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Happy Easter Saturday!
We are currently on Easter break, but we have an activity packed weekend. We’ll be visiting the Maple Tree Inn for the first time EVER with the boys. This is ridiculous. I know. We’ve lived in this area for over 10 years and most folks around here go at least once during maple sugaring season, but we’ve just never made it until today. I’ll check back in and let you all know whether it was worth the anticipation!
Tomorrow we’ll be digging into our annual bunny bread after going to church. Do you have any Easter food-related traditions?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BLOG THIS WEEK:
- This Easy Bacon Pea Pasta Salad. This may sound a little familiar. If it does, you’re not going crazy. It is a pasta salad riff on my classic Easy Bacon Pea Salad and it is divine. Whip this up as a quick, last minute side dish for your Easter Ham, or for fast lunches in the coming week.
- The Most Perfect Soft Pretzel Rolls ever. I know that’s a big claim, but I’m willing to make it on these. Tender yet chewy, and substantial enough to hold up to any fillings. Topped with a delightful combination of sesame seeds and pretzel salt.
THINGS I LOVE:These all natural shoe deodorizers. You wouldn’t necessarily think this would be an issue, but guys… ballet shoes stink. BADLY. So badly, in fact, that it actually makes me a little ill to be in the same car with them, which is something I have to do four or five times a week. Well, it was an issue until I discovered these. I don’t know WHY they’re so effective; they’re activated charcoal based. I just know they are effective, and that my son’s ballet bag will have these in them for the rest of time. I also started stuffing them into winter boots and my Toms, which we all know become foul quickly.
This portable cell phone or device charger. I’ve been through a few of these over the years. The little lighter sized ones never seem to hold a charge for me, though. A friend recently recommended this one to me and boy-oh-boy was she right about it. I charged it when I got it a couple of months ago and haven’t had to recharge it yet, despite having used it to charge my cell phone innumerable times as well as fully charging my iPad at least once. It’s about the size of an iPhone plus, so be aware it’s on the larger size, but it doesn’t take up that much space and it’s well worth what little purse/bag/briefcase room you designate for it.
BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND:
French Patisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts. Oh you know, just a little light bedtime reading. HA! But really, this is basically a textbook from one of the most revered French technique culinary arts schools on the face of the earth. They break down how to make some of the most classic French pastries in a way so accessible that even the most complex pastries seem achievable. The photography is excellent in it, too. Honestly, there are far worse ways to go to sleep than fantasizing about pastry making. I highly recommend owning this book if you fancy yourself a baker.
Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them. By Me. Yes. This is currently on my nightstand. I have allowed some of our staples to become depleted and I am planning what to can in the next couple of months. I’m also playing with ideas for another book, so I want to go over what I did in the first one and decide what I liked and what I’d like to do differently the next time.
Cult Sister: My decade in one of the world’s most secretive sects. By Leslie Smailes. I am fascinated by reading about people’s experiences with cults, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I felt like the storytelling jumped around too much. Through most of the story, it seemed like the author more than half wished she was still in her cult. Perhaps in that way, it was truly an honest reflection of her ambivalence about not being a member any more, but it wasn’t well-written enough to make the ambivalence compelling. She never explains what changed in her and why she left.
The truth is she had an uphill battle for me right out of the gate since she didn't even capitalize most of the words in her book title. Sigh. I realize that makes me picky, but I am what I am.
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
What’s your favourite genre of books to read?
Love,
Rebecca
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