Scraps and Snippets ~ Earth Balance Aged White Cheddar Popcorn Review

One of my favorite all-time, so-bad-for-me but I loved it, snack was cheese popcorn. I rarely bought it because I was like the Coneheads at Subway with it. As in inhale the stuff. It was crack in a bag for me. If it had cost more than $3.00 or so a fix, who knows what I would have done if I needed me some. So. In case you didn't pick up on that, I really, really liked cheese popcorn. 

Then came Vegan. And pretty much the end of cheese anything. No more cheesy nacho tortilla chips, etc. etc. 

NO MORE CHEESE POPCORN! yeah. So I tried to satisfy that itch on occasion with nutritional yeast sprinkled over freshly popped corn. Delicious in it's own way, but not the bagged cheese popcorn mouth party. 

Yesterday, while doing massive amounts of grocery shopping, after I got overwhelmed with the vast amount of activity in my week and ditched a violin lesson and Bible study, I found Earth Balance aged white cheddar popcorn on Whole Foods shelves. It was on the highest shelf, just out of my reach, and I never would have seen it if it hadn't called out to me. "Look up!" it said. I asked for help in retrieving it and hoped that what I wanted in to be in there truly was. 

Oh yeah. It is. That crunchy squeaky mouth feel that only bagged popcorn has. And the taste. Oh my. Powdery, but not so much it coats your fingers, cheesy, sharp, savory, deliciousness. I won't ever have to feel shame at succumbing to the vivid orange, greasy, dairy infested cheese popcorn that the rest of the world has to offer ever again. Nor will I have to deal with the digestive distress. Also, this product is made without GMOs, and with the fiber it's nearly a health food. :  ). Thank you, Earth Balance. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Monday Musings...

Expect some light blogging this week. I have three recipes to create, a house to clean, an article to write, a few pieces of furniture to cover with polyurethane, a Bible study lesson to attend, a violin lesson to suffer through, and the day job to work before Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. 

But. I'll get it all done or shove things in closets to hide them as necessary. 

My weekend included some great fun. &'s birthday was spent doing random activities involving coffee and food, and random acts of kindness. Sunday my mom, sister-in-law and & went to a women's event at our local conference center. Outside the conference center we spied the tiniest and cutest oak tree full of acorns. So cute. 

Scribbles and Scrambles... uhhhh

You'll be glad there are no pictures.  Today I spent the majority of the day with my fabulous kid on her birthday.  She set a goal to do 27 different random acts of kindness!  Huge cool blessing!  During one trip to and fro we encountered a woman looking for lids to some 5 gallon buckets she wanted to purchase. She had on a uniform. But we didn't really pay attention. She exited right after us and got into a police van. & said "that's gotta be a crime scene van wonder what the buckets are for." Then we recalled seeing two police vans by the interstate. 

I checked my email later and had a breaking news report that human remains had been found in a drainage ditch by the interstate!  I think we know what the buckets were for! Glad they found lids!

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Oooh, Pretty!

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Happy Hump Day. Makes Me Want to Sing...

Scraps and Snippets ~ What's for Dinner?

 Sometimes nothing sounds good for dinner. Honestly, I would probably be content with popcorn or oatmeal most of the time. Or standing at the sink and eating a tomato like an apple and letting the juice run down my arm. Or hummus smeared on something. Yeah. But when you know you have to put some effort in to make someone else satisfied, well, that's where I gotta think things through. 

We still have tomatoes, and a few cucumbers, thanks to our crazy weather. Not all of them are beauties, but we still have some to pick and eat. So chopped cucumber and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. Yum. 

Since trying the Harmony Valley dehydrated "hamburger" last week, I've been wondering if the sausage was any good. Wonder no more. I added the water, let it sit and fried it up in a pan sprayed lightly with coconut oil. Then I crumbled a few patties over crescent roll triangles, rolled em up and baked them as per the package. Okay. We were hungry. But darn, they were good. 

Harmony Valley dehydrated sausage? Yep. Going to be ordering that again. I'm thinking overnight breakfast casserole, shredded potatoes, some chunks of bread, a tofu "egg" base, non-dairy cheese or "cheese" sauce, onions and Harmony Valley sausage. Going to have to get to work on this very soon. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Brandilyn Collins's Dark Justice ~ Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Dark Justice B&H Books (October 1, 2013) by Brandilyn Collins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brandilyn Collins is a best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline "Don't forget to b r e a t h e . . ."® Brandilyn's first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn's awards for her novels include the ACFW Carol Award (three times), Inspirational Readers' Choice, and Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice.

Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). The Writer magazine named Getting into Character one of the best books on writing published in 2002.

When she's not writing, Brandilyn can be found teaching the craft of fiction at writers' conferences.

ABOUT THE BOOK

If I’d had any idea what those words would mean to me, to my mother and daughter, I’d have fled California without looking back.

While driving a rural road, Hannah Shire and her aging mother, who suffers from dementia, stop to help a man at the scene of a car accident. The man whispers mysterious words in Hannah’s ear. Soon people want to kill Hannah and her mother for what they “know.” Even law enforcement may be involved.

The two women must flee for their lives. But how does Hannah hide her confused mother? Carol just wants to listen to her pop music, wear her favorite purple hat, and go home. And if they turn to Hannah’s twentyseven- year-old daughter, Emily, for help, will she fall into danger as well?

Pressed on all sides, Hannah must keep all three generations of women in her family alive. Only then does she learn the threat is not just to her loved ones, but the entire country . . .

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Dark Justice, HERE.

MY REVIEW: Brandilyn Collins's Dark Justice is a whiplash read. From the first page Collins begins building tension as the reader is introduced to the main character, Hannah, and her mother who is fading into dementia. The opening pages are a mere shadow of Hannah's trials. As Hannah and her mom head for home after a relaxing weekend away, trying to forget that the future holds a lot of confusion and sadness, they happen upon a wreck. A whispered request from the wounded man turns their lives upside down and inside out as they are put into a cat and mouse game that will require every ounce of Hannah's strength and courage. When Hannah's daughter Emily gets involved the stakes zing higher. And the body count grows. The resolution offers a peek into an uncomfortable place for anyone concerned about the reality of terrorism or our dependence on anything outside of God. This is a terrific edge of seat read that may cause the reader to lose some sleep. Collins has loaded the novel with realistic characters who are facing the things that many face on a daily basis, and a compelling and comforting message.