Once more I find myself nominated by the kind hearted Jessica at https://jessicabakkers.com, a lovely blog with a variety of types of posts. With so much coming out every day one wonders how she finds time to work on that novel of hers.
This time she’s nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. I’m not sure how versatile I am, but I’ll certainly give it a go.
What is the Versatile Blogger Award?
Bloggers nominate other bloggers who they believe deserve recognition for their high quality standard of writing, uniqueness of content, passion and love displayed throughout the site and to top it off, amazing photos!
Rules of the Versatile Blogger Award:
Thank the blogger who nominated you and share their link.
Nominate up to 10 bloggers for the award and provide links to their blogs. Also, inform them about the nomination.
Reveal 7 facts about yourself that your readers may not know.
My 7 Fun Facts
1. I am an INFJ and a sensitive. Feel free to visit https://jessicabakkers.com and https://storiesofahsi.wordpress.com/ for more information.
2. I am an avid re-reader and re-watcher. I often set myself general goals for reading/watching new material, but prefer to revisit old favorites when I want to relax.
3. I prefer reading physical paper over screens, partly because on some level I find it tiring to read digital text, and partly because I like the physicality of paper; particularly the feel of the paper between my fingers, the sound of a page turning, and the subtle smell of the book.
4. When school required me to play an instrument I chose the flute. Along with the oboe, the violin, and the saxophone, I find the flute to be a very expressive instrument. But I soon realized that I did not have a natural affinity for creating music, and the time needed was time I wanted to spend writing.
5. If writing wasn’t my passion I think I would focus on cooking and cosplay.
6. I almost always have long lists: ideas, books to read, shows to watch, music to listen to, etc. My lists have a habit of growing faster than I can keep up, which means I’m rarely current.
7. I tend to believe that something exists, in a spiritual sense, but I still debate what that something is, or how I would describe it. I believe in treating faith the same way I treat writing, an ongoing process of gradually learning from others, incorporating what makes sense while avoiding any sense of completeness. I believe in lifelong learning, which means we are never “done”.
My nominees for this award are:
https://elldimensional.wordpress.com
https://thoughtsstainedwithink.wordpress.com/
https://pennylanethoughts.wordpress.com/
*I understand that awards like this may not be for everyone. If you do choose to participate, please leave a link to your award in the comments. If not, no worries. I wish you all luck on your journeys.
Thanks for all the shout outs hon!! Appreciate it!
You’re welcome. Thank you for all of your support as well.
Congrats on the award. That’s a very interesting take on faith you have – never heard anything like it before.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for the nomination!
Rereading and rewatching are hard for me to do, merely because there’s always still so much more to read and watch! There just aren’t enough hours in the day. But I imagine that rereading and rewatching is a good method to really learn how the story works.
And cooking… I’m assuming you probably still cook up some good dishes while you’re not writing! I enjoy cooking as well. Is that something you’d work at professionally if given the chance?
I also find rereading or rewatching more relaxing. The first time there’s a sense of urgency for me; I want to know how it resolves, but the second time I can take my time.
I don’t know that I’d do well in a busy restaurant kitchen. From what I’ve seen it can get pretty hectic.
What are some of your favorite recipes? I’m always up for a trade.
That’s a good reason for rereading, and being able to catch all the nuances and style of the author. There are a few books I’d like to reread. Hopefully I’ll get to them one day!
Oh absolutely! I’m not big on eating out, but I do love the Food Network and while I’m sure their restaurant shows are dramatized, I would never ever wish a busy kitchen on anybody, no matter how they enjoy cooking. I’ve worked in delicatessens and a coffee shop in the past… and I loathe working with food. Any food.
I have a few favorite recipes — depends on what you like? Many of my recipes are from my mother, so they’re generally of the Japanese variety. But I do love Italian recipes as well. I’m a big big fan of cheese. And potatoes. Name a meat, and I’ll share!
Neat. I often end up working with chicken, marinading it in a sweet teriyaki (brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, apple cider vinegar) marinade, a sortof bittersweet mustard style, or a thick lemon cream sauce (very subtle) that my mother taught me to bake over chicken. I do have a lovely steak marinade that uses lime juice and jalapenos, and my grandmother’s recipe for meatballs, though that can be fairly involved. Lately I’ve been getting into wonton skins, different recipes that create little bite sized bundles of spiced chicken or sauce and cheese to roll inside and bake.
But yeah, what have you got for chicken?
Would you like any of mine? I make no claim at being good, just someone who tries to learn to make what I like.
Well here is a big hit as far as our chicken recipes go: Steamed chicken breast, with or without the skin (I prefer with only because it seems to keep the meat juicy). So while that’s cooking, make the dressing for it: grate about 1-2″ of ginger into a bowl, add 4-5 scallions (julienne cut quite thin), and then coat the mixture with oil (vegetable or canola, something light) and add about 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1/4-1/3 cup of lemon juice to taste, and stir. That mixture goes right on top of the sliced steamed chicken, and if you make that dish with white rice, that lemon makes the starch taste sweet. It’s amazing. Here’s how I like to present: https://www.instagram.com/p/BG2elx8xfWW/
Unfortunately, I’m now allergic to chicken and all fowl, oh well! I love the sound of your teriyaki mixture! I’d also share my pork meatball recipe if you’re interested, it’s similar to your teriyaki recipe!
I am very curious about the lemon cream sauce! I’d like to try that with pork cutlets. I love spicy. I don’t claim to be a professional either, but I do enjoy cooking!
Very fancy presentation.
Here’s the lemon chicken recipe, if you fancy modifying:
2 sliced cooked chicken or 3 chicken breasts
1 cup of mayonnaise Hellmans
2 cans of cream of chicken
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp curry powder
1 T butter, melted
greased baking dish
Combine ingredients, pour over chicken
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes
Optional
Cut and cook broccoli in microwave. Add with chicken prior to pouring mixture over it.
The teriyaki mixture is as follows:
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup of brown sugar (well packed)
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup of water
¼ teaspoon ginger (powder)
1/6 cup of cider vinegar
*You can reduce the water by up to half for stronger flavor, or marinade for longer
Normally the meat marinades for 1-4 hours and then gets baked in the mixture in the oven for an hour or so at 350 or 375, though lately I’ve taken to bringing the mixture to a low boil in a pan on the stove and tossing in little pieces of meat. You have to be careful, but you can choose whether to let the mixture just gently coat the meat, or thicken and almost caramelize around it, though that can be very strong.
Both recipes sound delicious! I’ve jotted down both recipes and I’m really excited to try the lemon chicken recipe. Though I will have to modify it to pork and make a cream of chicken substitute. I love the broccoli idea, I’ll be sure to add that as well. Damn my chicken allergy though! I love the broccoli idea, I’ll definitely be adding that the mixture. I don’t mind experimenting. Sometimes, something good comes from experimenting. And sometimes, something not so good comes of it..!
The teriyaki recipe looks great, I never thought to add ginger powder to it. Brilliant! I typically mince the garlic, but bear in mind that I’m a big fan of garlic. Maybe I can get away with both! I really appreciate the recipe exchange, thank you!
I appreciate it as well. You’re welcome and thank you as well. It’s nice to exchange like this. Makes me feel…connected.
It’s a very interesting thing, interacting with someone via textual exchanges, without thinking about anything except the words they use, and the meaning they intend. And there’s the added bonus that many who blog are deep thinkers, with some very interesting things to say :-).
In a world of simple memes and emoticons, it’s nice to receive a more thorough response :-).
Thanks so much, Adam.
I, too, am an avid re-reader and re-watcher. I study my favorite stories–deconstructing, outlining for structure, taking notes on how this writer slid in description. I’m hoping that if I study genius enough, some of it will rub off on me. 🙂
I couldn’t have said it better myself, though sometimes it’s also nice to just read the bad ones that we love so much…for some reason.
I’d love to peruse your list of preferred “re-reads” and “re-watches”, if you’re in the market for another blog post idea, or if you’ve already posted it and I somehow missed it 🙂
No problem–I can list the main ones here.
Both formats: LOTR, Hobbit, Hunger Games, Howl’s Moving Castle, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter (although that one hasn’t worn as well as the others), Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensiblity (hey, I’m a gal), Sherlock Holmes.
For other books I’ll just list authors: Diana Wynne Jones, Connie Willis, Terry Pratchett, Robin McKinley, Tim Powers, Joy Chant, Robin Hobb, Roger Zelazny, Christopher Stasheff (only the early few in each series).
Movies: Tangled, Mulan, Hunchback, Red 1&2, BBC’s Musketeers (if they’d been on VHS, I’d have worn them out), Pirates of Caribbean, Star Trek (original and NG), Fool’s Gold, Elvis Has Left the Building (I REALLY wish I’d wrote that), How to Train Your Dragon (1 only), Muppet Treasure Island and Christmas Carol, Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile.
Basically, it has to have a hero(ine) I can get behind. Grimdark leaves me cold.
My favorite rereads include the Dune books (if I want more complex/challenging), Ender’s Game, Harry Potter, or the Dark is Rising (for something easier), Mistborn (just a fun read in general), the Belgariad (fairly by the numbers quest story), Chronicles of Amber (very irreverent), and Conan (because I enjoy the swashbuckling adventure feel of it). There are others, but those are probably my most frequent re-reads, though I don’t generally recommend the Belgariad.
Among movies and shows some of my old favorites include Alien, the Incredibles, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates 1, Ocean’s 11, Coraline, Mythbusters, Horrible Histories UK, Rick & Morty, Kino’s Journey, Mushishi, Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex, and Psycho Pass.
It’s interesting, there are many that I enjoy but wouldn’t revisit as often, either because I don’t feel they hold up as well to repetition, or because they are…difficult. I have the highest regard for Pan’s Labyrinth, but it’s not what I would call a “fun” story.
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Thank you for the nomination. 🙂
Adam, you are so sweet in nominating me. I’m going to have to decline this one for lack of time. I used to do all the awards when I first started blogging but my publishing deadlines have made award posts take a back seat. That said, I am highly honored that you thought of me! 🙂
I re-read and re-watch too when I find worthy content (and that’s often). I tried to play the clarinet in school and failed miserably. Musical and artistic talent runs in my family (my grandfather played multiple instruments, my brother is a drummer, and my father was a classically trained artist). I also tried bass guitar in high school and played that for about two years, but basically bottomed out in the music and art talent genes. I did, however, get my father’s writing genes (he enjoyed writing stories when he was younger).
This was a great post and thanks again for thinking of me. It’s great to connect!
Thank you as well. 🙂
If I may, do you have any recurring favorites among the rewatching/rereading capades? Any new additions?
omg, where to start, LOL?
I’ve read the LOTR trilogy several times, as well as the Coldfire saga by C.S. Friedman. I’ve also read a few books of the Lymond Chronicles (The Ringed Castle and Checkmate) more than once. Lately, my re-reads usually revolve around the Pendergast series of novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. One book that I WANT to reread is The Terror by Dan Simmons, but it’s so massive it may be a while until I get around to it.
When it comes to TV and movies I do a lot of rewatching. There are a lot of old TV shows I love which I collect on DVD and there are movies I can watch over and over and never grow tired of them. Dante’s Peak, Tombstone, Grease and The Horse Soldiers are a few that come to mind.
I like “weird” and “unusual” and am addicted to folklore and monsters (Mothman, Jersey Devil, Spring Heeled Jack, etc.) so anything of that nature easily reels me in.
In my younger days I read a lot of manga and enjoyed anime and still have huge collections of both. eBay here I come 🙂
Well you know, weird is the way.
Your rereading list is quite impressive. A few are familiar to me, but most will now be added to my “to read” list.
My own re-read list includes Mistborn, Changing Planes, Ender’s Game, Ready Player 1, the Belgariad, and Harry Potter, to name a few.
I’m also no stranger to anime. I often rewatch Mushishi, Kino’s Journey, Psycho Pass, and Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex, to name a few. I’m also always up for discussing anime, if you’re interested.
Adam, I remember reading Ender’s Game many years ago, Mistborn as well, unless I have that confused with something else.
In my day, manga and anime weren’t common, so I used to have to travel to a store in another state (fortunately I went there on vacation) to feed my hobby. I think my favorites are probably older….Vampire Hunter D, The Heroic Legend of Arislan, Captain Harlock, My Youth in Arcadia and God Mars to name a few. This is bringing back a lot of memories, LOL
Good memories I trust.
Very good 🙂
Perhaps even the start of a new blog post…
There’s a thought 🙂
I’d certainly enjoy reading it 🙂
Congratulations on your award Adam and thanks for nominating me. I’m glad you think my blog worthy enough! I also enjoy re-reading and re-watching. Sometimes I think you just need to clear your head and curl up with something familiar (when you’re sick is also a good time). There are some books/movies I’ve read/watched so many times I’ve lost count. When there is something you enjoy, I think you learn from it and try to use some of that in your own writing. At least it does for me. 😉
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