Monthly Archives: December 2012

Books, Travel

Mallorca and Harry Potter

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Does your brain ever make really random connection in your head?  Often I’ll hear or read something that will make a connection to something else I read in a book or perhaps, happened in real life, and then (here’s where the mistake comes in) try to explain it to somebody else.  You’ll get blank stares and possibly start worrying they are sending the men in little white coats for you.

Many of my connections like this come from books I’ve read many times.  I saw something on television the other day about Mallorca, for instance, and I immediately thought of Harry Potter AND other random British Chick-Lit books I’ve read.  This set off a bit of internet searching, as I realized I knew very little about Mallorca. 

Okay, first off, to explain the Harry Potter reference: if you are a bit of a Harry Potter nerd, you might already know, but there are two references to Mallorca (or Majorca) in the books (I cite the Harry Potter wiki here, but I already knew that.)  Evidently Mallorca is a “popular tourist destination for Europeans.” Unfortunately the Dursleys never made it to Mallorca but I’d like to think that Harry and his family might go for relaxing Mallorca holidays after ridding the world of Voldemort, don’t you think?  Then again, knowing that the Dursleys wanted to go there…hmm…it’s a tough call.  I suppose things ended on decent terms with Dudley, didn’t they.  Maybe they’d all meet up every couple of years and split a villa?

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I’m over thinking this, don’t you?  But I think I’m obsessing over tropical or beach vacations since the weather here has finally gotten cold…it’s not like I’m in bikini shape right now (this is a lie, the advantage of a bikini is you have extra room around the middle so your stomach size doesn’t matter) but I can certainly imagine lying in the sun, listening to the ocean waves and perhaps drinking a pina colada.  Then again, when CAN’T I imagine that?

The thing is, who but the very wealthy would ever go to Europe from the US to go for a beach vacation?  We have the Caribbean much closer. 

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If we are going to fly to Europe we’re going to (generally) do something much more standard—visit a great city with lots of culture and museums.  Not lie on the beach or go cycling (apparently another big thing to do in Mallorca).  I know that people DO these things from the US, but I guess I can’t imagine myself ever doing it.  This makes a place like this even more exotic (and speaking of random connections, it makes me think of that Matt Damon movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and the beach scenes there…European beaches just seem so far away and so…FOREIGN to me.  In a good way!)

What about you?  Ever been to Mallorca or another European beach destination? Is your brain full of totally random connections where one word sets off a whole bunch of random thoughts and ideas cobbled together from books, movies, conversations, and research?

Performing

Your way or norway!

My sister Carrie is going to Norway with her Quartet.  They need our help on Kickstarter.  I told her since I have such a great following on my blog I’d tell you guys all about her.  She’s almost as cool and as talented as I am 😉

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(Hey, it hasn’t been a year yet.  I can totally still use these pictures.)

I’ve copied some information below from their Kickstarter website.  I highly recommend you go and check it out yourself.  If you think it’s a worthy cause, chip in some of your hard earned cash!  You’re only charged if enough people chip in to fund the project.  It really does take a village, doesn’t it? 

(What is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.)

I’ve backed the group, now it’s your turn! (Carrie is the one on the far left in the below photo. )

Chartreuse: Transatlantic Tour: Music of the Now in Norway

THE GROUP:

Chartreuse comprises violinists Myra Hinrichs and Francesca Fetten, violist Carrie Frey, and cellist Helen Newby.  We believe that music is best presented as a personal and social endeavor, which for us means performing with people we care about and playing music by composers we can meet and work with directly.  This project is about bringing together our musical and personal backgrounds and performing for diverse audiences in and outside of our small-town bubble.  We have created a piece with composer Peter Swendsen here in Oberlin, we are preparing a work by Tyler Futrell, currently residing in Oslo, and our next step is to perform our blended American-Norwegian program in Ohio and in Norway!

THE PLAN:

We will be traveling to Oslo on January 21st. We will meet with composers (Martin Rane Bauck and Tyler Futrell) and musicians (the Cikada quartet) in Oslo to network and present our concert. After we workshop pieces, we will perform in Oslo and in Tromsø. We will return to the U.S. in early February and perform our concert program in Oberlin.

Are you intrigued?  At least click on the kickstarter link to watch their video.  It’s adorable and wonderful. 

If and when they become famous, you’ll be able to say you helped them get “kick”-started!  And for as little as $5, you can get an “electronic shout-out.” Whatever that even means.  For as much as $500 you can get a home concert (limited to the greater Oberlin/Cleveland area).  That’s a great deal!

I’d be honored if you’d share this with your facebook friends, twitter followers, and whatnot.  I’m not giving you anything but gratitude, love, and friendship, but I think that’s more than enough!

Random thoughts

Hot Chocolate: Book Review and Giveaway (closed)

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If you don’t like book reviews, I apologize.  Like I said previously, I absolutely LOVE reading and my new blog project is to do a bunch of book reviews and giveaways.  Check back soon if you are BORED—I’ll be posting about something different, like food, running, my cat, or you know, my favorite subject, ME!

Quick plug: please look at my previous blog entry about my sister Carrie’s kickstarter project!

Attention book lovers: Today’s is a particular favorite of mine.  Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down!  I may have mentioned I’m a fast reader?  I think I finished this one in about 3 or 4 hours.  It’s a page turner…or whatever it’s called when you hit that “forward” button on your kindle 😉

“Hot Chocolate” by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Hot Chocolate is the story of the wealthy Alcott family.  They live in Houston and have a chocolate empire.  The three middle-aged sisters are the main characters:  Lila Mae, Madge, and Dorothea.

As the book begins the sisters are deciding whether or not to move their 92 year old father Bernie into a home as he has become too much to handle.  They ultimately decide it is for the best but they are worried about how to deal with letting go of his full-time nurse Bambi (her actual name!).  As they expect, her husband Jimmy Ray ends up suing the family for wrongful termination even though Bambi was given a generous severance package.

Luckily and unsurprisingly, the Alcotts have a great lawyer and he is able to get the lawsuit dismissed, much to the chagrin of Jimmy Ray and his lawyer.

Then things take an even worse turn for Jimmy Ray and he ends up being murdered in his own bowling alley!  That’s where the mystery really begins–who killed Jimmy Ray?  Why? And you won’t believe what the murder weapon is!

I obviously don’t want to give anything more away.  The rest of the story is a fun read—there are great twists and turns, lots of great detail in the writing, wonderful character development, and of course, lots of chocolate and other recipes.

The author admits to being inspired by Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series (which I really enjoy) and her writing made me think of some of my favorite food mystery writers like Joanne Fluke and Dianne Mott Davidson.  If you like those authors, you’ll probably love this book as well.  The author assured me that all the recipes she included are tried, true, and dear to her!

The book, Hot Chocolate, is only $3.99 for Kindle, so even if you don’t win the giveaway, it’s VERY affordable.

Oh, and the sequel, “Bitter Chocolate” will be coming out in mid to late Springtime.  I personally can’t wait to read it.

One lucky reader can win a copy of the book, “Hot Chocolate” in digital OR paperback form (US and Canada only for paperback form), plus the author will autograph and mail a postcard to the winner.  US or Canada residents only for the paperback, but anyone can win the postcard and book in digital format!  Contest runs until 10 pm CST Tuesday, December 18. (contest is now closed, winner will be notified by email shortly!)

This is going to be one of those contests with multiple ways to enter—you can get up to five entries, and please leave a separate comment below for each one.  As usual, I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner, who will be notified by email (so make sure the email address you use is valid!)

1.  Leave a comment on this post: write something about chocolate!

2.  Follow the author, Dawn Ireland, on twitter.

3.  Follow the author on Facebook

4.  Like “Hannahviolin” on Facebook.

5.  Like the book “Hot Chocolate” on Amazon.com

I was not compensated for my review other than the free book.  All opinions are my own.

 

Food

How to throw a cookie exchange party

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I’ve realized that when I host a party, I am really bad at taking pictures of it.  I need to start hiring a photographer to take pictures of parties when I host (Thanksgiving was another blogger photo failure).  Oh well!

Here’s the only picture of the party:

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That’s me standing in front of a table FULL of amazing and delicious looking cookies and bars and other goodies.  My friends are fantastic bakers and everybody brought something made with love.

And I don’t love the way I look in the picture above, but I’m posting it anyway.  I am in control of my appearance and I am not hiding.  I look like I am having FUN and just because I’ve gained a few pounds doesn’t mean I should be ashamed and hide.  Right?  *sobs into table of delicious cookies*

Okay, how does the cookie exchange party work?

Basically:

I invited about 20 women (evite), probably a dozen showed up.  I told everybody to bring 4 dozen cookies and copies of the recipe.  Some people brought a few more, some probably brought a few less, all in all there were TONS of cookies.  I provided some ziplock bags and wax paper, some people brought empty containers (I think I forgot to remind people to do this, but most did anyway.)

Since everybody knew ME but not everybody knew each other (most did, but not all) we went around the room, introduced ourselves, everybody told how they knew me, and also about their cookie recipe, or recipes.  After that, it was time to swap!  Basically everybody just took a few of each recipe until all the cookies were gone.  I had to chastise a few people to take more cookies.  It was a cookie swap, not a cookie dump!

I’ve read stuff online (on how to throw a cookie swap party) that suggests some people are a lot less generous—swaps that say to bring 10 dozen, all parceled out so nobody takes too many (or too few?).  Or that some people are less creative—I read something that suggested you want to make sure everybody doesn’t just bring chocolate chip.  Um, as far as my friends are concerned, getting together is an excuse to show off our culinary talents!  NO worries about five chocolate chip recipes.

We had some people with allergies in their families: I made little signs and divided up the table into various items: containing nuts, containing almonds, that kind of thing. It’s easy to tell when people remember to bring the recipe, but I’ve found that few bother with this, but you can always ask.

I also like to serve drinks and savory snacks.  I made Hot Apple Cider, Poinsettias (Cranberry juice, sparkling wine, triple sec) and had store bought Eggnog available.

orange cloves

I made small holes in an orange with a toothpick and then filled those holes with whole cloves.

Then I took a jug of apple cider, poured it into my crockpot, added the orange and several cinnamon sticks and put it on low for several hours.  It was delicious, with or without caramel vodka!

cider

I also made my “famous” cream cheese and olive penguins and Alton Brown’s Spinach Artichoke Dip. (I used canned artichokes though, and it tasted GREAT.)

cream cheese penguins penguins  olive penguins

I’ll have to do a “how to make penguins” post one of these days, with step by step directions 😉

The party was a grand success, I would say.  It was my fourth year of throwing it and this was the biggest one yet.  I invited more people than before since I knew our new house was better suited to entertaining, but we still completely filled the table with food, even though it was probably three times as big as my old table!

(I made Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies which I already blogged about—not to brag but they are delicious.)

Travel

Is it too soon to plan another trip to paris?

I read a cousin’s Christmas letter today and he mentioned a trip his family took to Rome, Italy as the highlight of their year. I personally did not write a Christmas letter (I feel that this blog probably suffices and everybody I would send a letter to already knows more about my life than they even want to) but I was thinking about what the highlights of MY year would be if I were writing.  Two things stand out, of course—our wedding, and our trip to Paris.

I’m not planning to get married again, but I do want to go to Paris again.  There are blogs I read now just about living in Paris and sometimes I will do internet research, you know, just in case.  I also do this for other destinations and for cruises—I’m not alone in this am I?  How many people plan hypothetical trips to destinations they won’t be going to any time soon, just to pretend? (Next on my list is Rome…or London…or Spain…or another cruise…or Russia…)

Eiffel Tower at night

So, if you are planning a real OR hypothetical trip to Paris, where to start?

I think the most important thing to do is to figure out what neighborhood you want to stay in.  Until I booked our accommodations for our most recent trip, I was totally overwhelmed by the city, and after I knew where we’d be sleeping,  it became somehow more real that we were going, and I was able to better visualize the rest of the trip.

(Note to reader:  please do not actually book any rooms unless you are taking an actual trip.  I am not responsible for any money you lose planning a hypothetical trip.  In fact, I am not responsible for any money of yours at all.)

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(view from our window in Paris)

On our most recent trip to Paris (implying there have been many, right?), we wanted to stay somewhere centrally located so that we would have an easy time getting around the city. If you read all my blog posts about Paris you’ll learn that I became a huge fan of the Rick Steves travel book but initially I just talked to a bunch of people and did tons of searching online.  I found that the Marais neighborhood was centrally located, near a variety of Metro lines, and came highly recommended by friends. You can find a hotel here and very easily see where on the map you will be. 

I think for our next visit (fingers crossed, right?) we would want to stay near the Eiffel Tower since that ended up being our favorite destination.  In my “planning stage”  I also found this great resource on the NY Times website:  all kinds of information and recommendations for a Paris getaway.

eiffel tower

So tell me:  do you love to travel?  Do you daydream about travel destinations?  Where would be your number one place to go?

Random thoughts

Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

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My cookie exchange party last night was a huge success.  Everybody brought great stuff—from chocolate chip cookies, to molasses cookies, to lemon bars, toffee, and fancy cookies with apricots or rosemary or tequila in them!  My friends are pretty awesome.

Today I’m going to share the recipe I used, which makes a cookie I call Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies.  They are unique and delicious!

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Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies (From My Baking Addiction):

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime, finely minced
3 tbsp lime juice
½ cup unsweetened toasted coconut (I used sweetened coconut as that’s all I could find.)
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.

4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.

5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and the coconut.

6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. (I also added some coconut on top)

7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. (I found it took 12 to 13 minutes, so pay attention to the first batch to figure it out!  I imagine it depends on the actual size of your cookies.  Mine always seem to take longer than recipes say.)

8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

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I doubled the batch and made about six dozen.  Make these.  They are easy and delicious.

Today is one of those days that isn’t going as planned.  Poor Chris has been a little sick and that threw a lot of things off, and I haven’t felt great…I may have eaten too many cookies last night.  Note to readers:  running after eating a ton of cookies, artichoke spinach dip, cheese, and eggnog the night before…is not great.  Another note to readers:  Caramel vodka with apple cider IS great.  Not for running no, but very tasty.  I’ll tell you more about the party later, but I’ve got to get ready for work!