Song for a Whale Review (World Whale Day)

Today is World Whale Day.  I read this book so I could post a review for this day.  It was the first time I had heard of 52 Blue.  A whale that sings at a different frequency than most whales.  This book is based on that whale.

 

Song For a Whale by Lynne Kelly

(from the back of the book) Twelve-year-old Iris has never let her deafness slow her down.  A whiz at fixing electronics, she's always felt at home in the world of wires and vacuum tubes.

School, on the other hand, isn't quite as simple.  She's the only Deaf student in her classes, and between her frustrating English teacher Ms. Conn and her overly helpful classmate Nina.  Iris can't seem to catch a break.

But during science class, Iris learns about Blue 55, the loneliest whale in the world.  Saddened by the animal's inability to speak to other whales, Iris uses her tech skills to come up with a plan to communicate with Blue 55.

One small problem: the whale is swimming off the coast of Alaska, nearly three thousand miles from her Texas home.  But nothing will stop Iris, and with her Deaf grandmother by her side, she sets out on a road trip to meet Blue 55 and make sure he's finally heard.

This is about a whale, but it is more about the girl who is chasing the whale.  Iris, being the only deaf girl in her school, feels like no one understands her.  When she learns about a whale who seems to have the same problem, she immediately feels a kinship with him.  The book follows her quest to let this whale know someone is listening to him.  The quest was made harder because she speaks a different language than everyone else.  The way she relates to the hearing world and how they relate to her was interesting to see.  Expressions are different in sign language, her teacher was upset because a poem she wrote didn't rhyme but to her it did.  So even though she had a translator communication was not always easy.  I never thought of sign language that way before.  I liked how Kelly used the whale's story to tell Iris's.  You could feel Iris's frustration with not belonging and not being understood, even when those who loved her tried their best.  It is a wonderful look at a girl learning how to make her own space in a world that doesn't seem to have a space for her.  And the people that love her learning how to let her.  

Pangolins Didn't Do it! (It's Not My Fault Review)

 Every year the third Saturday in February is World Pangolin Day.  The poor pangolin has been hunted for meat and for his scales (he is the only scaled mammal) which some people think have medicinal uses and he was even blamed (but later exonerated) for being the one who passed COVID from bats to humans.  Pangolins have had it rough.  

In It's Not My Fault: A Pangolin's Manifesto by Rachel Shaw one pangolin wants you to hear his side of the story.

The book starts out by mentioning how the pangolin was linked to COVID and how he was hunted and explains that that is why he spends so much time at home.  With simple and adorable illustrations you get to see how this pangolin spends his time.  Reading and drawing and tending his plants.  Along the way he gives the reader advice.  Simple things he thinks would be good to do like, being kind to others, spending time in nature, or exercising.  The reader is also supplied with facts about pangolins.  Did you know that they can close their ears and nostrils so ants can't climb in?  This would be a great introduction to pangolins because there is a surprising amount of information here for so short a book.  It is a cute story that brings the plight of pangolins into the light and at the same time will make you smile.  

The Friday 56

    

 

Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

This week my book is It's Not My Fault: A Pangolin's Manifesto by Rachel Shaw.  It was a theory that pangolins passed COVID from bats to humans.  This pangolin wants you to know that it is not true.  I will post a review tomorrow on World Pangolin Day.  

My Friday 56:

If you don't have bubbles, try mud.  Pangolins don't need an expensive spa day - a roll in mud cools them down and helps remove parasites.

It's a cute book that is a good introduction to pangolins if you want to learn about them.

Want to make your own gin?

It is well known to my friends and family that I like a good cocktail.  So for Christmas my sister gave me a Do Your Gin kit.  It turns out you can make your own gin at home.  All you need is a neutral alcohol and juniper berries.

The kit comes with two 350 ml bottles, a funnel, two filters, a collection of botanicals including juniper berries, instructions, a few recipes and a description of the botanicals.  The bottles have a label on them where you can check off the ingredients you have added but I reused the bottles for several gins so that wouldn't have made sense for me.

They suggest vodka as the neutral alcohol I used Skyy because it is decent vodka at a decent price.  And it is the one I could money back for from my Ibotta app. 

The instructions are kind of vague so some of it was a bit of guessing.  I filled the bottle right up to the bottom of the neck.  Which worked fine for the first two gins but on my third (in which I added bits of fresh ginger) I realized that I should have taken into account the displacement the ingredients would create.  I had to pour a little vodka out to fit my flavorings in.

first gin

I didn't follow any of the recipes.  For my first gin I used one test tube of juniper berries.  The instructions say that if you crush the berries they will release more flavor.  Since it was my first try I didn't know how much flavor they would release anyway so I hedged my bets and crushed half of them.  I let it sit on the shelf for 24 hours then I added about a teaspoon of the pink pepper.  I crushed half of that too.  Then it sat on the shelf for another 24 hours.  The instructions say you can drink it after the 48 hours but suggests that you leave it in the fridge for another 12.  So I put it in the fridge for the last 12 hours.  Then I used funnel and the filter to pour it into the other bottle.  It was not clean like gin usually is because the natural colors of the herbals remain in the gin.  There was a strong juniper flavor but not enough to overpower the pepper.  I liked it.  The pepper added a nice spice that went well with
the juniper.

third gin

I have made two more gins since.  Using the same timings on all three.  The second I used the same amount of juniper but didn't crush any and then added about half of the hibiscus flower.  I liked the juniper better this way.  The hibiscus made it a beautiful red color and gave it a lovely floral (but not perfumey) flavor.  It was something I would sip on.  The third was the same juniper as the second and then I went completely off script and added about a tablespoon of fresh ginger bits and about half a teaspoon of orange peel.  Once again you could taste all the flavors added and I ended up with a gin I was happy to sip on.

The only ingredient that didn't come from the kit was the ginger.  You get three test tubes of juniper berries so I have to buy more now if I want to make more gin.  (I looked and it is available on Amazon.) It only comes with two filters so for my third gin I got little coffee filters and they worked just fine.  And I still have a lot of different flavors to try.

I would not have thought of doing it on my own but now that I have gotten the idea from the kit I think I will continue to experiment with it.  It is a lot of fun trying new flavors.

The kit cost $59.90.  It was a really nice and well appreciated gift.  But.  There are a lot of botanicals that I don't know I will ever use.  And you can use any resealable bottle (well, pair of bottles) and get a funnel anywhere.  I think it makes a good gift but if you are interested in trying out your own gin making you can probably get all the things you need for less than the $60 asking price of this kit.

Angry, Angry Hippos (American Hippo Review)

 It's World Hippo Day! (Feb. 15, 2022) I like hippos but, from a distance.  Hippos seem to be angry creatures who kill an average of 500 people a year.  I don't want to meet a hippo.  I will be content to read about hippos.

And there were some seriously angry hippos in American Hippo.

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey

American Hippo is a collection of two novellas and two short stories about an alternate America where hippos were imported as a food source during a meat shortage.  (This was an actually proposal at one point.  Thankfully it didn't go anywhere.)  But the hippos escaped and now they rule the swamp that used to be the Mississippi River.

This is a western with hippos.  Instead of riding horses across the plains they are riding hippos in the marshes and swamps.  Who wouldn't want to read that?  I think it is a very interesting concept and makes for some fun reading.  There is a lot going on so there never a lull in the action.  There is revenge, a love story, assassins, treachery, evil plots.  The fast pace makes this a quick read.  And even though there is a lot going on it is very much about the characters: their personal relationships, their past traumas, what brought them to the place they are now.  You get to know these people to some extent, some you hate some you like and some you are not sure how you feel about them, but you are not ambivalent about them.  I did find it a little annoying that everyone magically knew to call one of the characters 'they' instead of him without anything being said.  It's an alternate history story so I don't mind that using they as a personal pronoun is a thing in the book when it wasn't at the time the book takes place.  Neither were hippos.  But how did everyone just know?  It's not a big thing but I thought it was odd.  Other than that small point I found this an exciting, imaginative, entertaining adventure that I really enjoyed reading.  The second novella picks up right were the first one leaves off and the two short stories explain how some of the things in the novella came about.  So even though the book is technically a collection of four titles it is all one story.  This is the first book by Sarah Gailey that I have read, and it makes me want to read more.

Friday 56

   

 

Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is Song For a Whale by Lynne Kelly.  It is about a deaf girl, Iris, who finds out there is a whale that sings at a different frequency than other whales so they can't understand them.  She understands how that feels and wants to find a way to let Blue 55 know someone hears him.

My Friday 56:

Sometimes he's quiet for weeks at a time, and we worry that he's given up (or that he's no longer alive), but then he starts singing again.  It seems he keeps trying to communicate, but there's nothing out there that understands his songs,

That sounds really very sad.  And Blue 55 is based on a real whale.  So there really is a whale out there that basically speaks a different language than other whales.  Poor guy.  

What do you do with an umbrella? (The Thingamabob Review)

It's National Umbrella Day!  How do you celebrate such a day?  I don't really know.  It isn't even raining.  So I thought I would read this picture book about an elephant who finds an umbrella but doesn't know what it is.  It seemed as good a way as any.

The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na

An elephant finds a thingamabob and tries all sorts of uses for it to figure out what it is.

When an elephant happens upon a thingamabob (or an umbrella as we would call it) he tries everything to figure out what it is.  He tries to fly with it, sail with it and hide behind it but nothing works until it starts to rain.  I think it would make a great read aloud book because I can see kids telling the silly elephant that he has got it wrong and answering him when he asks what his thingamabob could possibly be.  I love the fun, whimsical illustrations and they add a great deal of humor to this story of curiosity and discovery.

What the heck is Galliano?

 I like to try new cocktails and will sometimes pick one at random to try on the weekend.  Sometimes it is one that I have heard of before but never really knew what was in it.  This time it was the Harvey Wallbanger.  That's how I ended up with a bottle of Galliano.  

I had never heard of Galliano so when I went to the liquor store I had no idea what I was looking for.  But there it was on the shelf with the other liquors that really don't have a category, like Kahlua and amaretto and schnapps.  There was just the one type there, I later learned that Galliano has several different types.  I got the Autentico.  Just by happenstance.  (All the recipes that follow use Autentico.)

Galliano comes in this ridiculously tall bottle.  I felt a little silly bringing it up to the counter.  But I was determined.  So...

I get it home and take a taste.  First thing I notice is that it is hard to control the pour because the balance of the bottle is weird and when all the liquid shifts it tips more than you expect.  You have to learn where to hold the bottle so you can control it.  It is sweet and the predominant flavor is anise.  It is not something I would want to sip on all by itself.  But I found out it makes some great cocktails.  (And some not so great cocktails.)  And at 84.6 proof it is no lightweight.  

Harvey Wallbanger

So it all started with the Harvey Wallbanger.  It is orange juice, vodka and Galliano.  Unfortunately I didn't really like it.  The oj and Galliano didn't seem to blend well.  But it is a well known cocktail so maybe I'm crazy.

One that worked out better was Root Beer.  It has Kahlua and cola in it and somehow taste very much like root beer.  If you like root beer you will like this one.

The Barracuda has kind of a lot of ingredients with rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, and champagne on
top of the Galliano.  I think the slightly sweeter pineapple is a better mix with the Galliano and the champagne gives it a nice fizz.  

The Freddy Fudpucker is another orange juice concoction but this one has tequila.  This isn't one I'm likely to repeat either but I liked it better than the Harvey Wallbanger.  I think the strong flavor of tequila was a benefit over the neutral vodka.

Livorno Cup

The Gin and Galliano Sour is pretty straight forward.  You get exactly what you expect.  The ratio between the gin and Galliano is heavily weighted toward the gin.  I think if you like gin you will like this.

The Livorno Cup is another one that has a longer list of ingredients.  With gin, vermouth, lime juice, and ginger beer I really didn't know what to expect with the combination.  The balance is nice though.  You have the sweet Galliano and the bitter vermouth, the herbal gin that goes well with the anise from the Galliano and the ginger beer adds that slight bite while blending everything together and giving it a nice fizz.  

If you like bourbon you will like the Galliano Old Fashioned.  It tastes very much like a regular Old Fashioned with just a hint of the sweet anise in the background.

The Yellow Bird was one of my favorites.   Rum and Triple Sec to go with the Galliano with a touch of lime.  The sweet Triple Sec is a nice compliment to the Galliano.  

Beckoning Lady

The Beckoning Lady proves that passion fruit juice makes great cocktails.  And tequila with a nice fruit juice is always a good option.

Golden Cadillac

The Golden Dream is another orange juice one.  I like this one.  I guess it isn't the orange juice I don't like so much but it needs something else in the mix.  With cream and triple sec it turns into a creamy creamsicle treat.

The Golden Cadillac is another creamy treat.  And with the addition of creme de cacao it reminds me a little of Irish Cream.  

The Friday 56

  

 

Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is American Hippo by Sarah Gailey.  Did you ever wonder what would happen if America imported hippos as a food source?  Well, wonder no more.  American Hippo can answer the question for you.  

Page 56 is the end of a chapter so there wasn't much to choose from but...

My Friday 56:

Cal stared after him, clutching the purple napkin to what was left of his ear.  After a minute or two, he swore under his breath.

Obviously a hippo did not do that to him.  If a hippo got a hold of someone they would lose a lot more than an ear.

Icarus at the Edge of Time Review

 

Icarus at the Edge of Time by Brian Greene

 

(from the back of the book)

Icarus at the Edge of Time is a futuristic reimagining of the classic Greek myth.  This time, rather than wax wings and a journey near the Sun, a boy ventures through deep space and challenges the awesome power of black holes.  The fable dramatizes the startling implications of what is perhaps Einstein's greatest insight 

 

Yes, this is a board book.  But that doesn’t mean it isn’t for adults.  In fact the story would be lost on a child of the age you think of when you think of board books.  It is an imaginative retelling of the myth of Icarus, updated to a science fiction story but holding true to the ideas of the original.  In this short story Greene manages to create a foreboding feeling as the son disregards his father’s warning and flies off to explore a black hole and his father’s helplessness because there is nothing he can do.  It also explains the science behind the link between time and gravity to some extent.  Not an in depth look to be sure but a good first look at the concept.  It also has beautiful photos from the Hubble telescope.  Some of them are obscured by the representation of the black hole but don’t worry there are thumbnails of them all in the back so you can see them all in their entirety.  Since I have an interest in Greek myth and science I found the combination a wonderful idea and I’m glad I stumbled onto this one.

Happy Serpent Day (Verdi Review)

Today is National Serpent Day.  (Yes, there is a day for just about everything.  Except succotash.  I'm thinking of trying to create one.)  And what better way to celebrate then reading about our fine scaled friends.

Verdi by Janell Cannon

Verdi is about a young python.  He is bright yellow with sporty stripes, and he likes it that way.  He does not want to grow up and be green and slow like all the other pythons

Verdi is full of beautiful, lush, vibrant illustrations.  It tells a story of a baby python.  He and all his siblings are born yellow and his mother's wish for them all is that they grow up big and green.  But Verdi doesn't want that.  He thinks the green pythons are boring and lazy and does not want to be like them.  Verdi is afraid of change.  He does not want to grow up because he thinks he will not be him anymore.  But the story is about Verdi learning that change isn't necessarily bad and who you are remains the same.  It is a story about not being afraid of change or growing up, about not assuming your ideas and choices are always the best, about learning that (sometimes at least) your elders might actually know something you don't.  It is beautifully told in a quiet voice so you are hearing the message without realizing there is a message.  Children will learn the lessons but think they are just listening to a sweet story about a loveably baby python.

Friday 56

 

 

Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is Blood Feud by Daniel Harris.

It is about a family owned supermarket chain, how it grew from one small store to a billion dollar enterprise and the fights, lawsuits and bitterness that come when some family members think they are being cheated.

Now, a novel about a supermarket might not sound exciting but the characters are real and the emotions genuine and the battle over the supermarket involves millions of dollars so there is tension and intrigue.  I haven't finished it yet but I have the feeling there is more going on than a simple case if embezzlement and I am very interested to find out what it is.

My Friday 56:

Life was so simple then.  Nobody locked their cars, Ike's photo ops were mostly on the golf course, the only computers we had were too big to fit into a garage, and trying to hit a curve ball was my biggest challenge.

I don't really remember not locking the car and I never even tried to hit a cure ball but I get it.  I do remember when it was safe for kids to play outside by themselves and getting up at 4:00 AM to go fishing (because that's when the fish are out) was a grand adventure.  Life has gotten very complicated since then.

  

Peanut Butter Rules!

 Today is National Peanut Butter Day.  (Not to be confused with National Peanut Butter Lovers Day in March.)  

There are many ways to celebrate National Peanut Butter day.  You can eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, have peanut butter on crackers (have you tried mixing some honey in you peanut butter?  It's delicious) or you can just have a big spoonful of peanut butter.  OK.  Well, I guess basically there is only one way to celebrate.  Eat peanut butter.  But I'm ok with that. 

So when I want to eat peanut butter in an altered form instead of straight from the jar one of my go to recipes is Chocolate Peanut Buddy Bars from Very Best Baking.

They are pretty simple to make and most of the ingredients I always have on hand.  The only thing I have to buy most of the time is a bag of chocolate chips.  

You beat the butter and the peanut butter together (sometimes I even remember to leave the butter out to soften first).  I like to spray a little cooking spray in my measuring cup when I am measuring the peanut butter so I can get it out more easily.  Then you add the other ingredients, but only 3/4 of a cup of the chocolate chips.  Put that in a 13 x 9 pan and stick it in the oven.  25 minutes later you pull it out and pour the rest of the chocolate chips on top.  You let the chips melt and then spread them out into an even layer.  I have burned myself a couple of times on this step but then I got smart and started using an offset spatula.  It makes it so much easier.  I like to put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to set up the chocolate. 

Cut them up and you get a delicious peanut butter treat.  They are soft and not too sweet with just the right amount of peanut butter.  I mean, how can you go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate?  They are easy and quick to make and they are always a hit when I make them.  And I HAVE to share them or I will eat the whole batch.  

The Friday 56

 Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice.

My book this week is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.  

It is essentially a collection of short stories that are held together because they all happen in the same town and are all witnessed by the same young man.  If you have ever watched Ray Bradbury Theater some of the stories will be familiar to you.  But don't assume you know how they will end.  As with all short story collections some are better than others but I enjoyed them all.  

My Friday 56:

"Be what you are, bury what you are not," he had said.  "Tickets stubs are trickery.  Saving things is a magic trick, with mirrors."

I guess I can see his point.  But I have a box of mementos under my bed that I still plan to hold on to.

Mythica Movie Series Review

Mythica: The Quest for Heroes

Mythica: The Darkspore

Mythica: The Nacromancer

Mythica: The Iron Crown

Mythica: The Godslayer

starring Melanie Stone

A series of 5 movies about a slave girl who wants to be a sorcerer who manages to get away and become the leader of a ragtag group who have to save the world from an evil necromancer.

They are typical sword and sorcery films.  There are ogres and orks, dragons and elves.  There is magic galore and swordfights aplenty.  There are a lot of common themes: the underdog overcoming, unlikely people becoming heroes, rogues that turn out to have hearts of gold,.  Some have become rather corny over time but they are still used because they are still fun.  The acting is pretty good.  And although the iron crown looks like a piece of form painted silver, the effects, props and make-up and all pretty good as well.  The plot goes through all five movies and is one story so it is best if you watch them all in order or there will be holes in the story.  The plot itself is good enough, good versus evil while our heroes learn about themselves and each other.  It has all been done before but there were enough interesting moments so the story didn't feel old.  I just wish there were not so many times when the advancement of the plot relied on the heroes being so stupid.  There were a lot of times when I found myself angry at the characters because they did something that everyone in the audience knew was the wrong thing to do.  But if you have any interest in the genre then they are a lot of fun to watch.

(At the time I posted this, all five movies are streaming on Amazon Prime.)

Did you know there is a Hot Buttered Rum Day?

 There is such a thing as National Hot Buttered Rum Day.  And today is the day!  January 17th is National Hot Buttered Rum Day.

So I found out there was a day for hot buttered rum and I decided to try it.  I looked around for a recipe and they all had basically the same ingredients but I decided to go with the one from The Spruce Eats because it was a recipe for one cup as most of the other recipes were for four or more and used a whole stick of butter.  

I Googled what the best rum to use would be and there was a difference of opinion.  But the words I saw the most were Jamaican rum and dark rum.  So I went to the rum section of the liquor store and looked around.  And saw that Myers's Rum was both Jamaican and dark.  I figured that would be a good choice.

Make sure you leave the butter out to soften long enough before you want to make the drink.  Because you are supposed to mix the butter with the brown sugar and spices, and it is so much easier if the butter is nice and soft.  But then you have butter and sugar in the glass and then you add alcohol.  So it is basically a cup full of vices.  But it is just a little bit of each so I didn't feel too badly about it.

I worried that it would be too watered down, or that it would be weirdly greasy but it was neither.  It was a nice warm drink full of all those warm spices that you associate with winter that would be great on a cold evening.  It is not something I would drink on a regular basis but it is a nice treat for a cold night curled up on the sofa.

But I Just Want A Beer...

So I recently went to Trinidad.  And I know what you're thinking.  Why would you travel internationally now?  And you are not wrong.  But my stepdaughter was getting married and it was important to my husband and me that we be there.  So off we went.

All the form we had to fill out and all the hoops we had to jump through were a pain.  And there were a few setbacks.  But we got it done.  

We made reservations at the Kapok Hotel.  But a few days later we got an email saying they could not honor our reservations.  Why?  I don't know.  But I started to panic.  Everything just seemed so much harder than it should be.  But my husband has a calmer nature.  Thankfully.  So we found another hotel, and it was cheaper.  So I wasn't as upset any more.

We ended up staying at the Radisson Hotel in Port of Spain.  

I go to the front desk and tell them who I am.  They have my reservation and everything seems fine.  She hands me the keys, gave me the wi-fi password.  We noticed a bar and asked if it was open and were assured that it was but we would have to drink outside by the pool.  We had to go back outside to park our car in the lot.  The lot is right out front and you don't need to use a key card or anything to get in and no one is ever there to check if you are a guest at the hotel.  (So if you are ever on Wrightson Road in Port of Spain and need some where to park.)

Now, I need my morning coffee so maybe other people would not have instantly noticed the coffee maker but I did.  It was one of the one cup coffee makers (I can't remember the brand) that uses coffee disks.  Only there were no disks.  Just little packs of instant coffee.  So maybe you use the machine to heat the water?  And then just pour in the instant coffee?  I don't know.  But it was a small problem.

The bed was comfortable.  The bathroom was stocked with all the normal hotel bathroom things.  There was a desk, TV, safe, hairdryer.  (I forgot to check if there would be a fridge while making the reservation.  There was not.  My fault for not checking but disappointing.  It meant warm beer for me.)  Everything seemed fine.  And it was for a day. 

But then we go out and come back and our room isn't clean.  The next day it is.  But it was kind of hit and miss.  They cleaned the room when they felt like it.  And since the room wasn't being cleaned no one was checking up on toiletry supply levels.   We had to ask for more toilet paper twice.  I tried to use the hair dryer.  Well, to be honest it worked fine. But the whole entire thing was sticky and I didn't want to touch it so I gave that up.  I have to admit that the laundry service was good if a little expensive.  

They didn't tell us what the rules for the dining room were so we just show up for coffee expecting someone there will tell us.  There was no one there.  So we got our coffee and left.  We went back a few times and each time it was different.  Once we had to give our room number (which was fine and actually made sense) but the next day we give our room number and get our coffee and are called back to pay for it.  After we have gotten coffee there for almost a week.  The next time we were asked to sign in for breakfast.  Any one of these would be fine but choose one please.

Then one day we decide a nice cold beer would be great.  So we ask on the way in if the bar is already open and are assured that it is.  We drop our stuff in the room and come back down and stand at the bar.  In the lobby, in full view of about six hotel employees.  And we wait.  With no one behind the bar.  For 15 minutes.  We finally ask (again) someone walking by if the bar is actually open and are assured it is but we will have to drink outside.  She promises to find the bartender and tells us to have a seat outside.  We do.  And we wait another 15 minutes.  A few employees walk by but no one says anything to us.  So we go back inside - where there is still no one behind the bar - and give the whole thing up.  We drank warm beer in our room.

 

Check out was fine.  There were no odd charges on my bill.  Everything was as it should be.  But I was home for a week before my credit card was actually charged for the room.

I don't need luxury but I don't want to be made to feel like I am inconveniencing the staff by staying there.  And I felt unwelcome.  So I will de them a favor and not go back.  We will be going back to Trinidad (when travel restrictions lighten up) but we will not be staying at the Radisson.  

OK, I like Tangerines, I'll Bite

 So Instagram is always showing me posts that it thinks I will like.  So they are mostly about food with some cute animal photos thrown it.  It also seems very interested in getting me to watch the Yellowstone series.  I don't know why.  But it is right about the food and the cute animals so maybe I should give it a try.

Anyway.  One of the post was a video on how to make Tangerine Muffins from Cookist Wow on YouTube.  These were unusual muffins in that they had a whole half of a tangerine baked into the bottom of the muffin.  Now I was skeptical because it seemed like having something with so much moisture at the bottom of the muffin would be a problem.  But they looked cool so I wanted to try them out.

They were easy to work up and had the added bonus of using oil so it was easy to mix by hand and I didn't have to pull out or wash my stand mixer.

I did exactly what the video showed me.  I spooned a little sugar on the bottom of the muffin cups, put the tangerines in cut side down, covered them with the batter and baked them.

Simple enough.  Only they didn't turn out so great.  They looked cute.   When you cut them you got the semicircle of the tangerine on the bottom of the muffin.  They looked like they would taste great.  Unfortunately I didn't like them.  The tangerine had turned bitter and the skin on the segments was tough to bite through.  The cake part did not rise very much so it was dense.  And overall it just didn't have that much flavor.  

I ended up throwing most of them away.  I love a citrus muffin but this one just didn't work out. 

Who doesn't love filled pasta?

 I love filled pasta dishes.  The fact that filled pastas are usually filled with cheese probably has something to do with that.  And then if you add beef, well, that just makes everything better. So I couldn't resist a recipe called Beef and Cheese Manicotti from the Food Network.

You have to cook the manicotti first and right out of the pot some of my manicotti were already broken.  But whatever, they taste the same.  While they were cooking I sautéed the onion and beef.

Making the filling is not complicated but then you have to get it into the manicotti.  There was no hint on how to do that.  Last time I made manicotti I tried the pastry bag made out of a zip top bag technique.  That didn't work for me.  But I am not very good with a pastry bag so if you have any skill in that area you might want to give that a try.  I just used a tablespoon and carefully pushed the filling in until it was halfway full and then did the same thing form the other side.  I packed them as full as I could and had a little sticking out the ends and had plenty of filling.  So don't skimp.  A few more manicotti broke during this stage.  

Then I had to get them in the pan.  I thought that would be the easy part but it was a really tight fit.  I had less than half in the pan when I realized I was going to have trouble.  I thought about moving them around like some sort of pasta puzzle but I decided to just push on.  In the end I had to cut on in half and just cram it in wherever I could.  But, as I kept reminding myself, it would all taste the same.  

Some cheese on top (more cheese, I love it) and in the oven it goes.  Half an hour later you have beautiful manicotti.  I don't really know how you can go wrong with pasta and cheese and this case is no different.  It is very tasty.  If you like ricotta cheese you can't help but like this.  And it is very filling.  It makes a good hardy meal.  The only thing I might do differently is add a little crushed red pepper to the cheese filling next time.  But I like some sort of hot pepper element in just about everything I eat so that might just be me and my unnatural love of heat.  

I think pasta is a great way to go when you are unsure what to make for dinner.  This one is a little more work than just boiling some pasta and heating up some store bought sauce (which is also tasty by the way) but I do think the extra work is worth it.  I like manicotti and I can find no reason to go looking for a different recipe than this,

The Friday 56

 

Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice.

My book this week is The Low, Low Woods by Dani and Tamra Bonvillain

A graphic novel about a town called Shudder-to-Think where there are strange creatures in the woods and all the women have lost time.  Well, I mean, what do you expect when you live in a place called Shudder-to-Think?  Then two young women decide to figure out what is going on.

You can see my review here.

My Friday 56:

All I can say is this: humanity has always had witches and witches have always had potions, and yet the fucked-up bullshit never ceases.  You do the math.

Give back on Veteran's Day

 

Veteran's Day is a time to celebrate, honor, thank and remember all those who have served in the armed forces.  Below are a few ways to give back.

Wounded Warrior Project

Paralyzed Veterans of America

K9's for Warriors

Gary Sinise Foundation

Semper Fi Fund

International Animation Day

 October 28th is International Animation Day!

To celebrate I'm going to share a couple of animated movies I have watched recently.  Oddly enough, neither one has any dialogue.

The first is The Red Turtle by Michael Dudok de Wit

A Man is washed ashore on a deserted island where, during his attempts to escape, he meets a red sea turtle.  

First off, the animation is beautiful.  Nice soft tones and lovely hues.  It is able to convey the fury of the sea, the desolation of the island and all of the emotions of the characters without any words being spoken.  It was a beautiful film to watch.  The story has some fantasy elements in it that you just have to except without explanation.  But mostly it is about life and many things that most people can relate to.  I'm sure there is symbolism and metaphor here that I missed.  I'm sure that if you Google it you will get a lot of interpretations.  To me it had to do with The Man finding what he needed while he was looking for something else; and about finding peace and salvation in unexpected ways.  This is also a story about love and the cycle of life.  I'm sure there are those who would disagree with some of my interpretations.  But that is another lovely thing about the film.  Everyone will see something different.  I think some people will be put off by the fantasy elements and say that the film makes no sense.  And it is slow, so I don't think young children will enjoy it.  It is not what I expected it to be but I am very glad I watched it.

The second is The Shaun the Sheep Movie by Mark Burton

Shaun decides to have a day away from the farm and leads all his sheep friends into the Big City only to get more adventure than he bargained for.

Shaun the Sheep is stop-action animation.  This one would be good for a young audience.  There is a lot of silly and goofy action.  But as an adult watching this I still had a lot of fun.  Although Shaun gets into all sorts of mischief you can't help but root for him as he tries to avoid the dog, Bitzer.  The characters, as well as the plot, are a little silly and goofy but the animation still does a great job of telling the story without the use of words.  There is a surprising amount of emotion in those little sheep faces.  Shaun might not always make the wisest choices but in the end he learns a little something and does the right thing.  It is hard not to get attached to these quirky characters.  This is another one I am really glad I saw.

The Trip (and next three trips too) Movie Review

The Trip

The Trip to Italy

The Trip to Spain

and

The Trip to Greece with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon

All of these films are about Steve and Rob being asked to go on a tour of the restaurants in these various places in order to write about them, and the trip as a whole, for various publications.

Don't be misled.  These are not movies about food.  Although they are in restaurants a lot of the time there is not a lot of conversation about the food.  Sometimes you don't even know what they are eating, never mind what they think about what they are eating.  The movies are about Rob and Steve and their friendship?  The question is because at times they don't even seem to like each other and most of the time they are trying to outdo the other.  Although some times the banter between them can be funny just as often the conversation is rather annoying as they do impressions of the same actors doing the same lines over and over through all four movies.  The plot barely changes through the films either.  There are slight variations in the personal lives of the two men or sometimes they are following in the footsteps of someone or other on the trip, but it is mostly all the same.  They sit in restaurants acting like fools with behavior that would get them kicked out of most places (but no one seems to notice) as they try to prove to each other that they are more famous, more successful and better at impressions than the other.  I did learn some interesting facts along the way and the scenery was beautiful.  And I did watch all four so I guess that says something,  But unless you are die hard Steve Coogan or Rob Brydon fans (or are really into Sean Connery and Michael Caine impressions) than I think these flims with quickly become tedious.