Becoming Mama Twomey: Wednesday Top Ten?

So, I never got around to the Tuesday Top Ten yesterday, although I had planned to write one. It will have to be Wednesday Top Ten this week. I am also posting the recipe for the Cream of Broccoli Soup I made on Monday, as today is a nice fall-ish day for soup.

Top Ten Books Written for Children You Should Still Read as a Grown-Up
(books to keep you sane by reminding you of the important stuff)

10) Nonsense Verse
Whether you choose Edward Lear, Lewis Caroll, Hillaire Belloc, or Shel Silverstein nonsense sometimes makes the most sense. Laughter is utterly essential to keeping sane in the grown-up world.

9)The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White
The fact that it is included in the longer Once and Future King only serves to emphasize how the child Arthur becomes the man Arthur. We still need Merlin's lessons when we grow up and face our destiny, lessons like Might doesn't make Right.

8)A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
Whether you're a freckle-faced four-eyed teenager like Meg, a misunderstood boy like Charles Wallace, or a scientist like Drs. Murray, the power of love cannot be underestimated as you travel through space and time.

7)Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne.
Don't let the world (or Walt Disney) make you forget the real, simple, childish joys of Pooh and his friends: humming a hum, making up a game, eating a smackarel, or being with friends.

6) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Pantheism aside, Grahame's adventures of Mole and Rat never cease to delight us and remind us of the joys of home and the love of adventure. Remember there's nothing in life like "messing about in boats."5)

5)Fairy Tales
Real honest-to-goodness fairy tales never let you have the happily ever after easily. They teach you about real love, which involves seeing beyond the obvious (Beauty and the Beast), suffering (Rapunzel) , sacrifice (The Little Mermaid of Hans Christian Anderson), patience (Briar Rose), pain(the story of Tam Lin) and journeys of hardship (East of the Sun and West of the Moon). Try reading folk and fairy tales that haven't been scrubbed clean of life and smothered in sugar by modern film.

4)At the Back of the North Wind and The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
George MacDonald's books preserve the beauty and mystery of fairy tales. They are pure magic, showing you the world behind the world.

3)The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I probably don't need to tell you how excellent these books are, but I will encourage you to enter into Narnia again, even if you can't find a wardrobe.

2)The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The perfect adventure story, in my humble opinion. If you walk again with Bilbo and his dwarvish companions the paths of Mirkwood to the Lonely Mountain you won't regret it.

1)The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."

Tasty Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
4 cups broccoli
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
5 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
ground pepper

1)Boil the broccoli in the 4 cups broth (if using bouillon cubes, you can simply use water and add the broccoli water to the cubes) for 4-5 minutes.
2)Drain broccoli and reserve broth. Using food processor, blender, or potato masher, smash up the broccoli. (You can just chop up some of it, if you like having chunks of broccoli.)
3)Melt the butter and saute onion in it, until soft (about 4 minutes). Whisk in flour continually until the mixture is golden brown, making a roux.
4)Slowly add reserved broth, stirring until thickened.
5)Add in milk, cheese, and broccoli. Heat through, grinding pepper in to taste.
Enjoy with crusty bread. You can even top it with more cheese! Yum