Grab a Blanket is hosted and produced by Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com

Support Melissa on Patreon - http://www.patreon.com/melissaoliveri

Melissa on Instagram: @theskylarkbell

Melissa on Twitter: @melissaoliveri

All music by Cannelle - http://www.cannellemusic.com

We've all lived through some trying times in the past couple of years. We’ve had to find new ways of doing things, creative solutions to problems we’d never dreamed of. We’ve had to revisit our relationships with work, family, friends, and even ourselves – and when things became overwhelming, we had to dig deep to find ways to bring a feeling of comfort, joy, and safety into our lives.

In this podcast, we’ll explore the different ways we find solace and peace of mind. This is your moment to settle in, get cozy, relax, light a candle, grab a blanket... and spend a little time with us as we explore the various paths that people take to add comfort to their lives.

My guest today is Katy Tessman. With a voice full of the wisdom she’s gained through breast cancer survival, heartbreak, and motherhood, Katy Tessman’s straight-from-the-heart songwriting style moves passionately over a diverse emotional and musical terrain. Katy is also an award-winning children’s book author and named Changemaker by Minnesota Women’s Press.

Before becoming a mom, Katy performed her original contemporary folk music for nearly a decade both in the Twin Cities area and on national tours that allowed her to grace stages from Seattle to Sioux Saint Marie.

Katy has fought the battle of her life -- finishing the fight with children who stayed optimistic gave her the courage and confidence to self-publish her book “Our Mama is a Beautiful Garden”, a breast cancer book for children. For this, Katy received the Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Medal and Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Silver Medal.

Katy is passionate about helping schools transform their libraries to be future-ready media centers. She builds relevant and diverse book collections for new schools across the country and believes every school library should host a MakerSpace - an outlet for students, fueling engagement, creativity, and curiosity at the same time.

As promised, each episode of Grab a Blanket features a recipe provided by our guest. Katy has chosen to share her recipe for Corn Soufflé

Katy's Easy Corn Soufflé

Ingredients

8 ounces Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

15 ounces whole kernel corn (drained)

15 ounces creamed corn (not drained)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a greased 8"x8" baking pan.

Cook uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned.

Find Katy's Music, Writing, and more here:

Website: www.katytessman.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2DSon508YhuZhVLR-TPfw

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/katy-tessman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OurMamaIsABeautifulGarden

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katytessmanmusic/

Literacy & MakerEd Blog: https://katytessman.home.blog/

My book trailer: https://youtu.be/cdBRhTk7i8E