Unburnable & 2011 Book Challenge

I read Unburnable by Marie-Elena John in one night. It is a page turner. It jumps back and forth in time telling the story of three generations of women. The story primarily takes place over the last one hundred years on the island of Dominica. It is historical fiction that tells a story from the African diapora that I rarely read about. I don't want to go into more detail but the story is gripping right up until the last sentence. It is both a mystery and a psychological thriller. I think it would be great for a book club read.

I am participating in the Quirky Brown Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Brown Girl Book Speak. The point of the challenge is to introduce readers to depections of brown people in fiction outside of the norm. It is not going to be a numbers heavy challenge so go on over there and join us.

OYIN Handmade!

I love, love love Oyin products. I am a hair product junkie but I always come back to Oyin. The products are all natural. They are moisturizing like you wouldn't believe. Oyin, let me say how I love thee:

1. The Juices - I use the old stand by Greg Juice because I like the scent the most. My 8 yo daughter likes the Juices and Berries. This is one of the only products that we both can use as it is moisturizing on her super thick hair as well as my thin, cotton candy hair.
2. Honey Hemp Conditioner - I use this as a leave in and as a base for deep conditioning. I love, love , love this stuff. The slip is great and it doesn't leave the white residue you get from most conditioners when you try to use them as a leave in.
   
3. Whipped pudding -From the web site "It's a mixture of rich botanical butters & oils like shea butter, cocoa butter, and castor oil; blended with plenty of pure aloe vera gel and spring water for lightness & penetration." You can use it for everything and we do in our house
4. Shine and Define styling styling serum - This stuff with some whipped pudding allow me to rock a mean twist out all summer long. As with all Oyin products it is supper moisturizing.

The overall line is great because there is no buildup and it never causes me to break out like other lines have.

Go visit them here and make sure to follow the blog. Keep an eye out for their black Friday sale. It is when I stock up for the year.

Penzeys 4/S Seasoned Salt

At the end of the summer I cook a lot. I mean a lot like I've watched all 4 seasons on Battlestar Galactica (2004) in the past month while cooking. Part of it is because my CSA box is full to the brim. Partly it is because I am trying to preserve the last of the summer harvest. Also it is because the simple preparations of produce that tasted so great earlier in the summer are getting old to my family.

This summer I bought all three types of Penzeys 4/S Special Seasoned Salt, Spicy, Smokey, and Regular.
From the website:
4/S Special Seasoned Sea Salt
Pronounced "four, S"; our new Special Seasoned Sea Salt gives a great burst of flavor wherever salt is called for. Like other seasoned salts, 4S is great for steaks, burgers and chops, but since we have made the flavor lighter and brighter than your old seasoned salt, 4S is also outstanding for chicken, fish, veggies, salads and popcorn as well. Give it a try, and we think you'll agree 4 S = 100% delicious. Hand-mixed from: Coarse Sea Salt, Sugar, Special Extra Bold Black Pepper, Paprika, Onion, Turmeric, Garlic, Spice Extractives (including oleoresin of paprika, black pepper, celery, rosemary and thyme.)

The spicy has additional red pepper and the smokey has smoked paprika.

I've been adding this stuff to everything. My favorite is the smokey which is just sublime on popcorn or spiced nuts. Also I added some to guacamole and it gave such a depth to it we hardly had any left for our tacos because we ate it with carrot sticks while I was cooking.

Penzeys cost more than the supermarket counterparts but it is worth it. The taste has a much more powerful punch than Lawry's so a little bit of this goes a long way.

Welcome

Alright friends I give in. After hearing for the longest that I should create a blog to give you my recommendations I am finally doing it. I suggest you subscribe because I won't have any sort of publishing schedule. I'll just be describing whatever tickles my fancy. Lets see how this goes