The Daytona Beach News-Journal published an article about A Blending of Bittersweet Memories. One of the newspapers assistant managing editors submitted a story to the book and it was included. It was a lovely story about her mother's famous red velvet cake. To read more about it, click here.
Also, if you would like to purchase the book, you can do so at www.lulu.com.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Monday, December 12, 2011
Losing Your Parents
Lisa Snyder lost both of her parents to cancer while she was in her 20s. I thought losing my mother was the hardest thing I will ever go through but I can't even imagine losing my father as well. Lisa has a website (www.losingyourparents.org) that she has devoted to those who have lost their parents. It is an excellent site that I recommend you check out! She has recently written a blog post about A Blending of Bittersweet Memories. You can read the full article here.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, November 28, 2011
BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE!
You can purchase the book by going to this link: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/a-blending-of-bittersweet-memories/18684893
Today only, the book is being offered at 30% off with the code CYBERMONDAY305.
From November 29th - December 14th, the book is available at 25% with the code BUYMYBOOK305.
The book will be available on amazon.com in February 2012.
Happy Holidays and thank you again to all of those who submitted and helped to make the book a success!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Happiness Project
One of Gretchen's recent blog entries discusses comfort food for your mind. She explains how doing activities can make one feel better. When one is sad and having a rough day, people often turn to comfort food. We all try and eat healthy as much as we can, but every now and then you just want that something special that soothes your tastebuds and warms your heart. Comfort food can be a hearty stew on a frigid winter night or a carton of cookie dough ice cream at 2 in the morning when you are upset about a breakup. The problem with emotional eating is that after you try eating your problems away, you develop new problems and the old ones are still there. I know that when I am stressed and have a piece of chocolate cake, I not only still feel anxious about the thing that was stressing me out but also about the calories that I just put into my body. Instead of always turning to emotional eating, why not try comfort food for your mind? Atleast, after you try some of Gretchen's tips, you won't feel even worse than you did before you ate the maccoroni and cheese.
Comfort food for the mind is a mental break that you allow yourself from whatever is stressing you out or making you feel sad. Gretchen suggests cooking, exercise, playing with your kids, reading a good book, or seeing a funny movie. After you take a "mental vacation", you may feel better and be able to deal with your situation in a new manor. Occasionally, when I have writer's block, I will take a break and go for a run. When I run, I clear my mind, listen to music, breathe fresh air and release endorphines. When I get back to the computer, I feel more focused and new ideas will pop into my mind. The next time that you have a stressful day at work, a disheartening personal situation or are just feeling down, try nourishing yourself with comfort food - for your mind, that is!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
How are you healing your wound?
The grieving process is so difficult and never goes away.
Like a wound to the skin, the pain is unbearable when it occurs. The wound is raw and bleeding. The body is in shock, thinking, "Did this really just happen?" You are in pain but can't really feel the magnitude of the pain at the moment the wound occurs. You know something horrible has happened. You quickly hold a tissue over it, put some neosporin and a band-aid on. There, that stops the bleeding, for now.
Eventually, you take the band-aid off and expose the wound to the world. The wound gets some fresh air and decides its time to start the healing process; it turns into a scab. A scab is a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase. The scab shows physically- it is dark, dry and discolored. It shows the outside world that something is wrong. It protects the wound. When the scab is comfortable that the wound can handle life without the protecting walls, it falls off and leaves raw and new skin, that will heal and turn into a scar. That scar is very visible at first and then over time it fades, but it is ingrained in you for life.
Everyone has scars, whether they be physical and/or emotional. While a skin gash is physical and outside of the body, the emotional body does the exact same thing, internally. It's nature. The body learns how to recover from tragedy. When you lose a loved one, you need to teach yourself how to recover and reconstruct your life. In a sense, bandage and tend to the wound, then, let it heal. Rituals can help by doing your normal routines (showering, going to work, making dinner) but what helps you have life and passion again? How do you get through the days? What heals your wounds?
In writing this book, I am looking for tips on what will help others with the grieving process. Those who have experienced grief can offer the best advice and tips. Please share them to help others!
Like a wound to the skin, the pain is unbearable when it occurs. The wound is raw and bleeding. The body is in shock, thinking, "Did this really just happen?" You are in pain but can't really feel the magnitude of the pain at the moment the wound occurs. You know something horrible has happened. You quickly hold a tissue over it, put some neosporin and a band-aid on. There, that stops the bleeding, for now.
Eventually, you take the band-aid off and expose the wound to the world. The wound gets some fresh air and decides its time to start the healing process; it turns into a scab. A scab is a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase. The scab shows physically- it is dark, dry and discolored. It shows the outside world that something is wrong. It protects the wound. When the scab is comfortable that the wound can handle life without the protecting walls, it falls off and leaves raw and new skin, that will heal and turn into a scar. That scar is very visible at first and then over time it fades, but it is ingrained in you for life.
Everyone has scars, whether they be physical and/or emotional. While a skin gash is physical and outside of the body, the emotional body does the exact same thing, internally. It's nature. The body learns how to recover from tragedy. When you lose a loved one, you need to teach yourself how to recover and reconstruct your life. In a sense, bandage and tend to the wound, then, let it heal. Rituals can help by doing your normal routines (showering, going to work, making dinner) but what helps you have life and passion again? How do you get through the days? What heals your wounds?
In writing this book, I am looking for tips on what will help others with the grieving process. Those who have experienced grief can offer the best advice and tips. Please share them to help others!
Monday, September 27, 2010
S'mores... S'nuff Said
Did you go to camp and make s'mores with all of your friends? I did and I just loved them. My parents also would let us make them in the winter time. They would light a fire in our fireplace and bring out the HERSHEY's chocolate candy bars with Graham Crackers and marshmallows. My sisters, cousins and I would take the sticks, sit on the freezing cold floor and warm ourselves up by toasting the marshmallows. My middle sister liked hers golden brown but my mom and I made ours burnt. Anyways, I digress.
I found this delicious recipe for S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies off of the HERSHEY's website. They can be made ahead of time and served for dessert. I love them because you get the same great taste without all of the mess. One of my friend's mothers made these for a summer BBQ dessert and everyone went wild for them. I hope you like them as much as I do!
S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 C. flour
3/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 HERSHEY's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz each)
3 C. miniature marshmallows
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 inch square baking pan (I doubled the recipe and made it in a bigger pan).
Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture until blended.
Press half of dough in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Place chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit.
Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Makes 16 bars.
Printer Friendly Version:
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 C. flour
3/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 HERSHEY's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz each)
3 C. miniature marshmallows
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 inch square baking pan (I doubled the recipe and made it in a bigger pan).
Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Place chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Makes 16 bars.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Storecipe of the Week: Ruth's Sweet and Sour Meatballs
When a majority of people think about meatballs, they think of spaghetti and meatballs, with the traditional Italian flair. I have noticed that many Jewish recipe are very similar to Italian recipe but with added sweetness. For example, Jew's always joke that Kugel is really Jewish Lasagna. Sweet and sour meatballs are very similar to Italian meatballs but with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Most Italian grandmothers would roll off their rockers if they tasted them as they would probably feel that the sauce has been ruined! With that being said, they really are surprisingly delicious. They are best served over rice or noodles for an entree or as an appetizer, they can be made into smaller balls and served with bread.
Belinda, from Highland Park, Illinois, put it best when she said that her "bittersweet memory is actually sweet and sour". Here is Belinda's story and her mother, Ruth's recipe, which my family raved about. Thanks, Belinda!
Ruth's Sweet and Sour Meatballs
I guess my bittersweet memories are actually sweet and sour. Most of my mom's recipes I've had to approximate, because I don't remember exactly how she made them, and there are no written recipes as far as I know. In fact, I can't remember there ever having been a cookbook in our home. She had her recipes committed to memory and cooked in that intuitive, non-scientific way that many good cooks of an earlier era did. Her sweet and sour meatballs were my absolute favorite dish and one day, many, many years ago, I followed Mom around the kitchen taking notes while she prepared them.
Mom's meatballs are delicious and smell great while cooking. In fact, the aroma is intoxicating and takes me back to my childhood and my mom's kitchen. Moreover, this is a pretty healthful recipe, calling for all natural ingredients and no fillers. My daughter, Laura (Loritchka), makes them using ground turkey with much success. It works as either an appetizer or an entree, depending on how generous you are with the meatballs. Best to have fresh challah bread on hand for dunking in the sauce!
Thoughts
1 C. diced carrots
1 C. diced onions
2 T. olive oil
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 tsp dried onion flakes
1 onion, grated
1/2 C. diced celery
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. lemon juice
Putting the Memory Together
Place oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute carrots and onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with juice. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder; you can add more or less according to taste. Let simmer.
To ground beef, add egg, dried onion flakes, grated onion and celery. Wet hands and form small meatballs (about 1 inch balls) and drop in simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then add sugar and lemon juice. Stir and taste the sauce. You may add more sugar or lemon juice to adjust the sweet/sour flavor to your taste. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes.
Belinda, from Highland Park, Illinois, put it best when she said that her "bittersweet memory is actually sweet and sour". Here is Belinda's story and her mother, Ruth's recipe, which my family raved about. Thanks, Belinda!
Ruth's Sweet and Sour Meatballs
I guess my bittersweet memories are actually sweet and sour. Most of my mom's recipes I've had to approximate, because I don't remember exactly how she made them, and there are no written recipes as far as I know. In fact, I can't remember there ever having been a cookbook in our home. She had her recipes committed to memory and cooked in that intuitive, non-scientific way that many good cooks of an earlier era did. Her sweet and sour meatballs were my absolute favorite dish and one day, many, many years ago, I followed Mom around the kitchen taking notes while she prepared them.
Mom's meatballs are delicious and smell great while cooking. In fact, the aroma is intoxicating and takes me back to my childhood and my mom's kitchen. Moreover, this is a pretty healthful recipe, calling for all natural ingredients and no fillers. My daughter, Laura (Loritchka), makes them using ground turkey with much success. It works as either an appetizer or an entree, depending on how generous you are with the meatballs. Best to have fresh challah bread on hand for dunking in the sauce!
Thoughts
1 C. diced carrots
1 C. diced onions
2 T. olive oil
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 tsp dried onion flakes
1 onion, grated
1/2 C. diced celery
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. lemon juice
Putting the Memory Together
Place oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute carrots and onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with juice. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder; you can add more or less according to taste. Let simmer.
To ground beef, add egg, dried onion flakes, grated onion and celery. Wet hands and form small meatballs (about 1 inch balls) and drop in simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then add sugar and lemon juice. Stir and taste the sauce. You may add more sugar or lemon juice to adjust the sweet/sour flavor to your taste. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes.
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