Thursday, January 1, 2009

Slow Cooking Thrusday



It's the first Thursday of the year! And it's time for Slow Cooking Thursday, hosted by Sandra of Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Wine-Braised Veal(osso bucco) Shanks

3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
8 pieces veal hind shank (1 1/2 inches/4cm thick) about 4 1/2 lbs (2 kg)
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp crumbled dried rosemary
3/4 cup white wine or low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 cup halved pitted green olives
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

In shallow dish, stir together flour and half each of the salt and pepper. Tie kitchen string around each veal shank; press into flour mixture to coat. Reserve remaining flour. In skillet, heat 1 tbwp of the oil over medium-high heat; brown veal, in batches. Transfer to slow-cooker.

Drain fat from skillet; add remaining oil. Fry onion, garlic, rosemary and remaining salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape into slow-cooker.

Add wine, stock and lemon rind to slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until shanks are tender.

Add olives, lemon juice and capers. Whisk together remaining flour with 3 tbsp water; stir into slow-cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with parsley.

Today In History - January 1st



1st January, 1966 : Canada Introduces it's earnings-related social insurance program the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) . At age 65 The CPP provides regular pension payments calculated as 25% of the average contributory maximum over the last 5 years.

For more Today In History click here.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!

Best Romance Books - Amazon

Here are Amazon customer picks for the Top 10:

1. The Hollow by Nora Roberts
2. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
3. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
4. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton
5. Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
6. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
7. Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
8. The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
9. Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan
10. Tribute by Nora Roberts

Here are the Editor picks:

1. Servant: The Acceptance by L.L. Foster
2. Cutting Loose by Susan Andersen
3. Where the Heart Leads by Stephanie Laurens
4. Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz
5. Snowfall at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
6. Heart Fate by Robin D. Owens
7. Loose and Easy by Tara Jenzen
8. Sweet Spot by Susan Mallery
9. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
10. Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas

Favorite Reads of 2008

2008 has been quite an interesting year for me, reading wise. I've discovered new authors, found new series, and new must reads.

My Favorites:

Home To Holly Springs by Jan Karon

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi

Still Life by Louise Penny

The Nightkeepers by Jessice Andersen

After The Kiss by Suzanne Enoch

The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud: A Novel by Julia Navarro

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Sweetheat by Chelsea Cain

Honorable mentions:

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

At The Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker

How To Knit A Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Just had to share...

While I was doing a quick search on the Best of 2008, I came across something I just had to share. Found it over at Apartment Therapy.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should Be Reading. Here's how you play:

* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall open to a random page.
* Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
* You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
* Please avoid spoilers!


My teaser:

"Feeling encouraged, he picked up a volume of Wordsworth from the table by his elbow.
"'It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,'" he read aloud." - taken from page 11 of At Home In Mitford by Jan Karon.

You can join the fun here.

Really, this is becoming a sickness...

I've signed up for another challenge! Oh, but what a challenge it will be!



The lovely Naida from The Bookworm is hosting the Romance Reading Challenge 2009. To check out the rules, and to join click here.

Here are (so far) my choices:



When The Duke Returns by Eloisa James ***Completed on April 1st, 2009

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell ***Completed on May 25th, 2009

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell ***Completed on March 5th, 2009

What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips ** Completed March 1st, 2009



Confessions of A Little Black Gown by Elizabeth Boyle *** Completed on June 2nd, 2009


Bride of a Wicked Scotsman by Samantha James *** Completed on April 19th, 2009

Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway **Completed on January 18th, 2009





Monday, December 29, 2008

Top 25 Songs of 2008

This list is according to Aol Music Canada.

Top 25 2008

25. Green Light - John Legend featuring Andre 3000

24. A Punk - Vampire Weekend

23. Pretty Amazing Grace - Neil Diamond

22. I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - The Black Kids

21. Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihanna

20. Make The Road By Walking - Menahan Street Band

19. Go Square Go - Glasvegas

18. Burnin'Up - Jonas Brothers

17. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit

16. Let It Fall - Lykke Li

15. Human - The Killers

14. 5 Years Time - Noah and the Whale

13. Keep Marching - Raphae Saadiq

12. Constructive Summer - The Hold Steady

11. Chasing Pavements - Adele

10. Gobbledigook - Sigur Ros

9. If He Should Ever Leave You - Tom Jones

8. Always Wanting More - Jay Reatard

7. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings

6. If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

5. Ten Dead Dogs - Wild Sweet Orange

4. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

3. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon

2. The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie

1. Electric Feel - MGMT


Ok, maybe it's just me but I haven't heard most of these songs. I'm not sure what that says about me... The songs in green are the ones that I have on my IPod.

What about you?

Sunday, December 28, 2008

A Cedar Cove Christmas

Anyone who reads this blog knows by now that I'm a huge a Debbie Macomber fan. So it must not be a surprise that I forked out the big bucks to buy this book.

Here's the blurb for A Cedar Cove Christmas:

Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby's father. David Rhodes had said he'd be in town. But he isn't. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there's no room at the local inn.…
So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—including a donkey and a camel—for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant!).

When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love…


Here is a different telling of the nativity story. Mary Jo and the Wyse brothers, I love the way the author played with the names. And to add the Nativity animals to the Harding's barn was a nice touch.

As usual it was nice to see the usual characters of the series, I loved seeing Grace taking a very active role in Mary Jo's story. She's such a caring woman, and this story just brought out her maternal instincts.

Here's my problem... Now I have to wait eight or nine months for the next Cedar Cove story. I just don't think I can do that.

A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber (4/5) Contemporary Romance; Christmas theme; Published: Mira (10/08); 100 + Reading Challennge (89); Keeper Shelf;

A Wallflower Christmas

Yay! The Wallflowers are back!

Here's the blurb for A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas:

The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…

It’s Christmastime in London and Rafe Bowman has arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie Blandford, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady in waiting and, if it weren’t for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen. And winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.


I realize this book is about Hannah and Rafe, but for some reason or other I was more interested in what was happening with the "original" wall flowers. I really wanted more of Sebastien and Evie! But I only got a little morsel, and it had to do.

Getting back to Hannah and Rafe. I enjoyed them both. I thought that Rafe was stuck between a rock and a hard place because of his father's demand, and originally I believed him to be an idiot to go along with his "request". I thought Hannah was a intelligent woman who took care of the people that she loved, I also found her doubts about falling for Rafe very believable.

Overall I found the story to be short (it was a small book), and lacking what the previous Wallflowers books had: spice! I wanted the heat!

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas (3/5) Historical Romance; Christmas theme; Published: St. Martin's Press (10/08); Series: # 5, Wallflower; 100 + Reading Challenge (88); Keeper Shelf;