Peasreads: Daughter of the Moon Goddess\Heart of the Sun Warrior

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Beautifully told story. Good steady pacing. Gorgeous setting\world, so descriptive. From the scenery to the characters and their clothing. Sue Lynn Tan doesn't disappoint.

These books would make for a gorgeous mini series. It is a Duology, plus a companion book.

The set shown is from Fairyloot. 

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

Goodreads reviews.

Peasreads: Song of the Selkie by Claire R. McDougall

Song of the Selkie

A Novel

by Claire R. McDougall

 This isn't really about Selkies, though the story of a Selkie is told within. This is about three sisters. Eddie, Lailas, and Frances. The story is told through Frances's point of view. 

It had a good start and lagged only a bit. The story was interesting. Frances is quite the snob. That was her character, though, and the author wrote that well. 

The author writing about the nieces body was really not okay. Frances really pointed out too many times that this kid had a developing body. Frances is also racist. Once the Chapter in Cabo came about it was uncomfortable. I get that she's an academic; she set herself apart through academics. That's fine. But some of the things written about the gardener living in a hut(what an assumption), "brown-skinned Mexicans", and more, there was no indication that she was racist before. It was just odd to throw that in, when it wasn't a theme or previously established character trait. There should be a content warning.

I finished the book because I can't leave a review unless I do. The book wrapped up nicely. The road to the end had pretty good pacing. It just wasn't as interesting as the first third of the book promised it would be. It was just predictable. 

Where is the Jump to Recipe button?

 I wanted to post about this little blog, Give Peas A Chance. I am the most inconsistent and random blogger. It has ebbed and flowed with my life. I started this blog to store recipes for my kids to have. That was in 2009. 2008? Something like that. I also blogged school lunches for a long time. Now my kids are all grown up. I've gotten rid of Bento Boxes, lunch boxes, lunch packing tools. Ebb and flow. Now, I blog book reviews. Perhaps not consistently.  I guess that is the point. Whatever is posted ebbs and flows with what I am doing most at the time. ADHD translation: It changes according to what I am hyperfocused on at the time. An early 2000's type of blog. It just is what it is without the bells and whistles. Just a mom with a creative outlet. Not really meant to gain followers or be seen by many. I don't make money here. I never have. Unless you count the one time I won $1000.00. There were times I did reviews and giveaways. That was fun for a while. Then it wasn't. Again, ebb and flow. 

 The thing that sparked this post? I wanted to blog, so I did. But the recent photos of the food. WHEW.  I have looked at them and thought to myself, "You shouldn't post that. It looks horrible." They do. I know it. I am simply taking quick photos. I sometimes take photos of food to post on Instagram or Facebook. Not that many people use Facebook anymore, but I do. I don't take them for the purpose of blogging. Lately, I have enjoyed the creative outlet. Putting up simple posts. Going through the 50 post drafts I have. Posting some of them. Deleting others. Just quick snapshots of food. Many times the lighting is so bad you will wonder why I didn't do something about it. The answer is I don't have the energy, and I don't care(I might later, but that is for later). If blogging is going to be a creative outlet, just for me, then I will not pressure myself to set up shots. To check lighting. To think about what color dishes I should use. Correlle Winter White is what it's going to be.  I have gotten rid of over half of my dishes. This is low-spoons blogging for my mental health. Once it no longer serves me in a positive way. I will simply step back and not pressure myself to keep up. Ebb and flow.

I don't even have a jump-to-recipe button. Trust me, I know how heated people can be about not having a jump-to-recipe button. The demand from readers to "just give me the recipe I came for". "I don't want your life story".  That's a whole other post, isn't it? The thing is, this isn't that kind of blog. This is for me. I've invited you into my space. We don't pay those bloggers and food creators for recipes. The least we can do is help them by giving them a click. That was a tangent. Anyway, I don't have the button. Do you know why I don't have that button?  Simply because I don't know how to add one. That's it. I don't have the know-how, and I don't want to pay someone with the know-how. Not because they are not worth their time and talent. This just isn't that kind of blog anymore. There's even a small icon under each post on the left-hand side at the bottom that says "Pin it" that I don't know how to remove. I've clicked on it, and it does nothing. I don't know how to remove it. It irritates me every time. There are even Twitter buttons. I don't even use Twitter anymore. All that is to say that if you're looking for a real blog. This isn't it. 

Will I pick up my camera again? Maybe. If I can find the battery charger. If it brings me joy to do so. I might not even blog about food for more than a few months. Ebb and flow, right? I stopped blogging recipes for a long time. Who knows how long this streak will be for. This is simply a creative outlet, hobby, and place for us as a family to look for recipes we have enjoyed. I have made wonderful friends through this blog. I am thankful for that. If you've gotten this far, thank you. You're welcome here, of course. Everyone is welcome. Just don't expect too much.

Thank you for being here. Have a blessed day.

 

Tomato Pie

This is a Southern style Tomato Pie. It's simple but it makes for a great lunch or dinner with a side salad. Enjoy those summer tomatoes everyone.

Tomato Pie

3 tomatoes sliced, seeded, salted and strained
1 Pie crust blind baked for 10 minutes at 450 degrees
1/2 onion sliced into thin rings
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pepper
6 slices cooked bacon,chopped

  Whisk the wet ingredients and spices together-
1/2 teaspoon thyme (or basil)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
Hot sauce (optional)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg

1. Rinse the tomatoes with water and pat dry. 
2. Layer the tomato and onion slices evenly into the blind baked pie crust, sprinkling with cheese and bacon after each layer. 
3. Pour the whisked wet ingredients into the pie crust 
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 350* for 30 to 40 min. Place a sheet of foil on top of the top gets too brown at the end. 
5. Cool. Serve room temperature.

Thank you for being here. Have a blessed day.

Peasreads: A Turning Tide Christmas by Serenity Bea

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Five stars for this novella. Cozy and fun. The banter between the two main characters was funny and entertaining. The pacing was great. Sometimes novella's can seem so rushed but this one had great timing.

 I've never read anything by this author before, but would not hesitate to pick up another read from her. 

Scones

I haven't made scones in a long time. I saw some Double Cream at the grocery store and grabbed some, thinking it was a great time to make scones. I have been running around and so busy trying to stay afloat that I just haven't slowed down to enjoy simple things. Always in motion, trying to get the next thing done on my list. It's s simple but these scones gave me a breather. Making them. Enjoying them with a cup of tea, in an actual teacup, with a book. Simple. None of that will negate all I have on my plate right now, but it gave me a good respite. 

Red Beans and Rice

I apologize for these photos. They were taken quickly in the evening before dinner. This recipe for Red Beans and Rice is simple. I add carrot but I don't think that's traditional. This may not even be a traditional recipe but it's good. It also freezes well  I like my beans really soft and mashed but they can be left whole.

Kaffir Lime Leaves and Lemongrass

I posted this Larb gai yesterday and thought I put this picture in that post. I didn't. My mom grows these Kaffir leaves so she brings them to me to put in my freezer. I love them. So fragrant and fresh. Great in soups, Thai beef salad, marinades, curries and more.
They can also be dehydrated. Just wash, dry, and put them in my dehydrator.

(Living in Texas I now have my own tree and I love having fresh leaves year round)