Lately

I have had some great writing jobs lately.

Last month I met one of the owners of Front Street Brewery in Davenport IA. I have been craving good beer ever since. They are opening a second location in the Freight House Farmer’s Market, one of my favorite places to be on a Saturday morning.

Today I met with the owner of Actually Clean, a carpet cleaning business in the Quad Cities area. I love interviewing people who are passionate about their company or career, and Jeff was great to talk to. After a bad experience with an independent carpet cleaning business a long time ago, I have always used a national company, but I think I will be calling Jeff soon.

I wrote a small article about a garden that is featured on an upcoming tour. This write-up will appear in Minnesota Horticulture magazine. I did not get paid to do this, but it was a lot of fun. The gardener (full disclosure: my mother-in-law) was so happy with the piece that I may be doing the same for another stop on the tour.

Finally I was lucky enough to receive a free book in return for writing a review that may appear in a future issue of Radish Magazine. Before I moved to the Quad Cities area three years ago, I found Radish online and it is one of my favorite magazines. I love the local, healthy-living focus and look for the new issue every month.

I am taking a class that is taking much more time that I would like. I am looking forward to that class wrapping up by early May. I think I will take the summer off from classes and try to write more. Hope all is well with you – thanks for stopping by my blog!

American Dervish

I began reading American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar Saturday morning, took every opportunity to continue reading all weekend long, and closed the 352 page book Sunday night.

American Dervish is mostly the story of Mina, told by ten year old Hayat Shah. Hayat is of Pakistani heritage and lives in America. His parents are unhappily married but this tumultuous life is smoothed, for a while, by the arrival of Hayat’s mother’s friend. Mina flees a disastrous marriage and unhappy family situation in Pakistan. She and her young son move in with the Shah family and in no time, Hayat is in love with Mina.

The Shah family is basically non-religious. Hayat’s mother details how typically Muslim her cheating, drinking, distant husband is. Hayat’s father rails against the bigotry and small-mindedness of many Muslims. “Welcome to the Dark Ages,” he tells a friend as they enter a mosque. However, not only does Mina bring calm into the agitated household, she also brings a beautiful religious devotion that soon impacts Hayat. She presents Hayat with his first Quran and spends hours telling stories and teaching him about Islam. Hayat decides he will become hafiz, one who has memorized the Quran.

Eventually Mina falls in love, and with a Jewish man, of all people. Hayat, in his adolescent jealousy, makes a choice that will cause him to blame himself for the sad events that unfold.

The book is about how religion can be twisted to support hate or used to draw one closer to God. It was very sad to see Hayat balance on the edge of fundamentalism. Hayat and his family at times display a shocking lack of compassion for unbelievers and their eternal destiny in hell, reminiscent of some corners of the Christian world. Akhtar does a fantastic job teaching the reader various religious ideas in an even-handed manner.

The prologue was fantastic, but the book dragged at times when religion was discussed at length. The end is a bit abrupt, but satisfying. I give the book a semi-warm recommendation, like 4 out of 5 stars. I would definitely read more from this author.

Microwave Popcorn

According to the Popcorn Board Americans eat 16 billion quarts of popcorn every year. As far as snack foods go, popcorn is pretty good. It is a whole grain and has only 31 calories per cup, until you add the butter, of course!

Microwave popcorn is very common, but some concerns have been raised about the safety of the chemicals used.

Microwave popcorn is also relatively expensive. A 6-bag box of microwave popcorn is over $4, giving me about 12 servings. For about $3 I can buy a 4 pound bag of popcorn and make over 40 servings.

Save money and control sodium, fat, and additives by making your own microwave popcorn.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a bag. Fold the edge over a couple times and place the bag in the microwave. Hit your popcorn sensor cook button or enter 5 minutes on your microwave. Stay nearby – you want to listen for the popping to slow down. Every microwave is different. It may take a few tries to figure out how long you can keep the corn popping.

When it is finished, melt a little butter if you wish, or sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on the hot popcorn. A spray of canola oil is worth a try as well. Use salt or experiment with chili pepper, cumin, cinnamon, or ginger. If you have a favorite flavor combination, let me know!

Welcome!

I am a freelance writer based in Bettendorf, Iowa. I love to read, cook, garden, and listen to live music. I stay busy with my wonderful husband and two teen boys.

My writing interests and experience is in business, food and nutrition, and spirituality. I write articles for magazines and create corporate promotional and communication materials.

Feel free to contact me at nestelt@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting!
Terri Nestel