As long as Book Depository ships to you, then you are eligible to win the main prize, and I am happy to send bookmarks to anywhere.

Dewey's Readathon: Goodnight!

The way the time zones work, whilst the readathon is kicking off quite early in the morning in the US, I am getting towards the end of my day with the event starting at 11pm on Saturday night my time.

Having been up since 6am my time (yes, on a Saturday), there is no way I could stay awake for another 24 hours, so I will be off to bed very shortly. I will however be back for hour 7 of the readathon when I will be hosting one of the mini-challenges! I also have some family commitments tomorrow, so I will be in and out, but when I am here I will definitely be cheering.

I don't know if this is wise given that I tend to end up cheering a lot more than I end up reading, but at this stage I am planning to achieve the following during readathon:

Finish Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Read up to the end of the current milestone for The Princess Bride readalong
Start The Exile by Diana Gabaldon
Maybe start Clockwork Angel or Lament or Leviathan or Soulless or The Ask and the Answer.

To everyone who is starting readathon - good luck, and have fun!

Weekend Cooking: Soup

We are just getting to the end of soup weather here, but I know for lots of people it is just about to begin. I thought I would share two soup recipes this week. One was a new recipe to me this winter and the other was a rediscovery of a recipe I made a few years ago but then had lost the recipe. An added benefit of sharing is that I will have them saved in more than one place when I am looking for the recipes again next winter.

First the new recipe which I found on Taste.com.au- Potato, Leek and Ham Soup

• 25g butter
• 2 leeks, washed, trimmed, sliced
• 600g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 7 cups (1.75L) water
• 500g ham hock
• 3 flat-leaf parsley stalks
• salt and cracked black pepper
• chopped chives, to serve

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek and cook for 3 minutes or until soft (do not brown).
2. Add potato, water, ham and parsley and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until ham is soft. Remove ham and transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Remove soup from heat and set aside.
3. Shred the ham roughly. Remove parsley stalks from soup. Using a hand blender, process the soup until smooth. Return 3/4 ham to soup and return pan to the heat for 2 minutes or until soup is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup between serving bowls and top with remaining ham and chives. Serve immediately.

The second soup was one I originally found in Superfood Ideas a few years ago. My son specifically requested this for dinner one night, which was surprising given that we hadn't had it for ages! I had to go looking for the recipe so I was pleased to find it again, this time on Taste.com.au. (You might get the idea that this website is my go to website for recipes, and you would be right!)

Vegetable, Bacon and Risoni Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 125g 97% fat-free bacon, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 6 cups reduced-salt beef stock
• 400g can diced roma tomatoes
• 1/3 cup dried risoni pasta**
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrot, parsnip, celery and zucchini. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
2. Add stock and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Stir in risoni. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until risoni is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through parsley. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve.

Risoni pasta is small rice like pasta. This soup is best made on the day of serving. If making ahead, cook the risoni pasta separately and stir into the soup just before serving.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Let the anticipation begin!

This book may not come out for another 5 months, but that doesn't mean that I can't start anticipating it now right?

Angie from Angieville posted yesterday that there is now a cover for the next Sarah Addison Allen book, which is going to be called The Peach Keepers.

There isn't much out there about the book. On the FAQ at her website Sarah Addison Allen says "I'm now working on my fourth book, a novel of superstition, romance and, interestingly enough, peaches."

Can not wait to get my hands on it!

Library Loot: October 6 to 12

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I had to make a quick dash to the library tonight as I hadn't been at all this week. It has been a busy week in my world because my second nephew was born yesterday! You forget how small they are when they are first born! So tiny.

Here's the loot that I got

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (reloot). I am thinking this would make a pretty good readathon book this weekend, but I have only just started thinking about what my choices might be!

The Search by Nora Roberts (reloot) - Then again this might be another good option for readathon.

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich - This is the start of a new series from the author of the Stephanie Plum books. From what I can tell it kind of spins off from that series. It could be hysterically funny or it could be very meh. Time will tell!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - I am VERY excited that this book has come in, and I can't wait to read it!

Goddess of the Sea by P C Cast (reloot) - I have read all the House of Night books and so now I am planning to start reading some of  P C Cast's other series.

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian - Adele from Persnickety Snark has been blog crushing on this author for the last couple of weeks. This is the only one of her books that my library has, so I thought I might as well borrow it and see how it is!

What library loot did you get this week? Share your link below so that we can all come and check out your loot!

Teaser Tuesday: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Today my post is both a **Teaser Tuesday post, and also my first post for the Princess Bride readalong being hosted by Chris from ChrisBookarama. Not only had I not read the book before, but I also hadn't seen the movie. I can't tell you the number of times that I have confessed that and had people look at me aghast and say you really must watch the movie.

Given that I generally prefer the book to the movie I thought I would start with the book and maybe move onto the movie.

My teaser is a little longer than the customary two sentences, but I just loved the whole paragraph. It comes from page 58:

There have been five great kisses since 1642 B.C, when Saul and Delilah Korn's inadvertent discovery swept across Western Civilization. (Before then couples hooked thumbs.) And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy, because although everyone agrees with the formula of affection times purity times intensity times duration, no one has ever been completely satisfied with how much weight each element should receive. But on any system, there are five that everyone agrees deserve full marks.

Well, this one left them all behind.

Originally when I saw the readalong I was interested in participating but had decided against it when I noticed that the title that my library had on their catalogue was "The  Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure: the "good parts"" my immediate reaction was that there was no way I was going to be reading an abridged version. It was only later when someone explained that it was the actual title of the book, not a description of its contents that I was then happy to borrow it and confirm my participation in the readalong.

The structure of this book is pretty unique. I certainly can't remember a book where an author has written a story about a novel that he recalled from his childhood but only shared the good bits, just like his dad did when he read it to him all those years before.

It is actually quite strange because in the introduction Goldman talks about the process of getting this book into print, and does use some of the facts from his life, but then, as Chris points out in her Milestone 1 post, a lot of the information in the introduction is made up. I can't remember the last time you couldn't be sure what was fact and what wasn't in an intro!

Once we get into the story itself I have been surprised at how quickly the novel moves through - courtesy of the abridgements that take all of the superfluous information out of the novel.

So far I think my favourite secondary character is Queen Bella. She is married to King Lotharon, a chronic mumbler, and it is fun to see her seemingly seeking direction from her husband and yet doing precisely what she pleases!

The only problem is that I keep on expecting someone like Reepacheep from the Chronicles of Narnia to appear on the page. I have no idea why I expect that to happen. Maybe I heard something from the movie, or something. There don't appear to be any other talking animals yet.

In terms of expectations, I am half expecting Westley to reappear. We'll see!

So far I am having a lot of fun reading it, and can see why so many people love it.  I have heard that the movie is different from the book, but I have every intention of finding out for myself at this stage.


**Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

TSS: September Reading Reflections

It feels as though I only just did one of these posts, but I suspect that has something to do with the fact that I was very late doing my August reads!

This month I didn't do too badly reading wise, but to be honest it doesn't matter all that much because my reading highlight for September was definitely buying my e-reader, which I am absolutely loving so far!

The books I did read during the month were:


The Miracles of Prato: A Novel by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz 4/5
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong 4/5
Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong 4/5
The Countess and the King by Susan Holloway Scott 4.5/5
The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella 3.5/5
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett 4.5/5
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon 4/5
Real Men Last All Night Anthology 4/5
Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas 4/5
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 4/5
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson 3.5/5
Song of Seduction by Carrie Lofty 4.5/5

The Miracles of Prato was my September read for the Year of the Historical challenge.This was also the last book that I needed to read to complete the 100+ Reading Challenge for this year! I have now read 79 books out the 100 required to complete the level that I said I would read for the Support Your Local Library Challenge.

Frostbitten, Waking the Witch, Wyrd Sisters and Serpent in the Thorns all count as my reads for the RIP challenge. That means I have actually read the number of books required to complete the challenge, but I will put up a post at the end of the month that includes all the books that fit the challenge, assuming that I read more!

 Now if I could only make some progress in the other challenges that I have signed up for.

Weekend Cooking: Gadgets

I had a day off during the week and spent some of it at the local shopping centre (as you do!). I bought a lovely new flat screen TV, but not before I was walking past the kitchenware shop and I saw these little beauties just begging to be bought! I know that people have probably seen them before, but this was the first time I had seen them. They are measuring cups, shaped as Russian nesting dolls! So cute.

Funnily enough, I bought these on Tuesday, and only today has the thought crossed my mind that they may be US metric measuring cups and not Australian. Oh well! I already have two sets of plastic measuring cups in my drawer. Once I figure out if they are US or Australian, I might be able to consolidate!

I had been thinking about doing a post about gadgets etc for a while now, so buying these have prompted me to actually write it.

As cool as these are, they probably won't be my absolute favourite kitchen gadget. That title goes to the onion chopper thing that I bought from Tupperware a couple of years ago. Okay, so the technical name appears to be Turbochef mini, but whatever name Tupperware give it, in our house it is known as the onion chopper.

Mine looks a little bit different because the bowl part is clear with a red base, but the concepts are the same.

The main reason why I like this so much is that it is easy to use, very little onion smell on the hands, no tears, and that my son is the one who does the chopping generally because he loves using it. It chops onion, herbs, and in theory nuts and cheeses but I haven't used it for that.


So, there is my favourite kitchen gadget, and something new I bought this week.

What's your favourite gadget that you couldn't live without? 

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Monica McInerney author event

Last night I was lucky enough to go and listen to Australian-Irish author Monica McInerney speak. I didn't realise it last night, but it has actually been more than four years since I last read a book by her, but she will be an author who I will always have fond memories of reading. Monica writes funny, emotionally connecting novels that generally centre around a family, and the dynamics between those family members.

The first book I read from her was The Alphabet Sisters. I picked it up on one winter afternoon and ended up reading straight through from beginning to end. I laughed, I cried, and I was definitely emotionally moved!

Last night Monica's speech was entertaining, gracious, and very enjoyable.

A couple of things that she talked about were the superstitions that she developed whilst writing her latest book, which is called At Home with the Templetons. Some examples were having to do certain actions before emailing her manuscript to herself each day, or having to do certain things on her daily walks. She started off saying that she never had that experience before where superstitions became so imperative to her process, but as she talked, she was realising that she actually had. They were just different superstitions for each book.


It was funny because I took two of my older books by her to get signed, and then yesterday I also bought the new book. When I went up to get them signed, she put them in chronological order, and then looked at me in surprise as she realised that was yet another habit that she had - when she signs multiple books it has to be in the order that they were published in!

Monica also talked a bit about the process of getting published in the US, and in particular about the general practice of changing particular words in books for the US market. The example she gave was in relation to her previous book, Those Faraday Girls. In the first few pages in the original novel, the characters walk down the pavement in Hobart and they are talking on their mobile phones, and then there is something about changing the nappy on the baby in the story. When Monica received the proofs back from the American publisher they had changed it so that the characters were walking down the sidewalk talking on their cells, and the baby's diaper was changed! She fought successfully to get those changes reversed because if the novel is a picture of life in Australia, then that is not language that we used. I know that this can be a bit of a bug bear for readers, so it was very interesting to hear an author talk about this issue.

She also shared some of the overseas covers that she has had over the years, as well as talking about translations. Most of the covers were very nice, but there were a couple of shockers!

Her current book, At Home with the Templetons, has just been released in Ireland (where she currently lives) and Australia, and will be reduced in the US and UK next year.

Do you find yourself making connections between books when you are reading? Monica McInerney grew up in a small town in South Australia called Clare which was about an hour or so away from where I grew up.  The Alphabet Sisters was set in Clare.

The book I am reading at the moment is Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine, and the last time I picked up the book, the main character visiting a place in the UK called Clare, and one of the major characters is a member of the de Clare family which was a powerful family in Medieval England.

Oh, and my friend and I were chatting away very amiably in the signing lane with a lady whose name was Clare, although she spelt it differently! After a bit of book pimping for the author I always pimp (Susanna Kearsley, Elizabeth Chadwick, plus Ariana Franklin) and some mutual discussion about Diana Gabaldon, we went our separate ways.

It's a tenuous connection, but I couldn't stop thinking about it all day yesterday! Another connection, my favourite wine maker comes from the Clare Valley. Wasn't enough to get me to open a bottle last night, but I might tonight seeing as it is Friday!

You all know how much I hate having my photo taken (hair is very flat, makeup needed to be touched up, stooping is really not such a good idea), but I had to take at least one photo to put up here. Anyway, I am really not the important person in the picture!