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    Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life
    Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life
    Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life
    Ebook311 pages4 hours

    Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life

    By Suzanne Beecher

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    "While it’s well known that food and stories make for a great combination, Muffins & Mayhem takes their relationship to a whole new level. Brimming over with the stuff of life, this is a book to curl up with and devour." —JOEL BEN IZZY, storyteller and author of The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness

    Suzanne Beecher’s happy, loving voice has brought more than 350,000 people to her online book club at DearReader.com, where her daily column offers her candid, thought-provoking reflections on life, inspiring countless readers to look at their "ordinary" lives in a new way. By turns funny and poignant, Suzanne is the reassuring friend across the kitchen table with a refreshing, jaunty attitude about life, even in the face of whatever difficulties it may bring.

    Suzanne has had her own share of troubles to overcome. Left home alone at an early age, she struggled with difficult and distant parents, dealt with heartbreak, became a hard-working single mom, and overcame two substance addictions and a physical impairment. But along the way, she found comfort in baking and sharing food with her friends and family. She learned to take the good with the bad, and her life is now inspiring proof that faith and persistence are the keys to success.

    This beautifully written celebration of food, friends, and family will nourish Suzanne’s numerous fans and those who have yet to discover her simple, homespun magic.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTouchstone
    Release dateJun 1, 2010
    ISBN9781439149515
    Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life
    Author

    Suzanne Beecher

    Suzanne Beecher has owned a restaurant, founded and published a business magazine, founded a non-profit program to feed the homeless in her area, and homeschooled her youngest son from fourth grade through high school. Today she writes a daily column at www.DearReader.com; designs book clubs for publishers, booksellers and libraries across the country; and speaks to groups every chance she gets because she loves to tell a great story. Her interests include gardening, writing, reading, storytelling, encouraging other businesspeople, baking chocolate chip cookies, and making pies from scratch. She lives with her husband in Sarasota, Florida.

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    Reviews for Muffins and Mayhem

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      "Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life" is a wonderful read. It's as refreshing, endearing, honest and unexpected as its delightful author, Suzanne Beecher. I don't know how she does it all, but she does it so well! Suzanne is one of your best friends that you've never met. She is like a favorite relative who adds color and light and amazing scents and flavors whenever she visits! Her book is as funny, sweet, touching and forthright as her column, "Dear Reader". The recipes are so delicious, they make one feel like Oliver Twist: "Please, Suzanne, could we have some more?" Suzanne is famous for baking and gifting her scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. She is also known for recipes such as "Skunk Beans" and "Whoops! Banana Bread". Her recipes, like her vivid personality, are colorful and interesting, and the stories that accompany the recipes are also a treat. "Company Fare Pork Chops", "Shrimp Salad", "Northern Maine Oatmeal Bread", and "Mrs. Creswick's Frosted Meatloaf" are among my favorites. Suzanne writes with real heart, and I particularly enjoy reading about her relationship with her husband. They have a true partnership. Suzanne Beecher is one-of-a-kind, and so is her fun, fabulous, fascinating book. Review Copy Gratis Simon & Schuster
    • 3/5
      Very much like her daily columns with a little personal information added. I thought it superficial and I recognized some of the chapters from her columns.
    • 5/5
      This is a good read. The author, Suzanne Beecher has had a rough start in life. She grew up with neither a close nor nurturing relationship with her mother or father. Her mother was happiest at work, a trait that she passed on to the author. Suzanne was a latch key kid who always had a long list of chores from her mother to complete after school.Early in the book, she discloses that she was only a young teenager when she got pregnant and her parents forced her to marry her first husband. Throughout this book, Suzanne Beecher continuously met all sorts of obstacles and she always met them with courage and inventiveness. It is amazing to see how sharing and open she is without a model for it in her family. The whole book read like she was sitting on my sofa with me and discussing her life, disappointments, fear and joys. All the chapters in this book had home cooking type of receipts and there is guide in the back with questions for discussion for book clubs. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be inspired.
    • 5/5
      Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy, if Disorderly Life by Suzanne Beecher(For review from Media Muscle)Synopsis:(From press release) Pull up a chair and dig into this delicious dish of confessions and reminiscences from an everyday person who had big dreams. In Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy - if Disorderly - Life, Suzanne Beecher, beloved creator of the hugely successful online book club DearReader.com, rediscovers her path to the present through a recipe box and opens her heart to her readers.Raised in Cuba City, Wisconsin, boasting 2,000 people, with a firm appreciation for hard work, Suzanne recalls her own arduous childhood years followed by her evolution from single, drug addicted, teenage mother to successful businesswoman, mother, grandmother, and wife of her best friend - the man of her dreams. Tracing memories evoked by the recipes she love to cook, Suzanne reassures us that with love and dedication even the most challenging obstacles will be overcome.Muffins & Mayhem was inspired by a reader who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was wondering how to leave a legacy to her children. Suzanne suggested a recipe box filled with memories and family stories. Helping this reader turned out to be a gift to Suzanne as well, and she decided to share the stories and recipes that help keep her grounded in today's unpredictable world.Dished up with a healthy portion of hilarity; whether she's ironing the clothes her mother deliberately froze solid, being the only girl in an auto mechanics course, or getting her pearl chandelier earring stuck between her teeth while driving, Suzanne's personal tales remind us to take life lightly and enjoy our time with those we love.So bake up some of Suzanne's blueberry muffins, pour a tall glass of tea and make some time to savor the days when all food was slow food and people came together to enrich the quality of each other's lives.Muffins and Mayhem is a ticket back home...Thoughts:I have been a member of one of Suzanne's online book clubs at DearReader.com for a long time and I'll have to say it's one of the best ways to find out if a particular book is up your alley or just doesn't suit your reading tastes. I very excited when I was given the opportunity to review Suzanne's book, Muffins & Mayhem. After reading Suzanne's daily column for DearReader.com I knew the book would be funny, but it would also be very heart felt and full of lessons for life.Muffins & Mayhem is filled with stories from Suzanne's past as well as recipes. I've tried a couple of them and they are out of this world, wicked good! You gotta try Suzanne's Lava Cakes (pg. 6) and LOL, Skunk Beans (pg. 194)! This is a book for families who like to cook together, eat together and keep their family traditions alive. This book was inspired by a reader who had terminal cancer and wanted to leave something behind for her children, but you don't have to ill to realize how wonderful this kind of thing would be for any family.Take Suzanne's suggestion to heart and create a recipe box of your own families recipes and stories to pass on to your children. What a wonderful legacy! This was a wonderful book, that I'll remember long after the last page.Muffins & Mayhem is available now from your favorite bookseller.I give this book 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
    • 3/5
      Known for her columns, one chapter into Muffins and Mayhem and the reader gets a clear understanding why Ms. Beecher is so popular. Her personality leaps off of the page, reaching out to readers of every age, shape, and size, and making Muffins and Mayhem a true pleasure to read.Ms. Beecher has such a refreshing outlook on life. Her success is definitely attributable to her ability to take chances and constantly try new things. The reader cannot help but pick up at least some life lessons because Ms. Beecher's "make lemonade out of lemons" approach to life is so infectious.Being the columnist that she is, I could not help but think feel that at times, I was reading nothing but a collection of her columns. She bounces from stories to vignettes and back to longer, more complete stories. The reader never knows what the chapter will hold or how it will be structured. For me, this was one of the detractions from the overall memoir. I personally would have preferred a more cohesive structure rather than the hops and skips throughout time.One cannot finish a review of Muffins and Mayhem without discussing the recipes. Oh my, the recipes! They are, hands down, some of the best I've read in a memoir. I absolutely cannot wait to try them. They cover all meals and cooking abilities from breakfast cinnamon rolls (I see a weekend brunch with those) to full-course ethnic dinners like Beef and Broccoli. Ms. Beecher's directions are simple to follow and specific, making them a delightful addition to the book.In all, I found Ms. Beecher's stroll down memory lane delightful and fun. She has an amusing, irreverent quality about her that makes her seem more real and approachable. Ms. Beecher is like the quirky best friend of the family that you are always happy to see at family events. The reader will delight in her recipes, her memories of childhood, the challenges she has overcome as an adult, and her continued success. At 233 pages, Muffins and Mayhem is a quick read, made even shorter by her conversational writing style and the short vignettes scattered throughout the pages. If you are looking for a fun and engaging memoir this summer, Muffins and Mayhem fits the bill.
    • 5/5
      Muffins & Mayhem by Suzanne BeecherPublished by Touchstone A Division of Simon & SchusterISBN 978-1-4391-1287-8At the request of Media Muscle The Book Trib a HC was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion. Synopsis (partially from book's jacket): Suzanne has had her own share of troubles to over-come. Left home alone at an early age, she struggled with difficult and distant parents, dealt with heartbreak, became a hard working single mom, and overcame two substance addictions and a physical impairment. But along the way, she found comfort in baking and sharing food with her friend and family. She learned to take the good with the bad, and here life is now inspiring proof that faith and persistence are the keys to her success. My Thoughts and Opinion: Where do I begin because there are many aspects of this book. Ms. Beecher, an only child of working parents, she took on the role of cook, house cleaner and oversaw all household chores at the early age of eight (8). Her love of baking and her many recipes is how she remembers stages of her life. She shares those recipes in each chapter along with her sense of humor, insecurities and neuroses. I have not tried any recipes yet, but plan to after my recuperation period. Her writing style made me feel that she was talking to me over muffins and coffee. At times, I found myself laughing out loud, the next chapter, rooting for her and the next feeling her emotional pain and empathizing with her. A few tidbits of a look inside this book. Again, the recipes, which I will share one with you. How her mother taught her and had her put clothes into the freezer, straight from the wash before drying and then she could iron them (had never heard of that one). How she battled a physical disability, through her faith and a friendship with a 92 year old woman, Amy, who taught her some tips in the kitchen. And my favorite chapters, entitled In -a-Pickle where she describes incidents that are so funny, I actually was laughing out loud. I loved this book. It wasn't the usual type of book that I read but thoroughly enjoyed it. Another positive was all the recipes that she shares, this book is going on my shelf with my cook books. Ms. Beecher had me wishing I knew her and could share stories over coffee. Never Fail Piecrust (from Amy)This recipe makes 5 crusts. The name says it all; you just can't fail when you're making this piecrust. If you're a beginner, this is the recipe for you. 4 c. all purpose flour, lightly spooned into a cup 2 tsp salt 1/2 c. water 1 TB sugar 1 3/4 c. shortening (not lard or butter) 1 egg 1 TB apple cider vinegarMix all ingredients well and divide in 5 balls. Slightly flatten each like a giant hamburger, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold if using right away. Or you can freeze for later use (To freeze, wrap each one in wax paper and freeze in a freezer bag-you'll always have a piecrust on hand. This dough won't get tough if you re-roll it). Rating: 5
    • 4/5
      Muffins and Mayhem, like its author Suzanne Beecher, is charming. Rather than a biography or a memoir really, it is a collection of some of the stories from an interesting, talented, and quirky woman's life, the kind of book it's fun to hang out with, whether you're more of a reader or more of a (down home) cook. It shares, encourages, and mentors its audience, which should be a large and happy one indeed.
    • 4/5
      This is an autobiography with a twist. Suzanne Beecher has done many things throughout her life, but one thing that has always been a constant is cooking. While telling her story, imparting words of wisdom and making me literally laugh out loud she has recipes of her life, those foods that have meant something are shared throughout the book. I have found myself laughing and getting my husbands attention so that I could share a funny story or tidbit. I enjoyed the book immensely and will be trying some recipes. You can also hear from Suzanne daily, like I do through her columns.
    • 4/5
      Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life is a nice easy read. It was like sitting down with a friend and having a conversation. Suzanne Beecher shared many of the stories that influenced her and led her to become the person, baker, and writer that she is today.
    • 2/5
      Subtitled Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life, Muffins and Mayhem is a memoir of the woman who established DearReader.com. I expected an uplifting story, not necessarily an unforgettable piece of literature but a feel-good book. I'm afraid that it let me down a little. While a memoir is supposed to be about the author and while I enjoy reading memoirs, in this one, the author seemed a little too self-involved to be fun reading. The author wrote about her dysfunctional childhood but without enough detail for me to really understand why she was so unhappy. She developed a chronic health problem, and that certainly cannot be fun, but on that, there was too much detail. There was quite a bit of information about her lack of self-esteem, and while I can certainly understand that, it became a little tiresome. I most enjoyed her tale of establishing the nonprofit Meals for Madison. There were recipes interspersed through the book along with stories of why the recipes were included. I did enjoy that, even though some of the recipes don't appeal to me. (I personally loathe canned green beans and canned peas.) Frequently, the writing seemed more appropriate for a blog and was somewhat disjointed, and I wanted to read a book, not a strung-together blog. In the end, I didn't find the uplifting book I expected.

    Book preview

    Muffins and Mayhem - Suzanne Beecher

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