November Foodie Pen Pal

It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal day!  I had a delicious foodie pen pal package from my new friend Diana.  It was great!  I love getting mail 🙂

I got peanuts, chocolate, cornbread and blackberry jam.  All these items are from Virginia.  I have never been to Virginia so this was a nice taste of a new place.  I have already finished off the peanuts and chocolate.  Next I am going to make some cornbread and I think I am going to make pop tarts out of the blackberry jam 🙂

If you want to see what I mailed you can go check out Elizabeth over at Being Elizabeth.  I sent her a yummy Minnesota package.

Next month we are changing it up and encouraging everyone to donate money to charities for hurricane sandy.  You can check more out on that here.

 

#SundaySupper: Leftover Mashed Potatoes and Beef Croquettes

SundaySupper is a group of bloggers who are on a mission to bring back supper around the family table in every home.  This week Nicole at The Daily Dish Recipes is hosting and the theme is What to do with Thanksgiving Leftovers?

I love Thanksgiving dinner.  We always have family favorites and it is so good.  We normally have leftovers, but my family usually eats the leftovers just like they are.  We don’t make new dishes out of them.  So for this Sunday Supper I had to do a little investigating to see what we could make.

The Weekly Dish: 11/17/2012

This is a wonderful video of Lianne La Havas singing Is Your Love Big Enough? It is such a pretty song.  Hope you enjoy!

The Weekly Dish!  Here are the recipes from this blog for the last week.

Snickerdoodle Snack Mix

Tomato and Cilantro Soup

Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet

Chicken Korma

Here are recipes from blogs I follow.

Side Dish

Bacon Cheddar Cornbread from Eat Boutique

Soup

Chicken Dumpling Soup From Fast Food to Fresh Food

Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Soup from Scarborough Food Fair

Desserts

“Hot Buttered Rum” Apple Pie from Eats Well With Others

Candied Chestnuts from Vanilla Garlic

Cardamon Honey Pear Upside-down Cake from You Made That?

Chicken Korma

I was given this recipe by a really good friend of mine.  I love getting handwritten  recipes from people.  It feels so authentic and personal to me.  These are recipes that people share with their loved ones.  And then they took the time to sit down and write it.  I adore handwriting.  Mine is not the best, but if I write very slowly I can produce something I am proud to share.  Also, since people so rarely give handwritten recipes anymore, it feel extra special to me!

Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet

I love apple cider.  It is one of my favorite things about fall and winter.  Drinking the warming, cozy treat is cemented in my memory- associated with home, family and love.  This recipe takes those flavors in a whole new direction!

Tomato and Cilantro Soup

I am a huge fan of soup!!!  In case you didn’t know :).  And this is such a delicious soup!  And easy to make too!

November Book Update

Finished!!!

I listened to all of these books on audiotapes.  I really enjoyed it.  I think I am addicted!

• Stardust by Gaiman, Neil- I saw the movie first.  I really liked the movie, so I wanted to read the book.  I ended up liking the movie better, possibly because I saw it first.  But the action in the movie was much more compelling.  The book was kind of anticlimactic.  Still a good read.  I would be interested in what other people thought about the book vs movie.
• The School of Essential Ingredients by Bauermeister, Erica- I was disappointed by this book.  It took leaps I couldn’t take with it.  Saying that food had this amazing, huge effect on people.  This coming from a food blogger- right?!  But really it was so over the top.  I think a good meal is a wonderful thing to be cherished, but I also think recipes are important.  I think that good meals can communicate how much you care for someone, but so can talking.  This book made it sound like the food was more important than almost everything else going on.
• Island Beneath the Sea by Allende, Isabel- I really enjoyed this book.  It is historical fiction set in pre-Independence Haiti and then moved to New Orleans.  The character development was fantastic.  You really understand the different character’s perspectives.  I knew very little about that time period, so I learned a lot.  Allende does a wonderful job creating the world that she transports you to.  I highly recommend this book.

To Be Read

• Where the Red Fern Grows by Rawls, Wilson
• The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Diaz, Junot
• A Walk in My World: International Short Stories about Youth edited by Mazer, Anne
• The Color of Magic by Pratchett, Terry
• Jane Eyre by Bronte, Charlotte
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Doyle, Arthur Conan
• The Space Between Us by Umrigar, Thirty
• The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
• Orlando by Woolf, Virginia
• Tropic of Orange by Yamashita, Karen Tei
• The Turn of the Screw by James, Henry
• The Other Side of Paradise by Chin, Stacyann
• The Ice Princess by Lackberg, Camilla
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Flagg, Fannie
• Helen Keller: The Story of My Life by Keller, Helen
• Like Water for Chocolate by Esquivel, Laura
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Lee, Jennifer
• The Namesake by Lahiri, Jhumpa

What books have you read lately?  Have you read any of these books?  I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

#SundaySupper: Snickerdoodle Snack Mix

Sunday Supper is a group of bloggers who are on a mission to bring back super around the family table in every home.  This week Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian is hosting and the theme is homemade gifts.

This is a really easy mix to make!  My sister loves snickerdoodles.  My mom makes those, but when I found this recipe- I knew I had to make it for my wee little sister (who isn’t that little, but she will always be my little sister! 🙂 )

The Weekly Dish: 11/9/2012

This is a song I really like right now.  It is by Passion Pit called Take a Walk.  I hope you enjoy!

Now on to the Weekly Dish!  These are recipes from this blog!

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Spanish Garlic Soup

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Black Rice, Roasted Carrots, and Dried Cherries

Tea and Cider Wassail

Here are recipes from blogs I follow.

Breakfast

Seeded Maple Granola from Eating for England

Cranberry Hazelnut and White Chocolate Muffins from Baker Street

Bread

Apple Bread Ring from Cake Duchess

Side Dish

Ricotta Flatbread with Pomegranate Salsa from Family Style Food

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken from Closet Cooking

Cheesy Bacon Scalloped Potatoes from ChinDeep

Main Dish

Curried Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Skillet from Naturally Ella

Spicy Mushroom-Bacon Macaroni and Cheese from Poor Girl Gourmet

Dessert

Maple Cinnamon Applesauce from Cookie and Kate

Tea and Cider Wassail

This was fantastic!  One of the best ciders I have ever tried.  I might be adding tea to all my ciders from here on out.  It was just so good.  Warmed the bones 🙂