Short Break...

I'm feeling under the weather, so there won't be any new blog posts this week.  See you all next week....

Favorite Recipe: Pie Crust + Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

During our break from blogging, Adri and I did some baking, and we wanted to share two of the new recipes we tried out.

The first was this All Butter Flaky Pie Crust from Modern Honey. We had some leftovers of a chicken dish from the night before, and we wanted to make it into a chicken-pot-pie (not pictured). During the whole process, we ended up trying this recipe for the crust. We had never made this particular kind of pie crust before and were looking forward to seeing if it was something we would use again in the future.

Adri: When we put the dough together and we went to form it into the ball, the texture before baking was amazing. I can’t even describe it.

Breana: That’s true. I’ve made standard pie crust before, and I did notice the difference in texture. The main difference—in ingredients—between this recipe and others was the buttermilk and vinegar, instead of just butter and cold water.

Adri: When it cooked, it had a light, flaky, and buttery taste that I hardly ever get from store-bought crust.

Breana: I agree with everything you said, Adri. One of the things I was worried about was if the vinegar flavor would be too strong, but there was nothing to fear. The flavor of the butter really came through. As the recipe says, remember to put the pie shields or foil to keep the exposed crust from overbaking.

After we made the chicken-pot-pie, we had some crust left over, and we decided to put it to good use. We also had some leftover pumpkin puree and half of an eight ounce block of cream cheese, and those were also going to be put to good use. The second recipe we tried was the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie from Will Cook For Smiles; although, we cut the amount in half + used half-and-half instead of cream (because that’s all we had enough for, but we’ll likely make the full recipe when we try this one again).

Breana: I was happy with how it came out. Overall it was just good, and I got enough of the pumpkin and cream cheese flavors.

Adri: It was delicious. There’s nothing else to say except for: go try it out for yourself.

What recipes did you make this holiday season? If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments down below.

Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Series: n/a
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Historical; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; July 23, 2019

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld...

Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2019, but it ended up being the first book I read in 2020. Gods of Jade and Shadow was such a complex and amazing tale. It was a coming-of-age story set against a glittering jazz age Mexico setting, with folklore elements and a quest involving a Mayan god of death. It had a fairytale kind of vibe to it, which reminded me a of the type of atmosphere in stories like Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, as well as the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Gods of Jade and Shadow was everything I was looking for, and I loved it as much as I thought I would.

Casiopea Tun believes she’s unfortunate, and she is in a lot of ways. Her situation was explored in the early chapters of the story, and right away, I liked her character. I also disliked her family. The casual sort of cruelty they displayed toward Casiopea did not endear them to me, and for much of the story they were dual-antagonists in the ongoing conflict between the gods—particularly Casiopea’s cousin, Martín. That being said, all of the characters were pretty complex, and for the main ones, I enjoyed their individual character arcs. Though Casiopea’s journey is the main focus—and one of my favorite aspects about Gods of Jade and Shadow—and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of her story of adventure and self-discovery.

The overall story was one of my favorites. It was a quest kind of story, with certain objects that had to be found, and there was a good deal of travel as well—it wasn’t until later in the story when the pace picked up. Even so, Gods of Jade and Shadow was fantastic, and I loved all of the mythological elements present in the story. The end wrapped up the story in a bittersweet but satisfying way.

Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to her next novel, Mexican Gothic, which comes out on June 30, 2020.

Have you read Gods of Jade and Shadow? If so, what did you think of it?

Music Monday (104): Shannon, Abi Ocia, and Guustavv

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to add new artists to my playlist. One of my recent finds is Abi Ocia. The track that introduced me to her music is Running. It’s a fantastic song, and the music video is awesome—I like how it was filmed in black and white. Other than that, I’m not going to say too much about Ocia’s other music right now, because I’m writing a full post about it (which should be posted on the blog sometime in March).

Adri: I've really been into ambient music lately, so my pick for today is Neopolitin by Guustavv. 

Andrea: This week I'm stepping back in time as I listen to Let The Music Play and Give Me Tonight by Shannon. 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (172) & Book Beginnings: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld...

Beginning: "Some people are born under a lucky star, while others have their misfortune telegraphed by the position of the planets."

56: "Yes, it's magic and its blade were sharp. It would allow him to succeed a second time."

Comments: Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and I really loved the story. What are you reading this week?