Book Review: The Part-Time Vegan

I received the Part-Time Vegan by Cherise Grifoni from booksneeze.com, first of many I hope!!

I love the layout of this book. Cherise does a great job introducing the benefits of being vegan without trying to convert anyone. I was shocked in the first chapter in her use of the word "hell". The recipes are split into different categories of dips and appetizers, breakfasts, salad dressings, salads, soups, rice, pasta, and more. Each recipe is broken into 4 different categories: protein, fiber, quick and flex. It includes the number of servings, the recipe, a description of the dish. Recipes include tips for making the dish and the most helpful part as a non-vegan was "the skinny on" various foods!!! This section describes the ingredient, what it tastes like and what it can be used for.

There are 11 dinner meal plans, including appetizer and dessert! These recipes are easy and delicious!! Even the desserts are very easy to make!

I was a little disappointed though by 2 factors, there are no pictures and there are no nutritional facts for the recipes!!! All in all though, this is a great little cookbook for anyone who is interested in trying to eat healthier and cut out some meat in your diet. :o)

Recipe: Amish Friendship Sourdough Bread

I had an extra cup of Amish Friendship batter frozen that I needed to use up. I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it, so I did some research to see if I could find a recipe that didn't require too many ingredients... and I ran across this recipe:

Amish Sourdough Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1 - 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup Amish batter
6 cups bread flour

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Oil bottom & sides of large bowl & put bread dough in. Let stand overnight at room temperature. In morning, punch dough down 4-5 times and divide into 3 equal balls. Kneed each ball 8-10 times and put into 3 greased and floured loaf pans. Brush tops with oil and cover with oiled foil. Let stand 4-5 hours or all day. (If dough has not risen well, put small pan of water on bottom rack in oven, heat to 200 degrees, turn off oven. Put dough on top rack for 1-2 hours.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. (Cover with foil after lightly browned.)


I didn't have bread flour, so I used regular flour. I found the dough super sticky so I added an extra cup of flour... which helped it from sticking so much, but I wonder if that was the reason why it didn't rise as much as I thought it would... Like the instructions suggested, my dough didn't rise overnight, so I put it in the warmed oven for a couple hours and then baked it at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. The bread turned out absolutely delicious! It is on the sweeter side. I think it would be a great dough for cinnamon raisin bread.

I also wonder if it didn't rise as much because I had frozen the dough... but I want to say it wouldn't have mattered because it had some bubbles once it had thawed out. I will just have to experiment with it more later. More to come!

Either way, the bread still turned out very yummy!!!

Book Review: No He Can't

I received No He Can't by Kevin McCullough from booksneeze.com for review. Kevin McCullough expresses his concerns for the decisions that Obama has made during his presidency and the various affects they have on our society, from the spending of $1.3 TRILLION on "stimulus" to the "Cash for clunkers" program that ran out of money within 6 days!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Kevin McCullough is very passionate and captivating. This book was enlightening and honest. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in current events and politics but, as you can imagine from just the title alone, this book focuses on the bad decisions Obama has made during his presidency and how it has really hurt our economy. The book is very one-sided, but even still, this is still a great read.

Book Review: Max on Life

Max On Life by Max Lucado is a collections of 172 questions various people have asked Max in his years of ministry. The questions are broken into 7 different themed chapters (Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Haves/Have-nots, and Hereafter). The book also includes a topical index reference for the questions in the back as well as a Biblical reference. The Biblical references are broken down by Bible Book, the chapter and verse, and then shows which questions address those verses.

The answers to these deep questions range anywhere from one a half a page to a page and a half. This would be a great book for daily readings. Max, as always, does a great job using scripture to answer questions with a touch of his humor! Even while answering serious questions, I love the way he adds some humor.

I would recommend this book to any new Christian. It is a solid book of questions both new and old Christians could benefit from. Anyhow who enjoy's Max's writing will enjoy his book!

I received this book for review from booksneeze.com!

Recipe: Lentil Soup

I decided to try to make Lentil Soup this afternoon with the help of my awesome husband.

I started by sauteing 7 strips of bacon (cut into small pieces) in a big pot until slightly cooked. Added 6 cups of water, 1 beef bullion cube, and 1 package of lentils. Once it started boiling, I added 2 tsp of thyme, 1/8 tsp of nutmeg, a couple dashes of black pepper and plenty of garlic powder (didn't have any fresh garlic). I chopped up a whole onion and added 1.5 cups of chopped carrots. Brought it to a boil and then simmered it.

My husband added some dashes of paprika, chili powder, Cajun seasoning, basil, oregano, and garlic salt. This is all to taste.

I simmered it for a good 40 minutes, and then another 20 minutes before serving.

This came out AMAZING!!! So delicious! It was a great science experiment, and look forward to experimenting more in the future!

McClelland's Critters Zoo

Lions, Tigers, and Bears... OH MY! We visited the McClelland's Critter Zoo in Banks, AL yesterday!!! One of the COOLEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE! I got to hold a grizzly bear cub while my husband held a  12 pound snake! (Eww)

One of the coolest things... they had 2 ligers! Male lion bred with a female tiger! Beautiful tiger stripes (very light) and a fluffy lion head! 

They had both black bears and grizzly bears! Mr. Mike, the zoo founder/tour guide all the animals during our tour... for the black and grizzly bears, he fed them marshmallows from his mouth!

He hand fed the tigers, lions, ligers, cougars chicken!!!

The liger can do tricks for chicken! He catches it in his mouth!!

Did you know that tigers, lions, ligers, all use their paws as hands to help them get the food into their mouths? It was a sight to see!

As you can see, we had an incredible experience! A MUST DO FOR EVERYONE WHO VISITS THE LOWER ALABAMA AREA!!! I would rate this zoo a 4 star zoo... mostly because you can't get this up close and personal with these animals anywhere else! I have been to many zoos, the Detroit Zoo, Washington DC Zoo, Syracuse Zoo (NY), and none of them compared to this! Check it out for yourself!

For more info, please visit: http://mikeszoocritters.com/index.html.

Book Review: Love at Last Sight

Love at Last Sight by Kerry and Chris Shook is a book to be read in 30 days, to help readers create better relationships. Each day consists of 2 quotes from famous people, 5-6 pages of messages, and a "Love at Last Sight Challenge" section. The challenge section includes a few questions for readers to reflect and journal about.

The first question asks readers to think of 3 relationships that they would like to improve. Throughout the challenges, the reader reflects on external relationships and introspective/thought-provoking questions about how they interact with others.

The book includes some Biblical references, but not too preachy. The authors use examples that are interesting and definitely challenges you to rethink your approach to developing better and deeper relationships. I think this is a great book for women. It is in touch with women's feelings.