Ti | Book Chatter | Page 1055

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Here’s my one find:

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

Of Bees and Mist is the tale of Meridia — raised in a sepulchral house where ghosts dwell in mirrors, she spends her childhood feeling neglected and invisible. Every evening her father vanishes inside a blue mist without so much as an explanation, and her mother spends her days venomously beheading cauliflowers in the kitchen. At sixteen, desperate to escape, Meridia marries a tenderhearted young man and moves into his seemingly warm and charming family home. Little does she suspect that his parents are harboring secrets of their own. There is a grave hidden in the garden. There are two sisters groomed from birth to despise each other. And there is Eva, the formidable matriarch whose grievances swarm the air like an army of bees. In this haunting story, Setiawan takes Meridia on a tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak as she struggles to keep her young family together and discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as the shocking truths about her husband’s family.

Readers of magic-realist fiction will instantly be captivated by this richly evocative fairy tale. Of Bees and Mist takes place in a nameless town during a timeless era, where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, ghosts and clairvoyance — both real and imagined — are an everyday reality. Setiawan skillfully blends the real and the fantastical as he follows our heroine over a 30-year time span in which her love, courage, and sanity are tested to the limit.

I heard about this one from Shelf Awareness. I requested it so I hope I am lucky enough to get a copy.

On a personal note, today is my first furlough day so I am spending it at home with all of my books. I also have Monday off (also a furlough day) so this should be a great weekend for reading. What are you reading or looking forward to? I’m finishing up Bridge of Sighs and Fear the Worst and then I will be starting The Angel’s Game along with The Day the Falls Stood Still. I’m considering it a mini read-a-thon. Should be fun.

In my Sunday Salon post from the other day, I mentioned a pool party that I was going to and that I was bringing Bacon Wrapped Club Crackers and Green Chile Corn Casserole. Many of you have asked for the recipe to one or the other so here they are!

Bacon Wrapped Club Crackers

Ingredients:

Keebler Club Crackers (plain)
A package of thinly sliced bacon. Center cut works well. Must be thin!
Parmesan cheese (the kind in the green container not the real stuff).

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250.

Slice the package of bacon in half. Usually you will get about 22-24 slices this way. If the bacon is not really thin, use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit so it is.

Lay out 22-24 club crackers (depending on the slices of bacon you have).

Sprinkle each cracker with Parmesan cheese until it is somewhat covered.

Wrap each cracker in a half slice of the raw bacon. Just wrap it right around the cracker but not too tight. Try not to overlap too much or it won’t get crispy when you cook it.

Set all of the wrapped crackers on a baking sheet WITH a rack. This is very important because the grease must drain during the cooking process.

Pop in the over at 250 degrees for about 2 hrs. They should be crispy and the cracker part should be brown and toasted but not burned. Keep an eye on it the last 15 min as ovens vary. The end product looks like little bow ties as it cinches in the cracker right at the middle.

Surprisingly, these do not have to be heated up again before eating. They actually taste better at room temp. I made two batches of these and they were gone in no time.

Green Chile Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (8.5 ounce) box of corn bread mix like Jiffy.
1 (15 ounce) can of corn (drained)
1 (14.5 ounce) can of creamed corn
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can of diced green chiles
1/2 cup of melted butter

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Throw all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine.

Pour into a buttered or lightly oiled 9×9 pan.

Pop it into the oven and cook for about 35-40 minutes. It should be golden brown but very moist in the center. A toothpick test to the center should come out slightly sticky.

This dish is more like a corn pudding and makes a nice side to just about anything. You can even add cooked shredded chicken or beef at the mixing stage to make this a quick and easy dinner. My kids love it because it’s sweet.

This can be served hot or at room temp.

This will make about 6-8 side servings.

Enjoy!

Chatting with friends about books and life…