Lucky Duck I am ~ Book & a an Apron

I recently won 2 different blog giveaways and am such a lucky duck as I can use them together and they arrived just a few hours apart. The Flavor Bible is an awesome book that I'm only 3 pages into, but already love! I won this from Joy over at Joy of Desserts and this awesome Jesse Steele Apron with the most adorable cherries fits like a glove. Lisa over at Confessions of an Apron Queen has the most amazing shop full of both new and vintage aprons. Go visit Rick Rack Attack and take your Christmas list with you, she has something for everyone! Lisa also hosts Vintage Thingie Thursdays.

♥

September Pay it Forward Book Exchange Winner & October Book up for grabs

hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy
September's winner is:

Timestamp: 2008-09-30 14:39:45 UTC

#11 Sweet Sue

I have up for grabs Weight Watchers Winner's Circle cook book. You can read more about it here.

Here are the guidelines from Overwhelmed with Joy:

Most all of us love to read and get “new-to-us” books, right? And if you’re anything like me, you love winning things (what a rush), not to mention getting fun stuff in the mail! So here’s what this book exchange is all about:

1) On the first Monday of each month I'll pick a couple of books to give away to two lucky readers (you don’t have to have a blog to enter). It may be a book that I’ve purchased new or used, or it may be a book that someone has shared with me that I really like. It’ll probably be a paperback, just to make things easier, but no guarantees.

2) Details on how you can enter to win will be listed in each monthly post.

3) If you’re the lucky winner of the book giveaway and you have your own blog I ask that you, in turn, host a drawing to give that book away for free to one of your readers, after you’ve had a chance to read it (let’s say, within a month after you’ve received the book). If you mail the book out using the media/book rate that the post office offers it’s pretty inexpensive. If you're a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you're done with it.

4) If you’re really motivated and want to host your own Pay It Forward giveaway at any time during the month, grab the PIF button above to use on your own blog post and link back to my original Pay It Forward Post. Be sure to let me know about your giveaway so I can add your link on my original PIF post directing my readers your way! I'd appreciate it if you would not use Mr. Linky on your blog and require that your readers post about your Pay It Forward book exchange on their blogs to be eligible to win your book. If you'd just ask your readers to leave you a comment on your post to be entered to win, and then direct them to my blog to review the master list of other Pay It Forward giveaways, that would be much appreciated and I think less confusing for all participating!

So there you have it, the Pay It Forward Book Exchange, designed to encourage people to read, to share good books, to possibly get you out of your reading comfort zone, and to get fun stuff in the mail instead of just bills!

The Flavor Bible

The Flavor Bible Ignites Culinary Passion, Creativity

Don't let the cover of this book fool you. It is not just about a few spices and flavorings. This meticulously crafted and photographed encyclopedic tome is for the serious cook, the culinary scholar, the passionate gourmet, the food historian.

It is for those looking to take their cooking and eating to a level beyond ordinary.

This luxurious, hardcover book deserves an honored place on the consummate food lover's bookshelf, far away from kitchen grease. Keep it at the ready to pore over its delectable contents.

There are no recipes in this book, but the quotes delving into the philosophies of America's most renowned chefs; the extensive, alphabetized ingredient reviews covering nuances from shades of color to mouth feel; and the artistic photography will equip the experienced to create their own recipes for culinary masterpieces.

The Flavor Bible, passionately written by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, photographed by Barry Salzman, is a superb and definitive volume not to be missed. It arrives in bookstores on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008.

..........
More About The Flavor Bible from Joy of Desserts;
More About The Flavor Bible from Hachette Book Group USA;
See the award-winning authors' website
See the award-winning photographer's website

Category: COOKING

Format: HARDCOVER BOOK

Publish Date: 9/16/2008

Price: $35.00

ISBN: 9780316118408

Pages: 392

Size: 7-1/2" x 10"

Be sure go to Joy of Desserts first thing Monday morning for a giveaway of this spectacular book as Hachette USA is generously and graciously giving 5 copies of The Flavor Bible to Joy of Desserts readers. I know I will. Tell your friends!

♥

August Winner & September Pay It Forward Book GIveaway

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy
August winner is Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

You rolled 1 die:

Timestamp: 2008-08-30 17:34:31 UTC

Now for September's Book:

'The Hummingbird's Daughter' by Luis Alberto Urrea

It is time for me to join the Pay it Forward Book Exchange. First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' by Luis Alberto Urrea.

You can read more about it at Amazon. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review.

"Her powers were growing now, like her body. No one knew where the strange things came from. Some said they sprang up in her after the desert sojourn with Huila. Some said they came from somewhere else, some deep inner landscape no one could touch. That they had been there all along." Teresita, the real-life "Saint of Cabora," was born in 1873 to a 14-year-old Indian girl impregnated by a prosperous rancher near the Mexico-Arizona border. Raised in dire poverty by an abusive aunt, the little girl still learned music and horsemanship and even to read: she was a "chosen child," showing such remarkable healing powers that the ranch's medicine woman took her as an apprentice, and the rancher, Don Tomás Urrea, took her—barefoot and dirty—into his own household. At 16, Teresita was raped, lapsed into a coma and apparently died. At her wake, though, she sat up in her coffin and declared that it was not for her. Pilgrims came to her by the thousands, even as the Catholic Church denounced her as a heretic; she was also accused of fomenting an Indian uprising against Mexico and, at 19, sentenced to be shot. From this already tumultuous tale of his great-aunt Teresa, American Book Award–winner Urrea (The Devil's Highway) fashions an astonishing novel set against the guerrilla violence of post–Civil War southwestern border disputes and incipient revolution. His brilliant prose is saturated with the cadences and insights of Latin-American magical realism and tempered by his exacting reporter's eye and extensive historical investigation. The book is wildly romantic, sweeping in its effect, employing the techniques of Catholic hagiography, Western fairy tale, Indian legend and everyday family folklore against the gritty historical realities of war, poverty, prejudice, lawlessness, torture and genocide. Urrea effortlessly links Teresita's supernatural calling to the turmoil of the times, concealing substantial intellectual content behind effervescent storytelling and considerable humor."

This giveaway will close 11:59PM September 30th, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled on July 1st and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

July winner & August Pay It Forward ~ Soup & Bread

July winner is Jubilee! Please contact me with your mailing information!

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2008-07-29 15:56:50 UTC

hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

I have up for grabs:

Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread A country Inn Cook Book ~ Crescent Dragonwagon

You can read more about them at Amazon. These are all brand new and just 'extras' (like there's any such thing as extra reading material. As far as I'm concerned, there's never enough.

This giveaway will close at the end of August. I will send the book shortly after that. All I ask in the spirit of this book exchange, is to please pass them along to another reader after you read them whether it be by a blog giveaway, neighbor or library donation.

Here are the guidelines from Overwhelmed with Joy.

Hachette Books Giveaway at Bookshipper

Attention all readers you NEED to check out this giveaway contest at Bookshipper sponsored by Hatchette Books.
Hachette Book Group was generous enough to offer to send to the winners of this contest a total of 14 books (yes! all fourteen of them) to EACH winner. Here is a list of the great books you could win:

Hachette Book Group USA Summer Reads Giveaway:

Fact over Fiction:
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston, $25.99
(ISBN: 0446581194 Read an Excerpt Listen to an Excerpt
View the Video Author Website * Audio Book Available)

The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs , Michael Duffy, $14.99
(ISBN: 1599951045 Read an Excerpt * Audio Book Available)

Fiction:
Swine Not? by Jimmy Buffett , Helen Bransford, $21.99
(ISBN: 0316035599 Author Website Listen to an Excerpt)

Historical Fiction:
Miscarriage of Justice by "Kip" Gayden, $22.99
(ISBN: 159995687X Chapter Excerpt)

Memoirs:
Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Hancock, $21.99
(ISBN: 1599957086 Author Website Reading Group Guide)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan, $19.99
(ISBN: 1599957132 Author Website Reading Group Guide )

Reading Group Recommendations:
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand, $24.99
(ISBN: 0316018600 * Audio Book Available)

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand, $13.99
(ISBN: 0316018597 Chapter Excerpt Reading Guide 1 * Audio Book Available)

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts, $24.99
(ISBN: 044652901X Read an Excerpt * Audio Book Available)

Off Season by Anne Siddons, $24.99
(ISBN: 0446527874 Listen to an Excerpt * Audio Book Available)

Romance:
A Rose by the Door by Deborah Bedford, $6.99
(ISBN: 0446677892 Chapter Excerpt)

Remember Me by Deborah Bedford, $6.99
(ISBN: 0446690430 Chapter Excerpt Reading Guide 1)

Thriller/Mystery:
Child 44 by Tom Smith, $16.00
(ISBN: 0446402389 Child44book.com Chapter Excerpt
* Audio Book Available)

Close by Martina Cole, $24.99
(ISBN: 0446179965 * Audio Book Available)

Here is how you can enter! Simply leave a comment on this post about ANY of her previous book reviews. She will automatically give you one entry. If you post this contest on your blog page, you will get two entries and if you put my blog name on your permanent blog roll, she will give you an additional 5 entries. They will be picking 5 winners, using Random.org, and each winner will receive all 14 books - free of charge, of course. Hachette Book Group will mail them directly to the winners.

This contest closes on July 31, 2008 at noon Eastern time. Please note that this contest is open to both Canadian and US residents. So check back on the 31st of July.

The Beach House by Jane Green

I just got a great new futon for the family room and need a good book to read while trying it out. I found an opportunity for a great giveaway at S. Krishna's Books for:

The Beach House - Jane Green

Title: The Beach House
Author: Jane Green
ISBN: 0670018856
Pages: 352
Genre: Women's Fiction, Beach Read
Review: Originally posted at Curled Up With A Good Book
Rating: **** 1/2 (out of 5)

Wherever Nan Powell goes, whispers seem to follow. At 65 years old, she is one of the older residents of the ‘Sconset area of Nantucket and has quite a reputation around the island. Everyone thinks of her as the eccentric older woman who has lived alone for far too long. While not quite as crazy as she seems, Nan has indeed been alone for a very long time. Her beloved husband, Everett, committed suicide after racking up an enormous gambling debt, leaving Nan to pay his bills and care for their young son, Michael. Now, Michael is living in New York and has trouble finding the time to visit his aging mother.

One day, Nan’s financial advisor comes to her with some dire news: all the money she put in a hedge fund is gone. Her best option now is to sell her property on Nantucket (called Windermere), which is worth several million dollars. As Windermere is the only thing she has left of her dear Everett (she had to sell off the rest of the property in order to pay his debts), she can’t bear the thought of losing the house. Therefore, she comes up with a brilliant plan: she will rent the rooms and run a B&B for the summer, inviting people into her home and slowly watching them become a part of her family.

While The Beach House’s central character is Nan, there are multiple storylines that slowly weave together to form a coherent whole, much as the various persons in the novel gradually come together to be Nan’s family. There are Bee and Daniel, a married couple with two beautiful young daughters who are having marital issues, though it is hard to determine exactly what the problem is. And then Daff and Richard, and their daughter, Jess, who has difficulty coping with what her parents are going through. And then there’s Michael, Nan’s son, and his complicated relationship with his married boss, Jordana. Green tells all these stories seamlessly; there is no jarring disconnect, as happens so often in novels with multiple storylines.

Green’s talent is evident, and shines through in her writing of the characters in the story. By the middle of the book, the reader is invested in each of these characters; it is important that they work through their problems and find a happier place. And at the end of the book, the reader is sad to leave these characters, to not be able to enjoy more of their stories.

The Beach House is the perfect beach read. It is a drama, and is very serious in some places, but it is never a heavy book. It never drags the reader down or makes the reader feel as if he/she has an added weight on their shoulders. Instead, even at the most dramatic moments, it is hopeful and uplifting - a breath of fresh air. It helps to redefine the genre of “beach read;” these books are no longer complete fluff with a lack of depth. Instead the nuances in The Beach House serve to give us a new view of beach reads (and women’s fiction in general). It is Green’s best work to date.

Head on over and check it out.

June winner & July Pay it Forward

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

You rolled 2 dice:

= Forgetfulone

Timestamp: 2008-06-29 14:14:02 UTC

It is time for me to join the Pay it Forward Book Exchange. First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'The Widow' by Carla Neggers.

You can read more about it at Amazon.

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Neggers (Dark Sky) keeps the reader guessing "whodunit" to the end of her intriguing novel of romantic suspense. Seven years after Boston homicide detective Abigail Browning's FBI Special Agent husband, Chris, was shot dead on their honeymoon on Mt. Desert, Maine, 32-year-old Abigail returns to the resort island to try to find Chris's killer so she can move on with her life. The relentless detective risks both physical and emotional pain as she searches for the truth among the local people and the wealthy summer families who were her late husband's friends. A multitude of well-drawn suspects and the rugged Maine setting help offset some unrealistic initial interludes between Abigail and a potential new love interest, Owen Garrison, a neighbor who was the first to inform her of Chris's murder.

This giveaway will close 11:59PM July 30th, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled on August 1st and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

Here are the guidelines from Overwhelmed with Joy:

Most all of us love to read and get “new-to-us” books, right? And if you’re anything like me, you love winning things (what a rush), not to mention getting fun stuff in the mail! So here’s what this book exchange is all about:

1) On the first Monday of each month I'll pick a couple of books to give away to two lucky readers (you don’t have to have a blog to enter). It may be a book that I’ve purchased new or used, or it may be a book that someone has shared with me that I really like. It’ll probably be a paperback, just to make things easier, but no guarantees.

2) Details on how you can enter to win will be listed in each monthly post.

3) If you’re the lucky winner of the book giveaway and you have your own blog I ask that you, in turn, host a drawing to give that book away for free to one of your readers, after you’ve had a chance to read it (let’s say, within a month after you’ve received the book). If you mail the book out using the media/book rate that the post office offers it’s pretty inexpensive. If you're a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you're done with it.

4) If you’re really motivated and want to host your own Pay It Forward giveaway at any time during the month, grab the PIF button above to use on your own blog post and link back to my original Pay It Forward Post. Be sure to let me know about your giveaway so I can add your link on my original PIF post directing my readers your way! I'd appreciate it if you would not use Mr. Linky on your blog and require that your readers post about your Pay It Forward book exchange on their blogs to be eligible to win your book. If you'd just ask your readers to leave you a comment on your post to be entered to win, and then direct them to my blog to review the master list of other Pay It Forward giveaways, that would be much appreciated and I think less confusing for all participating!

So there you have it, the Pay It Forward Book Exchange, designed to encourage people to read, to share good books, to possibly get you out of your reading comfort zone, and to get fun stuff in the mail instead of just bills!

June Pay It forward & May Winner

Random Integer Generator Here are your random numbers: 9 - Cindy at Springmont Cottage Timestamp: 2008-05-31 14:32:48 UTC

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Piercing the Darkness' by Frank Peretti. I originally won this book from a Pay It Forward at Overwheled by Joy. You can read more about it at Amazon.

Book Description

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5 (ESV)

It all begins in Bacon’s Corner, a tiny farming community far from the interstate . . . An attempted murder, a case of mistaken—or is it covered up?—identity, and a ruthless lawsuit against a struggling Christian school. Sally Beth Roe, a young loner, a burnout, a kind of “leftover hippie,”finds herself caught in the middle of these bizarre events, fleeing for her life while trying to recall her dark past.

Across a vast panorama of heart-stopping action, Sally Roe’s journey is a penetrating portrayal of our times, a reflection of our wanderings, and a vivid reminder of the redemptive power of the Cross. A companion volume to This Present Darkness, readers have purchased over two million copies of Piercing the Darkness since its publication in 1989.

"Frank Peretti kicked open the doors that all of us Christian novelists are passing through today. We owe him a huge debt." Jerry B. Jenkins, Author, The Left Behind Series

This giveaway will close 11:59PM PST June 30th, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled, winner notified and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

So if you want to win, leave me a comment. This contest is hosted over at Overwhelmed With Joy, so head over there for more books up for grabs. Here are her guidelines:

Most all of us love to read and get “new-to-us” books, right? And if you’re anything like me, you love winning things (what a rush), not to mention getting fun stuff in the mail! So here’s what this book exchange is all about:

1) On the first Monday of each month I'll pick a couple of books to give away to two lucky readers (you don’t have to have a blog to enter). It may be a book that I’ve purchased new or used, or it may be a book that someone has shared with me that I really like. It’ll probably be a paperback, just to make things easier, but no guarantees.

2) Details on how you can enter to win will be listed in each monthly post.

3) If you’re the lucky winner of the book giveaway and you have your own blog I ask that you, in turn, host a drawing to give that book away for free to one of your readers, after you’ve had a chance to read it (let’s say, within a month after you’ve received the book). If you mail the book out using the media/book rate that the post office offers it’s pretty inexpensive. If you're a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you're done with it.

4) If you’re really motivated and want to host your own Pay It Forward giveaway at any time during the month, grab the PIF button above to use on your own blog post and link back to my original Pay It Forward Post. Be sure to let me know about your giveaway so I can add your link on my original PIF post directing my readers your way! I'd appreciate it if you would not use Mr. Linky on your blog and require that your readers post about your Pay It Forward book exchange on their blogs to be eligible to win your book. If you'd just ask your readers to leave you a comment on your post to be entered to win, and then direct them to my blog to review the master list of other Pay It Forward giveaways, that would be much appreciated and I think less confusing for all participating!

So there you have it, the Pay It Forward Book Exchange, designed to encourage people to read, to share good books, to possibly get you out of your reading comfort zone, and to get fun stuff in the mail instead of just bills!

April Winner & The Perfect Summer Pay It Forward - A trio of summer mystery & romance

The randomly picked number is: 4 Notes of Jubilee

Lowest Number
Highest Number

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violets Are Blue website.

I have up for grabs what I believe to be the perfect beginning to summer, a trio of mystery and romance reads just for the 'perfect summer', pun intended. The three books are:

The Perfect Summer by Luann Rice
Star Light Star Bright by Katherine Stone
Cut and Run by Carla Neggers

You can read more about them at Amazon. These are all brand new and just 'extras' (like there's any such thing as extra reading material. As far as I'm concerned, there's never enough.

This giveaway will close on May 31st. I will send the books shortly after that in time for the beginning of summer. All I ask in the spirit of this book exchange, is to please pass them along to another reader after you read them whether it be by a blog giveaway, neighbor or library donation.

Buy a Friend a Book Week

April Pay It Forward Book Exchange & March winner

Overwhelmed with Joy is our March winner!

The randomly picked number is: 6

Lowest Number
Highest Number

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

It is time for me to join the Pay it Forward Book Exchange. First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Lakeside Cottage' by Susan Wiggs. You can read more about it at Amazon.

From Publishers Weekly
In Wiggs's appealing summer romance, single mom (and newly unemployed journalist) Kate Livingston and her edgy son, Aaron, arrive at her family's lakeside cottage in Lake Crescent, Wash., to discover unexpected company in the form of a troubled teenage girl and a handsome but mysterious neighbor. Callie Evans has run away from an abusive, unloved childhood; former military medic JD Harris is hiding from the relentless media scrutiny he's received following a sudden heroic action. Each is warily drawn to Kate's good-heartedness, and Kate responds with characteristic warmth and commitment. But their growing bonds are threatened when Callie becomes ill and Kate discovers the famous identity JD has tried to conceal. Wiggs (The Ocean Between Us) strains when her characters interact with the world at large: Kate's overnight success in top-level freelance writing is unrealistic, while both JD's fame and his phobia about it are exaggerated. In contrast, the characters' intimate personal interactions are pure gold. Especially appealing are Wiggs's evocations of timeless summer pleasures and her sweet yet complex depictions of Aaron's healing at the hands of his new father figure and foster sister. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This giveaway will close 11:59PM PST April 23rd, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

Tuesday's Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping

Stuffed Tomatoes

• 2 Large FIRM tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
• 1 bunch chopped green onions, chopped fine
  
• 1 celery spear, chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 cup celery seed dressing (see side bar for this recipe)

Thoroughly wash the tomatoes*. Slice off the top of each tomato. Cut out stem area and dice the remaining pieces. Carefully spoon out the seeds. In a mixing bowl mix together your tomato top pieces, seeds (optional - I like them though), cucumbers, green onions, celery and salt. Toss together well. Warm the dressing for a few seconds in the microwave and then toss with the vegetables. This works best if you mix together all the ingredients and chill for 2 hours before stuffing the tomatoes. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

*The original recipe called for peeling the tomatoes.

Recipe (page 180) adapted from 'A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband' by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Tuesday's Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping

Lemon Sauce

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour+
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 tablespoon butter

Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the water and beat vigorously. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and butter. Cook 2 more minutes. If too thin sprinkle in a bit more Wondra flour until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately over grilled fish. I grilled Mahi Mahi and it was really delicious.

Recipe (page 253) adapted from 'A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband' by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron

Tuesday's Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping

Celery Seed Dressing

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 cup salad oil

Blend together in small food processor for 3 minutes. Chill. This is a thick dressing so shake vigorously before serving. I spooned a small portion into a bowl and microwaved it for a few seconds and served it warm. It thins out dramatically when warmed. It was yummy!

Keep bottled in refrigerator

Recipe (page 85) adapted from 'A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband' by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron

Tuesday's Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping

White Cakes (cupcakes) and White Mountain Cream Icing

CUP CAKES
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cream the butter, add the sugar and continue creaming. Alternately add the dry ingredients. Add the milk. Beat well and add flavorings. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Fill well greased muffin tins 2/3 full or use muffin papers*. Bake 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven to cooling rack for 5 minutes before removing cakes. Carefully remove and cool completely.

ICING
1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water
1 egg water

In a saucepan pour the water, sugar and cream of tartar without stirring! Remove from heat as soon as syrup forms strings when dropped from a spoon. Pour very slowly onto the stiffly beaten egg white. Beat vigorously until cool. Add vanilla and blend in. Spread immediately. If icing gets too hard to spread add a little war water and beat again.

*The original recipe calls for baking the entire mix in a 13 x 9 pan on wax paper and then cutting into decorative shapes with fancy cutters after the cake is cooled.

Recipe (page 24) adapted from 'A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband' by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron

The Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping

I found this awesome book at a rummage sale a few years ago and it's just been sitting on the shelf begging to be read, "A Thousand Ways to Please A Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes", by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron. This is a 1932 complete revised edition. It was originally written in 1917.

It appears (I have hardly began to read it, only leafed through it so far) to have been written as a novel of Bettina's life and interjects the recipes as needed to emphasis the points of the message.

By today's standards it is obviously outdated, but I found it amusingly quaint and it has some awesome recipes. It's in like new condition. This too I find amazing, it obviously wasn't well used. Over the next few weeks, on Tuesdays, I will post several of the more appealing recipes that I've adapted to today's ingredients and standards.

March Pay It Forward Book Exchange

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

It is time for me to join the Pay it Forward Book Exchange. First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Purity in Death' by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. You can read more about it at Amazon.

From Publishers Weekly
"A sick computer can and does infect other computers, but not its operator," claims Roarke, dreamboat husband of New York's hotshot futuristic cop, Lieutenant Eve Dallas, in the 15th installment in Robb's `Death' series (after Reunion in Death). Roarke's theory is put to the test when pedophiles and drug dealers begin dying from a computer-generated virus that literally blows the mind of its victims. It doesn't take long for Eve to figure out that a vigilante terrorist organization with superior tech knowledge is meting out its own form of justice the group even leaves the message "absolute purity achieved" on victims' computer screens. Pinpointing the group is more of a challenge. Suspects could be anyone from members of the justice system to formerly abused children, the latter of which strikes a personal and painful nerve in Eve, who was abused as a child. Readers familiar with Eve's history and the sea of characters brought over from her previous books will be more comfortable than first- timers attempting to wade through this sluggish installment. Despite Robb's smooth-as-glass prose, her latest isn't likely to win new converts to the series. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This giveaway will close 11:59PM March 31st, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled on April 1st (no joke) and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

Pay It Forward February 2008 Winner

And the February Pay it Forward book winner is Christi at Blah Blah Blog.

February Pay It Forward Book Exchange

Hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

First the rules. To enter, leave me a comment. It’s that simple. If you win, it would be great if you will in turn host a Pay It Forward Book exchange and pass the book on eventually. If you’re a non-blogger who has won the book, please consider donating the book to your local library or shelter after you’re done with it.

OK, now the book. I was given several duplicate copy books as gifts. So I will participate for the next several months to find them good homes. While I haven't read this one yet, I can't see a reason for 2 copies to sit here waiting on me. So I will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Nights in Rodanthe' by Nicholas Sparks. You can read more about it at Amazon.

From Publishers Weekly
Sparks (A Bend in the Road, etc.) logs more miles on the winding high road of romance with the story of two middle-aged people who meet by chance in the small North Carolina coastal town of Rodanthe. The impassioned but doomed romance seems to owe much to Robert James Waller's The Bridges of Madison County. Once again, a housewife who has focused on everyone but herself indulges in a brief, intense, secret affair with a stranger who changes her life forever. As the story begins, Adrienne Willis is 60, the divorced mother of three grown children. To help her troubled daughter cope with the untimely recent death of her husband, Adrienne tells her the tale of her love affair, which took place 15 years before. At the time, Adrienne was an uptight matron whose ex-husband had just left her for a younger woman. This rejection colors her entire life, and Sparks realistically portrays a vulnerable and isolated woman who throws herself into raising her children to escape her despair. Paul Flanner, her paramour, is a surgeon and an obsessive workaholic with no genuine connection to his wife or son, whose world completely falls apart when one of his patients inexplicably dies. Sparks builds a taut, plausible relationship between his protagonists, but even fans may be irked by the obviousness of their story and the inevitability of their fate.

This giveaway will close 11:59PM PST February 29th, 2008. A random drawing will be pulled, winner notified and the book will be mailed to the lucky winner shortly after that.

So if you want to win, leave me a comment. This contest is hosted over at Overwhelmed With Joy, so head over there for more books up for grabs.

Next month will be 'Purity in Death' by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts and April will be Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs.