Month: June 2011

Suggested Summer reads: June 25 edition

bit of magic, hint of romance, and three favorite books to share today…

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
I recommend EVERYTHING by this husband/wife writing team so far. This is the first novel in their “Edge” series. It’s part romance, part fantasy, pure awesome. Action packed, amazing detail and world building, and a novel I loved from first to last page. The heroine is a strong magically gifted woman that lives in the area between the normal (aka non-magical world we know) and the weird wild magical realm. I also read, loved, and recommend the second book in the series- Bayou Moon. It’s kind of a hard series to explain – but if you’re a fan of darker, more paranormal/fantasy type fiction this could be your next favorite too.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
What I love most is how this author infuses magic into her stories without spells or making it about that. Magic simply IS. In this story, we meet a sad girl who prefers winter because she can cover up and go hide in her closet eating chocolates and generally ignoring the real world. One day a woman appears in her closet, and everything starts changing… the real beauty is that our heroine is in fact the one who’s mixing up her world – not any magic. Between the memorable cast of characters and touching tale, I really enjoyed this book!

Every Boy’s Got One by Meg Cabot
One of my all time favorite romantic comedies, this one is told as diary entries and emails… and it’s awesome. The heroine runs off to Italy with her best friend and her fiancée to witness their marriage! So romantic, so exciting… except for the guy’s best friend who is totally against the whole thing but coming along as the best man. It’s funny, it’s light, it’s totally adorable. I read this when it first came out back in ’05, and I STILL read + love it every summer.

 

That’s what I’ve got for this week in summer reading suggestions – enjoy! and as always if you have suggestions don’t hesitate to share!

spinach ‘n onions

Had you told me as a child that spinach + onions would be one of my very favorite veggie sides as an adult I’d have never believed you. But it’s true.

My love affair really started when I discovered that the spinach souffle or creamed spinach that i like has onions in it. I wondered… what could I do to make something that has yum factor without all that dairy and calories? Mine still has a bit of butter and oil – but not much. Here’s how you can make it:

First take an onion (or in my case two small spring videlia onions) and slice it up. I like a thin slice + cut the rounds in half or quarters so that there aren’t any thick or long pieces. Put into pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil (more if needed), 1/2 tsp of salt and sprinkle of pepper over medium heat.

above you see them just starting to warm up. Let them cook, stir often. It might take 10-15 minutes and that’s ok. Get them all nice and translucent and browning. When you feel like they’re almost perfectly brown, add in a teaspoon or two of chopped garlic and stir. let sit for about a minute.

Add in a teeny bit of butter (teaspoon or so?) and a package of chopped spinach (I used 1 frozen box that I’d thawed, drained, then add in), and stir until spinach is hot. Add more salt if needed.

This isn’t an exact recipe – so work with fresh spinach, add in more… I will tell you I NEVER have left overs of this. My kids and husband eat it up, and I love it too. It gives me veggies with a boost of fun, and it’s beyond simple to make.

I will serve it with steak, pork loin/chops, grilled chicken, fish… it goes with just about anything!

3 links for a Wednesday:

Link #1: http://jennibowlinstudioinspiration.blogspot.com/2011/06/guest-star-may-flaum.html 

I’m a guest over at JBS – LOVE their stuff. So much fun to play – you can see 2 all new projects there.

Link #2: http://bellablvd.typepad.com/

I’m a guest over at the Bella Blvd blog this week as well! Another new project, and a quick & fun page idea.

Link #3: http://www.facebook.com/MayFlaumDesigns

Yes, I’ve made my own crafty page on facebook. I will share links there, classes, crafty stuff and posts, check in from events, etc. You see – I don’t post much on facebook now because I don’t want to annoy all my non-craft friends & family. So by making a page that will just be crafty, I separate the two and let everyone choose for themselves what they want to see.

Happy Wednesday!

bloopers & crazy.

I’ve finished taping my promo video for my fall Big Picture on-line workshop…

and I’ve escaped with my sanity… maybe?

I posted on twitter about how it was getting awfully silly up in here, and was encouraged to please post bloopers/outtakes here. Well… if you want to see it here it is. I don’t recommend it. Things get very weird. You see, I’m supposed to be having a conversation and it’s not supposed to be stiff or formal so I was trying to stay loose and natural by talking between takes and such… and well… yeah.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VZmeMnevSM]

[I can’t even try to explain. A bit of time in the cool pool and a good dinner and I’m feeling more like myself again. back to work for me]