Skillet Blueberry Cobbler

Sometimes a recipe comes along and between the experience of bringing it together, and the (happy) reaction of the consumers, you know you’ll be making it time and time again. This is one.

Skillet Blueberry Cobbler is EASY.

You melt some butter in a cast iron (or any oven proof) skillet, dump in the rest of the ingredients, give a quick stir, and pop in the oven. So fast, so tasty, so quickly finished off!

Another delicious way to use those fresh blueberries that are so plentiful right now.

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter

• 2 cups fresh blueberries

• 1 cup self-rising flour

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2T brown sugar

• Zest of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350o F

2. On stovetop, melt butter in 10” oven proof skillet.

3. Dump in flour, sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla. Give a quick stir, but not too much, a few lumps is perfect!

4. Place blueberries evenly on top (no stirring.)

5. Sprinkle on the brown sugar and grate lemon zest over the blueberries.

6. Pop in the oven for 25-40 minutes. (Don’t overcook, the blueberries have a tendency to get mushy with too much time in the oven.) Toothpick should come out clean.

7. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for perfect late summer treat!

Elijah Peel | New Movie Alert!

In my opinion, the heat of the summer is the best time to tuck into an air conditioned theater for a few hours. Maybe that’s why so many films debut this time of year.

One I’m especially interested in is Elijah Peel.

Inspired by a true story, it follows a stadium-filling rock star whose fame fuels a destructive lifestyle of excess and addiction. But it all comes to a sudden halt after a heart attack.

During recovery from his near-death experience, Elijah forms an unexpected friendship with a courageous, terminally ill young girl whose fearless hope and words of inspiration spark a spiritual awakening.

It’s got a fabulous original soundtrack with standout tracks including “Life Too Short, Story Too Old,” “River Deep,” “Can You Feel It,” “The Wild Ones,” and “Not an Ordinary Love.” Blending rock, soul, and faith-driven themes, the music serves as a powerful extension of Elijah’s inner life.

Watch Elijah Peel, and witness his journey of healing, reconciliation, and faith. Perhaps it will inspire something in you.

 Elijah Peel is in theaters August 14th. Schedule your day out of the sun;

Get Tickets Here: ELIJAH PEEL

Vera Stein Is Fine | August Book Club

Once upon a time, when I was younger and less informed, I thought people over the age of say, sixty, to be somewhat innocent, delicate…easily shocked and offended. You too?

Now that I’m an official “senior citizen,” I realize that not only is it NOT true for MY generation, it couldn’t possibly have been for those very people I thought it of. Those folks lived through multiple cultural revolutions; the birth of rock and roll, bikini’s, Bohemianism, Woodstock, Haight-Ashbury - the list goes on and on.

Turns out I was the naive one.

The protagonist of my August book club pick, Vera Stein Is Fine, by Julie Murphy, is going to have her eyes opened at a muuuch younger age than I.

From #1 New York Times bestseller Julie Murphy comes a heartfelt and hilarious tale of a woman who thinks life and love have passed her by until she’s thrown into her grandmother’s quirky world of octogenarian free love and gets a second chance with the one man she never expected to see again. Perhaps it’s never too late to play the opening credits…

Welcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.

Vera knows she’s missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isn’t one to take chances. She’s spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star boss’s ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmother’s house we go!

The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isn’t lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Vera’s former ill-fated college fling and—for reasons that will stay in Vegas—legally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.

It’s not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctor… Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours she’s taken, there’s still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sight…

Talk about a FUN poolside read!

Summer hasn’t even reached its peak yet. We’ve got weeks of soaring temps ahead of us, so lather on the sunscreen, don that wide-brimmed hat, and stick your feet in some water. Once you’re all settled in, pick up Vera Stein is Fine, and add some giggles to the summer sizzle.

Vera proves it’s never too late to rewrite your story. How does your next chapter go?

Pick up your copy of: VERA STEIN IS FINE

DAVID NAIL | PODCAST

David Nail, the multi-platinum singer-songwriter from Kennett, Missouri came onto the music scene hard with multiple No.1 hits like “Let It Rain”, “Whatever She’s Got,”  and ,“Red Light,”  earning him multiple GRAMMY and ACM nominations.

Now he's is entering a powerful new chapter with Flowers, his first full-length album after multiple EP releases. The title and cover art are dedicated to his late mother, Donna, even using her handwriting for the title, "Flowers."

Today, he tell us, his music is no longer abut chasing trends, but about being authentic. Give this conversation a listen, and then find the singles that have been released from Flowers and I bet you'll agree he's done it!

The full album, Flowers, drops on August 21st. You can preorder, as well as get tour information and tickets at davidnail.com.

WATCH:

3-D Paper Stars | Craft Happy!

Fold, fold, fold, tape, tape, tape, hang, hang, hang… That’s the gist of this 3-D Star craft project!

It comes from Painted Pancake Studio on Facebook, who posted a video tutorial recently. She used construction paper and a glue stick. Neither were on hand when these were made, so we made-do with card stock and tape.

It’s not complicated folds, but the card stock takes more muscle than I imagine the construction paper would. And the assembly was a little bit fiddly. The fronts of these are stuck together using double sided scotch tape, and the back, using regular scotch tape. i imagine a stapler could also be used for the back, but glue or double sided tape is definitely needed for the front.

Each point of the large stars (Red, White & Blue) shown, took one sheet of 8.5x11 card stock, cut into a square. The smaller white stars, took a quarter of a sheet for each point. The paper chains were made from the strips cut from the sheets to make it square.

Materials:

• Construction paper

• Scissors

• Glue Stick (or tape)

Instructions:

For large star:

Fold rectangular paper to create a square and trim off end. Unfold

Starting at one of the tips of the crease, fold the sides up and toward the center, (like a paper airplane.)

Now fold the triangle at the base straight up to square off the bottom

The last fold is once again folding the sides into the center.

Now you can “open” the center of that point.

Every Beat After | July Book Club

Long summer days lead me to moments when I simply give in to the glory of it all, set my chores and TO DO lists aside, and spend some time with a good book outside. Join me?

My July book pick, “Every Beat After” by Sara B. Larson, is the perfect paperback to take into the garden:

She’s guarding a borrowed heart, afraid of her uncertain future. He’s locked his heart away, still haunted by his past. But in this simmering enemies-to-lovers romance, sparks turn to something deeper—and the connection they tried so hard to resist might become the one thing they can’t live without.

Years after a life-saving heart transplant, Liv lives in the fragile space between gratitude and fear—thankful for every heartbeat and afraid of when they might stop. Running her family’s cozy Swedish bakery gives her purpose, but mounting financial pressures and the shadows of her past leave her wondering: Is she truly living . . . or simply existing?

Then Hunter moves in next door. Guarded, cynical, and annoyingly attractive, he’s everything Liv avoids—and he’s also unfortunately her roommate’s cousin. But when he unexpectedly steps in to help Liv save the bakery with a new marketing plan, their reluctant partnership sparks something neither one is prepared for.

But just as Liv begins to imagine a future worth fighting for, a devastating revelation threatens to unravel everything. Now Liv must face the ultimate test: Will she find the courage to love, or will fear take it all away?

Well written, with characters who have interesting backstories, you’re drawn in by not only what’s going on in current time, but also by the backstory of how Liv and Hunter became the people that are involved in this complicated dance.

This delicious love story is a Proper Romance, so those of you with tweens and young teens around don’t need to worry if they pick up your reading material.

Pick up your copy to sneak outside with:

Buy: Every Beat After

JO DEE MESSINA | PODCAST

It's so much fun to catch up with old friends!

I haven't talked with Jo Dee Messina in ages; she's been busy writing music, working with her ministry, taking care of her health, and raising her boys. But today we had a chance to sit down and chat and it was wonderful!

Country music icon Jo Dee has just released a powerful new album, "Bridges", and her tour is well underway.  You won't want to miss this episode when we find out all she's been up to in the last decade, the inspiration behind Bridges, and how her faith is leading the way. Welcome in!

WATCH below:

JOSH GROBAN | PODCAST

My kind, warm, wonderful friend, Tony, EMMY & 5x GRAMMY nominated artist, Josh Groban, guests on this episode of LOVE SOMEONE!  

He's got a brand new album out, "Cinematic", is on tour right now with Jennifer Hudson, and has an upcoming Vegas residency in October!  We have the most delightful conversation, and Josh spills the tea on all the happenings in his life - including his recent engagement to the love of his life!

This one will appeal to all "Grobanites" (tattooed or not). And really, who doesn't love Josh?! We all do! Come on in, then get the album and check into tickets for his North American tour!

Now on YouTube! Watch below:

Marvelous Mint Summer Salad

repost

At this time of year, my gardens are full of fresh, aromatic mint, and I’m never quite sure what to do with all of it!

I enjoy walking next to the garden beds it’s spilling out of, brushing up against the leaves, and breathing deeply of the scent they release, but other than that, and using the tall straight spears in flower bouquets and arrangements, I’m at a bit of a loss.

Enter this fantastic garbanzo summer salad!

The base is chickpeas (though I’m sure a white bean would work equally well) and another winning ingredient is roasted bell peppers—the variety you’ll find on store shelved in jars with olive oil—there’s some cucumber thrown in for crunch, some onion for zip, and feta cheese that adds to the texture… But the star of the show is fresh mint!

I encourage you, as I often do, to use the recipe as a bit of a guide, adding, subtracting, and substituting with whatever you have on hand or with whatever sounds good to you. I think diced tomatoes would be yummy, and I was even wishing I had some kumquats on hand to slice into it. (Oh, and how ‘bout some sunflower seeds added just before serving?)

Whatever you toss in there, be generous with the mint, and make it up ahead of time, because it needs a few hours minimum in the fridge to allow the flavors to marry and the mint leaves to soften a bit.

Ingredients:

ingredients

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 2 cups canned roasted bell peppers, chopped

• 1 cup peeled cucumber, diced (same size as chickpeas)

• 1/2 cup diced red onion

• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, washed, and diced

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 2 Tablespoons honey

• 2 Tablespoons mustard

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In large bowl combine all salad ingredients, except for feta cheese, folding to mix well.

2. In a small bowl, mix lime juice, honey, and mustard, then add 2-3 drops of the olive oil, and when well incorporated, add remaining oil in a steady stream whilst mixing. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Pour dressing over salad, folding again, then top generously with feta cheese.

Fresh Corn, Tomato, & Cucumber Salad

Repost

This colorful salad recently appeared at a family gathering.

Amongst delicious, but not the healthiest choices, (yes, I’m talking to you, bratwurst, Doritos, and potato salad!) it was a fresh, welcome addition to the early summer banquet table.

It’s easy to mix together, and you can adapt it to whatever you’ve got in the fridge.

Use the olive oil and vinegar you’ve got around. Regular, extra-virgin, rice, white wine, red wine, whatever. Try the recipe’s “secret ingredient” of Montreal Steak Seasoning (a dry mixture of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and who knows what) or substitute your favorite seasoning blend. Add avocado, rinsed and drained black beans, scallions if you don’t have red onion, mozzarella cheese, or feta crumbles… Add sunflower or roasted pumpkin seeds just before serving if that tickles your fancy. Your salad, your way.

Here’s the recipe for the one pictured!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil 

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 3 generous tablespoons McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning (or salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste)

• 2 cans of whole kernel corn, drained, or 6 ears fresh corn cooked, cooled, and cut from cob (about 4 cups)

• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 large cucumbers, peeled, and diced

• 1 large red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced

• 1/2 large red onion, diced

Directions:

1. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, and seasonings in a small bowl.

2. Combine corn, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion in a large bowl.

3. Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and toss to coat.

4. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes then give a taste test and adjust seasonings if needed, adding salt, pepper, garlic or others (Italian blend) to your likings.

5. Serve.

Fresh, light, and healthfully delicious. Go ahead and indulge in the other picnic favorites, but leave a little room on that flimsy paper plate for some of this goodness!

Perfect for your Father’s Day, 4th of July, or any summer gathering.

Three Queens | June Book Club

Author Rebecca Connolly has done it again! I’ve featured works by this author a number of times in the past with her titles such as Under The Cover of Mercy and A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, she’s a prolific writer of historical fiction, each one meticulously researched and engaging from the very first page.

This month, I’ve chosen her latest, Three Queens, for my June Book Club pick!

What do Abigail Adams, Queen Charlotte, and Marie Antionette have in common? They all lived during the same time period and had to navigate both public and private upheavals. While Queen Charlotte and Marie Antionette were indeed royal pen pals, and Abigail Adams had a chance to meet both under very formal circumstances, our author takes us on an imaginary journey where…

“The three women form an unlikely sisterhood, navigating revolutions, royal pressures, and personal losses as they shape their own legacies.

After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Abigail Adams crosses the Atlantic to reunite with her husband, John, after five long years apart. But she is unprepared for the glittering courts of England and France that are so different from her experience in the newly established United States. Undeterred, Abigail sets her sights on befriending the queens of Europe, believing their support is key to her nation's future.

In England, Queen Charlotte carries the weight of an empire on her shoulders. Her husband, King George III, battles a private madness, while political tensions rise and her eldest son schemes for power. Charlotte struggles to maintain order and propriety--while clinging to the solace she finds in her correspondence with her friend Marie Antoinette in France.

Revolution has gripped France, and Marie Antoinette must watch as her world crumbles. Vilified by the public and neglected by a king who refuses to see the storm coming, she faces growing unrest with dwindling allies. As tragedy strikes her family, she reaches out to her friends--Charlotte and Abigail--in a last attempt to find a path forward, possibly even escape.

The paths of these three women cross in unexpected ways in public, in private, and through letters. They forge a quiet sisterhood across borders and upheaval, each one facing love and loss, sweetness and strife, revolution and regrets.”

The sun is out, the day is long. Make yourself a tall glass of Bigelow iced tea, put your tiara on, your feet up, and give yourself a royal treat with Three Queens!

ORDER: Three Queens

Lemony Rhubarb Scones

Start off your weekend with these oh-so-delicious Lemony Rhubarb Scones!

My gardens are lush with rhubarb this time of year, and I’m always looking for new ways to use the tart, beautiful stalks. Pies, alone or with other fruits like strawberries and blueberries, are of course a favorite, and I can’t tell you how much rhubarb sauce we go through topping pancakes, waffles, and ice cream! But I’d never thought about using them in scones until a friend recommended this recipe to me.

These two tarts - lemon and rhubard - are tamed with a sweet sugar glaze and the combination is melt-in-your-mouth, delish!

This is a basic scone recipe, which as you know, comes together pretty quickly because it has baking powder for leavening. All you have to do is add the lemon’s zest and juice and the chopped rhubarb to take them from Ho-Hum to Oh-Yum!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen and grated

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh rhubarb

• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 egg (for egg wash)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.

2. Add grated butter and cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Add chopped rhubarb and stir.

4. In small bowl, mix wet ingredients; cream, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour into the dry mixture and stir until just combined.

5. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times, and shape into disk approximately 1-inch thick.

6. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes - or overnight if you want warm scones in the morning!

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees as dough is chilling and prepare a baking sheet with a large piece of parchment paper.

8. Cut chilled dough into 8 wedges and place them on prepared baking sheet.

9. Brush the tops with beaten egg

10. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and no longer wet inside.

11. Cool on wire rack then drizzle with glaze.

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk

1. Combine sugar and cream/milk, mixing well until thick and smooth. Add more sugar if too thin, or more cream/milk if too thick. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Rhubarb Compote

It’s rhubarb season!

These prehistoric-looking plants come into their full glory in late spring and if you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to have some in your garden, or your neighbor does, after the first few delicious pies and crumbles you begin to wonder… “What in the world do I do with it all?!”

This is about the time you find yourself offloading onto first grateful friends and then the unsuspecting masses - leaving bundles of the long red stems on porches and car hoods!

If you’re already tiring of sweet desserts here’s a recipe you may appreciate; Rhubarb Compote.

It is especially timely with Father’s Day around the corner as it adds something truly special to a masculine meal of savory pork chops pulled off the new grill he may have spent the day assembling!

The following recipe calls for honey, but it doesn’t make it sweet enough for my family’s liking. Feel free to add sugar or brown sugar to taste and also play with whatever ingredients you have on hand!

Sometimes diced green red or green bell pepper makes a tasty addition, as does a dash or two of soy sauce. It’s finding the right balance of sweet and savory that appeals to YOUR palate… so don’t be afraid to make it your own!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons +/- olive oil

• 1/2 small onion, (red or sweet) diced

• 1 clove minced garlic

• 4 large stalks rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

• Juice of 1 large orange

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• 1/4 cup of honey

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion, sautéing until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for just another minute or two more.

2. Lower the heat and add the rhubarb pieces, the orange juice, and freshly grated ginger. Combine well, and cook, stirring occasionally until the rhubarb is soft and tender. Do not cook so long as to turn the rhubarb to mush, you want some soft chunks to remain.

3. Remove from heat. Add the honey and salt.

4. Give it a taste test. Sweet enough? If not, add more honey or some brown sugar. Needs balance? Add another pinch of salt.

5. Pull your chops from the grill and top generously with compote. Garnish with a spring of rosemary if you have it for a lovely presentation.

Bon Appetite, and Happy Father’s Day!

Bon Appetite, and Happy Father’s Day!

RITA WILSON | PODCAST

Rita Wilson, actor, producer, singer-songwriter... here to share Sound Of A Woman.

Her sixth studio album, Sound of a Woman, explores different phases of a woman’s life; how we get to who we become as women, the trials and hopes, the relationships with ourselves and others, and more. Described aptly as "an excavation of the self." 

Rita and I sit down for a heart-to-heart, woman-to-woman chat that you want to be a part of! Join us. 

Now Playing | Body By Jake Radio

As the former Mayor of the Palisades, and someone who lost his home in the devastating Palisades Fire, Jake Steinfeld, AKA “Body by Jake” has been encouraging friends and neighbors to have faith and persevere with his eternally optimistic message; “Don’t Quit!”

He’d lived in his home for 30 years before the fires took everything, and he’s one of the first to scrape his lot and start rebuilding. No surprise, as Jake is known as someone who’s done a lot of ‘firsts’.

Now the trailblazing fitness icon is bringing, DON’T QUIT to the airwaves with“Body by Jake Radio,” the first-ever digital radio channel designed to fuel mind and body.

The innovator who revolutionized fitness media by creating the first exercise segments on cable tv (CNN), the first 24-hour fitness network (FitTV), the first on-demand fitness television service (ExerciseTV), and the first exercise playlist, has partnered with HeartMedia and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), to make the first-ever 24-hour digital radio channel. 

A dynamic mix of music, mindset and motivation, Body by Jake Radio will feature host Jake Steinfeld, and other notable personalities in the fitness and mental health worlds, offering empowering messages, fitness, lifestyle, and longevity tips, alongside an eclectic range of uplifting and fitting music to keep listeners motivated and feeling their best all day. 

The channel is designed to energize listeners in the morning, sustain them throughout the afternoon, and help them unwind in the evening through a diverse mix of music and specialty programming tailored for different parts of the day.

In need of a little motivation? Don’t Quit! Body by Jake Radio will provide it.

"Unlearn Your Pain"

A friend of mine told me about a new book coming out this month I want to share with you. Maybe because May is Women’s Health Awareness Month and soooo many women I know suffer from chronic, unrelenting pain that’s too often dismissed or misunderstood.

Unlearn Your Pain: The Science of Recovering from Chronic Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety, and Depression, by Howard Shubiner, MD, may be the answer to relief.

Unlearn Your Pain

“Chronic pain now affects more people than heart disease and cancer combined, with rates rising sharply among younger and middle-aged adults. Millions live with chronic back pain, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue.

Women are disproportionately affected, experiencing significantly higher rates of conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraines, IBS, and chronic fatigue, and so many more. This discrepancy is likely accounted for by the higher rates of traumatic experiences and pressures placed upon women.”

Dr. Schubiner is an internist and a Clinical Professor at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, an author of scientific journals and book publications, and an international lecturer.

In collaboration with colleagues, he’s s developed two novel psychological treatments for chronic pain: Emotion Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) and Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), both shown to be highly effective in randomized, controlled trials.

Here’s why I’m intrigued: Unlearn Your Pain challenges longstanding myths about chronic pain and offers a science-based path to recovery. Dr. Schubiner explains how the brain can generate real pain and how it can be retrained to turn it off.

Unlearn Your Pain outlines a comprehensive framework for treatment. The approach begins by validating that symptoms are real, not imagined. It clarifies that many medical diagnoses describe symptoms rather than root causes and explains how the brain can generate physical pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression through learned neural circuits.

Research increasingly demonstrates a strong link between emotional stress and pain-related neural circuits. The brain operates through prediction, using past experiences to anticipate danger. In many cases of chronic pain, this system misfires, creating a persistent false alarm rather than signaling actual tissue damage.

All pain is real. It can result from tissue damage, but it can also be generated by the brain, even when the body isn’t injured. Injuries heal. Whether pain resolves or becomes chronic is determined by the brain. Through neuroplasticity, the brain learns, adapts, and remembers patterns, including pain. When it continues to perceive danger, pain can stay ‘switched on’ long after the original injury has healed.

“Pain created by the brain is not imaginary or ‘all in your head,’” says Dr. Schubiner. “Suffering is suffering. Chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and fatigue are profoundly real experiences, whether their origin is structural or neuroplastic.” 

Unlearn Your Pain provides clear guidance on evaluating pain responsibly, beginning with appropriate medical testing to rule out structural or autoimmune causes, followed by careful assessment for indicators of neuroplastic conditions. This ensures safety and accuracy while opening a path to recovery for millions who have been told there are no answers.

Unlearn Your Pain
Available for preorder in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
On shelves everywhere May 26.

Tabouli Salad

Tabouli Salad, anyway you spell it (many variations) is a traditional Middle Eastern dish made with loads of fresh herbs for a confetti of flavor, and bulgar wheat that adds substance.

It can be eaten right away, but in my mind is a dish meant to be made ahead so that all the flavors can marry. I recommend mixing it up at least one day - but up to three - before serving.

It’s fantastic alone for a light but filling lunch, or as a side to a protein like grilled chicken skewers or fish. Sprinkle some feta on top, add a few wedges of naan or pita on the side, and nothing could be better! (It’s also a perfect picnic partner.)

I often make this in the spring when I have an abundance of fresh tender mint, begging to be used. However, it happens to be a favorite of my good friend and neighbor, Chris, who has more patience than I do for chopping - so much chopping - and she makes it all the year through. She always shares, so I get to reap the benefits, for which I’m grateful!

A note about bulgur wheat:

This ancient Mediterranean super food is made from hard red winter wheat berries that have been cracked to break down some of the outer layer.

FINE bulgur, preferred for this recipe, has been further processed and only needs soaking in a 1:2 ratio of bulgur to water/broth. COARSE bulgar, more readily available, is boiled in a 1:1.5 ratio.

Check your packaging for proper preparation method.

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For six side-servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup prepared bulgur wheat, cooled.

• 1 cup cored diced cucumber (no seeds)

• 1 cup cored and diced tomato (no seeds)

• 3 cups finely chopped parsley

• ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh mint

• 2 scallions, chopped

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• 3-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 grated garlic clove

• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

• A pinch of ground cinnamon

• a sprinkle of sea salt

Optional:

• Crumbled feta for topping

• Lemon wedges for serving

• Naan or pita wedges on the side

Instructions:

1. Chop, chop, chop your cucumber, tomato, parsley, mint, and scallions, tossing into a large bowl as you go along.

2. Add cooled, prepared bulgur wheat to the herb mixture.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, and cinnamon.

4. Once combined, pour over herbs and bulgar mixture, toss well.

5. Season with sea salt to taste, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.

6. Serve. Top with crumbled feta if you like, a lemon wedge, again, if you like. And… if there’s an addition that suits your taste buds, like olives, pomegranate arils, or finely chopped green chili’s, go for it!

ENJOY!

Neil Diamond | "Wild At Heart"

Exciting news for Neil Diamond fans! (And really, who isn’t?!)

On May 8, the rock n’ roll icon is releasing a new album, “Wild At Heart.”

It’s a collection of 10 previously unreleased tracks that were cut with producer Rick Rubin during their 2007 collaboration.

It will be his third with Rubin who he initially teamed with in 2005 for “12 Songs” and then “Home Before Dark”, a tremendously popular success that gave Neil his first-ever #1 album on the Billboard charts. Revealing the spare but emotional resonance that are hallmarks of his work with Rick Rubin, Wild At Heart has marvelous cohesiveness drawn from material recorded over a handful of years ago.

“My work with Rick was a labor of love,” Neil shares, “and I’m so gratified that these songs will finally be set free into the world to complete our trilogy.”

Recently revisiting this material, Diamond spent time fleshing out nine new songs to be released for the first time and closed the set with an alternate take of “Forgotten,” which initially appeared on Home Before Dark.

Neil’s guitar, which he had rarely played on recordings, leads the unadorned arrangements, which involve mainly subdued guitars and keyboards.

The unique set of songs on Wild At Heart (simultaneously archival and brand-new) will be released on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms. Following the release of the title track, “Wild At Heart,” the album’s second track, “You’re My Favorite Song,” is also out now.. You can get both tracks HERE. Limited edition colored vinyl and 2CD versions will also be available.

Preorder & Listen to Wild At Heart

A GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, Neil Diamond is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Additionally, he’s garnered the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award, NARAS’ MusiCares Person of the Year Award, and the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture. His achievements include a Golden Globe Award, 13 GRAMMY nominations, an American Music Award, an ASCAP Film and Television Award, and a Billboard Icon Award.

Neil, who starred in the 1980 film The Jazz Singer, has seen his life and music turned into the hit Broadway musical A Beautiful Noise. In addition, Song Sung Blue, a hugely successful musical drama starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson was released in December 2025. Based on a true story, the film follows two down-on-their-luck musicians who form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band. Hudson received Oscar, SAG Actor Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for her performance.

Neil Diamond’s music, his life, and his legacy continue to inspire and ignite emotions and will long into the future. You’ll want to add Wild At Heart to the Neil Diamond section of your musical library.

Wild At Heart Track Listing:

1. Wild At Heart

2. You Can’t Have It All

3. Talking It To Death

4. Shine On

5. The Secret You

6. You Never Know

7. You’re Getting To Me

8. You Still Look Good To Me

9. You’re My Favorite Song

10. Forgotten

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About | May Book CluB

“Dogs, Boys and Other Things I’ve Cried About” by Isabel Klee

You all know how much I love my critters. So many of them have found their way to me, much like my children, when I wasn’t even thinking about adding to my brood. But when you happen upon a heart needing a nurturing home, what’r ya gonna do???

My May Book Club choice, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About is perfect for people like me. Though much of it I can relate to from my younger days, the unconditional love and healing one gets from their furry family members is ageless and timeless.

From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee—known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue—comes an utterly winning memoir about a twenty-something woman’s search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it.

A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream.

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About

Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.

Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.

In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome—with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions, and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself.

Order your copy of Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About

Adassa | Podcast

We don't talk about Bruno, no no no... but we DO talk about Adassa—Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe recipient, platinum-selling artist, and the voice of Dolores Madrigal in Encanto. 

Adassa has just released a book, "Love Keeps Showing Up." In it, she shares her resilient and inspiring journey through music, motherhood, faith, and hardship. She has a wild tale to tell about how she'd just landed the role of a lifetime when she became paralyzed as a result of the coronavirus and everything seemed to be falling apart.

She's a miracle. A delightful, beautiful, talented, loving, faith-filled, miracle. You won't want to miss this episode!Watch below: