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Today for What to Read Wednesday I have an upper elementary book that all ages can enjoy: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
Kate DiCamillo is a favorite children's author who wrote other childhood favorites such as The Tales of Despereux and Because of Winn-Dixie, both award winning novels. She also writes the Mercy Watson series for younger readers. So when my friend let me borrow The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, I knew the book was going to be great, as Ms DiCamillo doesn't disappoint.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is about a china rabbit that lives with a girl name Abilene who loves him and dotes on him. Though Edward doesn't necessarily return the favor to the girl. Then one day he is lost and his miraculous journey starts, beginning at the bottom of the ocean, eventually finding his way to Tennessee, passing through many new and different owners. Through this physical journey he learns to love and lose and hope. It's truly a special story. I listened to it with my kids and they liked it too. At some points I shed a little tear, but I never all out bawled. The story touched my heart and I'm sure you will love it too.  
Have you read any of Kate DiCamillo's other books? Will you be giving The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane a try? Let us know in the comments below!
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If you saw my Instagram post this past weekend, you would have seen that I am so excited about it being the time of year when tomatoes start to get ripe on the garden vines. Now I am even more excited because my DIL's mom, Anita, gave me some special tomatoes that she is growing. They are called San Marzano.
As you can see, San Marzano are an elongated tomato and they are very fleshy with fewer seeds or watery juices. They also have lower acidity, so if you have trouble as I sometimes do with a sore tongue after eating tomatoes, these will be better for you. (Even with a sore mouth, I love tomatoes so much, I eat them anyway!) Anita uses San Marzano to can tomato sauce and finds them to be the best for that application because the large amount of flesh lends them to making a thick, rich sauce. Anita is Italian, she knows her sauce, so I trust her when she says that these tomatoes are the best for tomato sauce! But, if you need more proof, you can purchase San Marzano Tomato sauce if you don't want to make it yourself. It really is touted as the best by many chefs. Or, you can buy some San Marzano seeds to grow your own plants next year!
Today I am using my tomatoes in a different way. I wanted to showcase these beautiful, red, fresh tomatoes because this is the time of year to enjoy them that way! These Tomato-Basil Tea Sandwiches are perfect for a bridal shower or baby shower or a mid-morning brunch! The basil spread can be made in advance and the bacon....Yes! I said bacon, can be crisped and crumbled in advance, but the assembly should be done just before the event. That is when you will thinly slice the tomatoes and prepare your bread. Here is what the San Marzano tomatoes look like sliced.
See how fleshy those tomatoes are? If you don't have San Marzano, you can use cherry tomatoes.
Any type of bread may be used as the base. I used a Tomato Basil loaf from Panera, staying with the Tomato-Basil Sandwich theme. The nice thing is that the bread is firm and holds up to the toppings, even with the crust cut off. Since Panera makes a large sized loaf, I cut the slices in half and then removed the crust to make them all fairly uniform. I also considered a sour dough loaf which I think would also be a delicious alternative.
Panera Tomato Basil Loaf. You could also cut circles or other shapes. I just did squares that are about palm size.
They look pretty on the platter. I simply used a couple sprigs of basil flowers on my tray. They are edible!
Oh! I was so excited about the tomatoes, I forgot to mention that the basil is from my garden! I cut off the blossoms to send the energy back to the leaves. They make a pretty garnish, or you can dry them to use later as a dry basil spice.
I can't get over how vibrant and pretty these fresh, vine ripened tomatoes look! I love the simple basil blossoms.
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I told you last week you'd have to come back to get my recipe for Vegan Lasagna, using the Vegan ricotta cheese I made.
Well, here it is! Lasagna is pretty standard when it comes to assembly, but I like to make my own sauce instead of the pre-made kinds which always taste weird to me. If I had more time and energy I would have used tomatoes instead of canned. I did get the unadulterated sauce though, so it still worked out great. I also love doing it this way because, as you can see, I snuck some extra veggies in there, and nobody was the wiser. #Healthyeatingwin I don't give measurements for the seasoning because 1. I have no idea 2. You do you! Nobody is the same. I love garlicky taste, but I feel like you need the oregano to come through clearly as well. Maybe you disagree with me. That is ok. That is the fun of homemade sauce my friends. Now, here is a secret. If you are like me, not vegan, but making vegan things for vegan friends/family members, then follow this tip for regular lasagna. Add Parmesan cheese to your sauce. I could not find a vegan Parmesan, so Maddy had to go without. However, she had two servings of this vegan lasagna, and she took the rest of it (as well as the vegan ricotta cheese) home with her. So, there you go. I'll take two servings as a win and say that this vegan lasagna is delicious.
To make this recipe, you will need the following supplies:
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Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to ten and counting! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, and my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! 
Click this link and visit 3WinksDesignShop on Etsy. Find our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, our For the Love of PIe e-book and more of our creations!
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