What I'm Reading Wednesday

It has been a very busy week. I will post about it next. However, I did finish the Christian Caregiving book I was reading. I didn't start anything new, but I continued on in my Mitford book.  An acquaintance of mine posted that she was starting the first Mitford book again, since she liked them so well. :) Was nice to see I'm not the only one who gets joy from the series. Looks like another busy week ahead, but hopefully some reading time will fit in!

Social Media Monday

Last week I had a lovely car ride with our high school daughter. We got to chatting about something silly, giggling and laughing. So much fun when you can share those moments, especially knowing they are few and far between as they age. I've also been working on #30daysofthankful posts, too. So, my Facebook post was:

I love those times when you get to laugh and giggle with your teen over something silly 

Recipes I Tried This Week

Today my husband and I tried two new recipes. The first I found on Pinterest and I made for breakfast before my husband and daughter woke up. It was easy and the muffins were light and fluffy. My husband said they were the best muffins he has ever had. He's been eating less bread and things that aren't as healthy for him and he had two. ;) They were great with my coffee. The link can be found here. And the recipe:
Orange Sour Cream Muffins with Zesty Orange Glaze

original recipe: http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/26330953745/muffin-monday-orange-sour-cream-muffins-with-zesty Yields 11 muffins
Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

For the Zesty Orange Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the butter, sour cream, egg, orange juice and orange zest.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray.
Place into oven and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar as needed.
When the muffins are done, cool for 10 minutes and dip the muffin crown into the glaze.
Allow glaze to set before serving.

The next recipe I made this evening for dinner. My inlaws were out of town last week and had left uncarved pumpkins on their porch. Fear of frost/rotting, I brought the pumpkins home, cut one up and baked it. Tonight I used some of that fresh pumpkin for this soup. Sounds strange, I know, even my daughter mentioned that, but we all LOVED it. My husband mentioned he might even have it for a warm morning breakfast tomorrow! I made a few slight changes: I substituted veg stock instead of chicken and added a smidge of white wine when I added the stock. I also didn't have any sage so I just added a pinch of dried thyme. The recipe can be found here. 

Fresh Pumpkin Soup by Kerry Simon

By MarraMamba on August 22, 2007

Photo by Mikekey

17 Reviews

• 
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Servings: 4

About This Recipe

"One of my favorite "star" chef's, this sounds divine. Found it on Food Network. Prep time does not include time to roast the pumpkin"

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin ( roasted and diced, see note below)
• 1 tablespoon sage leaf
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup cream
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a stockpot over medium heat, melt butter and saute onion, carrot, apple, roasted pumpkin, and sage until all are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Puree the mixture in a food mill; if you do not have a food mill, then puree in a food processor or blender. Return the puree to the stockpot, add the chicken stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Then add the cream and simmer for 5 more minutes, lowering the heat if necessary so it does not boil. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
4. Divide soup among 4 soup bowls and serve immediately.
5. COOKS NOTE: To roast pumpkin, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut whole pumpkin in half and then cut each half into several pieces. Discard seeds or reserve for another use. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until tender but not falling apart, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool, peel away skin, and dice.
   

Friday-Books Not Recipes!

I haven't tried any new recipes this week since my husband was out of town, we had activities in the evenings and my vegetarian daughter didn't want dinners that required thinking outside the box. :) However, I did notice on my Goodreads account that I made my 2013 reading goal already. It passed without me even noticing. I set my goal at 20 books, thinking that I should not be overzealous and try for two books per month since I would be busy teaching. Here I am with 8 weeks left in the year (only 8 weeks?!) and I have already made my goal! I have amended it and will try for at least 4 more, but as my lack of progression as of late has shown me, one never knows! I have listed my 20 books that helped me to make my goal below. You will see, that out of 20 books, 13 were mysteries this year-65%! I do like mysteries, but this has been unusual, I think! I was correct in calling it my "year of mystery books"!

1. Gingerbread Bump-Off by Livia J Washington
2. Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs
3. Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly (I liked this book, but I think she started an apple series that has taken over-her first one of those One Bad Apple is sitting on my desk in my "to read" pile!)
4. Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs
5. Stake and Eggs by Laura Childs
6. All You Could Ask For by Mike Greenberg
7. The Woods by Harlan Coben
8. Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely
9. Murder on the Bride's Side by Tracy Kiely
10. Later at the Bar by Rebecca Barry
11. Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely
12. Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely
13. (re-read) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
14. Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)
15. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is also sitting on my desk in my "to read" pile!)
16. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
17. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
18. Bossypants by Tina Fey
19. Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
20. Art of Being a Healing Presence... by James E Miller

Thursday's Helpful Apps

This week's apps are Reading and Reference apps. I just have a few, but I do use them.

• First, my Bible App. It is the You Version app. You can read certain passages, look up verses, highlight/flag your favorites and save passages you want to come back to. itunes says this: On more than 100 million devices all over the world, people are reading, listening to, and sharing the Bible using the #1 rated Bible App—completely free. Hundreds of Bible versions, hundreds of reading plans, dozens of languages. Add your own highlights, bookmarks, and public or private notes. Customize your experience for easy reading. Access everything when you’re connected, or download specific versions for offline use. And many other things!
• Second, I use the Dictionary app from Dictionary.com. Here's what itunes says:  Top-rated app with trusted reference content from Dictionary.com & Thesaurus.com. WORKS OFFLINE - no Internet connection needed when searching words. 
  
  Features:
  
  • English Dictionary and Thesaurus - over 2,000,000 definitions, synonyms & antonyms
  • Offline access – no Internet connection needed for most content
  • Daily content, including Word of the Day, slideshows & the blog 
  • Audio pronunciations 
  • Example sentences 
  • Word origin & history
  • Voice search (five free searches included) 
  • Medical Dictionary with over 35,000 medical words & definitions available as a premium upgrade
  • Science Dictionary with over 23,000 science definitions & illustrations available as a premium upgrade
  • Translator with over 30 languages, perfect for ESL and reliable translations into English
  • Modern, up-to-date English definitions & content
  • Customizable font sizes for better readability
  • Favorite words 
  • Search history
  • Spelling suggestions
  • Popular & local trending searches
• I have the ibooks app, too, although I don't use it very often. It can be used like any other ereader, purchasing books and then reading them on your device. At least thus far, I enjoy the traditional, paper form of books. The itunes description states this: iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books. iBooks includes the iBooks Store, where you can download the latest bestselling books or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap, and bookmark or add notes to your favorite passages.
  
  Download books
  • Download best-sellers and classic books from the iBooks Store
  • Find fully illustrated books, including children's picture books, designed art books, photo books, cook books, and more in the iBooks Store
  • Experience gorgeous fullscreen Multi-Touch books designed for iPad. These books are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, videos, and more
  • Read a free sample of any book on the iBooks Store before making it a part of your permanent collection
• Last, I have the app called Newstand. It came on my phone and can be used to read magazines or newspapers. I don't use that too often, but like that I can. I would really like it if I traveled, I think. 

Do you have any apps that you would recommend, Reader?