Spoilers Blogoversary Giveaway: We have winners!

Good News Everyone!
(yes, I've been watching Futurama)

It appears we have some winners. I used random.org to draw the names, and the lucky one are:

...drumroll please...

Ana Nunes who recommended Robin Mckinley's Sunshine

Stella (Ex Libris) who recommended Master of None by Sonya Bateman and Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Mika who recommended If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Congratulations to the three of them!

I've sent emails to confirm their choices, but if for some reason you don't receive it, contact me at quiguiigmail.com

I received a lot of good suggestions with this giveaway, so I'm sure I won't be lacking any reading material for the next year. Thanks to all who have participated.

Here is the list of all the recommendations:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Awakened by Miss Ednah Walters

Beautiful Creatures

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

FEED by Mira Grant

Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols

Gulliver's Travels

Heist Society - Ally Carter

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Julio Cortazar's "Rayuela"

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

Matched by Ally Condie

Memoirs of a Geisha!

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Never let me go

Nina Wilde/Edie Chase 1: The Hunt For Atlantis

Rites of Spring, by Diana Peterfreund

Roman blood by Steven Saylor

Rot and Ruin by Maberry

Sunshine - Robin McKinley

Suzanne's diary for Nicholas

The Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neil

The Cirque De Freak series

The Distant Hours-Kate Morton

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Riddle-Master's Game trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip

Where Rainbows End (by Cecelia Ahern)

Wintergirls (or Speak, or Twisted) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop

(I've read these last two, but I really liked them. Very good recs.)

Spoilers Blogoversary: A year in Reviews

One year of Spoilers

So, one year ago I started posting reviews here at Spoilers and Nuts - with the review of one of my favourite book of all times: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I've read and re-read this book countless times, and simply love it. That makes today the 1 year Spoilers Blogoversary.

...well, kind of. It is the blogoversary, but that review was written on October 2009 and posted on LibraryThing. It took me about one month and a half to remember I had a blog that was supposed to be updating.

And that's the kind of blogger I am. I am usually a shy person (except on some weird days that I'm able strike interesting conversations with random strangers and generally make my options known to everyone), and internet-wise, I'm a lurker. I rarely comment (sorry folks) unless I feel like what I have to say is really important. And when I receive a comment I get all giddy because someone took the time to read what I wrote AND to comment on it. So:

Thank you all! For reading and commenting! You're the best!

It's nice to feel that someone reads what you write.


This year I challenged myself to read 75 books. So far I've read 68, which a pretty good, even if it seems I might not make it to the 75 mark. Never mind that, what is important is that I've read a lot good books (and some not so good), and I had a lot of fun doing so. Also, one of the reasons I set this challenge was so that I could ermmm... force myself to write reviews. Because I'm extremely lazy when it comes to writing, even thought I love to do it. And I've been a bit lazy lately, I have 4 books yet to review! But all in all, I consider that part of challenge completed!


And, what about next year? I'm not making any plans yet for next year because it's all a big question mark to me. I'll explain.

I've been accepted into an international internship programme that is going to start on the 15^th. And that's about all I know about it. They have asked me to be available from the 15^th onward, and to go to Lisbon on that day for a 3 day course. I've yet to know what I'll be doing and where in the world I'm going to be next year, and that includes knowing if I'll have time to read (gasp!!) or if I'll have internet so that I can update Spoilers and Nuts.

I'll probably know more on the 17^th. Until then, I have my fingers crossed for a place where I can get a lot of books :D

And this is the majority of my books :)

Finally, the Blogoversary giveaway ends today. You have until midnight (GMT) today to enter. That means about 7 hours.

I have been reading the recommendations the participants have made, and I'm liking them. Very good recommendations in there.

Spoilers Blogoversary and the end of the year coming - Time for a Book Giveaway

Like the post title says, Spoilers and Nuts' Spoilers blogoversary is approaching. And there is also the end of the year and all the festivities associated with it, so there is yet more reasons to celebrate. And, although I'm still not sure I'll meet the 75 books mark I proposed myself to reach, I'll get very close to that.

If only I could find a way to celebrate it all together..... Oh wait, I can! Let's host a giveaway!

So here are the rules for the first giveaway I ever hosted. Mmmm, let's call it Spoilers and Nuts giveaway, and make things really complicated for people to enter.

Not really, but I do ask for some things.

One year of Nuts

It's been a year since I started this blog with this post. I created the blog so I could post my recipes, and eventually some book reviews. The Oat Biscuits were my new recipe back then, and my favourite procrastination method while I was writing my dissertation. Whenever I didn't feel like doing any work, I would go to the kitchen and bake cookies. At least I didn't feel like I was wasting my time.

Not that I've been posting many recipes this past year (the blog has been devoted more to the spoilers part, go figure). I posted only two recipes, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking (or eating, my waistline sure attests to that). It's just very hard for me to write recipes, because most of the time I don't follow them, I improvise and use no measures at all (I'm more of a pinch of this and dash of that kind of gal).

But I guess I cannot let the Nuts anniversary pass without at least some tips when it comes to cooking.

So, if I have any tip to give regarding food is to experiment: look at your spices and mix them. But careful, don't throw them all into the pot, that would be overwhelming, just 3 or 4, and see if they fit together. Take note of what works, and what doesn't, but change it from time to time. Different seasoning for the same recipe means it will feel like a different one.

There are some spices that go well with any food, like thyme and parsley. Some are a must in some types of food: Rosemary for roasts, Basil and Oregano for Italian, Cumin and Cinnamon in spicy foods. Others need to be used in moderation, like Ginger or Chilli.

Another spice that you need to pay attention to is Salt. This past year, due to my hypertension, I had to start cooking with no salt at all. It was a pain at first, but I eventually got used to it. To reduce the salt consumption is always a good idea, and not only for health reasons. A lot of people resort to salt when it comes to seasoning. Sometimes they add pepper or garlic, but that's about it. Eventually everything they cook ends up tasting the same.

Most of the food we eat has some salt naturally. If it's processed food, it has bucketloads of it. In many cases there is no need to add more. Before this imposed diet, I already cooked with less salt than most. Grilled meat or fish hardly needs it. Pepper will suffice, garlic gives it an extra kick, and if you really want something special why not add a bit a lemon or orange juice to it?

Some foods will need salt. Rice and couscous taste awful without salt. If you fry the rice, it gets better. Fry some onion and garlic in olive oil before adding the rice, and add a bit of white pepper for seasoning, and it will pass.

Vegetables are probably the easiest to cook without salt. A stir-fry hardly needs spices, but if you add them, it will still taste good. Sometimes I like them fried in olive oil with garlic. Other times I go for ginger and pepper. Add in a curry mix, and it will be very good.

The rule for cooking without salt is: avoid simply boiled food. It's tasteless even with salt. Stews can be made to taste good if you add some spices. Stir-fries and grilled food is the easiest, because it hardly needs salt.

Now, because I feel that there haven't been enough Nuts in the blog, here are some suggestions:

You can add Nuts and Seeds to most of your food - even in soup. Nuts are good for your health, they contain omega-3 and reduce cholesterol. You can make rice with pine nuts thrown in. Or add sunflowers seed into a stir-fry. I sometimes put sesame seeds and linseeds in the soup.

Muesli Cereal already has some Nuts and Seeds, but add more. Usually it is heavy on grain and there is not much variety in the nuts found in it.

Another way I like my Nuts is as a snack. Instead of going for chocolate or something equally sweet, I eat Almonds with skin. Hazelnuts and Walnuts are also very good as a snack.

With that piece of advice I end this Nuts post. And because I spent a lot of time after the first post not writing anything, my Spoilers Blogoversary will come in December.

Until then, enjoy your Nuts (and food)!