Why Peacocks and Blueberry Peach Cobbler

 Why Peacocks by Sean Flynn and Blueberry Peach Cobbler 

Someone referenced this book on a podcast I was listening to and it got me interested.  I picked it up and glad I did.  What would you do if a neighbor asked you to adopt some peacocks?  I think most of us would say, No thank you!  Not Sean Flynn!  He said, sure and next thing you know, he has 3 peacocks which he knows nothing about.   This is the interesting and funny and sometimes sad story of his family in North Carolina and learning to care for peacocks.   The book is part history of the bird and part family saga.  Really good and a fast read.  I knew nothing about Peacocks except that they are beautiful.  We learn about a Peacock serial killer, Peacock conventions and mythology surrounding peacocks.   Overall fun read.  There are several pets who die so be prepared for a bit of sadness. 

Also, glad to add a bit more non-fiction to my reading list.  It nice to shake it up a bit. 

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He feeds the birds blueberries throughout the book.  So, I had a dinner to attend and I made a peach blueberry cobbler.  The peaches aren't as ripe yet as i had hoped so i used frozen peaches.  But there are plenty of blueberries in stores.  

this is a basic recipe I use from Great Grub/ Delicious treats .  It's not too fancy, but oh so good especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

Enjoy! 

https://www.greatgrubdelicioustreats.com/peach-blueberry-cobbler/

Ingredients

For The Cobbler Filling

• 5 large peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced-  (I used a bag of frozen peaches. ) 
• 3 cups blueberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

For The Topping

• 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Additional Topping, Optional

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• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° and lightly spray a 3 quart baking dish with a non stick spray. Set aside.

  For The Cobbler Filling

  1. Peel, remove pits and slice peaches about 1/4 inch thick, add to large mixing bowl.

  2. Rinse blueberries and place in bowl.

  3. Sprinkle sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, corn starch and cinnamon over fruit and stir

     

     
     
     
     

     
     

     
     gently. Let sit for 5 minutes then stir again.

  4. Pour fruit into an oval 3 quart baking dish.

  
  
• For The Topping

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together.

  2. Using a pastry blender, mix butter into flour mixture until mixture becomes crumbly. Pour boiling water into flour mixture and stir until combined.

  3. Spoon mixture over peaches and blueberries, spread gently making sure to cover the fruit completely.

  For Additional Topping

  1. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on top of the cobbler.

     

  2. Bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes or until topping is cooked thoroughly and has started to brown.

  3. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes.

  4. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Office of Historical Corrections and sweet coleslaw

 Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans 

I don't usually read short stories.  No reason, I just typically haven't.  But, I saw this book all over bookstagram and it kept getting referenced as just a wonderful collection that explores relationships and race.  Since this year I have commited to reading more diverse authors , this seemed like a good book to pick up.  I'm really glad I did!   A few of the stories, while good, didn't stick with me .  But a couple really stood out and I can't stop thinking about them.  

Boys Go to Jupiter was my favorite.  A white college student poses in a confederate flag bathing suit and then refuses to admit there is anything wrong with it.  The author does some interesting things to try to make us sympathize with the student by giving us her back story which is kind of sad.  I almost fell for it.  I listened to a podcast called the Stacks and they discussed this in detail. The Podcaster mentioned how she is sure white women and black women will feel differently in this story.  She's right.  I had to stop and think, why would I be sympathizing with this young woman?  Why does the fact that she has a black best friend and a tragic backstory make it okay that she did this terrible thing and refuses to apologize for it and makes excuses for it?  So, I didn't.  I didn't sympathize with her.  I reexamined my feelings and thought about how ignorance is not an excuse for bad behavior.  the story is just really well done.  

Anything Could Disappear was also really good.  A young black woman is carrying drugs and ends up with an abandoned baby boy.  I wasn't sure what she was going to do.  Not sure I expected her to keep him or what happens next.  It feels like this could be a movie!  You get invested in her life in this short story and the ending was sad. 

Finally the Novella at the end, Office of Historical Corrections was a nice way to wrap it up.   This story is about a government agency whose job is to correct historical mistakes.  The young woman in the story corrects signs, tourist discussing history, newspaper articles, etc.  Cassie is assigned to find out about a sign that has been changed and without giving away too much, there is controversy with an old friend and a family secret to be exposed about a racist white man.   

I gave the collection 4 Stars even though there were a couple of stories that were forgettable. The ones that stood out made the collection worth reading and highly recommending .  

Since this is Juneteenth weekend, I started thinking about what food to make.  On Instagram, I follow the hashtag, #Juneteenthcookout2021 and there were so many great recipes and food ideas for a cookout.  There was also some good history attached to the food.  Stories about why red food and drink is so important.  I didn't post on the 19th because it kind of felt like it wasn't my day to post.  I read a few articles about Juneteenth and watched a couple of videos.    

I decided to make mom's coleslaw which would be something i might take to a cookout.  Mom loved this coleslaw partly because of how sweet it is.  She liked her food sweet!   Next time I make it, i'm going to cut the sugar back. 

Mom's slaw 

1 bag of slaw mix 

1 carrot or a handful of petite carrots cut into small pieces  or shredded 

1/2 onion-chopped fine or shredded 

1 yellow bell pepper.  Mom used green bell peppers but i don't care for green peppers.  I would go with red or yellow or orange .  Chopped fine 

1/2 cup chopped up parsley 

3/4 cup of mayo 

3/4 cup of sugar (Next time i'm making this 1/2 cup) 

1 tsp celery seed 

1 tsp mustard seed 

black pepper 

Mix all of the slaw together.  Mix the mayo, sugar, seeds and pepper together and pour over.  mix well and chill.  

I also made watermelon margaritas.  Just your basic margaritte but with watermelon juice tossed in there. 

Delicious.   Happy reading! 

Writers and Lovers by Lily King Served with Fish and cucumbers

 I realized that I don't get reviews posted often because i get myself so worked on what to say.  My new goal is short and sweet and no pressure!  

I had seen Writers and Lovers everywhere last year and finally downloaded it on audio.  SO good.  The narrator is excellent , Stacey Glemboski.   

this is a story of a young woman grieving the death of her month, drowning in school debt and trying to figure out her life.  She is a writer but waiting tables.  She is finishing up her first novel but struggling to concentrate.   2 men come into her life at around the same time and she falls for both.  It is just a great character driven novel and I really cared about the main character Casey.   I kind of didn't want to lose her.  We might need a follow up novel. 

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There is a scene in the book where she goes over to Oscars house to have dinner with him and his kids. They serve fish sticks and cucumbers.   I made homemade fish sticks in the air fryer.  Just took some tilapia and soaked it in milk and egg.  Then dipped it in a mixture of breadcrumbs, bay seasoning, salt pepper and parmesan cheese.  I put it in the fryer and that was it!  super easy and i think better then those frozen fish sticks.  

Vanishing Half and Polenta with Shrimp

 I know this book was the hot topic over a year ago on all of the book forums but I just got around to it this year.  My book group read Vanishing Half for our April read and it was perfect for a good discussion.   For the one person who doesn’t know, this book is centered on twins in a small town in Louisiana called Mallard.  The population is fair skinned but still considered black.  The story starts with one sister returning home with her daughter who is very black and then jumps backward to tell us what happened previously.  We find out the twins ran away at age 16.  One twin got married and had a daughter and is returning to escape her husband.  The other twin is gone.  She is passing as white and started a new life never to return to this old life.  The book runs from 1968 to the late 80s.   The book takes us to California, to NYC, and back to Louisiana.  I listened to this book on audio which was fabulous but I also own a hard copy so some of it I went back and read again.  

Our book group loved it and our discussion was rich.  Overall I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the settings.  I do think there were some unanswered questions or maybe it is just parts of the plot I wish had been explored.  For example, i wanted to know more about Reese?  I get that Reese was also passing as someone else but I would have liked more.  I also wanted more of Early and Desiree.   

Overall a great discussion for a group and a good read. 

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I kind of wanted to make Shrimp and Grits to go with it because that always makes me think of Louisiana.  But, I'm not a big grits fan so instead I did Shrimp and Polenta.  I love soft Polenta!  I make it all the time in the winter.  It is the perfect comfort food.  Sometimes with roasted vegetables and sometimes with tomato sauce.  For this recipe, I had some fresh shrimp I grilled up, chopped up some tomatoes, added a few diced tomatoes, garlic, onions and put it all in a pan together for a few minutes.  Poured it over the soft polenta and covered it with shredded parmesan.    

For soft polenta, it is a 4-1 mix of polenta to broth.  I used Vegetable broth for this one and brought it to a boil.  Poured in the polenta and let it cook for about 15 minutes stirring it pretty frequently .    at the end I add some heavy cream.  A little more than a splash but it is up to you and how creamy you want it. 

Delicious! .