Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
I was planning on relaxing and reading on the deck Saturday but couldn’t resist the urge to do “just a little” gardening, which turned into a couple of hours of shrub trimming and tidying up the flower beds. Sometimes I just can’t help myself! But I did get to listen to a few more hours of the latest Stephen King novel, Finders Keepers, while I worked.
Sunday I decided to reinstall Windows in a desperate attempt to fix an intermittent freeze-up problem on my laptop. That seems to have fixed it, but now there is a problem with the network adapter and wireless connection. This thing is only a month old – I think it’s cursed! Reading on the deck would have been a wiser choice.
A few new books arrived last week . . .
Print Books
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin from Little, Brown.
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory–even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy’s achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe…and the potential for love and hope right next door.
We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh from LibraryThing.
Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.
Early One Morning by Virginia Baily
Chiara Ravello is about to flee occupied Rome when she locks eyes with a woman being herded on to a truck with her family. Claiming the woman’s son, Daniele, as her own nephew, Chiara demands his return; only as the trucks depart does she realize what she has done. She is twenty-seven, with a sister who needs her constant care, a hazardous journey ahead, and now a child in her charge.
Exposure by Chauntelle Tibbals from Greenleaf Book Group.
Chauntelle Tibbals exposes readers to one of the most mysterious businesses and significant subcultures shaping our modern world – porn. Adult entertainment is a part of us – it’s a hugely influential component of our culture. Like it or not, it partially shapes who we are as a society.
How was your week?
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As much as I love fresh zucchini, I would rather eat the flowers. Yes, the blossoms are not only edible, but they are delicious. Today I’m reposting my favorite recipe for Fried Zucchini Blossoms. Any large squash blossoms will work, but the zucchini flowers are the tastiest and least fragile.
Freshly Picked Squash Blossoms
When my garden is at peak production, it’s not unusual to find a dozen flowers on the zucchini and squash plants every morning. They are best picked early in the day, before the flowers close, and cook them that same day. I find they will last a few days in the crisper if stored in a vented plastic bag.
When picking the flowers, watch out for bees, they will often get drunk on the nectar and fall asleep in the flowers. And only pick the male flowers, unless you don’t want more squash. Seriously, there are male and female flowers. The male flower sits on a long, slender stem. Most flowers are male. The female flower will be attached to a tiny squash plant and have a large pistil in the center of the flower.
Farmer’s markets often carry the blossoms, but get there early because they usually go fast, and they are pricey.
Recipe: Fried Squash Blossoms
Ingredients
• 2 dozen squash flowers
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• A handful of chopped parsley
• Course salt and ground pepper
• 2 or 3 eggs
• Vegetable oil or light olive oil
• Approx one cup of water
Preparation
Rinse the flowers and remove the pollen stem from the inside. Gently pat dry.
Mix together the flour, parsley, a few pinches of salt and a dash of pepper in a small bowl. In a separate bowl. Lightly beat the two eggs. Add the cup of water and the eggs to the flour mix and whisk until all lumps are gone.
Add about one inches of oil to a skillet and heat.
Dip the flowers one at a time in the batter and cook in batches on medium-high heat for about a minute on each side, or until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.
Fried Squash Blossoms
There are many variations of this recipe, and I have posted others that I like, but today I’m making one of the simpler versions using a basic egg, flour and water batter. The last time I made them, I substituted beer for the water and left out the eggs. The flowers can also be stuffed with ricotta cheese and then fried.
They can be served hot or at room temperature, as an appetizer or as part of a meal.
This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.
Participation is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press | May 2015
Format: Hardcover | 448 Pages
Genre: Women’s Fiction Rating: 4 stars
Greer Hennessy needs palm trees. As a movie location scout, picture-perfect is the name of the game. But her last project literally went up in flames, and her career is on the verge of flaming out. Greer has been given one more chance, if she can find the perfect undiscovered beach hideaway for a big-budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town called Cypress Key. There’s one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino-which will be perfect for the film’s explosive climax. There’s just one problem. Eben Thibadeaux, the town mayor, completely objects to Greer’s plan.
I liked Greer, whose backstory turns out to be much more involved that it appeared on the surface. As we learn about her family, her friends, her relationship with her divorced parents, and disastrous ex-boyfriend, her complex personality evolves. Add in a varied cast of lively characters in Cypress Key plus a movie crew, and it makes for a fun time as crisis after crisis occurs and is resolved.
This was a nice, leisurely read for summer afternoons and evenings. Perfect for when I wanted to pick up a book for a few minutes and relax, joining the crew in Cypress Key. The pacing was good, the story was fun, I learned a bit about the movie industry, and the romance wasn’t overdone. And— not really a spoiler here—a happy ending for most of the characters.
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Source: Review copy provided by Tandem Literary.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: Many, many bunnies in my yard this summer. Cute, friendly, and destructive! Step away from that squash blossom, young bunny.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: Blackstone Audio | April 2015
Format: Audio Download | 6 hours | Rating: 5 stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Twelve-year-old Caitlin lives alone with her mother—a docker at the local container port—in subsidized housing next to an airport in Seattle. Each day, while she waits to be picked up after school, Caitlin visits the local aquarium to study the fish. When she befriends an old man at the tanks one day, who seems as enamored of the fish as she, Caitlin cracks open a dark family secret and propels her once-blissful relationship with her mother toward a precipice of terrifying consequence.
This is a mesmerizing story that was quite different than what I was expecting and did not go at all in the direction I thought it would. Once I began listening it was difficult to stop. It’s hard to explain why without giving away spoilers, so I am being intentionally vague.
Part of the intensity of the story is experiencing the events unfold from twelve-year-old Caitlin’s simple, innocent, point of view, and then contrasting that with what her mother knows and what other people believe is happening. I know, vague. But I went into the story knowing nothing and chose to read it because I like tropical fish and ended up discovering a book headed for my favorites list.
Beautiful, emotional, and at times cringe-worthy, Caitlin’s strength and innocence kept me rapt as I was swept along to the conclusion.
Audio production:
The narration was nicely performed by Julia Whelan. While the audio was excellent, easy to follow, and a good choice for new listeners, this might be a more fulfilling experience in print, or print combined with audio. I have since learned that this is a very visual, physically beautiful, book printed on heavy paper with attractive typesetting and containing gorgeous photos of the fish that so enamored Caitlin. A copy of the book would be an enhancement to the audio experience. [Audio Sample at Audible.]
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Source: Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio through Audiobook Jukebox.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Wow, August already. Time to slow down and enjoy the rest of the summer. I think back to when I was a kid and remember summer holidays stretching on for what seemed like forever. I know it’s just perception, but the older I get the more time feels like it flies by.
Here’s what arrived last week . . .
Print Books
Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica from St. Martin’s Press.
A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica.
Fear of Dying by Erica Jong from St.Martin’s Press.
Fear of Dying is a daring and delightful look at what it really takes to be human and female in the 21st century. Wildly funny and searingly honest, it is a story for everyone who has ever been shaken and changed by love.
How was your week?
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© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Thank you to everyone that stopped by to enter the giveaways last few weeks. The winner was selected using random.org and has been notified by email.
Summer Secrets
by Jane Green
Winner: Jennifer
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© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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