As normal, it's been awhile. Let us begin!
RECIPES
Tomato Soup. I enjoyed making this, especially the part where you peel the tomatoes, truly loved it. I loved the taste of it too, very nice with grilled cheese.
Chili Con Carne. I. AM. IN. LOVE. WITH. THIS. CHILI. Please spend no more time reading, and go make this. Make it now. (then you can come back and finish.)
Vanilla Crème Brûlée. Now, crème brûlée is not my favorite, but it is fun to caramelize the top. I'd love it 10x more if all of it was as warm as the top. Still good though.
The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie. MY. DEARS. If you do not like pumpkin pie, I can assure you this will resurrect you. It's got candied pecans. It's got biscoff spread, and it is truly delicious. Oh, but still load up on the whipped cream, cause why not?
Roasted Asparagus. Easy enough, and tasty enough. We tried another way of asparagus as well though.
French Silk Chocolate Pie. Now, I've had many a french silk, but this takes the cake (pie?). So smooth, so creamy, and not so overwhelmingly rich that you might die. I love this pie, please make it.
Cranberry Sauce. Now, I used my momma's recipe, so this is gonna have to do for Y'all.
Banana Cream Pie. I used my friend's mother's recipe, so to be a good friend I won't reveal it to you. But I will say that this recipe is VERY similar. And me oh my, this pie, will take me to my deathbed.
Blackberry Lemonade. I made this for a cousin's bridal shower, and I want to say it was a hit, though I'm not positive about that. It is very thick, so I recommend mixing it with Sprite or something, and it's still just as beautiful as it is tasty.
Lemon Meringue Pie. Oh my land, did I screw this up. It looked beautiful, but it didn't really set, and with this pie, the texture is part of the taste, and the texture was bad, so, therefore, it was no beano. But, please don't let me get in the way of you making this, if all sets well, I'm sure it would be delectable.
Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash. Carbs. Starch. Utter goodness. Not really healthy, but just the way I like my foods. I might add, for me, it was a bit much of sausage.
Cranberry Beef Bourguignon. So this was delicious, but I bought the wrong kind of meat, so just double check. Make your life easier. Also, I used beef broth or red wine vinegar in place of the wine, just as good.
Amazing Dinner Rolls. I love rolls, and they truly are amazing. And let's be honest, I enjoyed rolling them up to look like they do.
Classic Italian Meatballs (Extra Soft and Juicy). As much as I dislike working with raw meat, this was fun to make. Just make sure you take the time to really cook these meatballs, which means don't make them too large if you don't want to be over the stove for a long time. Truly delicious though, and makes the whole spaghetti experience just that much more enjoyable.
Candy Cane Brownie Trifle. Guys. This is RICH. I love it, but just be aware that you might not be able to eat a lot of it, cause sugar man.
Cauliflower Shepard's Pie. My parents went on the Atkins diet and my dad asked me to make this. I wasn't sure about it, I mean it's replacing mashed potatoes with
cauliflower. SERIOUSLY? But give it a chance, cause it ain't half bad.
BOOKS!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2 (Harry Potter, #8) by J.K. Rowling. First things first, for whatever reason, I keep reading cursed as curs-ed. Weird. Now onto what I thought. I disliked it. Not at all because it was a screenplay, but it just felt like too many different fanfics all wrapped up in one. It did not feel like the books previous that I knew and loved. I know it was supposed to be different, aka, not about Harry, but come on? A lovechild of Bellatrix and Voldemort? Really?
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I can't believe it took me this long to read this. I ADORE this book. The writing, the depictions, the characters. Actually, I take that back, I could go without Frankenstein, the man. Goodness, read this.
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. This was a fun read, and actually full of great advice. Do I remember the advice? No, but someday I'll read this again, and love it all the more.
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. A fun book, of similar, yet for many reasons, different characters. Such a fun, fictitious book, that honestly, I don't normally read. But it was a nice refresher.
Not Quite Norwhal by Jessie Sima. A cute little picture about a norwhal finding where it belongs. It's adorable really.
She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed The World by Chelsea Clinton. A picture book yet again, and I loved it. Showing young kids how women kept going, and found greatness in themselves, and shared it with the world. *sidenote: they are making one for women of the world, and I can't wait.
The X-Files: Earth Children are Weird by Kim Smith. Aww, a picture book about the X-files, more importantly, 2 lovely favorite characters. Of course, I loved this.
Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai. I love this, a beautifully illustrated and written book about Malala's life story.
Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit. Man, this book is as wonderful as it is sad. Sad to realizing how frustrating at times it can be to be a woman. But wonderful that someone is so clearly writing it. I recommend that anyone and everyone read this. Whether you want to or not.
The Odyssey by Homer. I love this book or poem as you might call it. A tale of adventure, family, love, loss, strife. Ugh, I just love it.
There, you did it. You finally read through all of this. I applaud you. I have no gift for you, but my applause and appraisal.
Well done my friend,
Mercedes
