Month: October 2019

What Ta-Ta’s Teach Us by Jane Jenkins Herlong

/ sandramervillehart

I expected this book to be about breast cancer.

It touches on the topic of cancer, but it is about so much more.

As girls mature into women, their bodies go through many changes. The author briefly talks about those changes and then offers words of wisdom for each change.

The book is also beautifully illustrated by Beth R. Clark.

Lighthearted and full of advice, this quick read is one that many women and girls would find benefits from reading.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, something that has touched many of us personally or through loved ones. That’s why I chose this month to review this book.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Corn Rolls Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

The author of 1877 Cookbook Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping included meal suggestions. A fall breakfast meal suggestion is: fried trout; Graham mush; beef croquette; pork steak; boiled Irish potatoes; baked sweet potatoes; bread; corn rolls; coffee; and cocoa. I imagine an everyday breakfast did not include all these dishes.

The cookbook includes recipes for some of these. Today I’m sharing one for corn rolls from cook Mrs. Capt. J.P. Rea.

If you happen to own a gem pan, bake these in it.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cooking spray on a muffin pan.

Beat 3 eggs and set aside.

Combine 2 cups of corn meal, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well.

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups of milk to boiling. Then add the milk to the corn meal mixture. Allow this to cool and then stir in the eggs.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I tasted a bit of sweetness from the sugar in these rolls so it was slightly sweet corn muffin. It’s a nice, easy recipe that can be prepared from ingredients usually stocked in pantries. Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

Announcing New Christmas Book Release!

/ sandramervillehart

I’m thrilled to announce my newest book release! This collection of Christmas stories is called “Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path” and contains stories with an unexpected twist.

I’ve always wanted to be in a Christmas collection. The story that I’ve written for the collection, Not This Year, is very close to my heart.

Here is the back blurb:

Not your Granny’s Christmas stories …

Step off the beaten path and enjoy six stories that look beyond the expected, the traditional, the tried-and-true.

Inspired by the song, Mary Did You Know?— a mother’s memories of events leading up to and following that one holy night. MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

A young woman seeking her own identity searches for the man who tried to kill her and her mother on Christmas Eve twenty years before. A ROSE FROM THE ASHES

Princess, tower, sorceress, dragon, brave knight, clever peasant — combine these ingredients into a Christmas-time story that isn’t quite what you’d expect. RETURN TO CALLIDORA

Anticipating tough financial times, the decision not to buy or exchange presents leads to some painful and surprising revelations for a hardworking man and his family. NOT THIS YEAR

Years ago, a gunman and a store full of hostages learned some important lessons about faith and pain and what really matters in life — and the echoes from that day continue to the present. THOSE WHO STAYED

A community of refugees, a brutal winter, a doorway to another world — a touch of magic creating holiday joy for others leads to a Christmas wish fulfilled. CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS

Pick up your copy today on Amazon!

Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe by Max Lucado

/ sandramervillehart

Captivating story!

Chelsea Chambers recently separated from Sawyer, her NFL celebrity husband, and is trying to make the coffee shop that her mother left her a success for her two children. Business crawls. Her only employee quits. Manny shows up the same day. He’s a real godsend and she hires him on the spot.

Then the IRS delivers a huge tax bill that her mother neglected to pay. Sawyer can’t help—he’s somehow managed to go through millions of dollars. Chelsea has to close the shop and sell the property.

Then someone delivers a router that she can try out for three months. Free. She jumps at the chance to increase her business.

But there’s a catch. Internet access is limited to one blog—the God Blog.

And there’s something special about Manny…

I loved this book! The reader sees early on that Manny is really Chelsea’s guardian angel. We’re given glimpses into his conversations with Gabriel.

I particularly loved how the author shows the behind-the-scenes battle between good and evil. Can our prayers for our loved really live on past our death?

Thought-provoking. An enjoyable multi-layered story. Recommend!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com