I'm Back....

My break from blogging is over. I hope everyone had a great New Year. I enjoyed my time off, but I’m ready to try and get back into the swing of things. Posts will be kind of sporadic for a few weeks, and Short Stories is still on hold this month while I prepare February’s edition. So I thought I would start the year with a chatty catchup type of thing, which I rarely do on the blog.

So what have I been up to?

Over my break, I did a lot less reading than I thought I would. Instead, I spent way too much time making miniature clay animals (many hedgehogs, two penguins, a possum, an owl, and all the other ones I haven’t had the chance to paint yet). I originally started the project with the intention of making Christmas gifts (and those ones aren’t pictured here), and I discovered that I really like making tiny animals. The process was time consuming, and so it remains an ongoing activity on my end. I also made some ornaments based off of a DIY project I saw in a Michaels newsletter in early December.  

Baking…

I didn’t try many new recipes this year. Although, Emmymade, a Youtube channel I follow, made a master cookie recipe. You can find the video HERE. Master Cookie recipes have been on my baking list for the longest time. And, during December, I wanted to make some thumbprint cookies. I figured it was a good time (and a good excuse) to see whether or not I liked the way the base dough baked.

It’s a fantastic cookie on its own, but with the jam it was absolute delicious. The texture is crisp on the outside but soft on the inside, and the taste is lightly sweet and reminded me of a very rich shortbread cookie.

As mentioned on the recipe, there are other flavor combinations for this dough: peanut butter, chocolate, etc. I eventually want to try them all.

Reading…

As I mentioned above, I did very little reading. But I did get to Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake and Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, two books that were delightful reads for vastly different reason. I recommend both.

Games...

Animal Crossing New Horizons. There's so much to do in the game with the 2.0 update and the Happy Home Paradise DLC. I'm having way too much fun decorating houses, but as I told Adri before the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct, I had my fingers crossed that Happy Home Decorator would be ported for the Switch in some form. I literally got what I wished for. 

So, I’m back, and I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Up next, I’ll do my most anticipated 2022 books and music. So, keep an eye out for that. Happy reading!

Favorite Recipe: Refried Beans

Typically when I have tacos or burritos, I don’t eat it with refried beans. I usually mix in drained/rinsed black beans from a can, and cook it all together with the taco seasoning. I like it that way, but recently I was in the mood for refried beans, just without it being so oily. Once I had the thought, it turned into a craving. I did not have any, of course, and I also didn’t want to go to the store to get it. So my choice was clear: I was just going to have to make it.

With the powers that are a quick google search, I found this 10 minute Refried Black Bean recipe from Joy Food Sunshine. This recipe was truly simple to assemble, and even quicker to cook. There wasn’t much effort involved at all, and it came out perfectly. [**Note: the only changes I made were doubling the recipe and I also didn’t add any cilantro. It really depends on how many people you’re making it for. Otherwise the basic recipe is fine as is.]

As for the taste it was fantastic. I paired it with simple chicken and cheddar cheese, and it was delicious. It tasted just like the stuff from the can. Except, I got more of the flavor from the seasonings that were added, and there was no extra oil in this recipe. Even the texture was similar. [Note: I used a masher to crush the bean and broth mixture in the pot, but it was soft enough to use a fork or spoon if I’d wanted to.] I also think it would pair quite well with whatever taco or burrito mixture you want.

Ultimately, I see myself using this recipe again. What have you been cooking recently?