The First Gardener Book Review

The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones is about the Governor of Tennessee, Gray London, and his wife, Mackenzie. They have a five year old daughter, Maddie and are trying for another child. They had great trouble conceiving their first child and are still having trouble conceiving. The Governor's mansion has a beautiful garden with Jeremiah as the head gardener.

This will be a complicated review. I really liked the characters. I thought that they were well-developed and I felt connected to them for the most part. However, I really didn't like the circumstances of the story. I don't want to give anything away, but I really didn't like the deaths in the story. They seemed very needless. I like my fantasy to be fantasy. The ending didn't even seem to "wrap up" or conclude everything. Every few chapters, there is a chapter written in Jeremiah's voice with the Southern accent written out. I went back and forth on whether or not I liked it. Overall, I have to say that I didn't like the book. The characters were wonderfully written but the story was needlessly sad in my opinion.

Amazon.com Product Page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141433558X/ref=cm_cr_thx_view

Introducing Benny! Our new pet rabbit.

Our friends, a wonderful married couple that we've known for the last few years, recently got four rabbits to start raising for meat. They intended on purchasing two males and two females. Well, as it turned out, they had three males and one female. That just wouldn't work. With three cages and four rabbits, the males were constantly fighting.

So we were asked if we would like a bunny. I immediately said, "YES!" because I would have tons of animals at the house if I got my way, lol. After my husband agreed that we could get the rabbit we set about getting the needed supplies.


Once the cage and feeding appartus were purchased, the rabbit was rushed right over. The kids immediately fell in love with our new pet and named him Benny. My husband, in his quick wit, calls him Benny Rabbit.

As you can see, we completely misjudged the size of the rabbit and just a mere four days after getting him we were back at the store getting a new, much larger cage.

 I've never had a rabbit before, so my dear friend gave me a quick lesson on how to handle them. Apparently, I didn't listen or just am unable to do it because this is what happened when I tried to pick him up later that evening.

Yes, it hurt and bled a little bit. It was the first of many scratches. We've now had our Benny Rabbit a week and I think that he is warming up to me. In other words, there haven't been any new scratches in the last two days. :)



linking with http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/2012/06/titus-2sday-link-up-party_25.html

CSA Box #2

Our second CSA box has arrived. We received a few new things this week that we are eager to try.

Spinach, Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Strawberries, Green Onions, Strawberry Spread and Collard Greens.

As you can see we received spinach, strawberries and carrots again this week. The garlic scapes look really neat up close with a swirl at the top. They are what is at the top of garlic, who knew?

Apparently, they can be used the same way as regular garlic. My husbad used some of them on pork steaks that he grilled. They were delicious!!

I plan on using the strawberry spread on toast and pb&j. I was going to cook the collard greens, as we've never eaten them before and some of my husband's family come from the south and had good southern recipes for me, but we recently got a rabbit and I read that collard greens are good for them, so our Benny Rabbit will get them. He also loves the tops of the carrots!!

So my questions for this week's box are:

Have you ever eaten Collard Greens or Garlic Scapes?

Linking up with:

http://www.raisingarrows.net/

and

http://www.thebettermom.com/

 

http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/2012/06/titus-2sday-link-up-party_25.html

Attracted to Fire Book Review

I recently read Attracted to Fire, a work of fiction by author Diann Mills. This book is about Secret Service Agents who are assigned to protect the Vice President's drug and alcohol addicted daughter after her life has been threatened. They take her to an isolated ranch in West Texas to go through a sort of rehab while the Secret Service tries to find out what her would-be killer's identity. There are a  cook, the doctor and his assistant/nurse, two ranch hands, and a six agent team comprising of one female agent and five male agents, one of which doesn't think women have a place in the Secret Service.

I enjoyed reading this book. The story has elements of suspense, romance, and mystery. It was a very easy read and had, in my opinion, well-developed characters and back story. The chapters were short which helped in moving the story along and changing which character's perspective was being explored. There were some romantic elements that I didn't particularly enjoy, but nothing terribly offensive.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and its characters and would recommend it to anyone wanting a nice, easy read that can be picked up for short bouts of reading.



I reviewed this book for the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. I did not receive a free copy from the publisher.

Kale Chips - CSA Box #1

CSA Box #1 contained Kale. I've heard from several different people and some celebrity chefs that Kale chips are very good. So, since we got that in our very first box, I thought that I would give it a try. My best friend, Tiffany who write The Crafty Home blog also signed up for the CSA and made chips with her Kale as well.

I found my original recipe at the Food Network website.

Cutting up the "chips"

Into the oven they go...

My oldest daughter grabbing more chips.

They were delicious. I added a little parmesan to give it more flavor before going in the oven.

Kale Chips

1 head of Kale washed and dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher Salt to taste
Parmesan to taste

Cut Kale into bite sized chips place on baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil and salt on top and toss kale to coat. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Bake in oven 20 minutes turning halfway.

I also used the carrots from the box in my first homemade chicken pot pie.

It was yummy too! Not too bad for my first pot pie!!




Linking up with Time Warp Wife.

and

and

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2012/homemaking-link-up-81/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RaisingHomemakers+%28Raising+Homemakers%29

CSA Box #1

In an earlier post, I mentioned that we have bought a full share in a CSA farm this year. I learned about this from another wonderful blog, Frugal Living NW and was quite eager to give it a try.

For those of you don't know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically you buy a share of the farm's harvest. So for the next 19 weeks or so, I'll be getting a box of certified Organic fruits and vegetables every Friday.

This Friday was our first ever box and I was so excited.

I'm excited because you won't know what you are going to get every week. I'm excited to try new foods and recipes. It is almost like an episode of Chopped!

Spinach, Carrots, Strawberries, Fresh Garlic, Lettuce and Kale

My girls were especially excited to see the strawberries. They were very sweet and delicious! My husband used the fresh garlic on steaks that he grilled this weekend for his Father's Day dinner.

I plan on sharing my boxes every week and what I plan to do with the produce.  To find a CSA in your area go to http://www.localharvest.org.

Have you ever bought a share in a CSA? Do you have any recipes to share?

Linking up with:

http://www.raisingarrows.net/

and

http://www.thebettermom.com/

and

Duggar Blog Giveaway

Duggar Family Blog is doing a Giveaway.

Four people will win and you can pick your prize from those listed below:

1. The Duggars: 20 and Counting (1st book)
2. A Love That Multiplies (2nd Book)
3. $15 Amazon Gift Card

Go to the blog and check it out!!


http://duggarsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/giveaway-prize-your-choice.html