We are gearing up for an “Autumn chill in the air” which will bring us a blustery week.  Maybe even some snow showers by the end of the week!!!   Here we go New Yorkers…..I think this calls for some comic relief!!!  This weeks’ book choice is Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love and Writing by Jennifer Weiner.  Jennifer also wrote the story, In Her Shoes, which was made into the movie with Cameron Diaz!!!  The book description goes like this:

Jennifer Weiner is many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and an “unlikely feminist enforcer” (The New Yorker).
She’s also a mom, a daughter and a sister, a former rower and current
clumsy yogini, a wife, a friend, and a reality-TV devotee. In her first
essay collection, she takes the raw stuff of her life and spins it into a
collection of tales of modern-day womanhood as uproariously funny and
moving as the best of Nora Ephron and Tina Fey. Born in Louisiana,
raised in Connecticut, educated at Princeton, Jennifer spent years
feeling like an outsider (“a Lane Bryant outtake in an Abercrombie &
Fitch world”) before finding her people in newsrooms, and her voice as a
novelist, activist, and New York Times columnist.

Hilarious and moving, Hungry Heart
is about yearning and fulfillment, loss and love, and a woman who
searched for her place in the world, and found it as a storyteller.

To order this book, click HERE

I am totally on a soup kick these days.  I really want to perfect a few recipes so that I can make them all winter.  Soup is so good for you.  Its healthy, hearty and keeps the colds away.  I found this recipe on the blog Pure Joy Home.  I posted Liz’s chicken soup recipe last week.  She says this is a fall staple for her family.  She likes to serve it with a big piece of bread and a her favorite red.  I will be trying this, this weekend for sure.  Bon Appetit. 

Ingredients

1 lb sausage
1 1/3 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
1 small yellow onion chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 can whole peeled tomatoes pureed with a hand blender
1 bag of Kale
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high, stirring often,
   until the meat crumbles and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the
   onion and cook until the onion softens and the sausage is
   browned all over, about 4 more minutes.
2. Add the stock, stirring and scraping 
 to loosen any browned bits
   from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the lentils, tomatoes, salt, and
   pepper and bring to 
 a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until
   the lentils have softened, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Stir in the kale and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 1 minute.

Today is the PSAT day in our neck of the woods.  This time of year always generates a lot of questions and texts from my readers.  I just went through this process with my son, TJ,  and still have two more rounds to go with my girls.  When the Fall of my son’s junior year rolled around I was so clueless.  I knew it was an important year but really did not know what to do or how to begin.  I asked around to other parents of college students,  everyone had “The GUY”.  The guy who was the best in Westchester.  The guy who was the best in Greenwich.  The Guy that got students into Harvard and Yale.  The Guy the private school students use.  The Guy who was the math SAT guru.  My head was spinning and how did I know that these Guys were going to be Our Guy.  And, when I started calling some of these “GUYS” they told me that fall of junior year was wayyyyyyyy to late in the game…some of my son’s classmates were well into SAT/ACT studying and he (we!!!) would have to catch up!!!!!!!!!!   WAIT!!!!  WHAT!!!!!  I knew that starting to study for the SAT prior to the fall of junior year would be a huge mistake for my son.  I could not and would not put that pressure on him.  I called every single one of the college preparatory places mentioned to me.  By some miracle of God, I met Samantha at Private Prep.  She just seemed to get it and most importantly get US.  She spoke of seeing results, and of watching his scores increase with hard work.  And I have to honestly tell you, they really did.  The program was amazing.  TJ’s tutor, a Harvard grad, who went onto Medical school, after she finished with him, was a true God send.  She would text and skype him all week long after the session, following up with information.  She would send us updates, the good, the bad and the ugly.  But, all the while the scores were climbing.  On a couple of occasions, if TJ had an extremely stressful assignment or test that week, she would always take time out to help him, at the end of the session, with his school work, even though it was not related to his SAT tutoring.  She revised and revised his admissions essay with him.  She answered questions about the interview process and gave him tips.  Samantha checked in often, mostly reminding us it was time to take yet another practice test.  This was so much more than tutoring…it was a mentor-ship, it was a friendship and it was working.  I know 3 other students who followed the same Private Prep program with stellar results, as well, and in turn received acceptances to their top choices.  The college process does not have to be stressful.  Once you have your team in place, it can be a breeze.  We were so lucky for our Private Prep team!!!!