"All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality -- the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape."
--Author Christopher Benson

WE HAVE MOVED!!!! PLEASE COME TO THE NEW ESCAPE WITH DOLLYCAS INTO A NEW BOOK!!!!!

YOU WILL LOVE THE NEW BLOG!!!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

National Dairy Month - Ham and Cheese Quiche


In honor of the book reviewed in the post below here is the last recipe to celebrate National Dairy Month.   I hope you have enjoyed the recipes this month and followed the Source links to find even more.  




JUST REMEMBER
 
Ham and Cheese Quiche
 Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee, 2008 at FOOD NETWORK.COM

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 red potatoes, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
  • 1 cup cubed ham
  • 1 (8 or 9-inch) premade pie shell in foil pan
  • 1 cup shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place potatoes and rosemary in a microwaveable dish. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes, until almost cooked through.

Cover the bottom of the premade pie shell with potatoes, ham, and cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and seasoning and pour into the pie shell.

Place quiche into preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until eggs have set.


SOURCE:   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/



The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames

A Cheese Shop Mystery
First in a Brand New Series
Release Date July 6, 2010
Berkley Prime Crime Mystery

The Fromagerie Bessette, know by the residents of Providence, Ohio, as The Cheese Shop, has been passed down to another generation.  Charlotte Bessette is the new cheesemonger and her cousin Matthew is the wine expert and Grandmére and Pépére are trying to retire but are still spending many hours at the shop. Some renovations have been made and a wine annex has been added and the grand opening is just minutes away.  The cheese platters are out and the wine bottles opened and the doors thrown wide and the shop starts to fill with people. 

But there is an undercurrent of tension, Grandmére is also the mayor of this fine little town and the election is right around the corner.  Her opponent, Kristine, and a  few of her friends are in high rally mode.  Her husband, Ed, owns most of the buildings in the area and he is a complete leech, cheating on his wife and moves around through the party pinching, leering and acting highly inappropriate with most of the females in attendance.  He also is threatening to evict the owners of The Cheese Shoppe and many others on the street which causes him to have a heated conversation with Grandmére. 

Even with the the tension, Charlotte and Matthew know they have a success on their their hands and are very excited until  "a shriek cut the air" and Charlotte rushed out of the store and found the leech's body dead on the sidewalk and Grandmére covered in blood.

Everyone including the Chief of Police doesn't believe Grandmére killed this man, but she was the one with the knife in her hand and covered with blood, she is placed under house arrest. Charlotte finds herself suspecting everyone and doesn't think the Chief is investigating enough so she starts investigating on her own to prove her Grandmére's  innocence.  

 
Yes, I LOVED IT!,  with one caution, do not read on an empty stomach, the story is filled with yummy descriptions of wonderful cheeses, wine and quiches and it includes recipes at the end.  My stomach was ready for some of that cheese all the way through.  I suggest you pour yourself a nice glass of wine and make up a little cheese platter and then curl up to read the "quichey" mystery with your snacks ready.

I loved the characters, even the mean and unstable ones.  There was the perfect amount of humor and the plot had several twists and turns to keep you turning page after page. There is also a budding romance on the horizon. This was a really good debut to the cheesy new series and I definitely have an appetite for more.

 You may visit Avery at http://www.averyaames.com

      

 Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  
                                

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

2fer TUESDAY!!!! 2 Books by Rebecca M. Hale

HOW TO WASH A CAT & NINE LIVES LAST FOREVER
CATS AND CURIOS MYSTERIES


Uncle Oscar was truly one-of-a-kind.  Rebecca visited him once a week with  her two feline companions for a tasty fried chicken dinner.  She really didn't know much about her uncle except that her owned a truly unusual antique store right in the heart of San Francisco's historic Jackson Square neighborhood, that featured some treasured artifacts from the Gold Rush era.

No one  was more surprised than Rebecca when her Uncle Oscar was found dead in his store and couldn't believe that he had left everything he had to her.  The Green Vase and all its contents now belonged to her including all the secrets hidden within.  A quirky group of friends, a trap door, a strange key, and even a map.  There was a mystery to be solved and Rebecca and her cats are ready  to down and "dirty" to solve it.


This was a fun mystery, different from other cozies because it doesn't seem the body was murdered.  The mystery takes us through history with a series of clues and deception back to the Gold Rush to find something.  Don't want to give away the mystery.  The plot is one that takes us right to to final pages, trying to piece the clues together.  A very unconventional cast of characters and two very bright and curious cats make this book a great diversion for a few hours hours.


RELEASE DATE JULY 6, 2010

We are back at the newly renovated Green Vase antique shop and Rebecca, Isabella and Rupert have been joined by some green amphibian intruders.  The antique shop is not the only place the creatures have turned up and what does the note left by Uncle Oscar mean?

Rebecca leaps right into another mystery filled with political conspiracy, faked deaths, hidden gold, and cold-blooded betrayal.  Working with her uncle's quirky friends and even his arch enemy, Rebecca and the kitties are on a mission to find the truth "warts and all".

This second book in the Cat and Curios Mystery series again takes us back in history to the days of Harvey Milk, who was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor George Moscone, both were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. Milk's election was made possible by and was a key component of a shift in San Francisco politics. 

She mixes history with her wonderful tale of the great frog invasion and her characters involvement in San Francisco's politics.  So believable you wonder what parts of this story are true and what comes from Rebecca M. Hale's imagination.  This is a truly enjoyable mystery with plenty of leaps, jumps, and little and not so little cat feet.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rebecca M. Hale worked as a patent attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area for several years before taking time off to write her first novel, HOW TO WASH A CAT. The paperback version of the book published in January 2010 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. The second book in the Cats and Curios Mystery series, NINE LIVES LAST FOREVER, comes out July 2010.

Rebecca and her cats, Rupert and Isabella, now live in Western Colorado where they are hard at work on the third book in the Cats and Curios Mystery series, FUR IS PRE-FURRED, as well as a new mystery novel set in the US Virgin Islands called THE WATER TAXI.






  
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday, June 28, 2010

It's Monday!! What Are You Reading???

This great meme is hosted by Sheila at "Book Journey" formerly
"One Person's Journey Through a World of Books".

 FINISHED LAST WEEK
Bookplate Special (A Booktown
 Mystery)
BOOKPLATE SPECIAL by Lorna Barrett


Chapter & Hearse (A 
Booktown Mystery)
CHAPTER & HEARSE (ARC) by Lorna Barrett
RELEASE DATE AUGUST 3, 2010

I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How to Wash a Cat (Cats and 
Curios Mystery)
HOW TO WASH A CAT by Rebecca M. Hale
CURRENTLY READING
Nine Lives Last Forever (Cats
 and Curios Mystery)
NINE LIVES LAST FOREVER by Rebecca M. Hale
RELEASE DATE JULY 6, 2010
WATCH FOR MY REVIEW SOON!! 

ON DECK

Delicious and Suspicious (A Memphis BBQ Mystery)
DELICIOUS and SUSPICIOUS by Riley Adams

The Long Quiche Goodbye (CHEESE SHOP MYSTERY)
The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames

The 19th Element: A James Becker Nuclear Thriller
The 19th Element by John L. Betcher


Be sure to enter to June Book Giveaway in the sidebar and
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR JULY 2, WHEN
Author Ellery Adams 
is going to be HERE!!!! 

She will be Guest Posting HERE!!!
She will be talking about her great book, 
A KILLER PLOT,
she may share a few recipes,
AND 
She will be hosting a GIVEAWAY!!!!

A BEACH READ GIVEAWAY!!!
Including an autographed copy of her book, a sea shell memo pad, and some very special bookmarks!!!

Now I know this will be a very busy weekend for you as it will be for me, so Ellery's post will remain the top post on my blog from 
FRIDAY July 2 - SUNDAY July 4.
It will be the second post below my 
What Are You Reading post on MONDAY July 5.  
Contest will End at 
8 a.m. TUESDAY July 6 CST
The WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 
TUESDAY, July 6  BY NOON,
before I take some family time off 
returning MONDAY July 12.

NOW MARK YOUR CALENDARS TODAY!!!
The place to be before the fireworks is here!!!


Friday, June 25, 2010

FFEL GOOD FRIDAY!!!

Welcome to Feel Good Friday! 

Laura had found that a lot of her bloggy friends reading posts about being positive, so she thought she might try her very own meme.  She just want everyone to feel good and have some happy thoughts as you begin the weekend.  

I thought it sounded like fun and 
wanted to try it this is only my second
Feel Good Friday!
It is never too late to join!!!

I have posted the prompts here and the steps to follow to give you some idea of what this meme is about:
Step 1: 
Pick one of these prompts and write about it on your blog!  You can: 
  • Just make a list. List 5 things that made you really happy this week. No matter how bad or boring you think your week was, I bet you can find 5 things.   
  • Write about something that happened to you this week that really made you smile.  Was it your child, husband, or maybe a complete stranger did to you?
  • Write about something that YOU did for someone else that really made them happy or laugh.
  • Is there something you treasure so much that every single time you look at it, it brings you happiness?  Post a pic and tell everyone about it.
  • Having a hard week and can’t find one good thing about it?  Well then, what is your happy place?  What do you think of that makes you happy? A past vacation?  A childhood memory?  We want to know!

Step 2:

Come back to Laura's blog, the little girl next door grows up on Friday and link up with Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.  Then go and read at least one other blog and leave them a comment to make their day brighter.

Step 3:

Have fun.  Feel good.  Smile. 
Then, start looking for all of the good things you can write about for next week!  Once you start looking for the “good”  you will find it everywhere.
*******************************************************
 WHAT MADE ME SMILE THIS WEEK!!

Last week Friday at 11:23 a.m. I became a Great Aunt for the 4th time.  Brooklynn Marie weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long.  She is so tiny and so beautiful.  
This made me start thinking about the responsibilities of being a Great Aunt  (an aunt of one's father or mother) vs. being a GREAT AUNT (someone who is fun to be around, give great gifts, etc.).  Which brought to mind this story.
Many years ago, it was even before my husband, Jeff, and I were married, we volunteered to babysit two of our nephews, they were probably about 3 & 5.  After some time we decided to take the boys with us on our errands, specifically to the ShopKo store about 15 miles away.  We got them all belted into the car and we were on our way, they were very well behaved in the car, playing with some small toys.

I must take a minute here to explain this ShopKo store was attached to a mini strip mall by a wide hallway with benches, a big planter in the middle, and outside was a child's ride.  We told the boys if they were good they could ride on the ride after we finished shopping.

When we got in the store all hell broke loose, they wouldn't stay in the carts, the were running up and down the aisles, hiding in the clothes racks.  Note:  We were not parents, NO EXPERIENCE!!  I am amazed we ever had children.  

Back to the story, it took both of us threatening no ride, on what I  now remember was a coin operated horse, and physically carrying them to the checkout.  We made the mistake of putting them down to pay for our purchases and they were off again running in the hallway between the strip mall and the main store, climbing on the planter and jumping off it. 

A woman on one of the benches called the boys over and said they should behave better for their parents.  The oldest, father of the beautiful little girl mentioned at the beginning of this story, shouted loud enough for the whole world to hear, "THEY ARE NOT OUR PARENTS!!!!"  I quickly explained to the woman we were their aunt and uncle, when the younger one yelled, "NO SHE'S NOT!!! (Like I said, Jeff and I weren't married yet.)  

We quickly rounded up the boys and headed to the car.  Today we probably would have been arrested, as it was people watched us all the way to the car and more than a few wrote down our license plate in case the news later reported two kidnapped little boys.  They slept all the way home and we drove around until it was time to return them to their parents.

We laugh about this story today, but reminds me of something my mother said often to my sister and I.  "I hope when you grow up and have children they are________________ as you are."  Fill in the blank with "awful, terrible, obstinate, unruly" you get the idea.  We call it "The Mother's Curse", you may have heard of it.  My sister and I have proof that it works, at least on girls, her daughter and my daughters all look like their father's side of the family, but on the inside they are us.  Stubborn, Opinionated, Quick Tempered, High Maintenance, my sister and I luckily found perfect men to love us. I can only wish the same for them, and we have done our best not to pass on the curse.

But it did cross my mind that now the both nephews are married and have a child, to wonder if there was an "Aunt's Curse". HMMM.  OK,  I have decided to leave the  "CURSES" to their mother, or the mothers of their wives.  I would rather be the GREAT AUNT to all my nieces and nephews and their children.  A fun Aunt that gives the loud toys that drive the parents nuts!!! and hopefully as they grow older an Aunt that is fun to be around, as much as I can.  
I just hope they don't grow up too fast, right now they are such fun to be around and see how the grow everyday.  Ryan is already in school and very independent, Lillian is just 6 months old and oh so cute, Brennan is toddling around and getting into mischief and so much fun, and Brooklynn is still brand new, with that new baby smell, and she is the one that lives closest so hopefully I will get to see her a lot. Thanks to the wonder of Facebook, I get to see the others in pictures and hear about their antics everyday.  I love them all and am honored to be their Great Aunt.





Note to bloggers:  I clicked too soon on Laura's site, the GYGAB contest is over but please enter the June Giveaway in the left sidebar.

The grey Grey Cloud - New Children's Book by Manjula Naraynan

"Have you heard about the little grey Grey cloud that lives up in the skies?"

He is looking for his silver lining.

This is a wonderful new children's book and was perfect for my grandson Kaden, who doesn't like "torms" one bit.  We have been reading this book almost every night here in Wisconsin because it is definitely thunderstorm weather time here.  The author only uses one word Kaden doesn't understand "pacified".  It's a pretty big word for a toddler, so we just use the word "said" for now.

The story is beautifully illustrated and is the 3rd book in the author's Color Trilogy.  We will be definitely getting the other two.  

To find out more about this author and her other children's books please visit her website at http://www.bookbloom.com/ . The music is quite catchy and you can even send an e-card starring the characters in her books.














Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Thursday, June 24, 2010

IT'S TIME FOR THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

NO, IT'S NOT THAT MY BIRTHDAY IS 7 DAYS AWAY

The BIG HOLIDAY WEEKEND 
is right around the corner.  
Just 8 days away.


Whether you are planning 
to go to a parade 
or be in one,

Have a picnic 
or have a barbecue,

go camping 
or to a carnival,
or watch the fireworks with the family,

YOU MUST STOP BY HERE 
BECAUSE 
I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

Author Ellery Adams 
is going to be HERE!!!! 

She will be Guest Posting HERE!!!
on JULY 2nd!!!!!
She will be talking about her great book, 
A KILLER PLOT,
she may share a few recipes,
AND 
She will be hosting a GIVEAWAY!!!!

A BEACH READ GIVEAWAY!!!
Including an autographed copy of her book, a sea shell memo pad, and some very special bookmarks!!!

Now I know this will be a very busy weekend for you as it will be for me, so Ellery's post will remain the top post on my blog from 
FRIDAY July 2 - SUNDAY July 4.
It will be the second post below my 
What Are You Reading post on MONDAY July 5.  
Contest will End at 
8 a.m. TUESDAY July 6 CST
The WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 
TUESDAY, July 6  BY NOON,
before I take some family time off 
returning MONDAY July 12.

NOW MARK YOUR CALENDARS TODAY!!!
The place to be before the fireworks is here!!!