Crust: 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 12 tablespoons cold butter 1/2 cup ice water
1) Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl or a food processor.
2) Chop the cold butter and stir it into the flour mixture several times.
3) Drizzle in the ice water, stirring 2 or 3 times until the dough is combined.
4) Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball.
5) Divide the dough in half, flatten it into discs, and wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. (Meanwhile prepare the filling.)
Peach Filling: 8 – 10 medium peaches zest of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for top of pie 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons ground instant tapioca (I use my coffee grinder)
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well. Liberally butter 8 – 10 4 oz. glass canning jars.
2) Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. In your sink, prepare a large bowl with an ice bath. When the water is boiling, quickly immerse the peaches in the water, remove the ice water, and peel off the skins. Slice the peaches in 1/2” thick slices.
3) In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, lemon zest and juice, sugar, salt, and tapioca. Set aside while you prepare the crust.
4) On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough discs. For the bottom crusts, cut out a 5” square, and press into the jar. For the tops, use a jar to press out a circle, and, with a sharp knife, cut it into 1/4” strips. Carefully arrange the peach slices in the jars and spoon in several tablespoons of the liquid filling. Weave your lattice and crimp the edges. Sprinkle the top of each little pie with 1/2 teaspoon or so of sugar.
5) Place prepared pies onto heated cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet, turn the heat down to 350 degrees, and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes, until crust is light golden and filling is bubbling vigorously.
Allow pies to cool completely and serve, or keep covered with a lid for up to three days.
KATE WINTERS HAS WON IMMORTALITY. BUT IF SHE WANTS A LIFE WITH HENRY IN THE UNDERWORLD, SHE'LL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT. Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry's first wife, Persephone. (Summary from Goodreads)
My review of Goddess Interrupted can be found here! It's such an amazing series! :)
I am really happy that one of you will win a copy of this book. If you haven't read the fist book, The Goddess Test, you need to do so immediately. You won't regret it!
Q&A With Aimée Carter, Author of the Goddess Test Series
How familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test series? Was a lot of research required?
I first fell in love with Greek mythology when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there. I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right, but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and characters together in unexpected ways.
Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, The Goddess Test?
It was both easier and harder, in a strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of course, but it was much easier.
However, the pressure to deliver a sequel worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”, where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the end, I was very happy with the results.
You give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James. Why did you do that and do the more contemporary names have any significance?
This was something I went back and forth on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft, I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.
I did choose each name for what it means, some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names – and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July 31).
Goddess Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new life as an immortal. Given Kate’s innate strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?
Not so much, to be honest – her progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess and queen.
Kate finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades). Neither seems to be black and white, but rather varying shades of gray. Were any of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve been through?
Not personally, no, but I did try to make Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.
What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?
Outlining is by far my favorite part of the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though, which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to make sense.
Do you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?
I love so many quotes that I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite.
How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?
My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to this day, I still can’t quite believe it.
When is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book 3?
Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy, will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they form one story.
The third book in the series, The Goddess Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are pretty clear by the end of the sequel!
After the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR lists for this summer. What’s on your TBR list?
I’m so excited for a slew of books coming out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of those and more!
Yearbook Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who would you vote for?
· Most likely to succeed? - Hera
· Class clown? - Hermes
· Nicest? – Demeter or Hephaestus
· Best dressed? - Aphrodite
· Best dancer? - Apollo
· Most school spirit? - Iris
· Most likely to attend summer school? - Ares
· Teachers pet? - Athena
Book Trailer
Giveaway
One lucky person will win their very own copy of Goddess Interrupted! (US and Canada only please!)
When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny. Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds? Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever. (Summary from Goodreads)
I saw these books all over the shelves in bookstores, the check out line at Wal-Mart, and in the hands of people who had recently said they didn't like to read. I'd heard all of the hype and made a decision to just avoid the series altogether. However, my resolve wavered when Deidra (Simply Books) picked up the series and started reading it. She was actually enjoying the books and reading them faster than I thought she would. I decided to borrow the first book so I could form my own opinions.
I wish I could say that I was pleasantly surprised, or the book had more depth and meaning than I originally expected, but neither of these things are true. I wasn't pleasantly surprised, and I think a crack in the pavement has more depth than this entire book. I'm not saying this to be mean or to put the book down, I knew what I was reading before I ever opened the book. I got exactly what I expected. It was an entertaining (mostly) erotica book with a really sexy main male character.
Christian Grey makes the book. He is the only reason I kept turning the pages and made myself finish reading it. I'm not saying I agree with his...methods, but the author really knew how to make a bad guy look enticing and irresistible. He is definitely not someone you bring home to mom. Christian can seem dangerous and scary, but he also has these incredibly sweet moments when he's with Ana. I looked forward to the brief moments when nice Christian was present.
I didn't hate the book. I didn't love the book. If someone asks me what I think about it, a shoulder shrug usually suffices as an answer. I'm indifferent about Fifty Shades of Grey. The grammatical errors drove me crazy, but I also knew about those before I started the book. I will not be reading the other two books in the series, but I'm glad that I can now understand why other people are getting a lot of enjoyment from them.
Dear followers,
I am really, really sorry that I have been absent for so long without an explanation. May has been a really hectic month for me. I moved to another town, I graduated from college, and I've started working at a new job. I just didn't have much time to read, review, or do much blogging. Now everything has started to settle down, and I've been able to get back into a reading routine. My blog should pick back up and go back to normal now!
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips (I prefer Hersheys)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, and seal shut. Lay the Ziploc bag flat in the microwave, spreading out the chocolate chips in a single layer. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bag and flip, microwaving for an additional 10-15 seconds until all the chips are softened. Set aside to cool.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips (1 cup) and stir to combine.
3. Using half the cookie dough, scoop 1.5-2 tbsp of dough, flatten it out a bit, and place in the bottom of the muffin tin. Repeat for a total of 10 cookies. Cut a small tip in the corner of the Ziploc bag, and gently squeeze a layer of chocolate over the cookie. Scoop and flatten the remaining dough and place on top of the chocolate layer. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin, running a knife around the edge to help loosen.
These are good as mini muffins, too! Try baking at 350 for 9 mins. Enjoy!
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers ReleaseDate: 13 March 2012 Format: e-ARC, ARC Series: None Source: NetGalley
It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward. But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back. Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story. (Summary from Goodreads)
Wanderlove allowed me to backpack through parts of the world that I will probably never have the opportunity to visit. I can still dream... I really love to travel, and it's something I hope I get to do a lot more of in the future.
Bria is a lot braver than I am, but I think I would find some hidden courage if Rowan were there to guide me. (I really don't think I could stay somewhere that had legitimate bed bugs, bats, or other creepy crawling things.) The two make a good team, and I enjoyed their conversations and witty banter. They are both guarded, damaged individuals, they each have their secrets, and they both want to get away from their past mistakes.
The imagery in this book is amazing. I could easily picture their surroundings and how Bria felt emotionally towards them. She was able to find the beauty in the small things, but she also appreciated how everything looked on a larger scale. Her artistic eye was able to make connections and observations that I myself might not have been able to make on my own.
This book really opened my eyes to a world that I am unfamiliar with. I was able to see things from a different perspective, and I was also able to go on a journey with someone else. I could relate to Bria on a certain level, but our personalities are not the same. She made a lot of decisions about things that I probably would have done differently.
I recently got this this book in the mail and I cannot wait to start it! I am also excited that two other people will win a copy of Wentworth Hall! All you have to do is fill out the form below.
The prettiest people often have the ugliest secrets… Eighteen-year-old Maggie Darlington has turned into an entirely different person. The once spirited teen is now passive and reserved. A change Lord and Lady Darlington can’t help but be grateful for. It’s 1912, and the Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall have more than just the extensive grounds to maintain. As one of Britain’s most elite families, they need to keep up appearances that things are as they have always been… even as their carefully constructed façade rapidly comes undone. Maggie has a secret. And she’s not the only one… the handsome groom Michael, the beautiful new French nanny Therese, the Darlingtons’ teenage houseguests Teddy and Jessica, and even Maggie’s younger sister Lila are all hiding something. Passion, betrayal, heartache, and whispered declarations of love take place under the Darlingtons’ massive roof. And one of these secrets has the power to ruin the Darlingtons forever. When scandalous satires start appearing in the newspaper with details that closely mirror the lives of the Darlingtons, everyone is looking over their shoulder, worrying their scandal will be next. Because at Wentworth Hall, nothing stays secret for long. (Summary from Goodreads)
About the book:
And you thought there were secrets in the Abby . . .
The Darlington family of Wentworth Hall, an elite British family, fills their time by caring for their extensive estate, and looking over their shoulders as they struggle to keep up an elaborate charade to hide their scandalous secrets of illicit romances, and bitter betrayals.
Wentworth Hall is a lush historical novel by debut author Abby Grahame, which is spot-on perfect for fans of Downton Abbey! (Excerpt)
