This series is an opportunity to showcase posts from around our community and the brilliant bloggers who share with us. It would be amazing if you would follow the links to the post I have highlighted and whilst visiting follow and support the blogger.
The first post today is from author Amy Reade with some great autumn recipes including cheesy Brussel sprouts.. that I must try..
First Tuesday Recipes for October
It’s officially fall and despite what the thermometer says, I know cooler weather is coming. (It’s supposed to be almost 90F here tomorrow…ugh.)
Fall is my favorite season for lots of reasons, but food is one of them. I love using apples and apple cider, pears, Brussels sprouts, squash, parsnips, and broccoli when I cook, and this is the best time of year to enjoy them at their finest.
The recipes I’m going to share this month are a simple side dish, a pasta dish, and a quick bread. Let’s cook!
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Cheesy Brussels Sprouts
This recipe is one I made up, so the measurements are approximations. It’s easy, though, so you can tweak it to your tastes.
- 1 c. Brussels sprouts (I use frozen because they’re smaller than fresh), thawed if frozen
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. butter
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1 palmful grated Parmesan cheese
If you use frozen Brussels sprouts, pat them dry with paper towels once they’re thawed. If using fresh, just wash them.
Halve the Brussels sprouts.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add Brussels sprouts to the pan, cut-side down. Sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 4 minutes, without flipping the sprouts, until the cut sides are beginning to brown. You’ll have to check them, since cooking times vary depending upon the size of your sprouts.
Flip the sprouts and continue cooking until they are browned all over. Add the Parmesan cheese to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the cheese starts to melt and stick to the sprouts. The cheese should start to become golden. Serve immediately.
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Pasta with Pumpkin Cream Sauce and Apple bread can be found here: https://amreade.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/first-tuesday-recipes-for-october-2
Amy M. Reade, Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6ASF2
Blog: www.amreade.wordpress.com – Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8189243.Amy_M_Reade
The first post is by Jennie Fitzkee, who shares the wisdom gained from over 30 years as a teacher of the youngest school children, preparing them for life and infusing their absorbent minds with a love of learning. In this post, a much loved friend returns to the classroom.
Gloria.
Gloria joined the classroom today, and oh what a homecoming it was. It’s doubtful Santa Claus would receive such a welcome. After all these years we are still amazed at the difference Gloria makes and how children are drawn to her. It started many years ago…
You see, Gloria is different. She is very shy and loves to wear black. She’s not pretty on the outside, but she’s beautiful on the inside. In order for children to learn about the world, they needed to learn about the people in the world. And that meant introducing them to diversity… to Gloria.
Children don’t even see that she’s a puppet. The word witch is never spoken. It isn’t even a thought in their heads. They see her ‘insides’; that she needs help singing the ABC’s, that she loves Maine, and likes to be read to. That’s what children really see.
When Gloria arrived today, we introduced her at Morning Meeting. She was shy and did not speak. She looked all around, and we realized she didn’t recognize the classroom, as we have moved. That took some explaining! Then, Gloria looked at the children. She knew her Aqua Room friends from last year. One by one, they came up to hug Gloria. The hugs were more like the jaws of life… it had been a long time since they had seen her. McKinley cried. We did, too. Delaney buried her head into Gloria. On and on.
Please head over an enjoy this wonderful post about the love that someone called Gloria can bring to the classroom: https://jenniefitzkee.com/2019/10/02/gloria-3/
Connect to Jennie – Blog: https://jenniefitzkee.com/ – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennie.fitzkee – Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlfatgcs
And last but certainly not least… a post from Mary Smith, sharing her experiences working in Afghanistan…the setting for her wonderful book No More Mulberries (highly recommended).
Travels in Afghanistan (2).
Cocooned in my black nylon, slithery, stifling burqa I retreated into a review – it was certainly not planning – of what had brought me here. Adult life had begun in a dull, but safe job as a junior bank clerk in South West Scotland. Numerically dyslexic, it was highly improbable that I would have ever fulfilled my mother’s ambition to have a daughter become one of the first women bank managers and after a boring year I left to hitch hike around France and Italy with a boyfriend.
Back in Britain we settled in Blackburn, Lancashire where I tried a succession of jobs from being a nanny to making car components before landing a job with Oxfam. It was a job I loved and would probably never have left had not the mini-bus driver taking our pool team to a match in Blackpool not been going to Pakistan. Somehow during the course of the evening it was decided I should accompany the wife and sister of a friend of the mini-bus driver when they returned to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, to see their family.
While there, I visited the Marie Adelaide Leprosy centre and was deeply impressed by the work I saw being done there. In conversation with Dr Pfau, the dynamic German sister who had worked for over 25 years on the leprosy programme she suggested I stay on for three years to set up a health education department. ‘But,’ I pointed out, ‘I don’t have any medical qualifications.’
Head over to find out why that was not an impediment to Mary starting her new life and three years later a hair raising drive in to Afghanistan: https://marysmithsplace.wordpress.com/2019/09/28/marysmithsplace-travels-in-afghanistan-2/
Mary Smith, Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Smith/e/B001KCD4P0
Website: http://www.marysmith.co.uk/ – Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5239367.Mary_Smith
Please visit Amazon or Mary’s website to view all her books.
Thank you for dropping in today and it would be great if you would head over to read these posts in full.. thanks Sally.
