Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge - 10 Gifts for People Who Like Cooking/Baking

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated.  

Here we are stumbling upon Wednesday again. This week's topic will allow me to discuss something else I enjoy: cooking and baking. While I don't spend as much time in the kitchen as I would like, I enjoy those moments when my kitchen is filled with all kinds of delicious scents. If you enjoy cooking and/or baking, or know someone who does, here are ten gifts that might be good for you.*

Can you believe the cost of food these days? These handy jar scrapers are just the thing to make sure you get every bit of food that you have paid for. I am always using a scraper for sauces, peanut butter, and scraping every last bit of the food I've made into a fresh container when we have leftovers. I wouldn't mind finding these in my stocking.

I have stackable cooling racks at home for when I bake cookies, but check out this collapsible cooling rack from Geesta. We have limited counter and storage space, so having a rack that I can take out of the pantry when I need it, and then collapse to take up less space, would be helpful. I wouldn't mind seeing this under the tree. 

Admittedly, I have never tried these As Seen on TV Spurtles, but I do own the Spoonula from Modern Prairie, which I love. My wooden utensils get a ton of use in the kitchen, whether I am stir-frying, mixing, or tossing. This is another great stocking stuffer. 

Since I cook with olive oil almost every day, I find having a dispenser close to the stove is a real time-saver. The husband also likes to have oil and vinegar on his salads. Lugging out the larger bottles of those dressings just to add a tablespoon or two doesn't make sense. I love the look of this 2 in 1 Glass Oil Sprayer and Dispenser. They would make a great little gift for someone who spends time in the kitchen. 

It seems like no matter how many oven mitts you own, you can't find one when you need it. These Custom Oven Mitts and Pot Holders that they personalize with your photo or text would likely be a great addition to any kitchen. They could also make a nice decoration hanging off a pot rack if you decided they were too nice to use.  

I never realized how satisfying it would be to "cut the cord," but once I ordered a cordless hand mixer, I realized what an amazing decision it was. I love KitchenAid appliances and accessories, so buying a KitchenAid cordless hand mixer was a no-brainer. No more shuffling around my utensil holders or unplugging countertop appliances to make room to whip potatoes or blend baking ingredients made me one happy cook/baker. 

One thing I bought myself a couple of years ago that I have been thankful for ever since is a hand blender, a/k/a immersion blender. Many people use them to make smoothies. I use mine to puree butternut squash and to emulsify ingredients in creamy soups and sauces. 

For much of my adult life, I avoided making food in a Crock-Pot/Slow Cooker. Before Internet recipe sharing became such a big thing, I struggled to find the right recipes. I rarely had the ingredients on hand when I found a recipe I wanted to try. Oh, and I never seemed to start the meal early enough to get it ready in time. Then came working in the evenings and meal planning. We couldn't afford to eat out every night, so I invested in some Crock-Pot cookbooks and found a way to make it work for me. These days, I use my slow cooker once a week, so it was nice when my family gifted me a new one a few Christmases ago. 

Another newer addition to my kitchen is an Enameled Cast-Iron Dutch Oven. I make soups and one-pot dishes in mine, and it saves me time cleaning up because I am only using a single pot. This was a huge factor in my buying one. I haven't tried breads or desserts in it yet, but that is coming.

A food scale is one tool no home kitchen should be without. I use my scale at least once a week to weigh uncooked pasta, meats, vegetables, and more. I find this such a helpful tool that I have a backup scale in case something happens to the one I love and use all the time. 

Hope you or your family show your favorite home chef or baker some love this season. 

*If you order from a link, I might earn some affiliate income. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books Set in Snowy Places & Tell me Something Tuesday: Which Superpower Do You Wish You Had?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Happy Tuesday! Woke to single-digit temperatures today. A bit too early for me. It is supposed to be more seasonable the rest of the week. Speaking of the cold, this week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about books set in snowy places. This should be a fun one.

Top Ten Books Set in Snowy Places

How about a town on the outskirts of the Appalachian Mountains?

The North Pole is a snowy place.

Just thinking about the frozen wilderness of Alaska makes me shiver. 

Do you think Canada might be a snowy place?

Though this cover isn't snowy, Caroline takes place in Wisconsin, which gets its fair share of snow. 

The Children's Blizzard happened in the Great Plains, known for its significant snowfall. 

Depending on which region of Idaho you are in, you could get a lot of snow. 

Washington state can get a lot of snow, depending on where in the state you live. 

In De Smet, South Dakota, during the winter of 1880-1881, there was so much snowfall that the town was cut off from supplies. Even now, they get a fair amount of the white stuff. 

Before they defeated the White Witch, Narnia was a cold and snowy place. 

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you leave your comments in the weekly post when participating. Check it out if you would like to join.

Today, we are talking about superpowers. Now, I am sure you recall what a comic book freak I was as a kid. And, I used to watch superhero shows growing up. Electro Woman and Dyna Girl was a never-miss show, as was Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward. Loved The Incredible Hulk and Super Friends, too.  

While they all had neat powers, as the mother of three adult kids, I guess the only superpower I want to possess now is the power to turn back time and go back to when they were little so I could experience them that way all over again.

How about you? 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 8

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was filled with work, watching the holiday show put on by the dancers where the Lil' Diva teaches, and a holiday party. Here are a few photos:

Theo got a candy cane toy from the groomer

This lovely piece was gifted to me by one of my clients

My daughter has gotten me into simmer pots to make the house smell lovely

The Lil' Diva getting ready for the dance show 

My recent giveaway win from author Evelyn Grace Berry

The only book I have read lately is this Advent devotional by Cynthia Ruchti. 

I need to get my review of Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken by Craig Yoe posted soon.

Need to finish The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. 

I also need to finish  Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron.

Not likely I will read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season... or much else either. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

In addition to the book that I won, Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry, I also picked up a couple of other books this past week.

Christmas on Reindeer Road by Debbie Mason was a freebie with a reward from ThriftBooks. 

The Secrets of Palmerston House by Phillip Nefri Clark was a freebie from Chirp. 

Upcoming Events

• Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin - Dec 15 (First Chapter Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. We are discussing unexpected happenings at a Christmas parade, ornaments at the White House, and the Christmas tree in Bethlehem this week. Check it out here.

In preparation for this week's Author Stroll, I shared my early chapter reader, A Christmas Kindness. Click here for that post. On Monday, I shared "Three Things to Do in December to Prepare for Christmas." That post is here.

At Laura's Little Houses, I shared the Christmas Little House on the Prairie episodes. You can find that post here. 

I am in and out today, but I will check in with your blogs as I can. Hope you have a fabulous day!

Book Spotlight: Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop

She never had anything and he lost everything, but together they create a Christmas to remember.

 

Title: CINDER BELLA ('TIS THE SEASON BOOK 3)

Author: Kathleen Shoop

Publisher: Independent

Pages: 228

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, Kindle / FREE on Kindle Unlimited

She never had anything.

He lost everything.

Together they create a Christmas to remember.

December, 1893–Shadyside, Pennsylvania

Bella Darling lives in a cozy barn at Maple Grove, an estate owned by industrialist Archibald Westminster. The Westminster family is stranded overseas and have sent word to relieve all employees of their duties except Margaret, the pregnant maid, James the butler, and Bella. Content with borrowed books and a toasty home festooned with pine boughs and cinnamon sticks, she coaxes the old hens to lay eggs–extraordinary eggs. Bella yearns for just one thing—someone to share her life with. Always inventive, she has a plan for that. She just needs the right egg into the hands of the right man.

Bartholomew Baines, a Harvard-educated banker, is reeling in the aftermath of his bank’s collapse. With his friends and fiancé ostracizing him for what he thought was an act of generosity, he is penniless and alone. A kind woman welcomes him into her boarding house under conditions that he reluctantly accepts. Completely undone by his current, lowly position, and by the motley crew of fellow boarders who view him as one of them, Bartholomew wrestles with how to rebuild.

With the special eggs as the impetus, the first meeting between Bella and Bartholomew gives each the wrong idea about the other. And when the boarding house burns down a week before Christmas it’s Bella who is there to lend a hand. She, Margaret, and James invite the homeless group to stay at the estate through the holidays. But as Christmas draws closer, eviction papers arrive. Maple Grove is being foreclosed upon. Can Bella work her magic and save their Christmas? Is the growing attraction between Bella and Bartholomew enough for them to see past their differences? 

Read a sample.

Cinder Bella is available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble & Kobo. 

Book Excerpt

Chapter 4

Bartholomew

He didn’t know how long he’d been daydreaming before excited murmurs drew him back to the line he was standing in and his assigned errand. So distracted by his childhood memories, he hadn’t even noticed the egg girl arriving and fitting her bin into the table space the bread lady had cleared. But he did watch as the bread lady hugged the egg lady and though he could see her only from behind, he could tell the egg girl was much younger. A scuffle in the line drew his attention to two women in front of him, one shouldering ahead of another for the “best selection of the special eggs.”

The dustup died down when the bread lady huddled up to referee. The egg girl was prancing away looking like she had the world on a leash, like he used to feel every day. Imagine feeling like that in such dire times. He watched those ahead of him gently place eggs in their baskets, only permitted to select twelve at most. None of them picked up eggs and weighed them in their palm. Choosing in the hopes of winning a double yolk was apparently only the desire of Mrs. Tillman and as he inched closer to his turn he was growing more self-conscious about what he had been commissioned to do.

When it was his turn he followed his orders, picking up each egg, closing his eyes and feeling the weight or whatever in his palm before either placing the egg back in the box and selecting another or putting it into the basket.

When he’d gotten to egg number six the woman behind him pinched the back of his arm. Not that it hurt through layers of clothing, but it startled him. “What?”

“What is right, all right. Think I got all day and night to wait for you to court each egg like it’s the princess you’re taking to the Christmas ball?”

He flinched and stared at the woman. Sooty cheeks and raw hands gave her station in life away. And her treatment of him caused him to lose any chance of responding. How dare she?

“Cat got your tongue, fancy pants? Let’s go or I’ll butt right in front of you.”

“Yeah, get the lead out,” another voice came from farther down the line.

“Ain’t got all day, sailor,” a third heckler joined in.

He lifted his basket. “I’ve been issued specific instructions for—”

A snowball smacked into his back, shutting him up. He spun around and scanned the crowd for who’d thrown it.

“See, even people not in line with us are tired of your mouth. Move it.” The woman behind him held his gaze.

He’d never felt so… he didn’t even know how to describe how this treatment made him feel. He tried to stop himself from rattling off the specifics of his resume and instead went with the general query of, “Don’t you know who I am?”

Another snowball thwapped his back.

“A regular jackass,” someone said from down the line.

He turned again to see who’d hit him with the snowball and the woman behind him used the opening to slide in front. He turned back and stuck his hand into the box, blocking her out. “I’ll hurry. Just let me get the other six.”

She crossed her arms, the baskets resting in the crook of each bent elbow. “Six seconds for six eggs. Get on with it, moneybags.”

“Thank you,” he said. He reached for an egg and lifted it in his palm as he had the others.

The woman started counting one, two, three and the rest of the line joined in. They were serious about him moving quicker. Mrs. Tillman would just have to understand. He didn’t doubt they’d toss him out of line if he didn’t just pluck eggs from the box and move on. And so he did. The last thing he wanted was to break eggs and have to shovel coal or something to make up for it when he got back to Mrs. Tillman’s.

“I have things to do, too, you know,” Bartholomew said. “You folks aren’t the only ones with obligations and—”

“Yeah, whada you have to do today, change into other pairs of fancy pants another three times before burrowing into a bed laid with golden goose feathers?” the woman who’d pinched him asked.

His tongue tied, but he didn’t stop himself from responding. “Uh…”

“Uh? Smoke a pipe of the finest tobacco? Yeah, what else? Sit all day with the paper while someone shines your shoes?” another voice from down the line said.

He straightened, face burning hot, blindly plucking eggs from the pile and placing them into his sack. All of those things would have been fairly close to his daily life before. Before it all crashed around him. “No. Newspapers, yes, but for the market reports and…” Suddenly his studying the news of the day seemed like a luxury instead of the work it was when pronouncing the task to the particular crew waiting in line. Suddenly, he had no words at all. “Forget it.” It was as though none of them knew he was a nice guy. It was as though they assumed he’d done something awful—that it was written across his forehead. He hesitated before moving to pay, considering whether to give them an education in all his achievements and good works. But the woman muscling past him sapped the last bit of energy he had that morning.

He paid and stalked away having been saturated with enough degradation to last the day, to last a century.

– Excerpted from Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop, Independent, 2021. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Bestselling author Kathleen Shoop, PhD writes historical fiction, women’s fiction, and romance. Shoop’s novels have garnered awards in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and more. You can find Kathleen in person at various venues. She’s on the board of the Kerr Memorial Museum, teaches at writing/reader conferences, co-coordinates Mindful Writers Retreats and writing conferences, and gives talks at various book clubs, libraries, and historical societies.

Sign up for her newsletter at www.kshoop.com. 

Visit her website at www.kshoop.com or connect with her on X, Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, TikTok and Goodreads.

Cinder Bella is available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble & Kobo. 

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