Tasty Tuesday

Favorite American Hard Ciders by Bon Appétit

I'm not one to drint hard cider but living in Michigan I proudly purchase and consume Michigan products.  To see Michigan featured in something as simple as Hard Cider in Bon Appetit magazine is very exciting! 

 Way to go Michigan!  Whoot-whoot!

A proud tradition of cider-making exists just about anywhere apples grow--Argentina, Austria, England, France, Spain--and until now, the best bottles rarely traveled. That was true in the States, too, as residents of Michigan, Vermont, or Oregon will tell you.

Hard cider has a long history in America, where it's made in various styles, from sweet to dry and still to sparkling. From colonial days onward, hard cider was sipped by almost everyone, including children: Easily made and inexpensive, it was considered cleaner than drinking water. Then Prohibition came along and all but wiped out production and consumption.

Bon Appetit tasted 50 domestic hard ciders.
These four bottles--all sparkling and dry--rose to the top.


Z. Orchards / $13
Made with nine apple varieties for beautifully balanced flavor. 2010 Cidre, Oregon

Bellwether / $14
A bona fide thirst-quencher from a blend of heirloom Tompkins King and Baldwin apples. King Baldwin, New York

Tandem Ciders / $11
Refreshing, with hints of citrus.  Perfect cider for those in love... with cider at least. A favorite of chef Mario Batali, part-time Michigander. The Sweetheart, Michigan.  A unique stop on the Leelanau wine trail, Tandem Ciders specializes in artisanal hard ciders.

Farnum Hill / $13
The orchard's more esoteric batches are bottled under this label. Dooryard, New Hampshire

Monday Mojo - Things that make you go Hmmm....

WEIGHT LOSS - Fascinating Fact: Sexual acts lead to weight loss

The average human loses 26 calories when kissing for a minute. Furthermore, vigorous sex for half an hour burns 150 calories (you can lose three pounds in a year – if you have sex 7 to 8 times a month). Kissing is also very good for your teeth: the extra saliva released during the act helps to keep the mouth clean – reducing the risk of decay.

Six Sentence Sunday

His hands had been resting on her waist when Josh let out a groan and lifted Jenny into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.  He carefully put her back on her feet as he kissed her.  His hands slid along her back and tugged the zipper of her dress.  Once loosened, the gown came off easily and dropped to the floor.  Josh stepped back to view her perfect skin, breasts, and the curve of her hips.  He needed her. 

Can bestfriends admit to their feelings and take their relationship one step farther?

Or will crossing the line be the end?

FREE READ

Banned Books Week 2011

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Here's the 2010 List of Challenged Books:
 1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
 3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collin;
6) Lush, by Natasha Friend
7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
 8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer




Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.


The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

For more information visit Banned Books Week 
 

New Release from Kim Knox

Check out the newest release in the Planetary Bodies series

from fellow Diva, Kim Knox. 

Way to go, Kim!

Book 3 in the Planetary Bodies series.

Alexandra Syato has complete control of her life.

She's rich and has Captain Rhearden Lawe as a delicious friend with benefits. Her life couldn't be more perfect. Until the mysterious force known as sheen turns her world upside down.

It changes Lawe in a way she doesn't expect and now her easy-going friend has become a dark and brooding stranger, determined to take her control. She can't fight their new, blistering attraction. But the price for having him may break her. Completely.



Buy here from Ellora's Cave

You can also read an excerpt here.

At my website there's a little sneak peek behind the series, Planetary Bodies.

Current is part of a linked series. Books 1 and 2, Magnetism and Friction, can be found here.