Peasreads: Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C. Wilson

Clytemnestra's Bind

by Susan C. Wilson 

I love mythology and folklore retellings.  Susan C. Wilson's version of Clytemnestra's story is emotional and raw. What are mothers willing to do for the safety and care of their children? How much will they sacrifice? For Clytemnestra, her hands are tied in ways many don't understand. Wilson brings to light the struggles in a very real way.  We never think we would handle a situation the way someone has. Sometimes we get more information; more light is shed on the subject; you turn a piece around and over until you see different sides. Wilson helps shed perhaps different light on a character. 

I didn't realize this is part of a trilogy. It can be read as a standalone that ends after Agamemnon leaves for Troy.  All in all, a great read. I am definitely interested in reading the next books.

Trigger warnings:

verbal abuse

child abuse

sexual abuse

physical abuse

murder

Description

Collard Greens and Hot Honey Cornbread

I love collard greens and cornbread. Luckily, they both freeze well because I am the only one who eats them here. I find they are so easy to make in the Instant Pot, and I don't have to babysit them. I prefer ham hocks to smoked turkey wings. The cornbread is simple; I just melted hot honey and butter together. After the cornbread is baked, I take a chopstick and poke holes over the top and pour the mixture into the holes. 

Collard Greens

2- 3 bunches of greens, washed, stems removed 

2-3 strips of bacon

2 smoked ham hocks 

1 jalapeno

1/2 onion, left whole

2-4 teaspoons salt-free Creole seasoning (recipe here)

1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon 

White or apple cider vinegar (Optional)

Water or broth just to cover 

1. Roll the leaves of the greens up from the long side, and slice into approximately 1-inch strips. I sometimes remove the stems; sometimes I just cut the smaller.
2. Sauté bacon until crisp. Remove and crumble. Set aside.
3. Add garlic to the bacon grease and sauté until fragrant.
4. Add cooking liquid, and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure there is no stuck-on food.
5. Add greens, ham hocks, jalapeño, onion, and Creole seasoning.
6. Add more water to come up to about 1/2 to 3/4  of the greens if needed.
7. Cook on MANUAL, HIGH for 6-10 minutes and let it release pressure naturally.
8. Season with salt and pepper, and add a splash of your favorite vinegar to taste.

To make these greens more hearty, I add cubed pork belly when I add the greens. Totally optional. 

Hot bacon grease ready for batter.

 

Thanks for reading Give Peas A Chance!

Peasreads: The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale By C. M. Waggoner

 

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale

By C. M. Waggoner

This is a fast-paced cozy fantasy that will have you cackling. It's only 224 pages, but C.M. Waggoner doesn't waste a single bit of those 224 pages on fluff or filler.  From the first page, I was hooked and read this in a day. It's just fun and heartwarming. Is that the word you use when you do your best to bring on the downfall of your sweet son? 
A must-read for those who enjoy cozy fantasy, humor, and the overthrow of a monarch. 
Five stars. 

Book Description

A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son’s ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy from the author of The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry.

Once upon a time, a somewhat wicked witch named Gretsella lived in a cozy little cottage in the Dark Forest of Brigandale. She dispensed herbs and tinctures at reasonable prices, met with her slightly oddball coven on a regular basis, and had absolutely no need of any further company whatsoever, thank you very much. But then one afternoon, Gretsella came home to find a screaming infant on her doorstep.

Against all her better judgement, she took the baby in. She named him Bradley.

Eighteen years later, Bradley has grown into a bafflingly likable young man under Gretsella’s extremely tolerant—one might even say doting—eye. But the witch’s hopes for an unremarkable yet fulfilling life for her son are shattered when small woodland animals start prophesying that he is the lost prince and should ascend to the throne. Bradley ignores Gretsella’s advice that prophecies and talking chipmunks are to be avoided at all costs, and sets off for the capital. But soon confusion and chaos are reigning, and scheming courtiers are using Bradley for their own ends. Sometimes a witch has to roll up her sleeves and take matters into her own cauldron. So Gretsella resolves to bring about the downfall of her darling son…

 Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

Goodreads reviews.

Sunomono- Japanese Cucumber Salad

This salad is light and refreshing. The simple ingredients mean I always have the ingredients to make it on hand. It is a great salad to make ahead. Perfect for snacking on by itself or as a side dish. To make it a meal, the addition of shredded Imitation Crab is perfect. I love it with Poke also.

The key to keeping the cucumber crunchy is salting and squeezing all the water out. That helps it stay crunchy and take on the flavors of the dressing.

Peasreads: Secret Santa by Kay Lyons

 

Entertaining read. It's fiction so it's a little unbelievable that isn't the issue to be I love fiction, fantasy magical realism. This book is not magical realism or fantasy. But it was a fun take on who Santa is. There were some things that made no sense though. FMC (Holly) was protecting something so precious and a secret, and so important that she took unnecessary risks. At times I was just fed up with her.

I won't read it again and I will not be picking up the other books but it's a holiday read.

Description:

A clean and wholesome romantic-suspense (light) set in the Alaskan bush, featuring a former soldier crash-landed into an off-the-grid compound, a mysterious rescuer, and forced proximity under dangerous conditions. Expect slow-burn, closed-door (only-kisses) chemistry, survival stakes, secrets and deception, and a protector hero determined to uncover the truth—on the way to a guaranteed HEA. Perfect for readers who love wilderness settings and low-spice, high-heart danger-meets-romance stories.

Ty McGarretty must face the inevitable. His Cessna is going down in the Alaskan bush and there’s nothing he can do but pray for a miracle. From out of nowhere she appears. Beautiful, daring, a woman he finds himself drawn to after he wakes up in a secret off-the-grid compound.

Who are these people? Where did they come from? Why are they here? A former soldier, Ty knows something isn’t right and it’s his duty to gain intel and unearth the many secrets being kept.

Learning the truth may mean never making it home, but there is no other way to discern if his rescuer is an “angel”—or a terrorist in disguise.

Salmon Poke

I am one of those people who adds all sorts of non-traditional things to a Poke Bowl when I'm out. Baby Kale? Sure. Edamame? Why not? Sliced Jalapeños? Yes please. I'm not from Hawaii. I've only been once, and I ate Poke every day. This recipe? Not traditional, but still so very good.

 

Peasreads: Tea Princess Chronicles

 Tea Princess Chronicles Series

Tea Princess Chronicles is a complete cozy fantasy trilogy full of magic tea, friendship, and saving the world.
Follow the adventures of Miyara, a princess who escapes her meaningless life and goes into hiding, as she finds her place in the world serving a struggling community by running a tea shop that sits on the edge of a magical disaster.

Peasreads: The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo

This is a fantasy, gothic book set in New York during the Gilded Age. There is magic, witches, and other beings. There is body horror. Violence. This is not a romance; this is a book of survival and how far the main character will go not only to survive but to get what she wants. It is a good story; pacing is good with some slower areas, but those are moved through quickly. The description of the world, setting, and magic is really done well and vivid. I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't as good as The Brides of High Hill. Neither is a genre I usually choose. I am glad I read it and would still recommend it to others who like Gothic fantasy and fiction. 

Description:

From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo, this all-consuming tale of ballrooms and bloodshed weds The Gilded Age with the Gothic vision of Guillermo del Toro.

Pick a face, pick a fate.

Judith Ban, former convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief, is on the lookout for her next identity. The daughter of a Vietnamese adventuress and a French naval officer, she’s no stranger to risk, but she’s unprepared for the secrets of New York’s legendary Four Hundred, or for the women who build their power at the city’s heart through blood-soaked, gold-etched rituals of demonic marriage.