WHAT'S UP?

When we were in Ft. Smith last, ATM + I popped into this used bookstore we like. We were about to leave empty handed when I spotted in the 10¢ bin Christopher Pike's Die Softly.  I couldn't resist.

Our weekly allowance wasn't much, so my best gals + I would buy Christopher Pike [and Stephen King and Dean Koontz] pocket books and swap them.  This was in junior high school.  Total bookworms, we read every chance we got, lunch breaks, and sometimes during class.  Our teachers always commented on how thrilled they were to see us read but PUT IT AWAY NOW.



As a young teen, these books were a glimpse into the lives of other teens anywhere, but Ft. Smith, Arkansas. These kids seemingly didn't have any adult supervision or curfews, they had their own cars, some were involved in adult situations, and then there were the murders. We couldn't get enough.  After reading Die Softly again, I got on the internet and bid on a lot of 27 books - that's not even all of them, but a really good start - because I want to read them all again.  I've been enjoying reading these silly-ass young adult horror novels during the Halloween month.  No joke, I think it'd be fun to try to bang out one of these stories myself, with the help of ATM, natch.  I don't think you have to be particularly good. It's a formulaic process, and we just need to find the right one. And, too, it'd be hilarious to try to write a story about teenagers - how far off the mark would we be?   I suppose first things first, we need to come up with a pseudonym. What say ye?

***  

Even though I've been eating well, I still yield to my sweet tooth here and there.  Alannah hipped me to these dairy-free, no added sugar choco pops that taste incredible and really does the trick and treat. We have popsicle molds, but you can use little cups + popsicle sticks or even bust out the ice cream maker.

You'll need: 

One can of full-fat coconut milk
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract

In a saucepan, warm the coconut milk.  Add the chocolate chips, vanilla, and cinnamon, stirring constantly until melted, combined, and smooth. Pour into your molds and freeze.  You can add other things like chili powder or cocoa nibs, but we keep ours simple.  I think the next time I make it, I am going to run it through ice cream maker.  Speaking of which, I scored this beast a few weeks ago at the thrift store:



I didn't even know they made double ice cream makers until I sawr this one!  Incredible.