You Don't Want to Steal My Dog!

Georgina Hayes is an eleven year old with a tough life. Her daddy left her family in the dust and her mother struggles to work two jobs, but still can't afford to pay the rent for their apartment. Georgina, her little brother Toby, and her mother are living out of their beat up old honker of a car and she'd do anything to keep her friends at school from knowing about it. If you think sharing a bathroom with your annoying little brother or sister is bad, can you even imagine what it would be like to share the backseat of a car, with only a beach towel divider? Major yuck!

One night, as Georgina lies awake, listening to the sounds of the ally where the car is parked for the night, she notices a sign for a missing dog with a reward for $500. The gears begin to turn in her head, and as desperate as she is for a real bed and a hot shower, she makes a decision: she's going to steal a dog.

According to Georgina,
These are the rules for finding a dog:
1. The dog must not bark too much.
2. The dog must not bite.
3. The dog must be outside by itself sometimes.
4. The dog must be loved a lot and not just some old dog that nobody cares about.
5. The owner of the dog must look like somebody who will pay a lot of money to get their dog back, like maybe someone who has a big house and rides in a limo or something like that.

After scouring the neighborhood for the perfect dog, Georgina and Toby settle on a friendly little black and white dog named Willy. As organized as Georgina sets out to be, her plan goes terribly awry (meaning wrong) and what happens at the end is the absolute last thing she would have expected.

Recipe to Read By: Barkin' Good Pup-cakes
These are so doggone good you'll want to howl at the moon. You can whip up a batch of these puppies in no time! (Are you diggin' the doggy lingo? Ruff!)

Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix
Your favorite frosting
Milano cookies
chocolate chips
M&M's
black or brown decorator gel

Directions:
1.) Bake the pupcakes using the directions on the box.
2.) Allow to cool completely.
3.) Frost using Betty Crocker or your favorite recipe. Lay it on real thick because you need enough to hold the cookies. (Plus you can lick all the frosting that plops onto the counter.)
4.) Place two Milano cookies on the sides of the pupcake.
5.) Add two chocolate chips for eyes and a red M&M nose.
6.) Draw the mouth using decorator gel.

I think everyone needs to order THESE before even thinking about making pupcakes.
If you agree, raise a paw. (Or, if you're Kendall, lick a toe.)

Don'tcha just want to cuddle them?

In case you were wondering, the brown stuff isn't really dog kibble, it's Cocoa Puffs!

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

I am going to attempt to summarize this book in three sentences:

1. Jeremy Fink, science lover and collector of mutant candy, has in his possession a beautiful, yet mystifying box that can only be opened with four special keys, which are no where to be found.

2. The box contains "the meaning of life" and is to be opened on his 13th birthday.

3. His father, who died in a tragic car accident, left the box for Jeremy in his will.

A mysterious box. Missing keys. The meaning of life.

Intrigued?

Thought so.




Wendy Mass, who is also the author of Every Soul a Star, has a great blog AND website.
I highly suggest you check them both out. (You know, in between devouring this book and starting your own mutant candy collection.)

Recipe to Read By: Mary's Chocolate Chip PB Cup Cookies

Jeremy Fink, aficionado of all things sweet and gooey, believes that all life's problems can be solved with a little sugar. And peanut butter.

Ingredients

-Nestle Tollhouse refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (or any other similar product)

-Reece's peanut butter cups, unwrapped. (Be sure to look for any mutants.)

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Bake cookies as directed on package for seven minutes.

-Remove hot cookies from oven and press a Reese's PB cup into the center of each one.

(Careful not to touch the actual cookie--those chocolate chips are HOT and looking to scorch any wayward fingers!)

-Return cookies to oven until golden brown around the edges.

*Note: This also works with other types of bite-size chocolate bars and cookie dough. I don't think Jeremy would mind too much if you experimented, as long as you stash a handful of candy in your pocket for later.

"Home, Home on the Range"

A Heart of a Shepherd is not for the faint at heart, nor is it for crybabies. (I happen to be both and I wish someone would have warned me first!) I don't usually grab books on a whim without reading about them first, but something drew me to this one. After reading the first few pages while sitting on the floor of the library I was completely absorbed. My library surroundings soon faded and I was transported to a ranch in Oregon, where heartache, adventure, and the beauty of nature surround me.


Roseanne Parry weaves a fascinating tale about Brother (his real name is Ignatius), a young boy who lives on a ranch with his grandparents, father, and four brothers.
After his father leaves for Iraq and his brothers all go away to school, the job of tending the livestock and managing the ranch falls in Brother's hands. This becomes quite a job for an 11-year-old, but Brother is determined to work hard and prove to his older brothers that he can do it with only the help of his grandfather, who is slowly failing in health, and one lone hired man.

There are some intense scenes where Brother learns how to stitch up the wound in his brother's head, births a cow (yes, this was gross but also amazing!), and helps to heal a sick animal. When I try to remember what I was capable of at eleven years old (lemonade stands and friendship bracelets--definitely not birthing cows!) Brother becomes even more of a hero in my mind.

If you love animals, realistic fiction, or are just looking to transport yourself to a completely new
and wonderful setting, this book is for you. But like I said, keep a box of tissues nearby.

Stories with animals and grandpas always get me...

Recipe to Read By: Molasses Cookies
Brother's grandma always keeps a jar of these spicy cookies on the counter.
Word to the wise--don't stick your finger in the molasses jar and then lick it. It definitely DOES NOT taste like darkened honey.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, mix together the melted margarine, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; blend into the molasses mixture. Cover, and chill dough for 1 hour.

2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until tops are cracked. Cool on wire racks.

4. Put on a cowboy hat, lasso your dog, and pretend you're heading into town to buy some horseshoes and goat feed.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.allrecipes.com/

Watch the book trailer here or by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0EZdiX164

This Means War!

I love summer. I love staying outside until almost 9:00 when the last of the sun disappears, I love hot, sweaty days at the beach, and I love a glass of ice cold lemonade after spending time in the July heat. When I was a kid, my brother and and I would set up a lemonade stand in front of our house and charge a dime per cup. Back then, that was a lot of money and we would use our profits to buy a new Nintendo game. (No, not a Nintendo Wii--the original Nintendo. Yes, I'm that old.) We didn't tell anyone that it wasn't really lemonade, but Crystal Light. It was much easier not to deal with all that sugar and lemon-squeezing business. Plus, that's what my mom kept in the pantry. Ahh, childhood...

Now that you know how big of a lemonade (or lemon-flavored Crystal Light) fan I am, it will come as no surprise that I picked up The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.

The two main characters, Evan and Jessie, are brother and sister, each with a problem. Evan is going into fourth grade and can't think of anything worse than having his baby sister in the same class next year (Jessie skipped a grade). Jessie, who loves math and numbers, doesn't even realize Evan is upset, until he starts a lemonade stand with his friend and doesn't include her. To show him up, Jessie gets Megan Moriarity (Evan's crush) to help her build a lemonade stand, with a fancy sign and free snacks. Before long, the two of them realize that they are lemonade competitors and declare war. The first sibling to earn $100 is the winner (or whoever earns the most money by Sunday), and the loser has to hand over whatever earnings he/she made to the winner.

Jessie and Evan will do anything it takes to win the war, including giving away freebies, lowering prices, franchising (opening up more businesses), and sabotaging each others' stands. The results are pretty funny and will have you rooting for either Jessie or Evan to win the war.

The book also includes Ten Tips for Turning Lemons into Loot written by Jessie and Evan and gives the definition for lots of business terms, such as joint venture, underselling, negotiation, and total loss. ***DO NOT have a lemonade stand this summer without reading this book! It could be the difference between making enough money to buy a game for your Wii or making enough money to buy a Wii!

Recipe to Read By: Zesty Lemon Squares

You don't have to squeeze any lemons for this recipe, although if you really like juicing lemons go right ahead. (Just be careful not to squeeze any lemon juice in your eye--that burns like a banshee and will ruin the whole baking experience.)

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest (I looove zesting lemons. They look so funny when you're done, like they're naked. Hehe.)

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the confectioners' sugar.
Mix the flour and the salt together in another bowl, then add this to the butter mixture.
Add in the vanilla and the lemon zest and mix well.
Gather up the dough into a ball and wrap it in wax paper. Put the wrapped ball in the refrigerator for four hours. (Or one hour, if you're really impatient like me.)
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit while the oven is preheating. (Turn the oven on to 325° F.)
Press the dough into an 8-inch-square pan. Sprinkle it with the sugar.
Bake about 20 minutes, just until the edges of the dough start to turn a light brown.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool.
Cut into 2 x 2-inch squares.

Serve with lemon-flavored Crystal Light to balance all of that sugar.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.lemonadewar.com/

Every Soul A Star

Have you ever read a book that was so good it made you want to jump inside of it and live among the characters? Every Soul a Star is one of those books. Wendy Mass, the author, has crafted characters that are so real they could actually be living down the street from you or sitting next to you in class. And don't get me started on the setting...Great Galileo's Ghost!

The Moon Shadow Campground is a place that every kid dreams his parents will take him for vacation. Besides being an astronomy haven and the number one spot in the nation to watch the upcoming solar eclipse, the campground offers its guests many unique areas to explore, called the "Unusuals." This includes a labyrinth (which is like a maze, but not exactly), panning for gold, painting the Art House (yes, you paint the actual house), Alien Central, the Sun Garden, and the Star Garden.

Confession Time: I've never been camping in my life (the combination of bugs, no toilets, and bathing in rivers never appealed to me) but I would be tempted to book a ticket to the Moon Shadow Campground tonight-- if it weren't a fictional place, that is.

Every Soul a Star revolves around three characters:

Alpha (or Ally) is lucky enough to live at the Moon Shadow. Her parents have owned the campground since before she could remember and she couldn't imagine living anywhere else. She has been home schooled her entire life and her best friends, Eta, Glenn, and Peggy, are the kind you can only see through a telescope. You can imagine her shock and consternation (meaning alarm or worry) when her parents tell her they are packing up and moving to Chicago.

It just so happens that beautiful, suburbia-loving Bree, born to scientist parents (she swears she was switched at birth) is moving to the Moon Shadow. Her family is going to take over the campground for the next few years while Ally's family returns to civilization. Despite her pleading and begging, Bree must leave behind her clothes, her friends, her makeup, her LIFE.

Jack is the quiet kid who sits in the back of the room drawing, trying to blend in and not be noticed. Slightly overweight and uninterested in school or friends (or anything for that matter), he accepts an offer from his science teacher, Mr. Silver, to accompany him on a trip to the Moon Shadow campground to watch the solar eclipse and perform an important science experiment. Although he couldn't care less about the eclipse, helping Mr. Silver with the experiment will get him out of going to summer school.

These three completely different kids with completely different lives have no idea that their paths will become forever intertwined...

Recipe to Read By: Man-in-the-Moon Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

frosting in white or light yellow (use canned frosting or make your favorite recipe)

Yellow sugar sprinkles

candy corn

mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugar together.

3. Beat in egg and vanilla.

4. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. The dough will be stiff.

DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH!

5. Roll one half of the dough out about 1/4 of an inch thick.

6. Cut out cookies using a moon-shaped cookie cutter. (Or use a round cookie cutter and then cut in half to make a crescent moon.)

7. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. (Watch carefully so your moons don't burn. Nobody wants to eat a black moon!)

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for five minutes before placing cookies onto wire rack.

9. After cookies are completely cool, frost. (Load up that frosting--Mmmm)

10. Sprinkle with yellow sugar sprinkles.

11. Add a candy corn nose and a mini-chocolate chip eye.

12. Dust off your telescope and take a bite out of the moon while gazing at the sky.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/sherwood/504/mooncookie.html.

Ruby Holler

I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but this cover just looks inviting, doesn't it?


As soon as I picked up Ruby Holler it began to whisper softly to me, "Come inside, dear reader, and make yourself at home at my incredibly cozy, charming little cottage and enjoy some sizzling bacon and piping hot pancakes with fresh butter. Don't you want to frolic in the shade of my secluded yard, climb these ginormous maple trees and just escape life in general?" "Yes, yes I do!" I found myself yelling to no one in particular. "I adore pancakes and sizzling bacon and frolicking in shady yards! I must read you right now!" And so my journey to Ruby Holler began.

Florida and Dallas (a.k.a. The Trouble Twins) have lived at the Boxton Creek Home for Children since they arrived on the doorstep as babies. The ramshackle (meaning run-down) orphanage is run by Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, the nastiest, most horrendous excuse for childcare providers ever known.

They were middle-aged, cranky and tired, and growing stiff and cold as winter-bound trees. They believed in rules, and their rules were posted on doorways and in hallways and above each child's bed. There were general rules and kitchen rules, bathroom rules and stairway rules, basement rules and outside rules, upstairs rules and downstairs rules, clothing rules, washing rules, cleaning rules, rules upon rules upon rules.

To top it off, Florida and Dallas were confined to the absolute rear of the house, where they slept in two tiny cubicles huddles side by side, ate mush for every meal, and were constantly screamed at. Sounds like a great place to grow up, huh? (This would be a great time to go hug your mom and tell her "thanks" for not leaving you orphaned in Boxton Creek with putrid people like the Trepids. It's okay if she looks confused--just go with it.)

As with all orphan-themed novels, when things couldn't begin to get any worse, they start to look up, albeit slowly. By some twist of fate, the twins are invited by Sairy and Tiller, a sweet, older couple who live in Ruby Holler, to accompany them on their last great adventures. Ruby Holler turns out to be everything the cover suggests and more. The children swing from the great trees, play in the crystal clear stream, eat their fill of delicious homemade food, and constantly wonder when this crazy couple is going to show their true colors by locking them in a basement, calling them thieves, or making them sleep in a snake pit, as families in the past had done.
After many days spent working on the boat and preparing for the trips, the foursome part ways in a trial (meaning practice) run before the actual expeditions. Through many obstacles ("compass? what compass?") a near-death experience (boating without knowing how to swim), and having all of their gear stolen by thieving teenagers, the group comes to two conclusions:
1.) Florida and Dallas have seen their last days with the putrid Trepids and 2.) Maybe leaving the Holler wasn't such a good idea after all.

*Recipe to Read By: Florida, Dallas, Sairy, and Tiller's Mission Accomplished Cake
This cake should be eaten after any huge challenge that has been accomplished despite many obstacles. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, pulling an "A" on a social studies test even though you fell asleep halfway through, surviving a night in a haunted cemetary with a full moon, leaving the dentist a happy camper, successfully hiding your brussel sprouts under your shirt without your sister telling on you, etc.

Directions
Start with a big red bowl.
Dump in some chocolate syrup.
Drizzle in some honey.
Drop in a handful of pecans.
Add more chocolate syrup.
Toss in a handful of chopped red cherries.
Open a jar of peanuts and dump those in.
Go ahead and empty the rest of the jar of chocolate syrup into the bowl.
Find a bag of cookies, smash them up, and dump the whole bag in as well.
Pound the dough with a wooden spoon.
Eat raw. And whatever you do--DO NOT let your mother see you making (or eating) this!

This recipe comes straight out of pages 291-292 and has not yet been tested by my taste kitchen staff (this includes my husband and crazy Kendall, the lab). Please let me know how it turns out and what kind of cookies you use. I'm thinking left-over Girl Scout cookies would be exceptionally tasty...or Mint Milanos perhaps? Nutter Butters? Oreos???

The Winter Room

Let's establish an important fact from the start: I despise the cold. Loathe the cold. Abhor the cold. Disdain the cold. Okay, you get it; the cold and I do not share a mutual understanding. As soon as the thermostat dips below 70 you will find me wearing flannel, drinking hot chocolate, and flat-out refusing to step outdoors. Yes, I'm well aware of the names you are calling me right now (sissy, pansy, weirdo, etc.) but I don't care. I'm a cold wimp and I'm proud of it.

Now, you're probably wondering why, if I'm so prone to red noses and frozen snot, that I would choose to read a book with the word "winter" in the title. Here's my answer: I like the idea of winter. Snuggling up with a warm blanket, smoke rising in the chimney, sleigh rides through a fresh coat of snow, big pots of steaming hot soup, that sort of thing. I just don't like winter itself. Does that make sense? Bah. Didn't think so.

Gary Paulson's The Winter Room isn't just about winter, although the winter plays more than a supporting role. It's about spring, summer, and fall, too, and how each season is both celebrated and scorned by a Minnesota farming family. Although the exact date was not printed, Paulson writes about a time in the past where families churned their own butter, plowed their fields with a team of horses, and did not rely on electricity for light or warmth. The story is narrated by eleven-year-old Eldon, who lives with his mother, father, brother, and two great-uncles, and depicts the daily routine of his family's life on the farm. Beginning in the spring, Eldon describes in great detail his malodorous chores (piling manure and milking cows, ugh) and farm activities with his brother, Wayne. One particular amusing scene comes to mind when Wayne (having read his fair share of Black Ranger Westerns) attempts to jump from the hayloft and land on one of the horses.

I'm not sure how he figured the drop from the hayloft to Stacker. I
know that when Jed did it in the book he jumped out of the window and landed
perfectly in the saddle and rode away just as clean and as nice as you could
hope for and not a rustler knew he was leaving. It didn't work out that way for
Wayne...

The book gracefully transitions from spring to summer to fall and finally to it's namesake: winter. Winter on the farm brings layers of snow and a new set of chores, but the early night fall leads to a family gathering in the winter room where Uncle David tells stories about the "old country." Each of the four sections of the book are so beautifully written that I frequently lost all recognition of my location and surroundings. While reading the "Winter," I happily floated away to a warm spot in front of a roasting fire, sitting next to Wayne, and leaning in listening eagerly to every word of Uncle David's stories. My reverie was unfortunately dashed as soon as my cell phone rang, bringing me quickly back to the modern comforts of my Florida living room where it was a balmy 79 degrees outside.

The writing is that good. In fact, it's so good that I may give winter a second chance.

But only until November rolls around again...

*Disclaimer: This book is not recommended for the squeamish type. If you are a vegetarian, cry when passing roadkill, or still get teary-eyed after reading Stone Fox for the bazillionth time, then this book may not be for you.

Recipe to Read By: Baked Apples

When the thermostat reads something unbearably cold (read: 75 degrees or below) pull out the last of the fall apples and bake something so simple and delicious that you'll forget your nose is running.

INGREDIENTS
4 apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Scoop out the core from top of the apple, leaving a well. (Ask a parent to help you with this--it's not as easy as it looks!)

Do not cut all the way through. Stuff each apple with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until sugar begins to caramelize and apples are tender.

Try adding raisins, unwrapped caramels, or chocolate chips--the variations are endless!

(Hint for the lazy: You can always throw your apple in the microwave to cook, but you won't get that I'm-surviving-a-blistery-cold-winter-without-modern-conveniences feel. But it's your call.)

Sahara Special

Do you have a secret self that no one knows about? Is there a part of you that you keep hidden from even your family? Hmmm. Well that's okay, I don't either. But wouldn't it be exciting if you did? Sahara has a secret. A big secret.

I read at home, and write, too, but whatever I write, I make sure I'm by myself and then, when I'm done writing, I rip it out of my notebook. Ihide it in my binder behind section 940 in the public library, where all the books about Somewhere Else are located. This very paper, for instance, will someday be an archaeological find. Someday, someone will reach behind section 940 and find the dusty works of me, Sahara Jones, Secret Writer, and that person's life will be made more exciting, just by reading my Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures. Someday, people will see I am a writer.

Sahara Jones is repeating fifth grade. After her dad left two years ago, she stopped doing her classwork and began writing a series of letters. Dear Daddy, when are you coming home? Why didn't you take me with you? All of the letters are now in her "official file," which only teachers can see. After spending a year being pulled out for "Special Needs," Sahara's mom decides that enough is enough and that Sahara should be in the classroom, whether she fails or not. (Thanks, mom!) Enter Miss Poitier (or Miss Pointy). With her long, flowing skirts, purple lipstick, and unconvential teaching methods, Sahara is immediately enthralled by her new teacher. Miss Pointy issues each student a journal and instructs them to write as much or as little as they like.

Although she writes her secret library pages in profusion, she is reluctant to write in her classroom journal. Her first journal entry declares herself a writer, in which Miss Pointy pointedly (ha) replies with, "a writer writes." There are a number of other memorable "Pointy-isms" that found me scribbling furiously in my Nightstand Notes* so that I would remember to say them to my own class. (Note to my class: You may have begun to wonder why I have suddenly donned purple eyeliner, tell long, drawn-out stories with seemingly no point, and hand out copious amounts of glittery stickers; it's because I'm emulating my new teacher-idol, Miss Pointy.)

The story is told through Sahara's eyes, and those who read the book will admire her honest insight to the world and tickle-your-funnybone dialogue. With the help of Miss Pointy and some unlikely classmates, Sahara finds the courage to overcome her fears and throw her "official file" to the wind.

*Nightstand Notes are just a simple notebook that I keep next to my bed for jotting down thoughts, reflections, or anything else I want to remember while I'm reading. I have about 10 books on my nightstand at this moment, so the NN help to keep my thoughts organized.

Miss Pointy's Schedule:

Puzzling, 9:10-10:40

Time Travel and World Exploring or Mad Science, alternate days, 10:40-11:30
Read Aloud, after lunch

Read Together after Read Aloud

Read Alone after Read Together

Art of Language, end of the day

I know, it makes your own school day seem pretty dreary, huh?

Recipe to Read By: No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

This cookie recipe has all of the characteristics of Miss Pointy: it's sweet, sloppy-looking,

no-nonsense, and a little nutty.

Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cocoa, milk and margarine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oats.
2. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow cookies to cool for at least 1 hour.

(I only make it about 10 minutes, but I recommend following the directions.)

Store in an airtight container.

Hint: Bring some to your teacher and score some major brownie (ahem, cookie) points.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.allrecipes.com/

Kudos to Esme Raji Codell:
I can't tell you how much inspiration I've gained as a teacher from this author. I recommend Esme's fabulous book, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, to parents and teachers alike, as well as her equally exceptional children's literature website, Planet Esme, and Book-A-Day Blog.

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

What is your granny like?

Is she tiny and frail? Round and jovial? Does she love to cook or tell stories? Is she a cheek-pincher? Does she have a bunch of cats and knit you horrendous sweaters? Is her hair blue? Does she smell flowery or moth-bally? Does she live around the corner or miles away?

I love grannies of all shapes and sizes (even the mothball variety), and I especially love grannies who cook.

I consider myself very fortunate to have a granny who cooks--and to add to that fortune an Italian granny who cooks. Pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, gnocchi (pretty much anything with a vowel at the end) is made from scratch by my Nonna. And don't even get me started on her cinnamon rolls. Mmmm...Drool...

Tip of the Day: If you don't have an Italian granny you need to go out and get yourself one right now. Trust me, your tummy will thank you.

Zuppa! Granny Torrelli is one of those Italian grannies who cooks. Just like at my Nonna's house, there are copious amounts of soup and pasta cooking going on in Granny Torrelli's kitchen. However, unlike my Nonna, Granny Torrelli serves up a side of advice along with her zuppa. Rosie is the main character of this delicious book and also the granddaughter of Granny Torrelli. Many hours are spent in the kitchen with Granny Torrelli, as Rosie tells of the ups and downs of her relationship with her best friend, Bailey.

The soup is almost done. Granny Torrelli sits down, props her feet up on a
chair. "Come on," she says, "sit yourself down. Put your feet up." She always
does this before we eat. She says people rush too much. She likes to take a few
minutes to smell the food and relax before we go rushing around gobbling it up.
The soup is almost done. Granny Torrelli sits down, props her feet up on a
chair. "Come on," she says, "sit yourself down. Put your feet up." She always
does this before we eat. She says people rush too much. She likes to take a few
minutes to smell the food and relax before we go rushing around gobbling it up.

Rosie and Bailey are neighbors and were born only a week apart. They are like sister and brother, only better "because I chose him and he chose me." In addition, Rosie has always been Bailey's helper as he was born visually impaired. The two have a falling out and Rosie, hurt and confused, turns to Granny Torrelli for advice. Between the combination of Granny's heartfelt stories (which will have you laughing out loud or running for a tissue) and the soothing aroma of the soup, Rosie begins to learn a valuable lesson about love and friendship.

Tutto va bene! All is well when Granny Torrelli makes soup!

Recipe to Read By: Granny Torrelli's Italian Vegetable Soup

I know this is a baking blog, but this book was screaming for a soup recipe. Zupa! Zupa!

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 zucchini, thinly sliced crosswise
2 (13 3/4-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces dried wide egg noodles
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.

Add the leeks and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini and artichokes.

Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.

Saute until the zucchini are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth. Stir in the thyme and cook for 2 minutes.

Cover the pot and bring the soup to a simmer.

Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the flavors develop, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup into bowls.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Granny Torrelli's Notes: Prop your feet up, inhale the aroma of the food, and relax.

Buon appetito! Mangia tutto!

*Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Love, Ruby Lavender

"Good garden of peas!"

Ruby is a barefoot tomboy with a hankering for mischeif and a love for chickens. She and her grandma, Miss Eula, live in the sleepy town of Halleluia, Mississippi, where everyone knows each others' business and nothing exciting ever happens. When Miss Eula leaves for Hawaii, Ruby's world turns upside down. Ruby is left to fend for herself against the horrible Melba Jane and to raise two baby chicks on her very own. I loved reading the hilarious letters Ruby and Miss Eula write back and forth to each other and found myself yearning to live in Halleluia by the end of the book. If you find yourself speaking Ruby-lingo with a Southern accent, wearing overalls all day/every day, and plotting ways to steal chickens DO NOT FEAR. It happens to everyone who reads this.

Recipe to Read By:

Ruby's mom's Zucchini Bread (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup water

2 cups grated zucchini

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Ruby's notes: Don't get any notions about sharing one of the loaves. They are GOOD and you'll eat 'em up quicker than you can say Halleluia, Mississippi. (For those of you priss-pants picky eaters: you can't taste the zucchini--I promise! Just eat it and quit your foolin'!)

*Recipe courtesy of Ruby's mom (who got it from Paula Deen of the Food Network--shhh, don't tell!)