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Fluffiest Pie Crust Ever! by @_NancyRadke #Recipe

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Here is a recipe for the absolutely fluffiest pie crust ever.

August is blackberry time at our house. The vines are covered with berries, and we pick them as they ripen, usually getting enough for several pies. We make some pies and freeze the rest for berry pies all year long.

Years ago I taught my daughter how to make a pie crust and she tweaked the recipe a little to make it easier to handle. Her pies are raved about and people say they’ve never had a crust that good. She is asked to bring pies to wedding receptions and all gatherings involving food. Because the crust only takes minutes to prepare, she doesn’t mind making them. This recipe looks complicated, but it is just that you need to have things ready before you mix the crust (4 ingredients). Work as fast as you can once you put the crust together.

This crust will not hold. It will get stiff and unworkable if you make it wait. You need to prepare the filling FIRST, so it can be poured immediately into the bottom crust, then the top crust can be rolled out and put on.

  1. Preheat oven
  2. Make filling and set it aside
  3. Set out your rolling pin
  4. Cut off 2 pieces of Waxed paper or parchment paper, a few inches larger than the pie plate. Place these where you will roll out the crust.
  5. Make the crust.
CRUST: Ingredients for a two crust pie,  9 or 10-inch pie plates.
  • 2 1/2 cups white flour, LESS one Tbs of the flour. This makes the crust more pliable.
  • 1 tsp. salt

Mix the flour and salt together, set aside

  • 1/4 cup milk  (rice milk and others work just fine)
  • 3/4 cup oil (any kind but olive)

     Pour oil and milk into one container, but DO NOT MIX

When you are ready to make the crust, pour the milk and oil all at once into the flour mixture. With a fork, stir together as you would biscuits. Avoid over-stirring as this will make it stiff. Leave some flour not stirred in. With your hands, gather dough into two balls, one slightly bigger than the other. The bigger one will be the bottom crust.

Because this crust is so fragile, you will need to roll it between the paper, rather than on a floured board.

  1. Take two pieces of the waxed or parchment paper and put the larger dough ball between them.
  2. Roll out the bottom crust.
  3. Remove the top piece of paper and lay the pie plate upside down on top of the dough. Hold the crust in place as you flip the pie plate and crust over together so that the plate is right side up and the filling drops down inside of it.
  4. Carefully remove the second piece of waxed paper.
  5. Pour in filling.
  6. Repeat for the top crust. Seal the edge, vent the top, and bake.

The more you make this recipe, the faster you will get. Just never stop to answer the phone. Any extra dough left over makes great tarts with jelly filling. Let me know how this turns out for you.

My latest book, The Bend in the Canyon, is now alive and on sale on Amazon. It focuses on the joys of having a family. Be sure to check it out.

Nancy Radke

 

Travel with Mona

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Visit Prague

When my daughter was at university she took a year off and spent it in Paris. Before flying, she booked a train-pass for $200 that allowed her to hop on a train and travel anywhere in Europe. One of the places where she went with a friend was Prague. Do I need to mention that during that year, half of my hair turned gray! When she returned home safe and sound, she had a lot of stories to tell us. Two of them practically gave me a heart attack.

The first one was that she saved a lot of money by not staying in a hotel in Prague. “So where did you stay?” I asked a bit worried. “There were people at the train station showing us cards with pictures of their apartments and a room we could rent for $10 per night.” Try to imagine my gasp of terror. “You stayed with people you didn’t know???” “They were very nice and had two adorable little girls. Besides, we were two. So I only paid $5.”

The other story was even worse. She and her friend were eating dinner at a café. They lost track of time and suddenly realized the place was closing. They were walking toward the train station when they noticed a car following them. The girls panicked and started running in the deserted dark street. The car followed them slowly. Finally they found a lit pizzeria, and banged on the closed doors. For their good luck, the owner spoke a little bit of English. The girls explained that they were afraid and wanted to call the police. The two men in the car came behind them to the store. It turned out that they were secret police and thought that the two girls were gypsies trying to attract men!!! No need to write here my reaction and my response.

My husband and I visited Prague twice, in more classy ways, staying in hotels. We loved Prague. So let me tell you about this beautiful city.

Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic, is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” it’s known for its Old Town Square, the heart of its historic core, with colorful baroque buildings and Gothic churches. My favorite sites were the medieval Astronomical Clock, which gives an animated hourly show, and the pedestrian Charles Bridge which is lined with statues of Catholic saints. 

Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century. 

The first statue to be erected on the Charles Bridge is made of bronze. This is the statue of St. John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of Bohemia. According to legend John of Nepomuk refused to reveal the confessions of the wife of King Wenceslas IV, and was thrown off the side of the bridge to his death.

Charles Bridge is an icon of Prague and the Czech Republic. For many centuries until 1870, it was the only way for people to cross the Vltava. It is also one of the few Medieval bridges still standing and in use today.

The Prague astronomical clock or Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock attached to the Old Town Hall in Prague. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still in operation. It shows the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, Earth, and Zodiac constellations. It also tells the time, provides the date, and, best of all, provides entertainment for the tourists on the hour, every hour.

Old Town Square in Prague.

I bought a gorgeous crystal vase and a wooden old-fashioned clock hanging on my kitchen wall.

New Release– On Pre-Order MESSY PLANS, Love Plans Series, book 11

Fully dedicated to his patients, Dr. Matt Lopez, Chief of the ER at St. Lucia Hospital spends his free time on his boat and dates nurses from the hospital—but not from his own unit. Rule number one in his ER: never mix work with pleasure, thereby avoiding a conflict of interest. When the lovely Cathy Cooper joins the ER staff, every doctor, including Matt, is ready to break the rules. The new nurse practitioner is too gorgeous for her own good and too independent for Matt’s peace of mind.

Cathy Cooper goes an extra mile for her patients, especially for the children of the public school where she subs. When Cathy takes Tommy, a young patient under her wing, gets involved in his home situation, and discovers the truth, trouble follows.

Life will never be the same for Cathy, her boss, or Tommy as they try to repair the mistakes of their pasts. Can they reconcile their personal feelings and work obligations?

Messy Plans is book 11 of the Love Plans Series.

Searching for Happiness

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We are all searching for happiness. But how do we achieve it? What are its greatest determinants?

The Harvard Study of Adult Development may be the most comprehensive study ever conducted, as it followed its participants for their entire adult lives. The study was started in Boston in 1938 and has already covered three generations: grandparents, parents, and children, who are now considered “baby boomers.” It analyzed more than 2000 people throughout 85 years of longitudinal study. By following this large population for more than eight decades, the study uncovered the factors most correlated with well-being and happiness. Here, I have summarized some of the authors’ main concepts.

The study’s happiest participants had two major factors in common throughout its 85 years: taking care of their health and building loving relationships with others. It seems obvious that being in good health is essential to living well. However researchers determined that good relationships were the most significant predictor of health and happiness during aging. The happiest people valued and fostered relationships.

Professional success on its own does not guarantee happiness, even though it may be gratifying. Levels of education and cultural awareness, which tend to be higher among those with higher salaries, were also important factors for adopting healthy habits and for better access to healthcare.

Loneliness is increasingly common and creates challenges when dealing with stressful situations. It is essential to have someone with whom we can vent. Therefore, one should foster, strengthen, and broaden relationships. Maintaining social connections requires constant practice. Friendships and relationships need regular commitment to keep them from fizzling out. A simple telephone call can help. Participating in activities that bring joy and encourage camaraderie, such as sports, hobbies, and volunteer work, may broaden the relationship network.

Social media almost always shows the positive side of people’s lives and suggests that everyone lives worry-free. However, the truth is that no one’s life is free of difficulties and challenges. Social skills contribute to resilience.

It is never too late for a turnaround and change life through new relationships and experiences. The study showed that good things happened and good news appeared when least expected it.

IRRESISITIBLE Accidental Heroes

They never intended to become heroes…
But actions speak louder than words.

Find true love with these accidental heroes, in the pages of EIGHT BRAND NEW, full-length steamy stories, from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling, Award-Winning Authors.

Love a Beach Read? Romance, adventure, and fun by Rachelle Ayala #RachelleAyala @mimisgang1 #mgtab

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Summer is prime beach reading season, and women’s beach reads are a genre all their own. The perfect beach read for women combines several key elements that make it compelling, entertaining, and ideal for reading on vacation.

A beach read should be light and fun. Women often choose easy page-turners with a generous dose of humor when lounging by the ocean or poolside. Plots are fast-paced and focus more on fun, witty banter between characters rather than complex world-building. Compelling characters and addictive drama are a must, but the overall tone should be feel-good rather than heavy.

The setting plays a huge role in immersing readers in summer vibes. Beach reads usually transport us to sunny, tropical locales like a Hawaiian resort, Caribbean island, small coastal town, or European vacation hot spot. The glittering blue ocean, flowy sundresses, icy cocktails, and warm sand between toes create the ultimate escapist backdrop for temporary getaways between the pages.

Travel and adventure are common themes, as beach reads allow us to live vicariously through characters while we relax and recharge. Following a heroine as she checks items off her wanderlust bucket list or reinvents herself in an exotic new environment provides exciting yet comfortable literary journeys from the security of our beach chair.

Of course, romance is a must for any successful women’s beach read. Flirty banter, meet-cutes over piña coladas, and passionate affairs under the moonlight satisfy readers’ summer cravings for fantasy and fun. Scandalous love triangles, fake engagement plots, and romances between seemingly mismatched characters provide playful and irresistible romantic tension.

The best beach reads for women combine all these elements into page-turning books you can’t put down until you find out what happens. The stories whisk you away to an imaginary getaway full of summer fun without having to leave your lounge chair. With the sound of crashing waves in the background, these entertaining tales make for blissful beach reading any woman will enjoy.

These are all the reasons why I love reading and writing beach reads. I get to travel to fun and exotic locations, create adventurous situations and of course, add in a hunky hero, matchmaking locals and animal friends, and we get an irresistible romance to spice up the soothing sounds of the surf.

My latest beach read, Where Love Blossoms, provides the perfect escape if you’re looking to relax with a side of sweet romance. Maya Chance finds herself instantly attracted to the dashing and somewhat mysterious Luke Hastings. The fictional island of Ile d’Amour is the perfect setting with its tropical scenery, quirky locals with an eye for matchmaking, tall tales of its pirate heritage, and natural beauty. Add a pet monkey who’s endearing but mischievous, a wise innkeeper, an observant bartender, and a taxi driver full of stories and tales, and you get a heartwarming romance with plenty of humor and fun.

Where Love Blossoms by Rachelle Ayala (99c or KindleUnlimited)