My Favorite Classic Novels

I have read and adored and read and abhorred some of the classic novels. I don't think liking classics makes you better or smarter, and I don't think disliking them makes you cool or real. Some powers that be lumped them together and called them the classics, and we've been judging them as a group ever since. Like any book in any genre, I think they demand to be judged individually on their own merit. Here are my favorite classics:

1. My Antonia by Willa Cather - Cather makes the American West come alive via a bold young Antonia. Her spirit is captivating. The way it's written (episodically) allows the reader to feel more comfortable in the background of the winding story.

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Jane is my favorite heroine. I like her fire and her spunk. She is independent and strong, a true feminist - very rare for the Victorian period. I also like her vulnerability and complexity. And I might have purchased a copy of this novel for my niece for Christmas...she'll be just under three months old. LOLOL

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I love the glitz, the glam, the melancholy, the secrecy, the longing. I love the opening line and the ending line and both are timeless. I hate Daisy with a fiery passion, and that's good for me too - I like having someone to love, someone to hate, and someone in between in my books.

4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - This was my first introduction to a character that should be hated turned into someone who can somehow be liked regardless. I was truly perplexed. It takes skill as an author to do that to an audience. It also starts with a bang: Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. 

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - There are so many quotable quotes in here. I first read this at a time when I felt reckless and thirsty for adventure and the ability to shuck responsibility and ramble on down the road. I still enjoy it today because it reminds me of a self that was a little more free.

6. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - A major study of mine in college, I came to admire Hester for her strength under duress. She would not bend or be shamed. There is value in knowing how to live inside of yourself when exterior forces are making your life hellish. This book made me think hard on that.

7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I was shocked at how good this was when I finally read it in college. Familiar with the Frankenstein story, I was unprepared for the nuanced writing of Shelley.

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - One of the first books I read that made me feel like I was an adult, instead of a girl of 11 (when I first read it). Jo March, woman warrior. Writer. Daring girl. Feminist...before I knew what feminist really meant in a larger context and what it really meant to me as a female. I like that Alcott explored a character who conceded to marriage on her terms with a man she views as her equal.

9. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, 1984 by George Orwell - Yes, I know, this is more than one. These three showed me how books can almost seem to foreshadow a future that doesn't exist yet. They were dystopian before Hunger Games and that ilk were mere farts in the wind.

10. A Separate Peace by John Knowles - Phineas remains larger than life in my mind and in literary history.

Classics I found to be tedious:
Any and all Henry James, Moby Dick, all Dickens aside from Great Expectations, all Jane Austen, William Faulkner novels

Hope to see you link up on Tuesday, November 10, for Show Us Your Books with me and Jana of Jana Says.

What's your favorite/least favorite classic?

Once upon a turchicken burger

I've been meaning to share this recipe for what feels like a decade for a few reasons:
1. It's easy and a chimp could do it
2. They're freezable so it'll allow you to build up your freezer meals if you're into that
3. They're also good for a party because you can make them in advance
4. It allowed me to combine the words turkey and chicken
5. People asked on Instagram and I ignored the requests because I was feeling too lazy to type it all out there.

I typically end up making these, using some for the week, and freezing about 15-20 of them for future use. That is reflected below in the quantities. If you do not have any desire to freeze them, use only one pound of ground meat, almost a full container of crumbled goat cheese, and divide everything else by three. When not divisible by three, err on the side of over-seasoning because ground turkey and ground chicken could use it.

Ingredients 
2 lb ground chicken
1 lb ground turkey
3 eggs, lightly beaten
15 oz frozen spinach, defrosted  and squeezed so there is no excess water (this is a bag and a half)
2 4 oz containers of crumbled goat cheese
3/4 of a red onion, diced fine
2 TBS worcestershire sauce
4 TBS dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon season salt
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
a few sprinkles of whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions

Mix ingredients by hand. Feel free to sub out seasonings. Form medium sized patties and use your thumb to depress the middle a bit.

Cook patties in a heated cast iron skillet four minutes per side. Even when I'm freezing them, I cook them first. That way I can just thaw and eat.

Set aside to cool. Wrap the ones that will be frozen in parchment paper and freeze in gallon bags.

Linking up with Jenn @ Going the Distance for What's Hap-Pinning Wednesdays.

Vote like your right to vote depends on it

I never understand people who think they are above voting or shouldn't have an opinion on what goes on in this country.

Especially women. Other women died to win you the right to vote.

Read up on your candidates. Get to the polls. Let's do this damn thing.

As for me? I haven't missed an election in 20 years. They will be rolling my cold, almost dead body up to the polls to vote. I won't ever let the right go to waste. 

TWTW - the one sponsored by spray paint

When I finished writing this post, I thought hmm, this feels frantic. I read through it again and yep...still frantic. Like rapid fire spewing crap at the wall and daring you to decipher it before it all runs together on the floor. On your mark, get set...

Friday afternoon I checked out the kindness banners at City Hall before leaving work to battle that dickhead 95 that has been under construction my whole life and will still be under construction when I die. At the shore I did something not in my wheelhouse - line shelves. I am awful at it. When MFD arrived we moved some furniture around and walked down to the beach. Since we have no cable there right now, we're finally watching all the DVDs we own and never watch. Friday night was Empire Strikes Back. Guess who picked it.

Saturday sunrise. 

The Shore Chore Wish List was big this weekend. My back was hurting last week and Saturday it was pretty unbearable which looked like it would put a huge damper on the wish list. We hired an OC local and he painted both rooms while I painted furniture and MFD stripped the wallpaper in the kitchen. He also came back Sunday to paint the steps and helped move furniture for the Mission to pick up this week. He totally saved our asses since mine was largely out of commission. Even though MFD told him my name twice and I told him three times, he calls me Mrs. Lady. I am totally okay with it. 

Current status: basically there's shit everywhere. 

The pictures I'm going to show you aren't really before and afters...they're before and in progress in most cases. When we're done done in a room (will that happen? lolz), I'll do the true before photo from the listing and the after. MFD removed the wall paper in most of the kitchen this weekend. The kitchen walls and cabinets will be painted. 

In the two bedrooms...I like blue, but I didn't want a border. So I went a little brighter in this room with Sherwin Williams Spa (SW 6765). Befores on top, in progress on the bottom. I need to distress the dresser a bit to finish it off and find nightstands. We are putting a queen bed in this room in place of the double. 

I adore yellow, but I wanted to tone this down a bit and get rid of the border. It is still quite yellow (Sherwin Williams SW 6674 Jonquil), but much more mellow in person. It'll be a nice balance for the blue and white and coral stuff that will be present. This room will also get a queen in lieu of the double, and there's a nightstand in here that I painted this weekend too. 

The kitchen stools got a shot of teal spray paint. I wish every blessed thing in life could be spray painted because I freaking love spray paint.

Since I had some free time due to the bum back on Saturday, I donated some bedding to the Humane Society, picked up pizza for the guys from the boardwalk, went to the hardware store in town, perused the thrift shop, and then took my ass down to the beach to enjoy an iced coffee and a Reese's pumpkin. My toes were in the sand - it was warm Saturday. I also went to Wawa six times on Saturday. Six. S-i-x.

Saturday night excitement was watching Ghostbusters, American Pie 1 & 2, realizing I had my slippers on while in Home Depot at 9:30 p.m., and picking up this cabinet for the efficiency unit.

Sunday morning while the stairs were being painted, I cleaned the efficiency and made 4029834 lists. 

The dogs fared better this weekend. I think they're more comfortable on the bottom floor with no stairs to contend with. Gus has succeeded in getting on the back of the couch, Geege is comfortably close to the door so he can police the area, and Mae (not pictured) is lording over both dog beds with a tiny iron fist.

We were home by two on Sunday. Is it just me, or do you feel like you can really kick ass productivity-wise on fall back day? I did five loads of laundry, broke down boxes, painted my nails (Essie Cocktails & Coconuts), placed a Wayfair order, placed an order for some canvases using my photos, cleaned up the kitchen, and shopped my house. I do this periodically to move decor around. This time I did it to amass wall decor that will go to the shore house. 

Weekly food prep: egg muffins with cheese and tomatoes with a Granny Smith apple on the side for breakfasts; loaded mashed cauliflower for lunches (recipe soon); bananas and bell peppers with tzatziki for snacks; cheater spinach lasagna (recipe soon) with steamed broccoli, and beef tacos for dinners. 

Today is my Dad's birthday. Cheers to a man who always lets me know he loves me, is proud of me, and is there to support me in everything I do, even as a full on adult. Growing up knowing someone is behind you 100% and there for you if fail really gives you the confidence and courage to fly and be and do. Thanks Dad! I love you. Happy birthday.

Don't forget - tomorrow is Election Day!

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Brew some of the world's strange coffee mixes

Hello friends! As you may know by my Saturday and Sunday coffee posts on Instagram and my general talk of coffee otherwise, I love it. I thought this article by Sophie White would be a good fit. It was interesting to me and I hope it's interesting to you as well. I hope you enjoy it! 

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Coffee can be prepared in several variations. Sugar and creamer are most commonly mixed with this bitter brew. Although some may prefer their coffee black and bitter, others would opt to have a sugar cube or two to appeal to their taste.

Yet coffee drinkers around the world have their own particular blends that is unique to their geographical location. Many of these concoctions are as strange and unimaginable from the ones coffee drinkers are accustomed to. From cat droppings to burning hot charcoal, find out more of these out of this world coffee mixes that seemed too bizarre to be true.

Kopi Luwak

Also known as Civet Coffee, Indonesia’s famous brew is one of the rarest and the most expensive in the world with the tag price of US$50 per cup to US$700 per kilogram. This coffee is made from the droppings of a cat species found in the country called the luwak (asian palm civet).

Not for the faint hearted and those with upset stomach, the coffee is made by the luwaks consuming the coffee beans. And since the beans can’t be fully digested, it is eliminated along with the rest of the droppings.

Kopi Gu You (Coffee with Butter)

Butter has many cooking uses but mixing them with coffee is a surprise. This Singaporean brew uses butter to make coffee thicker and richer.

Coffee with Eggs

Have you ever tried egg coffee? Egg coffee is made by combining the whole egg - shells included with coffee. Other countries have their own version of egg coffee while the famous Vietnamese coffee blends egg with sweetened condensed milk.

Black Ivory Coffee

Dubbed as the world’s most expensive coffee priced at a whopping $ 1,100 per kilogram, the black ivory coffee is taken from the dung of an elephant. Like the luwak, the elephant’s stomach cannot digest the coffee beans. Despite its ghastly origin, the coffee lacks bitterness and is super smooth.

Kopi Joss

How about some charcoal for your coffee? Made in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this particular coffee is made using the Javanese style coffee and a piece of flaming hot charcoal. The charcoal is added to neutralize the coffee’s acidity which why this is good for those with upset stomach.

Jacu Bird Coffee

Like kopi luwak and the black ivory coffee, this specific brew comes from the droppings of the jacu bird in Brazil and is less bitter than ordinary coffee.

Cheese and Coffee

Cheese can now be paired with coffee. This coffee creation dunks cheese into hot coffee before being consumed it when it’s soft. Hispanics use gouda or edam while the Swedes use Kaffeost

or Leipäjuusto.

Coffee with a pinch of Salt

A favorite in the countries of Siberia, Turkey, Hungary and Ethiopia, a pinch of salt cuts down the coffee’s bitterness.

Coffee and Citrus

Sau Paulo, Brazil has café com limão (espresso with lime) while Italy has espresso with lemon peel or juice. The citrus in the coffee blend serves as a great remedy to migraine and sweetens up badly roasted coffee.

Coffee and Peppercorn

Moroccans love their coffee with a kick so they put in peppercorns to the mix. Aside from peppercorns they also use cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom pods, cloves and other spices.

Whether coffee is made from animal droppings or mixed with condiments, nothing satisfies the taste buds of an avid coffee drinker than a good cup of coffee.

Sophie White is a foodie blogger based in Australia. She is passionate about all things food related and is an accomplished home cook herself. With a tongue for all dishes local and international, she leads the online marketing campaign for the Australian coffee brand Coffee Galleria.