Burnt Offerings - Sazón Rice

This one is a frequent request in our house. The ingredients I’ve listed are the original “cast” and a good place to start. We have changed it up with different vegetables and meats (or gone without meat all together) and it always seems to work out well. I guess it is just one of those simple, really-hard-to-mess-up recipes. Experiment for yourself and enjoy! :)

See Burnt Offerings for the second recipe: Sazón Rice.

Five Minute Friday – Beyond

A torrent of rash reactions
fermenting fears and judgment
rushes to an end
of bruised egos and broken hearts.
I watch from the side,
unattached and beyond
but affected.

Words hold weight and, when wielded outside of integrity, they can batter a heart to mush. It is regrettable at best and very difficult to witness when one can truly do nothing to stop it. May we all choose what we say with consideration. May we make the choice to bless and not to bludgeon.

Marking Books – The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

In the past, when I was very ill with parasitic food poisoning, Greg read to me during my weeks of recovery (The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King). With the onset of Greg’s vision difficulties, we have adapted our “reading time” again such that now I read to him. One benefit is that we spend time together without having to wait until one of us is finished with the story before the other can read it. The down side of that is when we run into a book that is… well, not terribly good. In those cases, we suffer together. (No, we do not put down the book without finishing it - once started, we see it through to the end.) Unfortunately, the tale we have just finished, Anne Rice's The Wolf Gift, turned out to be one of the suffering kind.

What had been anticipated joy for a new opportunity to lose ourselves in the eloquent settings and gripping story lines of Ms. Rice's imagination turned quickly into bathos and grueling disappointment as we struggled through chapter upon chapter of repetitive, unimaginative language and shallow characterization and plot. I don’t mean to be harsh… Anne Rice has proven in the past to have the inexplicable talent to transport her readers to a different place and time. Her rich descriptive narrative and ability to introduce multifaceted characters of great depth and wisdom endeared her to her fans (Greg and myself included) through stand-alone stories like The Feast of All Saints or Cry to Heaven and her captivating series such as the now famous Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witches. The premise of The Wolf Gift held promise but, unfortunately, didn’t deliver. What could have been a brand new series full of innovative plot twists, remarkable places and fascinating people fell horribly and inexcusably flat. Needless to say, I don't recommend the book. :)

Marking Books – An Introduction

Being an editor paired with a writer, I tend to read a lot. While I am not really fond of reading or writing book reviews, I am compelled at times to give praise (or warning) for  works I find to be extraordinarily good… or bad. Since I’ve begun this blog in the spirit of sharing, and I like to give authors as much exposure as I can, I’ve decided to swallow my review-aversion (to a degree) and invite you to follow along with my bookmarks.

New Page [Blog]

With the latest "keeper" discovered just yesterday, I decided to expand ever-so-slightly to a new recipe blog: Burnt Offerings (check out the new tab at the top of the page). The first offering... The Tuscan Trial. Enjoy!

Some Housekeeping...

As I continue to recover from the computer crash of June 2012, I find myself in need of a change - something to spur me to sit in this quiet space and share experience and existence. I am happy this blog hasn't totally fallen by the wayside but I would like to nurture it more than I do presently... and so, now you have the reasoning behind the "facelift". I had considered a new blog... perhaps even moving over to try WordPress... but then realized I didn't need anything so extreme. I hope you like the new template - we'll see how long it takes before I want to move the furniture around yet again. ;)

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Walking under workmen’s ladders,
stepping on a sidewalk crack,
picking pennies tail-side up,
crossing paths with big black cats…

Turning the calendar page,
  the number 13 burns into my existence.
After a month of constant obstacles and setbacks,
  I smile
    knowing our luck is about to change.


The computer was down for half of June and the very beginning of July (the mother board blew) which accounts for most of my silence of late. I very much appreciate your visits during my “quiet time” and thank you for your patience. May your Friday the Thirteenth (and every other day too) be happy. :)