Apple Ginger Crumb Cake | The Lost Girls of Devon

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What does one do in the midst of buying a home, renovating said home so it's livable, packing up their current home of 11.5 years, and moving? Reads a book, of course! But really, I've been extremely stressed out and on the verge of losing it, so taking an hour or two to escape in a good book here and there was just what the doctor ordered. Welcome to my TLC Book Tours stop for the latest novel by Barbara O'Neal, The Lost Girls of Devon.

Part mystery, part multi-generational drama, this book wound up being a rollercoaster of emotions (I even teared up once or twice). Four generations of Fairchild women make up this story, and we hear viewpoints from each—in order of generation, oldest to youngest, we have Lillian, Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel.

Ginger Nuts | Sherlock

Okay, so you know what a TBR pile is, right? It stands for "to be read", referring to a person's literal or figurative ever-growing reading list. I have a huge one. I also have a list of television shows that, while not as long, is starting to rival it. So, I figured maybe that would be called a TBW list, you know, "to be watched"...except I googled TBW and decided I couldn't call it that.

Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies | #CookiesForKidsCancer

Every year OXO supports Cookies for Kids' Cancer during Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, donating up to 100,000* to support the cause. I'm happy to once again join them in baking a difference as I share some great OXO baking products that I used to test out a delicious recipe from the soon to be released Dorie's Cookies from Dorie Greenspan!

In case you're not familiar with the cause, Cookies for Kids' Cancer was founded by two OXO employees who were "inspired by their son Liam's battle with pediatric cancer, a disease which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. Cookies for Kids' Cancer provides inspiration and support to allow anyone to easily get involved in fundraising to find a cure for pediatric cancer."

Whole Roasted Trout w/ Sake and Plums inspired by Flask of the Drunken Master

I'm so excited to be hosting a tour stop for Susan Spann's latest release in her Shinobi Mystery series today. I'll admit, it was initially the title that drew me in: Flask of the Drunken Master. I hadn't read (or even heard of) the books before, but I'm a huge kung-fu fan, and Drunken Master is one of my favorite kung-fu flicks, so I couldn't wait to read the book. Now, there's actually no kung-fu involved in the book, and it's set in Japan, not China...fortunately, that didn't stop me from enjoying every minute of it!

So, I mentioned that this book is actually part of a series; it's book three. I ordered the first two books in the series with the intention of reading them before this one, but time got away from me and I didn't get the chance. Now that I've read Flask of the Drunken Master, I can't wait to go back and get caught up with the first two books, but my experience wasn't lacking for not having read them already. It can stand on it's own if you want to dive right in.

Flask is a mystery set in Japan in the year 1565. Our main characters are the Hiro, a translator who, unbeknownst to most, is actually a shibobi (ninja), and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo. Together they are working to prove sake brewer Ginjiro innocent of the crime of murder, and find the real killer before he is executed for the crime.

Crisped Ginger-Soy Chicken Wings + Beer Pairing, a #WingWeek guest post

Please help me welcome my first #wingweek guest poster, Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla. I'm pretty thrilled that I inspired her to make chicken wings in her own kitchen for the very first time! Her Crispy Ginger-Soy Wings sound like they are bursting with flavor, plus, she's offered up a beer pairing to go along with her wings. No wonder I like this girl.

When Heather posted that she was looking for some chicken wing guest posts this month, I almost skipped reading the rest of the request. Chicken wings?!? I thought. I don't fry.  I remember watching a cooking show about chicken wings and there seemed to be a complicated dance between the fryer and the oven. And, remember: I don't fry.

But as I finished reading her post, I decided that this would be a good culinary challenge, one that I definitely wanted to complete: make tasty, crispy wings without frying. Challenge accepted.

Good chicken wings are about great flavor and great texture. I did it! This has both.

Ginger and Rye Truffles

This is a sponsored post written by me on half of Templeton Rye and Simply Organic on behalf of The Baddish Group. All opinions are my own.

My grandparents have a turntable cabinet in their kitchen, and I was fascinated by it when I was little. It's where they kept boxes of cereal, snacks...and liquor bottles. I didn't really think anything of it, but it gives me a good giggle now. I suppose we use our space the best we know how.

The liquor bottles always stayed in the same spot (that I knew of) until the holidays rolled around, then they were pulled out and set on the counter with a big bottle of gingerale. I know now that those were bottles of whiskey.

On the other side of the counter were plates and extra tins full of chocolates, candies, and cookies that my grandma had made all week long. The family would gather at my grandparent's house, chocolate and whiskey-ginger cocktails in the appropriate hands as the day wore on.

Homemade Ginger Beer inspired by Rachel's Ginger Beer in Seattle

Name that beverage: spicy, nasal-clearing, and able to cleanse your palate in a single sip. Yes, that would be Ginger Beer. On my recent trip to Seattle to attend IFBC, I was making a note of Pike Place Market locations that I wanted to visit. I asked my friend Alyssa from Everyday Maven, who I finally got to meet in real life (and is local to the area), told me a few of her favorite places. One of those places being Rachel's Ginger Beer.

Now, before visiting Pike Place Market, I didn't realize that it was not simply a market, but an actual historic district covering nine acres just east of the Seattle waterfront. From 1st Avenue to Western Avenue, and from Pike Street to Virginia Street, it offers not only a varied shopping and eating experience, but also views of the Olympic Mountains and the Puget Sound! I'm not going to lie—I found myself daydreaming of living in the area...taking lazy day walks with the family that would find us home hours later, bags and trolleys bursting with freshly caught seafood, handmade pasta in all sorts of intriguing flavors, locally picked produce, some artisan-crafted soaps and lotions, and a bright bouquet of flowers.

We would have stopped for bowls of sustaining chowder, browsed the jewelery beaded painstakingly by hand, and picked up a few Milagros for our Day of the Dead altar. Surely we'd have carried around plastic cups, each filled with a different flavor of that ginger beer that Alyssa told me about. Because I'd be happy drinking a cup of Rachel's Ginger Beer every day.

Chinese Barbecue Wings

So usually when Super Bowl rolls around, I'm busy planning a menu that includes trays piled high with nachos; bowls filled to the brim with dips; platters of cheese, fruit, veggies, and crackers; tender carnitas with homemade pico and guac; wings and burgers; and some good beverages to go along with it. But this year has been different. I haven't really been able to think of anything else besides wings.

It's gonna be an all wings kinda celebration today!  Baked wings, fried wings, grilled wings...marinated wings, breaded wings, sticky wings. WINGS! I'm not sure what started the craving, but it may have been these Sticky-Sweet Caribbean Wings. They were just so ridiculously good that I was sad when they were gone. Ever since, I've been pinning wings like a madwoman, pulling out old saved recipes, and writing down ideas for new flavors of my own.

But you know what? I don't think my family is going to mind. We can smash numerous pounds of wings in one sitting between the five of us.

Pineapple-Ginger Elixir (with or without Rum)

I'm a sucker for words like potion, tincture, balm, and elixir.  In my mind I can picture myself in a long, colorful gypsy skirt, a flowy peasant blouse, and bare feet.  Gathering bundles of wild flowers and herbs; carefully peeling bark from medicinal trees and digging healing roots from the earth.  I see heavy glass bottles with frosty glass or cork stoppers amongst jars, tins, canisters, pots, and droppers in various sizes.  My well-loved mortar and pestle sits atop an ancient butcher block with a dip worn in it from years of use.  Dried lavender, yarrow, purple cone flowers hang amidst the herbs, garlic, and chiles on the wooden rafters.  Gnarled roots of goldenseal, ginger, and licorice are wrapped in cloth and tucked into baskets on cool, dark shelves.  I'm pretty sure I was meant to be a shaman.  Or a healer in some form.

So, perhaps you can see why a recipe containing the term "elixir" drew my attention.  Although I used a blender instead of a mortar and pestle to coax the sweet juice from a golden pineapple, the addition of warming ginger and cayenne reinforced the images in my head.  This blend...this elixir...will warm your body from the inside out on a cold day.  If you're sensitive to chile peppers, be aware of the potency (oooh, that's another great word...potency) of your cayenne.  If it is nice and fresh, you'll get a fantastic burn on your upper lip for hours to come.  

If the word elixir doesn't inspire you like it does me, I hope you'll try this sweet, yet spicy cooler anyway.  Add a shot of rum for even more warmth...

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Pineapple-Ginger Elixir

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: blender beverage vegan vegetarian ginger pineapple

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 c. fresh pineapple cubes
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• ½ c. water
• ¼ c. light coconut milk or homemade
• 2½ Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 Tbs. pure Maple syrup
• 1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp. ground cardamom
• ⅛ tsp. ground cayenne

Instructions

Purée pineapple cubes, ginger, and water in blender until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer into bowl, pushing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard pulp and return liquid to blender.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Serve over ice and garnish with fresh pineapple wedges or rings, cinnamon stick, or lime wedges.

For a warming cocktail with the sweetness of pineapple, add a shot of rum to the bottom of the glass before pouring in the elixir.

slightly adapted from Vegetarian Times #391

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