Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Suzanne Clark's Dishing Love Daily Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway

I am so excited to have Suzanne Clark at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.

Thanks Susanne and Goddess Fish Promotions for allowing me to join your Dishing Love Daily Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Jennifer! 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dishing Love Daily and Other Secret Ingredients (trademarked in Canada and the US) is more than a cookbook. Chef Suzy shares her collection of cherished recipes that focus on healthy, fresh, easy-to-find ingredients, appealing to both the novice and experienced cook. She will also guide you to and through a revolutionary, adaptable approach to bringing mindfulness and positivity into the kitchen. It's a timely, relevant and original concept in food craft that weaves our energetic imprint into a meal and into the hearts of those who sit at our table. It's a powerful, creative concept in awareness that will transform the everyday endeavour of nourishing our bodies into a life-changing act of nourishing our souls. Come on, let's get dishing!

Read an Excerpt

Welcome to Dishing Love Daily and Other Secret Ingredients. It won’t take you long to realize that this book full of recipes is more than a cookbook. It’s a new, revolutionary, approach of bringing mindfulness and positivity into the kitchen. It’s a philosophy of incorporating a daily habit of awareness into the art of cooking.

Every morning, I intentionally choose a motivating, uplifting word and then spend the day infusing its fortifying and nourishing energy into everything I do, especially the meals I prepare for the people I love. One word. I think about this word. I talk about this word. I try and emulate the meaning of this word. Some days the word has a strong, clear connection to the recipe and the meal I’m preparing. On other days, the link is more subtle and implied. Words like, “authentic,” “choice,” “thankful,” “potential,” “kindness.” I’ve used a “secret ingredient” in every recipe of the cookbook and I’ve felt the healing energy of each heart-held word. There’s a fullness and a deepness in this practice that transcends the kitchen. Dishing Love Daily affirms the mantra, “What I think, I become” and I have become an expert at living life through this powerful lens of intention. The kitchen is where I feel centred and connected to my purpose: to share my vision of food as an expression of love and a foundation for nurturing and healing our most important relationships. It’s timely, relevant and impactful.

About the Author:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susanne Clark, a.k.a. Chef Suzy, earned her Red Seal in Culinary Arts in 2009 at SAIT in Calgary, Canada, apprenticing at Hotel Arts under the talented supervision of Duncan Ly and Karine Moulin. Upon graduation, Chef Suzy established Magnifique Cuisine, a successful catering business in the Calgary area. She also worked full time as the in-house executive chef for one of Canada's original Dragons' Den entrepreneurs, W. Brett Wilson, cooking for his Home Office team and a global circle of business and community leaders, artists and celebrities.

Suzy's first and continuing career as a mother of four empowered and vibrant daughters formed her vision of food as an expression of love and a foundation for healing and sustaining our most important relationships. Suzy loves to travel and seeks out every opportunity to enjoy culinary experiences around the world. She has been married to the love of her life, Richard, for 36 years.

Book Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dishing.love.daily
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefsuzyclark
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dishing.love.daily
Twitter: https://x.com/chefsuzyclark
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-clark-04a73157

Please enter the giveaway here, thanks:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4861

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/03/book-blast-dishing-love-daily-by.html

Saturday, August 10, 2024

Laura Childs's Peach Tea Smash Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

I am so excited to have Laura Childs here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Laura Childs and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Peach Tea Smash Blog Tour!

 

 

 


Peach Tea Smash (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
28th in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (August 6, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593201019
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593201015
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLKSY4GV
Audiobook ASIN B0CVLG7ZGL

Murder at an Alice in Wonderland–themed event threatens to send Theodosia Browning through the looking glass in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series.

During the Mad Hatter Masquerade, a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the Opera on the grounds of the old Pendleton Grist Mill, Harlan Sadler, husband of Cricket Sadler, the chairwoman, is killed. He’s been hit in the head with a croquet mallet, and his body hung on the chains and paddles of the grist mill. Nobody can figure out why since Harlan was much beloved by everyone. It’s only after Cricket and Delaine beg Theodosia to investigate that she realizes the killer might have mistaken Harlan for his crazy son, Duke. After all, Duke is a slum landlord and recently injured a woman in a boating accident.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop MysteriesScrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:   Website –  Facebook 

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKoboBookshop.orgPenquinRandomHouse 

Giveaway 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/028877921688/?widget_template=56d5f80dbc544fb30fda66f0

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/peach-tea-smash-a-tea-shop-mystery-by-laura-childs

Monday, May 22, 2023

Peter J. White's Ghost Hunter Blog Tour with a Spotlight

I am so excited to have Peter J. White here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight.

Thanks Peter and Pump Up Your Book for allowing me to join your Ghost Hunt Blog Tour! Please take it away, Peter!

Ghost Hunter Series

About the Book:


Title: The Hollow Men

Author: Peter J. White

Publisher: Self/English Unlimited LLC

Pages: 496

Genre: Paranormal Vigilante Justice Thrillers / Classic Horror


BOOK BLURB:

When the ghostly victims of a small-town crime lord find him, ex-special forces soldier Max Sinclair realizes the only road to peace is to serve them the justice they crave.


But the Bannister clan has tentacles that reach from Eastern Washington into Mexico, trafficking women across the border and into their brothels. Haunted by visions of the dead, Max burns a swath through the Bannister empire, doing his best to set the dead free, but odds are he'll be joining them before he's done.


The Hollow Men is the first novel in the Ghost Hunter series about a vigilante who sees the dead—Max Sinclair. Haunted by visions and longing for justice and redemption, Max hunts down evil incarnate—his soul hanging in the balance as he walks the line between the dark and the light.


"Peter J. White and his Ghost Hunter: The Hollow Men should be at the top of that list and profiled on library book recommendation lists as a standout." —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review/Editor, Donovan's Literary Services.


★★★★★ "Gripping and Timely Page Turner: From the first line, this tale grabs you and draws you in. Human trafficking is the dark side of our civilization, the modern, brutal form of slavery. Mr. White takes this subject on with a hard punch and a supernatural twist that keeps you on the edge of your seat."—Amazon Reader


Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MUrlCK 

 

Book Excerpt:

Max killed the big Kawasaki Ninja.

A hot wind whistled, blowing sand and dust cross-wise. A tumbleweed the size of a large dog scratched its way across the road and into the desert.

He stepped up onto the old fashioned boardwalk, his boots clomping on the weathered wood, and made his way into Riker’s Bar.

Inside, the room was dim and smoky, despite laws to the contrary.

A few scattered cowpoke-looking men sat at tables with varying amounts of empty beer bottles in front of them, three men at the bar.

No one looked.

Max strode to the bar and threw a leg over a stool.

“Bushmill’s. Beer back,” he said.

The bartender gave him a long look, nodded, and turned to serve up the drinks.

Max put his elbows on the bar and used the mirror to scope out the room.

Just as he thought.

He’d counted eight men at the assorted tables on his way in.

Now there were nine. And a woman in a red dress.

“A goddamn red dress,” Max said. “Shit.”

What the hell is it with dead women and red? Do women attracted to danger and bad men like red? Did their men dress them before they killed them?

“Excuse me?” said the bartender.

Max looked away from the mirror.

“Nothing,” he said. “Thinking out loud.”

The bartender gave him another look.

“I seen you before?” he asked.

“Doubt it,” Max said. “Never been here.”

“Huh,” said the bartender, “I would’ve sworn....”

“I get that a lot,” Max said. “Common type: Bald guy, goatee.”

“Huh,” said the bartender again.

Max looked around the bar: booths against the wall, tables scattered at the periphery of a dance floor, some pool tables and actual pinball machines in the back. Standard. He didn’t imagine there was much need for anything to draw in customers: those who drank would come.

“Bar’s been here a while?” Max said.

The bartender leaned back and crossed his arms.

“Yup. Big times here in the old days.”

“It goes back that far? Oil boom days?”

“Yup. Black Callahan’s place, originally.”

Max frowned.

“Black Callahan. He the one that got himself hanged?”

Max scrutinized the man next to the woman in the red dress in the mirror.

Big fellow. Old-fashioned fancy, shirt with a string tie, black leather vest, cowboy hat. Jet black hair, beady eyes, five o-clock shadow like sandpaper on his face.

The man’s gaze stayed fixed, riveted. Unnatural. He didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

Neither did the woman beside him.

She was a beauty. The red dress complimented her red hair. Fair skin, with a dusting of freckles. Bright eyes that never moved or blinked.

The couple looked as if they’d been captured in amber, a static holographic image.

The bartender stepped forward.

“You know the history?”

Max nodded.

“Heard of it.”

The men in the room worked their drinks, their talk low.

The couple at the table shifted.

The big man’s face colored and contorted, a mixture of rage and pain rippling across his features, bending them into the mask of a devil.

The woman’s bright eyes bulged, and the top of her head dented in, blood and brain matter running down her pretty face.

“Killed her right here in this bar,” the bartender said.

“Figured,” said Max.

“Bashed her head in, that table over there.” The bartender gestured at an empty table in the back. “With a hammer.”

“Hmm,” said Max. “Looks more like the butt of a pistol, to me.”

“What?” said the bartender.

Max shook his head, looked away.

“Heard different. That’s all.”

Max picked up the shot of Bushmill’s.

“Bottoms up.”

He threw the shot back in a fluid motion, grimaced, picked up the short glass of beer and tossed that down on top of the whisky.

“Better,” he said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

“You sure I ain’t see ya before?” the bartender asked.

Max shook his head.

“I told you. I’m a common type, that’s all.”

The bartender’s eyes didn’t waver, “Nope. Something tells me there ain’t nothing common about you at all. Not a thing.”

Max’s smile never touched his eyes.

“So I’ve been told,” he said. “What do I owe you?”

He reached back to pull the wallet from his pocket, and the bartender jumped a little.

“Easy,” said Max. “Just getting my wallet.”

“Sorry,” the bartender said. “Just feeling a little spooked, I guess. Been feeling that way since you come in.”

Max met the bartender’s gaze until the bartender turned to polish the glass in his hand.

“Yup,” Max said. “Get that a lot.”

He slipped a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and laid it on the bar.

“Keep the change,” he said.

The bartender offered him a nervous smile in return. “Thanks,” he said.

Max nodded, took a last look at the tableau in the mirror—the demonically twisted face on the big guy, the bulged eyes and brain matter on the face of the redhead—then turned to go.

Just eight men in the room.

“Right,” Max said.

He eased the door closed behind him on the way out, pulled it shut.

Boots on the boardwalk and back to his motorcycle.

“Shit,” he said. “Cannot get a break.”

He threw a leg over the bike, kicked it off its stand and started it up.

“Seriously.”


The bartender picked up Max’s shot and beer glasses, carried them to the sink as the rumble of Max’s motorcycle faded.

He spun quickly, shot a look at the room, relaxed a little, and turned back to the sink.

Title: Slouching Toward Tenancingo
Author: Peter J. White
Publisher: Self/English Unlimited LLC
Pages: 547
Genre: Paranormal Vigilante Justice Thrillers / Classic Horror


BOOK BLURB:

Max Sinclair is heading straight into the heart of evil: Tenancingo — center of the Mexican human trafficking industry. There’s a man down there that’s done someone he loves wrong, and Max aims at setting things straight.

On the way, he’s accumulated some powerful enemies — of the cartel variety—and attracted the attention of the Black Queen: Mexico’s most prominent priestess to Santa Muerte.

Hunted by the Queen, haunted by the dead, fueled by a fierce desire for justice, Max wages war against the evil that blackens the land. But with the Barrera cartel's five million dollar bounty on his head, odds are he won't make it to his final reckoning.


Slouching Toward Tenancingo is the second novel in the Ghost Hunter series about a vigilante who sees the dead — Max Sinclair. Haunted by visions and longing for justice and redemption, Max hunts down evil incarnate—his soul hanging in the balance as he walks the line between the dark and the light.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mFTFyh


Title: Bangkok Redemption
Author: Peter J. White
Publisher: Self/English Unlimited LLC
Pages: 656
Genre: Paranormal Vigilante Justice Thrillers / Classic Horror

BOOK BLURB:

Back in Thailand, Max Sinclair is hot on the trail of a Thai gangster who killed the one he loved. But when a street child he’s befriended is snatched up by a ring of pedophiles, Max diverts his mission of vengeance to save her.

Max is thrust into a world of Black Magic, Spirit Doctors, human sacrifice, and The Ancient Ones: forces older than mankind who work to extinguish the light.

Meanwhile, he’s stepped right in the middle of a power struggle between a Thai Mafia kingpin and his counterpart in the Russian Mafia.

Caught in the middle of a triangle of powers seeking to dominate the land, Max doesn’t stand a chance of surviving.

But he will not be denied, no matter the cost.

And maybe, along the way, he’ll find the balance he seeks, and ultimately, redemption.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/40hqZJr

Title: The Bad Beginning
Author: Peter J. White
Publisher: Self/English Unlimited LLC
Pages: 614
Genre: Paranormal Vigilante Justice Thrillers / Classic Horror

BOOK BLURB:

Go back to the beginning of the highly-rated Ghost Hunter series with this prequel:


Max Sinclair, a former special forces officer, thought he could leave his violent past behind when he resigned his commission and moved to Thailand to train in Muay Thai.


But when the powerful and dangerous Amnat Meut, the Thai mafia, begins enlarging their grip on the world of Muay Thai boxing, Max's peaceful retreat becomes a fight for survival.


As he battles to protect his beloved camp and the people he's grown to care for, Max discovers a hidden ability to see the dead. But will his newfound gift be enough to save him from losing everything, including his very soul?

Ghost Hunter: The Bad Beginning is the gripping prequel to the series, delving into the dark past and supernatural powers of one man's quest for redemption.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/40kGCQr

About the Author

Peter J. White was born in Colorado and raised in SE Alaska. He has degrees in Education, French, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He taught ELL in Bangkok, Thailand for six years, and currently teaches high school English in Washington State. Hobbies, past and present, include writing, bicycling, mountain climbing, kickboxing, MMA, and yoga.

Website: https://peterjwhite.weebly.com

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Elizabeth Pantley's Cowboys and Chaos Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Elizabeth Pantley here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Elizabeth and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Cowboys and Chaos Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Elizabeth! 

 

 

Cowboys and Chaos: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Current Day AND the Wild West in the 1880s
Better Beginnings, Inc. (November 20, 2022)
Number of Pages: 250
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BB1HS7XL





This is no ordinary book club! When the group chooses a book, they are whisked away from reality to find themselves totally immersed in the story. The characters, the setting, and the murder all come to life. In order to exit the book, they’ll need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a mystery that takes place in a quaint western town – in the old Wild West. That sounds like great fun, until they arrive in the dusty old town in the Arizona desert, among cowboys and saloons. They discover that the outhouse isn’t the worse thing about this trip.

The good news is that Paige, Glo, Zell, Frank, and the other members of the club discover plenty of surprises here, and they have a great time visiting a piece of history. They’ll get to live through many exciting moments as they unravel this cozy mystery story. 

 

 

 


About Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley says that writing her two Mystery and Magic book series is the most fun she’s ever had at work. Fans of her work say her joy is evident through the engaging stories she tells. Elizabeth is also the internationally bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents. Her books have been published in over twenty languages. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful inspiration for her enchanted worlds.

Author Links

Website: https://www.nocrysolution.com/books/
Newsletter Sign-up: https://www.nocrysolution.com/mailing-list/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinyfallsmystery/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-pantley

Purchase Links

Amazon Links:

US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BB5R43N1
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BB5R43N1
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BB5R43N1
AU https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BB5R43N1

 

 


Giveaway


http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/028877921451

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:


https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/cowboys-and-chaos-magical-mystery-book-club-by-elizabeth-pantley

Monday, November 14, 2022

Laura Ford's Sounds Like Love Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Laura Ford here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Laura and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Sounds Like Love Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Laura!

 

 

Sounds Like Love
Young Adult Fiction / Coming of Age
Setting – United Kingdom
FriesenPress (July 29, 2021)
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 – 17 years
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 150 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1525592998
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1525592997
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 150 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 152559298X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1525592980
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09BTLYBWT



Wendy is a bright spark who wants to find love and travel the world, but she questions how her dreams can become a reality as her world changes around her.

When Wendy arrives at her beloved grandmother’s house to collect a box of keepsakes, she picks up more than she bargained for – a green-eyed tabby cat with amazing qualities. This is just the start of a high-speed adventure, leading Wendy towards bright new horizons… if only she’ll give the cat a chance… 

About Laura Ford

 

Laura Ford writes novels, short stories, and poems across a wide range of human and animal experiences. As Laura is an avid cat lover, a number of special felines tend to find their way into Laura’s stories as well.

Laura graduated with an honours degree in British law while also writing fiction in parallel. Now based in California with her husband and two beguiling Siamese cats, Laura most enjoys using her imagination and memories to paint vivid stories. An avid traveler and seeker, Laura is always exploring new concepts for more stories to come.

Author Link – https://www.soundslikelovebook.com/

Purchase Links – Amazon – Barnes & Noble I tunes Google Play Store Direct from the publisher

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/028877921445 

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/sounds-like-love-by-laura-ford

 

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Pan de Muertos (Mexican Bread of the Dead)

 


Ingredients 

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons anise seed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1.  Heat the milk and the butter together in a medium saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add them warm water. The mixture should be around 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).

2.  In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

4.  Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 1 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.

5.  Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly then brush with glaze.

6.  To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

Footnotes

You may substitute 1/2 teaspoon anise extract for the anise seeds. 






 

Day of the Dead Cookies

 


Prep: 2 hours + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups butter, softened
1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 ounces almond paste
1 large egg
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 packages (12 ounces each) white candy coating melts
Optional decorations: Jumbo sprinkles, peppermint candies, candy-coated sunflower kernels, Skittles, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists and Good & Plenty candies
Black paste food coloring

Directions 
 
In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy; add almond paste. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. 
 
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
 
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut out with a floured 5-in. skull-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
 
Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until firm. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
 
In a large, shallow microwave-safe dish, melt white candy coating melts according to package directions. Dip top side of each cookie into coating, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper.
 
Add decorations as desired. Tint remaining white candy coating black; pipe on mouth. Let stand until set.

 

 

Day of the Dead (Spanish: DĂ­a de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The holiday is sometimes called DĂ­a de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-translation of its original name, DĂ­a de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1, and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christianity triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using calaveras, aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed into other deep traditions in honor of the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day" associated with the Catholic Church.

Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, DĂ­a de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.

The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other societies' observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition, for instance, includes festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.

Observance in Mexico 

Origins


The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico developed from ancient traditions among its pre-Columbian cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. The festival that developed into the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern La Calavera Catrina.

By the late 20th century in most regions of Mexico, practices had developed to honor dead children and infants on November 1, and to honor deceased adults on November 2. November 1 is generally referred to as DĂ­a de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as DĂ­a de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels"); November 2 is referred to as DĂ­a de los Muertos or DĂ­a de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").

Food

During Day of the Dead festivities, food is both eaten by living people and given to the spirits of their departed ancestors as ofrendas ("offerings").  Tamales are one of the most common dishes prepared for this day for both purposes.

Pan de muerto and calaveras are associated specifically with Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a type of sweet roll shaped like a bun, topped with sugar, and often decorated with bone-shaped phalanges pieces.. Calaveras, or sugar skulls, display colorful designs to represent the vitality and individual personality of the departed.

In addition to food, drink is also important to the tradition of Day of the Dead. Historically, the main alcoholic drink was pulque while today families will commonly drink the favorite beverage of their deceased ancestors. Other drinks associated with the holiday are atole and champurrado, warm, thick, non-alcoholic masa drinks.

Jamaica iced tea is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage is called hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries and called agua de Jamaica (water of Jamaica) in Spanish.  

Monday, October 31, 2022

Favorite Halloween Anime, Manga, Movies, TV Shows and Videogames Suggestions

Anime

Black Butler
Vampire Knight
Vampire Knight Guilty

Manga

Black Butler
Cain
Godchild
Vampire Knight

Movies

Dracula Rising (1993)
The Evil Dead (1981)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Fright Night 1 and 2 (1985 and 1987)
Howling VI: The Freaks (1991)
Jack Be Nimble (1993)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Sometimes They Come Back Again (1996)
To Die For: Dracula: The Love Story (1989)

PC Games

Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh
Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness 

TV Shows

Blood Ties

Videogames

Clock Tower Series
Fatal Frame Series
Haunting Ground
Resident Evil Series
Rule of Rose
Silent Hill Series
Obscure Series
Until Dawn
Nightcry   

Skull Deviled Eggs

 


Prep/Total Time: 25 min.
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled large eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup roasted sweet red pepper strips, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup finely crushed corn chips, plus whole corn chips (optional)

Directions
 
Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Remove yolks, reserving whites. In a small bowl, mash yolks. Stir in mayonnaise, peppers, mustard, vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper until blended.
Using a small and a large straw, decorate each egg white to make a skull with eyes, a nose and a mouth. Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg whites. Place crushed chips in a shallow bowl. Dip each exposed yolk into chips. Refrigerate, covered, until serving. If desired, garnish plate with whole corn chips.

 

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