Author: Ang Anderson

Dirty Snowballs

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Happy Winter! It’s definitely snowball season here in the great north woods. I think it is the perfect time to share one of my favorite treat recipes with you. Enter Dirty Snowballs. Alright…this is just the name I have given these delightful little balls of goodness. My dear mom used to make these cookies for us when we were little. They are officially listed as “no bake cookies” on the recipe card that I penned with my teenage hand. They require just four simple ingredients and…you guessed it…no baking! Woot woot! They are the utmost of the easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy variety. I recall sneaking into the refrigerator to steal one every chance I could get, trying not to get caught. If you are not in the mood to bake but are in the mood for something sweet, I invite you to try your hand at these Dirty Snowballs. They are the perfect winter treat!

Dirty Snowballs

2 packages graham crackers, crushed fine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
6 oz mini chocolate chips
Sweetened coconut flakes 

Mix together graham crackers, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.

Form the dough into balls. (I use this tablespoon cookie-scooper device for uniformity.) 

 

Roll in coconut and set on plate or in container. Cover and place in refrigerator.

Sneak cookies from refrigerator at your leisure. Enjoy!

Store in refrigerator until serving (if you have any left to share). 😋

Summer Cake

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Strawberries are bursting forth in the great north woods. Well, not in the woods but in the fields. You know…strawberry 🎶 fields 🎶 forever 🎶.  *insert best Beatles singing voice*

(Side note: My kids get so mad at me because hearing just a few of the right words strewn together, matching any song lyrics I have ever heard, causes me to break into song. Case in point.) 

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Anyway, a cool summer evening and some berries prompted me to get my summer cake on.

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If you’ve got strawberries or any berries in your possession, you are free to make this delightful cake.

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Go ahead. I dare you.

Here is the official Strawberry Summer Cake post from Smitten Kitchen and official printable recipe. I left it completely un-tweaked, except for the fact that I did not measure my berries and Deb used a much prettier baking dish. While you are there, you should check out more posts on Smitten Kitchen. It’s a beautiful blog and the author even has her very own cookbook. It’s a wonderful one to add to your collection.

P.S. My daughter came in as I was writing this and part of her sentence contained “all you need is…” and what do you think I belted out? Oh, yes. *imagine more beautiful singing* 🎶 All you need is love, love,…🎶 love is all you need. 🎶 Then she said, no, you also need a house and we had a brilliant conversation on what we really do need.

Love (see how I did that?), 

Ang

Waiting for Unicorns

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I don’t know if y’all have any amazing friends who also happen to be famous but I am happy, honored, privileged and very proud to share with you that I do! My dearest friend Beth’s debut novel came out earlier this year and it’s a gorgeous book with heart and soul and beauty. Just like the author. (She’s amazing!)

I was lucky enough to attend Beth’s book launch party at the Red Balloon Bookshop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. To read Beth’s book is one thing. To hear her speak about it is another. It was magical.

Here she is at the Red Balloon. It was truly a night to remember and I am so glad I was able to be a part of it.

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And here she is signing books…

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I’d like to share my review with you here and I strongly encourage you to get your hands on your very own copy of Waiting for Unicorns. Many local bookstores are carrying this, especially in Minnesota. You can also order online here and here. Here is my review:

Waiting for Unicorns explores the fragile world of twelve-year-old Talia as she navigates through a journey of grief, hope, and grace. Talia has lost her mother to cancer and travels to the arctic with her father who is a whale researcher. She must adapt to an entirely new place, physically and emotionally. With wishes we can relate to and struggles we can sympathize with, Hautala writes with straightforward elegance as she shares Talia’s tale. Hautala delicately weaves the wisdom and words of Talia’s mother into the narrative and delivers clarity to Talia in her mother’s absence. A wise Inuit woman named Sura guides Talia to a place where she can begin to heal and find hope, and find her footing with her father. Hautala’s debut novel is rich with vibrant imagery and tidbits of wisdom that are relevant at any age. Waiting for Unicorns introduces readers to the unicorn of the sea, the narwhal and to Churchill, Manitoba, where they will discover their emotions intertwine with Talia’s and the grace that connects us all.

One of my favorite excerpts (and there are many) was from page 43, “…sometimes you just need something bigger than yourself to feel whole. To keep all the pieces of yourself from falling apart.”

Beth writes while also wrangling a household of four darling children and owning and operating a stellar advertising agency, Red House Media, with her husband Aaron. Mother’s Day seems an appropriate day to pay her tribute. Congratulations to you my sweet friend on your debut novel, and more to follow! You are an inspiration to moms and writers and women everywhere. You can learn more about Beth on her website.