OTL: Add Some Flavor with Torani Syrups

Last year, I participate in a program from SheSpeaks and Torani and shared my experience with the Peppermint syrup. This year, I was once again selected to participate in the holiday program and I received full-size bottles of Salted Caramel and Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup. Some lucky person at my husband's work got to try the Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie syrup since we try to stay away from artificial sweeteners but I really enjoyed trying the Salted Caramel flavor.

The first thing I tried with the Salted Caramel syrup was simply adding it to my coffee along with a little bit of milk. I wasn't super crazy about it this way. I got a sweetness from the syrup with a bit of the caramel flavor but the saltiness was lost entirely. I also tried it without the milk (we ran out) and had the same issue. When you get a drip of the pure syrup on your finger, you can definitely taste both the salty and sweet but the coffee seemed to overpower some of the flavor.

Next I tried making a caramel mocha using brewed coffee and hot chocolate mix. (Yep, we are fancy around here.) That was a little better but the salt was still overpowered. Caramel hot chocolate was next and that was definitely a step in the right direction. The chocolate and caramel flavors combined well without creating an overly sweet drink and the salt from the syrup came though as well.

My favorite use for the Salted Caramel Syrup wasn't in a drink though. I took vanilla ice cream and crumbled a brownie on top. Then I used the Salted Caramel Syrup over that. YUM! The syrup soaked in to the brownie a bit and flavored the vanilla ice cream. The flavor was the perfect combination of salty and sweet. The Torani syrup is much thinner in consistency than traditional caramel ice cream topping though so you want to make sure you stir the ice cream around a bit or it tends to pool on the bottom of the bowl.

Torani flavored syrups are great for the holidays or any time of year. Some flavors go well in coffee or other hot beverages and then there are lighter fruit flavors that make fantastic cold drinks. You can even cook or bake with the Torani syrups. Be sure to check out Torani.com for recipes and inspiration.

What is your favorite flavor and how do you use it?

Full-Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of SheSpeaks and Torani. I was provided with two full-size bottles of Torani syrup and some $1 off coupons. The opinion presented in this post is my own and this post was not edited by SheSpeaks or Torani in any way.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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Through These Veins by Anne Marie Ruff - Interview

Today I would like to welcome author Anne Marie Ruff to the blog. I have a copy of her book, Through These Veins, sitting in my TBR pile but she also generously offered to stop by for an interview and to give one of my lucky readers a copy of her book.

 About the Book:

In the coffee-growing highlands of Ethiopia, an Italian scientist on a plant collecting expedition discovers a local medicine man dispensing an apparent cure for AIDS. As the medicine man’s teenage daughter reveals the plants behind the cure, their lives become irrevocably intertwined. Through These Veins weaves together the dramatically different worlds of traditional healing, U.S. government funded AIDS research, and the pharmaceutical industry in an intensely personal, fast-paced tale of scientific intrigue and love, with both devastating and hopeful effect.

All profits from the sale of this book will be distributed to the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation in Ethiopia.

Available in Paperback and eBook

Author Interview:

1. How did you transition from reporting on AIDS research to writing a novel about it?

I worked for many years as a journalist, both in the U.S. and internationally. But I find that I have grown jaded, fatigued, disillusioned with the incessant stream of news. I am interested in the longer story arc, the slower movements of society and culture that drive the daily churn of news like a massive gear in the machine of history.

I didn’t set out to write fiction, which seems so contrary to the “just the facts ma’am” axiom we associate with journalism. My intention was to shine a light on unreported or under-reported environmental stories. The medical reporting I did was not really my passion, as much as a byproduct of living in Bangkok; a hub for HIV/AIDS research and activism.

After a year of telling gloom and doom stories about the destruction of forests, or coral reefs, or traditional agricultural varieties, I felt like even I was becoming desensitized to my deeply held belief that our collective health is inextricably linked to the health of our environment.

Then I meet Stefano Padulosi -- more about that below, and I felt that I had a fictional story that I needed to tell.

Here is how the novel’s story opens: In the coffee-growing highlands of Ethiopia, an Italian scientist on a plant collecting expedition discovers a local medicine man dispensing an apparent cure for AIDS.

The specifics of this particular situation are fiction. But the story that unfurls from this fiction is studded with facts, real scientists, and events mirroring real life situations. I gathered my sources and research for this novel at first unknowingly, while I worked as a journalist based in Bangkok, Thailand and then in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Later, once I had the idea for a novel, I sought out more research for the novel, under the guise of journalism.

2. Tell us about someone you met in your travels.

When, in the course of my reporting, I met a charismatic Italian scientist who approached plant collecting and conservation as if it were an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones. I had a shazaam moment. He ignited an idea for a new approach, a fictional story centered on a character like him. He could carry readers around the world, and inspire in others the passion he felt for the richness of life on the planet. He could articulate the imperative to conserve it for the health and well being of this and future generations.

I am grateful for that conference in Malaysia and the chance meeting with Stefano, for it allowed me to marry my different reporting interests and use everything I learned and more in a novel way. So facts support my fiction, and hopefully, my fiction will serve the facts.

3. What are you currently reading? What has been your favorite book so far this year?

I am reading The Mirage by Matt Ruff. I have to admit I picked it up because I was intrigued that we share the same last name, and he certainly looks from his author photo as though we could be kin. The book is centered on the idea that a mirage has transposed the world into a sort of mirror image with fundamentalist Christians having orchestrated an incredible terrorist attack in Baghdad, flying planes into two towers on November 9th, 2011. The ensuing aftermath as the global superpower, The United Arab States, invades the backward states on the North American continent is a fascinating prism through which to view current events.

The best book I have read this year is Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra. Almost defies explanation in its scope.

4. Outside of reading, writing, and traveling what hobbies do you enjoy?

I have husband, two children, four chickens, dozens of fruit trees and a vegetable garden. I guess you could say living things are my hobby these days.

5. Do you have more novels planned? Can you share anything about what you are currently writing?

At the moment I am almost finished with the first draft of a new novel. The one line synopsis: an American woman marries a Pakistani man, a man who subsequently commits a terrorist act. The story delves into some searing questions about identity and loyalty, justice and revenge. While the book is by no means autobiographical, I am drawing on my own experience of a cross-cultural marriage (I married a Sikh man from India) and a familiarity with Islamic culture which I developed during three years I spent living in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates which hosts a large Pakistani population. I write every morning on the bus on the way to my office and expect to have a first draft completed in the fall.

About the Author:

Anne Marie Ruff has reported on AIDS research, drug development, biodiversity conservation, and agriculture from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa. Her work has been broadcast by National Public Radio, Public Radio International, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and PBS TV. Her articles have appeared in Time, Christian Science Monitor, and Saveur among other publications. Through These Veins is Anne Marie's first novel.

Please visit www.annemarieruff.com to learn more about the book and Anne Marie.

Connect with Anne Marie Ruff on Facebook and Twitter.

The Giveaway

This giveaway is sponsored by Anne Marie Ruff. One winner will receive either a paperback copy (US/CAN only) or an eBook copy (International) of Through These Veins. Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Library Girl Reads & Reviews is not responsible for the delivery of prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Dark Halo by Christopher Kokoski

Title: Dark Halo
Author: Christopher Kokoski
Publication Date: June 2012
Publisher: Blackwyrm Publishing
Available Formats: eBook, Paperback
Blog Tour: First Rule Publicity

Description: In a town besieged by shadowy, demonic forces, a father races against time to save his family.

Thirty-five-year old Landon Paddock has deserted his wife and daughter, abandoned his business, and secluded himself in his late parent’s southern Indiana ranch. But he’s barely lapsed into a drunken coma when a mysterious, winged stranger appears during a violent lightning storm, chasing him out into the maddening night with his estranged 15-year old daughter.

As layer after layer of reality is dissolved by a series of violent encounters, the only way to survive might be for Landon to band together with the family he destroyed to make one last stand against a sinister army of unthinkable magnitude.

Excerpt:

“Come on,” he said, jogging off the front porch. Mud squished between his toes and the storm pounded him from all sides. When he wrenched open the driver’s side door, one of the rat-things pounced at him.

Stumbling backwards, Landon slipped in the mud and landed on his back. The rat tore at his chest with sharp nails, beady eyes glinting in the rain.

Katie sloshed around the truck as he grabbed the creature and flung it away. Two more rodents came from under the pickup, attacking his legs. Blood seeping from wounds on his chest, he kicked at them, unable to use the rifle at such close distance. He struck one and it tumbled to the side, but the other one latched on to his shin, digging its teeth into his leg.

Howling, he shook his leg, but the rat would not give. So instead, he grabbed it with his free hand and yanked. His flesh tore, sending pain throbbing up to his thigh.

Out of the storm, from both sides, creeped three more, baring their rodent-teeth, yellow eyes luminous.

“Get in the truck,” he yelled, squeezing the rat’s body until it finally released him.

Katie scrambled into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The engine caught and revved to life. Something, somehow, had turned it off earlier.

Landon tossed the rat at one of the others and forced himself toward the pickup as another creature leaped onto his back. Pain suddenly flowed from that direction. “Go. Go,” he said, shaking the rifle as he had his leg moments before.

Whipping her head back and forth, she said, “I can’t. I won’t leave you.”

“Go. I’ll jump in the back.”

Landon gripped the rifle with both hands and slammed down hard on the head of the creature attached to this shin. It slumped to the mud, dead. Before Katie moved the Ford, the one on his back climbed his spine like a ladder of flesh and bone. Flinching, Landon rammed the side of the pickup back first, crushing the rat.

Dizzy, blinded by the rain, Landon spun in a circle, battering the night with his rifle.

The Ford’s headlights flashed on and illuminated the front porch. Katie pulled the truck to the right, swinging the twin beams back to the driveway.

Landon thought he heard Katie say something but her voice was lost in the storm. Searching the darkness around him, he wondered how many more creatures were out there.

Katie yelled something else. She turned the truck completely around, the passenger’s side door now facing him.

From the bed of the pickup sprung another rat. He ducked and it flew over his head. Two more that he would have sworn weren’t there a moment ago clawed at his feet. Dancing around in the mud, Landon swatted at them with the rifle.

Through the thick swags of the storm flickered dozens of gold-tinted eyes. Landon counted six pairs of them before something bit into his calf.

Clenching his teeth against the pain, he clasped the side of the truck bed with one hand and, leaning forward, slung himself over the side.

The storm had filled the bed of the truck with more water, but had not yet washed out Katie’s boyfriend’s blood or the bits of his shattered face.

Splashing into that sick pool, Landon felt disease itch its way all over his body. He didn’t know if he shuddered more because of the slimy substance of the water or the fear of those rat-things. Amazingly, he still clutched the rifle in one hand. He quickly fished the extra clip out of his pocket and reloaded.

The Ford lurched forward. As they drove toward the main road, Landon looked back, but could no longer see the house, as if it were a ghost ship swallowed by the sea.

Turning toward the front of the pickup, he thought of the severed hand, the flashing lights that had flooded his house, the winged creature and those rat things. He was sure they all pointed to the truth behind what was happening, but he could not figure it out.

Or maybe he didn’t want to, because maybe the truth would shatter every notion about life and reality, every assumption, every firm foundation he had ever known.

Wading to the open sliding window that separated him from Katie, he realized how much pain he was in. Blood flowed from open wounds on his arms, chest and legs. He would need medical attention.

Bumping along the driveway in the truck bed, Landon supported himself by holding onto the lip of the window. When he glanced up, he no longer felt like he was looking at the familiar night sky, rather a gaping doorway to a place more terrifying than hell.

About the Author:

Christopher was born in Kansas, the son of an Army Ranger and Black Hawk pilot. He grew up in Kentucky and Germany, and graduated from Murray State University in 2002 with a degree in Organizational Communication. He spent the next three years laboring over his first book, Past Lives, while getting married to his college sweetheart, having a beautiful daughter, and more or less finding his stride in life.

He currently lives in Southern Indiana and works in Louisville, Kentucky as a national trainer. He has presented at local and national conferences on a wide spectrum of topics including communication, body language, cultural sensitivity and influence. Other notable activities include writing articles, short stories, novels and training materials for national and international audiences.

Christopher continues his passion and dedication to writing by working on additional novels, including a sequel to the Past Lives series. His most recent book is the standalone paranormal thriller, Dark Halo.

Connect with the Author:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

 Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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Food for Thought: an Indiana Harvest by David Hoppe & Kristin Hess

Title: Food for Thought: an Indiana Harvest
Author: David Hoppe
Photographer: Kristin Hess
Publication Date: August 2012
Publisher: Indiana Humanities with IBJ Book Publishing
Source: Indiana Humanities
Format: Paperback available from Indiana Humanities or Amazon 

I didn't think a whole lot about my food until I was pregnant. Then I wanted to put the best food into my body that I could so my baby could grow her best. Now that I have two girls, I want our family to continue to eat the healthiest food that we can. For me this has meant learning about our food sources from the way the vegetables are grown to how the animals are treated and the processing that goes in to everything. It has meant searching out farmers' markets and discovering organic food sources in the area. Right now it means we get a great produce bin delivered to our front door every other week and I'm really hoping to add a local meat pickup to our menu as well.

When I saw that Indiana Humanities was looking for bloggers to help get the word out about Food for Thought: an Indiana Harvest, I contacted them right away. After all what better way to learn about more local food sources than through a book that was completed only after spending nearly two years talking to people in Indiana about food. Honestly, this book far exceeded my expectations. It is an absolutely fantastic portrait of food in Indiana mainly because it isn't really even about the food. This book is about the people of Indiana and their passion for food.

When you think of food in Indiana, what comes to mind? Corn. That is probably what most people think of. Did you know that Indiana hosts the National Maple Syrup Festival? Neither did I but now I want to go there! I also learned how much duck is produced in Indiana, about Indiana pickles, family run farms, and family run restaurants. I learned that Clabber Girl and Red Gold Tomatoes both call Indiana home and that if I get Tyson brand pork at the grocery store it might have come from an Indiana pig.

I think the thing that makes this book really special though is the variety of stories it contains. There are stories from people who have been farming the same land for generations, people just starting out, restaurant owners, people running breweries and distilleries, big agricultural businesses, and everything in between. The stories are told in their own words so there is a richness to the book that would have been lost if it had been written in another format. The photographs capture these faces and you get that sense of sitting down with people and chatting about food, farming, family, and feeding people.

I am so glad that I have gotten to experience this book! It is probably the most interesting non-fiction book that I have read this year. If you know anyone interested in food or Indiana I highly recommend Food for Thought: an Indiana Harvest. Proceeds from the book also help fund humanities programs for people in Indiana. Discover more at IndianaHumanities.org.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma

Title: the Map of the Sky
Author: Felix J. Palma
Publication Date: September, 2012
Publisher: Atria Books
Series: Book 2 in a Trilogy
Source: Publisher
Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audio
Available for PreOrder: Paperback

When I read The Map of Time last year, I didn't realize that it was to be the first book in a trilogy. When I was offered The Map of the Sky for review I was really curious to see how Palma would continue the story of H.G. Wells. I was definitely not expecting other characters from the first book to show up but they did and Palma connects the two stories wonderfully.

The Map of the Sky is another novel in three parts told by the same unnamed narrator who told The Map of Time. H.G Wells novels are at the center of both stories - The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds respectfully and he is the central character. The Map of the Sky combines fantasy, adventure, and romance to create a literary tale that captures the reader. Palma brings to life the stories of H.G. Wells in a new way as the author must participate in the adventures of his imagination. What if the Earth was truly invaded by Martians? Could H.G. Wells and his companions survive the attack or even prevent it from happening?

Palma loads his novel with details. Some seem meaningless at the time they are presented but they are wrapped together eventually in an epic way. Stories that feel disconnected converge and characters who seem to be on distant paths find their purposes overlap. The beginning and the end, which seem so far apart initially, circle around on each other and create a complex system in space and time.

Although The Map of the Sky is lengthy, I found there to be much less overlapping of the story than there was in The Map of Time. For me, this was a big improvement because it kept the story moving forward rather than replaying various scenes from another perspective. To be honest, it took me much too much time to read this book but only because personal circumstances over the last few months have reduced my reading time considerably. Whenever I got a chance to pick up The Map of the Sky I didn't want to put it back down again.

Now that I know this is a trilogy, I am greatly looking forward to the third volume.

My review of The Map of Time

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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