Have you taken revenge on someone by putting them in your book?
Oh yes. There was a particularly obnoxious review on Amazon, which speculated about our personal life. Yup, she is in a book as a sniveling weak villain, and she is now dead. Muhahahahaha! Cross me at your peril!
What’s the recipe for apology banana bread?
I use this one. It’s a basic recipe that’s easy to modify and it doesn’t call for sour cream or buttermilk, which I don’t usually keep stocked. I also add a cup of frozen blueberries to it. If you are going fruit or berry route, it helps to coat the fruit in about a quarter cup of flour. You just want it dusted. That way it will stay distributed through the batter rather than sink to the bottom. Thanks, Paul Hollywood. 🙂
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Ham. I don’t typically buy it during the year, but when holiday season rolls around around, it’s like a switch in my brain gets flipped that says “ham time.” It must be salty, not sweet and not spiral cut. Just a hunk of ham on the bone. And I know exactly why.
Pork sausage, commonly known in Rostov-on-Don as “rulet.” Unlike people in Moscow and St. Peterburg, I grew up in a provincial city. We had basically two sausage choices: bologna or rulet. Everything else was gross. Bologna tasted like it was mostly paper pulp, but rulet at least had chunks of meat in it.
One of the stand-out moments in my early time in US was when Gordon took me to a grocery store while we were in college. When I was growing up, one of the annual traditions in Russia was a rerun of 17 Moments of Spring, a spy miniseries set during WWII. It features a Soviet spy, Shtirlitz, who somehow made it high up in Nazi Reich. In one scene, he is in a train and he is trying to get someone, I think a Nazi officer, to talk to him, and he says, “Yes, but I have Italian salami” and the officer quickly decided that lunch with Shtirlitz is in his best interests. Salami was a special treat. Sometimes Dad would bring some from a business trip to Moscow.
My shopping trip with Gordon went something like this.
Me: Is this Italian salami?
Grocery person: Yes.
Me: And this is the price per pound?
Grocery person: Yes?
Me: And it’s available year around? This isn’t a special thing? If I come back in a week, you will still have it?
Grocery person, who is working in a small Ingles in the middle of Smoky Mountains, squinting at me: Yes.
Me: Okay. I will take a stick.
Grocery person: We have it precut over there in a package.
Me:
If Kate and Curran really fought, who would win?
Is magic up or down? If magic is up, Kate would win. If magic is down, well, Kate is a badass, but she is just a human, and Curran is a werelion.
Will Kate and Curran ever have another baby?
Hehehe.
I love your last answer 😀 I loughed out loud at that one
Yea, got me laughing too…
me too!!!
me three!!
and what does she mean by that?????
Me x1000
I will never get enough of that couple. I want to see Curran’s protective instinct come alive for his daughter.
Ooooooooooo…
That will be epic!!!
Yessss!!
Mwahahahaha!
I pity the fool who tries to date her!
Me, too! Although I was already giggling about Ilona’s first trip to an American grocery store with Gordon 🙂
Laughing atvthst last one
I am waiting for that second baby since the end of Magic Triumphs, since there was a passage in that direction 😀 has to show up sometime in this universe <3
oh now I need to reread!
I, too, hehehe’d
Oh no! Not the hehehe!!
Maybe twins?
My thoughts, exactly! Still smiling at that last answer.
Yeah it gave me a big happy grin!
GIMME THEM BABIES! Hehehe
Triplets 😉
Still laughing so hard about the last answer.
Revenge of that nature seems like a perk of being a writer. Also, I’ve never put blueberries in banana bread, and that is about to change.
I often make banana blueberry chocolate chip muffins. Yum.
*Looks at bananas and blueberries sitting on the counter*. Perfect timing!
Lol I do that too but I usually make banana oatmeal dog cookies
Re: Banana Bread. My husband uses the Fanny Farmer recipe and adds chocolate chips. Try it! It’s the only one we make any more!
I love it that way as well.????
Loved the hehehe! And the sausage!
You always make me smile! Rhank you ????
I have a random question…did you used Caesar Wu (Wu Xi Ze) as your inspiration for Stephen Jiang? Because gosh, Caesar Wu sure is pretty. I’m watching him on The General’s Lady.
Gao Wei Guang, actually. But if you want to picture him as Wu Xi Ze, go for it. I am watching Twisted Fate of Love (今夕何夕) and it’s really good.
Loved him as Dong Hua Emperor in TMOPB
It was such a restrained role and he managed to be hilarious in it. I loved how he kept forcing his fish on everyone.
waves $$$ around promising to buy ALLLLLL the Avon books <3 <3
I enjoy these posts a lot.. Thank you for making me smile 🙂
Thank you. Hope your family have had a wonderful thanksgiving.
Really enjoyed your last question/answer.
I love your stories, personal and fiction both. Coming from quasi-immigrants, stories like this about the salami really hit home. I love to tell the story of how I grew up eating tuna fish sandwiches with a slice of american cheese on it because dad didn’t know how to make it, and just figured “white people put cheese on their sandwiches, right?”
I put cheese on tuna fish sandwiches. It’s good
Thank You sooo verrra much. I really needed your particular brand of wit.
Heart Hugs
Be Safe Be Well
Back when Russia opened up in the 1980s, there were a lot of delegations, mostly from Magadan that came to Alaska, because TRADE. There is a story that when one group was taken to the grocery store they stepped in the door, looked at the produce section, and to a man, burst into tears.
I believe it.
About the same time, I hired a man fromRussia to work in the men’s section of a department store. I was giving him a tour, and he was speechless – could not get over that we had so many DIFFERENT items in one place. Made me look at life differently that day.
Boris Yeltsin visited Houston in 1989 and when he saw the Randall grocery store he said neither the Politburo nor Mr. Gorbachev had such options. The Houston Chronicle said he looked particularly excited about the frozen pudding pops.
https://blog.chron.com/thetexican/2014/04/when-boris-yeltsin-went-grocery-shopping-in-clear-lake/#item-22200-tbla-5
The humor in your life flows so well in all your books. As alway, you are so very clever, in a snarky great way. Please don’t change! #HAlikeIamthebossofyou
Hehehe too xD
And yay Kate during the fight haha
LOVE the first line of the banana bread recipe “remove odd pots and pans from the oven”. They know me well
+1
I thought it was just me. I live in Honolulu and space is a premium. My kitchen just isn’t big enough for pots and pans. My husband constantly forgets about it and pre-heats the oven with the pots and pans still inside.
I love you. You are hilarious.
I have a friend who grew up in Russia. She lived in St. Petersburg, so she had access to more than you did, but still, it was more according to Russian standards. She, too, almost fainted the first time she went to an American grocery store.
I have a few folks I’d like to nominate for revolting treatment in one of your books,,, Truly, it would be an act of charity on your part. 🙂
Anyone else paranoid that we’ll someday end up as a red-shirter in an Ilona Andrew’s novel?
I specifically remember a Leroy and a bubba? Bub? I have a feeling they are revenge characters.
And I’m also very VERY sure about the Sunshine Realty, was it? That was too real to not be real.
wow. both of them are really pretty. My son is trying to get me to watch anime with him and I’m trying to convince him to watch all of the Asian series you keep posting instead! (my tolerance for video longer than 10 minutes is low, unless its GBBS)
I really really want to know what was the Thanksgiving menu.
That first answer….#storycreatorgoals
Hehehe!!!??? !!!!!!
Good grief, that Amazon reviewer has absolutely no manners! And less than zero in professional standards!
On the plus side, the editor guy is back! Very Dickensian!!
Wait, you found the review?
No, don’t tell me. I should not even be asking. I’m on a “keep your mind on your job mode”.
One of the most illuminating conversations of my life was in college, with a man who grew up in Nigeria, a woman who grew up in rural India, and a woman who grew up in Russia.
The Nigerian and the Indian both talked about their water bill and it was totally worth it because showers were the best things in their lives. All three talked about their first experience in an American grocery store. And the Russian talked about reading a book in a park under a tree, and her knee jerk reaction to someone walking by was to hide the book because she wouldn’t have been allowed to read it in Russia.
On Thanksgiving morning, I walked past a bookcase where my favorite books rest. They are usually waiting for me to touch their spines and recall my favorite parts within each of them. I looked at the books, wished for the ones still missing, and started Thanksgiving cooking. However, as I did, I was feeling Thankful for Ilona Andrew’s worlds. From the Bayou, to Atlanta, to Houston and worlds beyond … I am thankful.
Love them all; thank you.
I love random ????????????
+1 ????
As a Bulgarian I can relate to the salami story so much. It’s 31 years later, and I still marvel how we have bananas all year round…
I love that salami story because it reminds me of stuff my dad experienced. He came over to America for college too (not from Russia though). Hot dogs were such a treat, but when he discovered that corndogs existed, and that he could literally go to a kiosk and watch them get made, his life was never the same.
That was fun… thank you! (Also, I pictured you rubbing your hands together and looking shifty-eyed while you ‘hehehe’d’, like a proper evil mastermind.)
The meat picture reminds me of what a Ukrainian butcher shop in Toronto used to sell. We’d visit my Baba and buy it. We called it keilbasa (no, not the stuff you get in the grocery store today wrapped in plastic).
Yum.
That was fun! Thanks!
I envy you your ham. With my parents both gone now, I’ve no one but myself to fix it for. None of the friends I eat with and/or cook for are big on ham and it just is an excessive amount of meat. Still I’ve been thinking about it lately. I’ve not made ham and navy bean soup in ages, sigh. Gotta have a plain piece of ham on a bone! Not seasoned, overly dry, spiral cut! Maybe I’ve talked myself into it – we’re approaching soup season after all.
All I can say about the nasty idiot reviewer is, wow, talk about rude and totally out of line. Personal attacks are not the purview of any book review! I don’t care how much you disliked the book.
Oops. Wasn’t meant to go here. But oh well.
Try Robertson’s Hams. They still make them the old fashion way (smoke not nitrates) and they have half hams. They are awesome ( & so is their bacon).
When I hear stories like yours regarding going to the grocery store, it makes me realize how we are so blessed here and really have no idea of the hardships others around the globe deal with. We must appreciate the blessings we have.
Hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful and filled with joy.
Thank you for your candor.
These were all important questions to have answered. (And I love the answers – especially “Hehehe”!) I do hope that the reviewer’s death was properly messy…
The delicacies of childhood are unique. We all have them and they always grab us.
I remember making jam with my grandmother from the semi-wild grapes, plums and peaches that were abundant when we were visiting the farm in Georgetown (near Austin) every summer. Nothing tastes like that now – though I keep looking…
Grapes from the side of the dirt road and peaches from stands on the highway are what I associated with my summers in Texas as a child. I’ve never been able to recreate those as an adult.
That was an EVIL laugh, wasn’t it?
Your Hehehe, at the end there, is evily, promising. I like it.
I would be interested in learning more about the differences you experienced when you arrived here from Russia. I believe you once said you were 16 at that time. I imagine the culture shock was huge. As Americans we take our comfy lives for granted.
My mother was a widow with two young children during the 1930’s. Neither of my parents talked about those years except in passing. Mom said one time she didn’t know how to shoot so she made snares to catch food animals. I really wish that I had asked more in depth questions.
I found a synopsis of my dad’s family’s arrival in Montana that my mom had written for a newspaper article. They came in a covered wagon from Washington state. Totally blew my mind but he was born in 1904. All that family history gone because that generation are now deceased. Such a missed opportunity on my part.
I’m hoping you and Gordon are getting in some rest and relaxation and are enjoying the down time.
Loved the evil hee, hee, hee, gave me a good laugh!
My dad emigrated from Bessarabia somewhere around 1920. Ended up in SE Washington state via Alberta, Canada. Sure wish I had asked him more questions, also… Though he told occasional stories, he was 50 when I was born, I wasn’t old enough to think of the right things to ask before he died.
Thanks for the coated fruit tip. My tips: I toss over-ripe bananas in the freezer and thaw them out when I have enough and am in the mood to make banana bread. My recipe uses buttermilk – I keep a can of powdered buttermilk on hand rather than relying on buying real buttermilk.
According to the nice people at Cooks Illustrated, the following can be substituted for 1 cup of buttermilk:
o ½ cup plain whole milk or low-fat yogurt + ½ cup water
o 1 cup whole milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice or distilled white vinegar
o ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt + ⅔ cup water
I used to use buttermilk powder, but it’s been a while since I ran out, so I was happy to discover there are alternatives.
I always use the milk + lemon juice option in my banana bread recipe, to the point that I think my latest recopy actually just calls for that. It doesn’t even have to be whole milk—I’ve used skim and it comes out fine.
We who were born and raised in the USA and have never traveled outside of the country, not with a tour group, but lived in a community, have no idea.
It’s easy for us here in America to sometimes forget exactly how fortunate we are until we speak to people from other countries. A dear friend of mine visited Russia many years ago. She said the family she visited as part of a cultural exchange program were so exceptionally friendly and she has remained in touch with them over the years. She has tried many times to recreate the borscht recipe they gave her but she says for some reason it’s just not the same.
Thank you for your posts. These little glimpses into your lives always make me smile.
Sometimes the basic ingredients aren’t the same. I’ve tried many times to replicate recipes my cousins served in Sweden. I even bought metric measuring cups and spoons. The results are good, but just not the same. Makes travel more interesting though.
That is so mean! Sniff. **puppy eyes**
Huge fan of the evil chuckle!
I know some remember the past as great but I remember being thrilled with an orange, apple, and a few pieces of old fashion hard candy. I made my pumpkin pie today. Warm pie was wonderful.
Thank you for the evil chuckle, it made me laugh out loud!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
When I was in my doctoral program, I had a lot of classmates from India, China, and South Korea. It was interesting to hear them talk about Americans. They assumed all Americans drink coffee. I shocked my classmate from South Korea when she offered me a coffee, and I replied “thank you, but I don’t drink coffee. I drink tea.”
My classmates didn’t understand why America has the healthcare system we do, and why our drug prices were so high. They also didn’t understand why our government was set up the way it is. So, they got an American history lesson from me. Once I finished, one person asked me why I knew so much, I told them,”I have a bachelor’s degree in History. Emphasis on early American history.” You could have heard a pin drop.
So we get the evil chuckle at the end of the questions. Do any of the BDH honestly think that Kate and Curran would have only one child? ????
If it was a democracy I would vote for a litter of cubs.
Side note I’ve been making my own sour cream lately and now I never run out. I use Kefir in my morning smoothie (excellent probiotic) and now I use it for my sour cream. 500 ml cream to 6 tablespoons of Kefir. Leave it out on the counter for 3 days. Yum!
I have always hoped that Kate and Curran would have a dozen kids or more. I love the idea of the two of them having a big family.
I liked your reply to the question , “Will Kate and Curran ever have another baby?” I Had to laugh. I was asked that once, some 40 years ago, such memories. I too laughed. Frank, my husband and I were blessed with one, and as we came to say, “She is an eloquence of sufficiency.” Still is to this day. P.S. Her name is Kate.
I love that description and might have to nab it off you for mine ^_^
My late wife toured Moscow and whatever they were calling Saint Petersburg in 1978 along with Warsaw during a college choir trip. She was always amazed that 1. Liver and onions were served for breakfast as a treat. Food otherwise was kind of scarce and yet the best ice cream she had every had in her life could be found on nearly every street corner in Moscow.
I’ve had people actually rave about my cornbread and bran muffins. And the secret ingredient is … applesauce. It’s amazing how a tablespoon in the batter changes the texture and makes the finished product so moist. (I’ve even used it in the Jiffy brand cornbread and had people think it’s homemade. My turn for an evil laugh.) Love your post, especially surprise Saturday post. Thanks so much for your evil laugh.
Weak, snivelling villain = Olathe??
And the last answer! Ooh, can’t wait to get my hands on the book featuring this. ( So, in short, yeah….am subtly asking you to write about KD again…..)
I don’t think it could be Olathe because she was in Kate 1 (though she was an sniveling schmuck).
I’m still trying to figure out which villain this is.
Maybe Jennifer. She was a real pain in the…uh…neck.
Oh, I love that last answer so much. I am still laughing. Thank you
It appears you immigrated from Russia. Do you know Vera Nazarian? She has a new series out. And she immigrated from Russia. And she lives in our small town in northwestern Vermont.
This was lovely. I did laugh out loud at the last answer and disturbed the sleeping cat.
Everything about this post was a delight.
Thanks to Nancy for her secret ingredient to Jiffy corn muffins. I bought some Jiffy corn muffins and wanted to make them taste better .Will try the applesauce.
My mom grew up in the Bronx during World War 2 and always talked about the rationing and how hard it was to get anything. She was in high school and an announcement came over the intercom. There was a shipment of ladies nylons and the school was closing immediately so everyone could get some.
The only tomato sauce she knew was Hunt’s . There were ration books and you could only get 1/4 pound of meat for the week. For a family. Sugar and butter was rare and in very short supply.
During the Depression my mom and her sisters would wait on line for bread. Or if you had a penny you could get 1/2 loaf, or 2 day old bread. We take for granted so many things.
But I always remember my mom saying that the 2 cent bread was the best.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
And loved the hehehe.
Can you imagine ration books today? THE WHINING ALONE
over freedom to eat everything would be insane.
I agree. People are complaining about masks. If food and other things become rationed…I don’t want to think about it.
My mom use to tell me about the rationing books during WWII. Her mom and her mom’s friends use to swap ration stamps if someone didn’t need something. I don’t think they were suppose to do that, but no one got caught doing it. 😀
Evil!!!
Happy Thanksgiving. I just binged American BBQ Showdown and am about to start the new season of Sugar Rush.
My cousin and several others told me that what they were surprised to find everywhere in America were apples. It’s common for us but was an expensive treat for them in the Philippines.
WHAT DOES THE LAST ANSWER MEANNNNNN!!???????????????
WHAT DOES THE LAST ANSWER MEANNNNNN!!???????????????
“Hehehe”
????????????????????
Have you ever tried “country ham”? It is salt cured ham, and you have to soak it for a few days to get the excess salt out. Yummy!
Now is the time.
Pomegranates are in season.
Make guacamole and add the pomegranate fruit (removed from husk).
Quarter corn tortillas and fry them. Eat your Salted tortilla chips with pomegranate guacamole.
Only in America.
I am SO gonna try this. Thanks!
My question is:
Does Curran ever get the Zoomies?
This comment snorfled tea through my nose. LOL
maybe only the young lions get the zoomies?
*dying laughing* picturing Curran with zoomies. especially after playing fetch with my dog today and her snatching up the ball and carrying it while making two laps of the large backyard at top speed before skidding to a stop in front of me.
Oh, goodie, another KD book!
And executing a weak sniveling villain is just desserts.
So do we start the baby name suggestions now?
I totally get the salami thing. In March when everyone was buying up toilet paper and paper towels I called my mother to ask who were these people that clearly didn’t already have two mega roll packages in their garage. In my family that is what Costco and Sam’s Club was for. Then during our first post everyone is crazy grocery shopping trip my husband of 24 years (25 is still up in the air) accused me of hoarding. I was so insulted. I am a reasonable and rational person I don’t hoard. In his mind buying 6 jars of my favorite pickles was hoarding. I calmly explained that pickles are not an essential item and I was not hoarding as I usually buy them 4 jars at a time and I was just adding a couple more… just in case. For the records I cannot find my favorite pickles at all anymore. At first they were no where to be found now it is spears and halves but no wholes. I really should have gotten more pickles.
I hear you. I also don’t feel that I hoarded, I just bought 1 extra package in addition to my regular purchases. I live in a rural area, so I always keep extra on hand.
I’m not sure of your pickle preferences, but as another person who has a favorite pickle, may I humbly suggest Grillo’s Fresh Pickles? I like dill and crunchy. They come in various formats, but I usually have to take whatever I can get, when I see them (they aren’t available where I live ????).
I’ve also had good luck making refrigerator pickles, if you can’t find any decent ones. Good luck! ????
I forgot to say that you can find them in a refrigerated section. They aren’t shelf stable.
I think the “hehehe” comment to the last question was awesome and I think I know why but will refrain from mentioning as I would not want to spoil it and the authors decide not to go that route.
I think I can also guess. It will be fun to see if we are right!
Has the surprise ever worked in reverse? Has your Dad or stepmom named something common in their current lives that US doesn’t really have? And it seems like such a good idea that would do well here?
The last answer though ????????????
Great revenge on the first one!
That’s the thing I don’t understand.. everyone tries to play detective nowadays without thinking if it might hurt someone’s feelings.
Ooohhh they weren’t wearing this color on this day so they must be depressed…. I am like What??
Have you seen youtube comments?
Last night I was watching the interviews of spelling bee champions. Everyone in the comments was talking about how the girl has low self esteem, her parents hate her, she is on anti-depressants etc.
I don’t know if she was before but sure would be after seeing that comment section.
Someone is tired and people say they are depressed… Why? What is this need to put everyone in a negative box. Life is not 2D or 3D. There are so many reasons if someone is feeling someway on a particular day.
Sorry about the ranting. It just pisses me off.
Hope you have a nice day
Bye
hehehe? hehehe? hehehe! he he he!!! ???????????? ???????????????????? <3 🙂
Ah, that was fun. Thanks for the smiles. May you have many of them.
Apology banana bread….put in chocolate chips.
Kate being able to win when magic is up, and Curran when magic is down…in some way that just perfectly sums up their relationship and why they work as a couple.
Also, excellent evil laugh there at the end!
I grew up in a small country in ‘dodgy’ Europe. One of my distinct childhood memories was the absolute treat of being given a banana. They were super expensive as they had to be imported across a border that was always closed and did not grow anywhere near my country. I used to get only one banana on a very special occasion and I remember eating it and licking it ever so slowly just to make it last that little bit longer because I knew it would probably be a whole year before I got another one.
Then when we moved to New Zealand banana were like the cheapest and most abundant fruit you could get at the super market and (stile being a kid) I used to gorge on them until I threw up, then get up the next day and have some more. It got to the point where I couldn’t even smell a banana without feeling like I need to puke. So mum had to stop getting them.
To this day I love everything banana flavored and still eat them slowly with that slow pause before I start. And don’t get me started on mangos which I hadn’t tried at all before moving…
In reference to will Kate and Curran having another child. Every man (especially one like Curran in their world) needs a daughter who challenges his every breath, looks at him like he’s a joke, and tries to do what she wants anyway. IJS
Sooo good! 😉 Thanks!
Try Calef’s ham, https://www.calefsdeli.com/
Not sweet, not spiral cut, not excessively salty. To die for. Their bacon is excellent too.
Sorry, wrong link for the ham, use : https://calefs.com/shop/
The deli link is for locals and catering ????
Oh God. I needed that laugh today. Thank you!
Hubby’s given up on holiday foods. He’s just bored with it. So this year I found something different: Stuffin muffins from Chef John. I’m allergic to wheat, so we’re going to experiment with gluten free stuffing mix.
In case anyone else wants to try it, too:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/282373/gravy-stuffed-stuffing-muffins/
Thanks again for the laughter,
MB
Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the laughs. Thanks too for another banana bread recipe.
When my nephews were sent to my BIL from Mexico, they had no idea about the automatic paper towel dispensers in men’s room at local USA restaurant. They dispersed whole roll before my Dad went to investigate why just washing hands was taking so long. Now we can laugh about but at time was very embarrassing.
Loved the laugh at the end of post.
Of course Kate and Curran may have more biological children or may not. Technically Arscenio, Derek, and Julie are their children. Not by blood but as part of extended family. Just like Barnabas and Steed’s daughter who is watching over Monkey for Julie.
I always wondered if authors used their stories to creatively bash characters in place of people who upset them.
I love when people who grew up outside USA share anecdotes of their life in a different country. I recall on old story from a fellow student about about Russian exchange students having difficulty finding American food they could tolerate without issue and stocking up on salami.
Hehe?!?!?! O_O
You blog always makes me feel better! I LOVE allot your books. You’ve helped keep me sane during this vivid crisis. I reread the Edge and Kate’s series and can’t wait for more. Thanks for the books and the blog!!!
Allot should be “all of”; vivid shot be ” covid”. I hate auto-correct!!!
Again THANKS!!!
Here’s a small hint I hope helps. When it matters, turn off the auto-correct. Always read what you wrote before you click to post.
OMG, that “Hehehe” to the last question is going to drive me nuts!!! ????????????????❤️
Lol…I feel the same way about the amazing Bohemian deli in Atlanta. They have the best garlic bologna and sandwich pepperoni anywhere!
This site hates me sometimes. This time I supposedly already posted this.
When I lived in Los Angeles, a lot of immigrants from Russia arrived. I used to wander through the Farmer’s Market at 3rd and Fairfax (I lived an easy walk away for a good many years) and hear people talking about the fights between women who could not believe that produce would still be available the next day.
I always thought they were figuring that with several million people in the city, the piles couldn’t possibly be big enough to last that long, and sincerely hoped they got used to the actual situation fairly soon.
I shall bow out of family planning for Kate and Curran, but only because whatever you write about it, whenever you write about it, what you do there will be right.
This country firmly believes in having grocery stores stocked. I believe the ability to do this comes from the facts that the climates differ so much from state to state and we have a massive system of freeways to carry food around. This country is much younger than European countries, and between first trains and then automobiles coming into the picture, we had to develop roads and railways before too many cities grew too big to allow them in.
Enjoy your ham! Enjoy your Italian salami! Love the tip on lightly flouring berries so they mix in and don’t sink. Enjoy your down time.
LOL
Thank you for this!
And I’m probably not telling you something new, but if you’re ever in a pinch and need buttermilk, you can substitute the same amount of regular milk. Just stir in about a tablespoon of lemon juice (or vinegar if you don’t have that either) and let it sit a minute until the milk starts to curdle a bit.
Also, I totally agree with you on the ham. It just tastes different with the bone in. I’ll eat sliced ham, but I have to be able to see the grain of the meat so I know it contains actual meat. I had a traumatic childhood encounter with a gritty hot dog. Blech!
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Holiday food cravings are an exemption.
I’m not really a biscuit person, I don’t even have them with tea except an occasional rich tea biscuit and that quite rarely.
And if it’s not for dipping then I may as well have a chocolate bar or slice of cake right? So biscuits and I…not so much.
However Christmas approaches and suddenly in a flashback to my childhood I’m eating lebkuchen and spekulatius like I’ve been on a six month diet.
From late November to the end of December no spiced biscuit is safe from me but any other time I’m just not feeling it.
It’s nostalgia and nothing else. My grandad would travel to the Polish delicatessan (back in the early 1980’s there were no Lithuanian ones and even the Polish one was not local to us) and we’d have lebkuchen over Christmas. Now I can buy them and loads of other childhood treats in any Lidl and there are Polish deli’s all over and even Lithuanian ones. Times sure do change.
But proper kabanos are still hard to get, they just never taste right!
You are soooo much fun! Thanks!
OMG 😀 😀 Love the end 😀 😀 Love you!
And I am from the Czech Republic, so I know what are you talking about! (even though I am too young to remember, my mum has so many “banana” stories 😀 (it’s equivalent for the salami)
OMG… I want to see Curran deal with a 3-5 year old sassy mini-Kate daughter, who gives no care about The Alpha Stare. Even in a never to be put in anything ever fantasy snippet!
Sorry, just started laughing at the thought of what if it were twin daughters? Poor parents… and Conlan!
Consider this a request into the void, not a push 🙂
Who else is now craving ham because of this post? I’m off to eat a few slices of leftover Thanksgiving ham. Great with sweet potatoes and cornbread stuffing. Next time I’m at Livotis I’m getting Italian imported salami. I’m a total food lemming.
Next baby I vote for a girl and naming her after a Kate/Curran family member.
Hehehe…..
Nice ????
I had Doktorskaja a few times and although it looked suspicious it tasted very good. Unfortunately the friend who gave it to us does not work in Russia anymore.
That ‘Hehehe’ at the end was so EVIL!!! I gasped in shock!!!!
I think we should name this guy. And probably the expresso in bed with a typewriter guy too.
I feel like he looks like an Umberto or maybe a Frederick. Anybody else? ????
Okay good of you to answer at all.
Answering with “Hehehe” is so deliciously evil.
Have a wonderful, healthy, low stress holiday season. You wont, but it’s my wish for you and your fam.
Good questions and answers.
Great random Q and A. Love the humor! Another child…I can just see Curran if it’s a girl. LOLOLOLOLOL
Talk about your over the top dating plans.
That’s something I ask my male friends with daughters: What’s your dating plan? They get pretty elaborate
I don’t care for the “cleaning the shotgun” one. Think about it. You have to put it together to use it. Go for a massive hunting knife and whet stone instead. Just casually sharpen it when the boy comes in to meet you.
The last “hehehe.” KILLED.ME. ????????????????????
I was curious as to whether or not Kate’s regeneration extends to her fertility. Will her body just keep making new egg cells? Will Conlan be grown, mated and having children of his own the same time as he’s getting a new sibling?
That was a very nice evil chuckle. You been practicing. I can tell.
Awesome you guys rock. you are The very Best authors you’re fun and interact with your needy fans.
I love the questions almost as much as I love those answers.
I wish Kate’s world were real. I would pray for a thousand years of happiness prosperity and productive rating for you both. By the time we were done you might even be deities
Thanks for some smiles/wicked grins, and for the tip re. flouring berries. I love blueberries in things, so it’s definitely one I’ll remember.
Also, re. Nancy’s tip to make moist baked goods with applesauce, [canned] pumpkin is another flavor possibility.
“Apology bananas bread”? I’ve missed something again haven’t I?
So, years ago my in-laws came for a visit. My mother in law decided to get up early and make breakfast for us all. She turned on my oven to preheat. We all woke up to the sound of the smoke alarm. She hadn’t looked, and so missed that the chocolate cake was hiding in the oven from the very big dog who had discovered that he was now tall enough to pilfer from the countertops.
On another topic some time ago I saw a blog post looking for possible retirement options. May I suggest Florence or another of the Quad Cities in Alabama? A lovely smallish town with a university, near an active music business or five. We have a big river and several large lakes. Yes, you silly thing there is a state income tax BUT… It is 2 percent. We found that the decrease in insurance costs and property taxes has more than offset that pittance.
Example: property tax on a home in Fort Worth, Texas was well in excess of $10,000 per year. A nicer house in Florence with an equivalent price tag costs less than $1000 per year in Property Tax and the insurance on houses and cars are about 1/3 of what we paid in Texas. Don’t take my word for it, look us up online.
When I was studying Russian, we used actual recordings made in the field. One, a soldier was calling his wife and letting her know he was coming home. She asked what he was bringing her, and he laughed and said, “Sausage”. She giggled, and asked, “How much?’ His voice got very low, and he said, “All you want”. I don’t think it was salami.
Love this, and thank you for your blog! Your posts on writing and your start in the business are immensely helpful and relatable, and each new post on any topic is a treat to read. It’s so generous that you share what you do, and it’s appreciated. Plus, your writing/books…So Good.
The last answer made me cackle LMAOOO you tease!