What's Cooking?

Here are a few things I've cooked up this Fall.




Oh boy I can taste these peppers! Roasted in the oven with tiny tomatoes, basil and olive oil these were divine. This recipe came from Nigel Slater's latest book, Tender.

My big green pot has been in heavy rotation.



Here is Emily Franklin's Gross-Looking but Very Delicious-Tasting Red Lentil Soup from Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 Recipes(loved this book). The recipe name is hers.


My family wouldn't touch this once they heard the word LENTIL. Sheesh. I liked this soup and might have liked it more if I had blended it. The best part about it was how easy it was to make.

I am sadly lacking a photo of the gorgeously colored cauliflower cheese soup from Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook, Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals.




I've been a fan of Jamie's for years and I think he genuinely wants us to cook and eat better. I also think this is his best cookbook to date that will get the average person to achieve this. It's accessible, fun to read, and contains lots of 'take it to the next step or keep it simple' sort of recipes.

Next up, are my divine baked beans.



My grandmother was an amazing cook and she made the best baked beans ever. My favorite meal of hers was made up of these beans, roasted loin of pork and homemade cole slaw. I can still taste it and I haven't eaten it since I was a kid. These beans took me back. I combined two recipes to make these beans, using navy beans, lots of bacon, molasses, brown sugar, tomato paste, ketchup, mustard and maple syrup. They spent about 7 hours in the oven and they were truly amazing. Served alongside ham steak and great cole slaw, I had a happy family.

Here is the Cuban style black bean stew from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show.



That's a ham hock in there. I'm still not too sure how I feel about those. This was a tasty supper. Here is how I served it; over brown rice and topped with cheese and homemade guacamole. My family will eat about anything topped with cheese and guacamole. Except lentils.



Now I'm hungry. Luckily I have some of the bolognese sauce I made for dinner last night left over. Cheers!

They Bake Cakes

As I try out my new format, I've been trying to consider what ties my recent reads together and how to group them for review. This batch was easy, as they all focus on baking (and life).

Set in post-genocide Rwanda, Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel by Gaile Parkin is the story of cake baker Angel. Everyone around comes to her for her brightly colored cakes (it's funny that the characters think our traditional white wedding cakes are BORING!) when they have a special event. Parkin tells her story through Angel, she is a natural sounding board for her clients and we get to know the various characters and how their lives have changed since the atrocities. Parkin has the ability to write about horrible subjects with a light hand, making this an accessible book. It is simply a novel, one that happens to be set in Rwanda. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. Many thanks to Bantam Dell for this review copy.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker is Gesine Bullock-Prado's memoir of how she left the Hollywood rat race (she worked for her sister...get it...Bullock) to open a small bakery in Vermont with her husband. I enjoyed Bullock-Prado's voice, her straight talking, no-nonsense style appealed to me and made for a quick and fun read. While the greatest appeal of this memoir is probably for those who enjoy time spent in the kitchen (there are recipes!) , Bullock-Prado speaks to all who wonder if they dare to follow their dreams. Many thanks to Broadway Books for this review copy.


Fellow blogger, pastry chef, and Paris resident David Lebovitz has written a funny and charming book, The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City, encompassing a few of my favorite subjects - food, cooking it, eating it, shopping for it, and Paris. I've read a number of 'American moves to Paris and is surprised by how different things are there!' books, and had high hopes that this one would cover some new ground. I was happily satisfied. I loved Lebovitz's dry sarcasm and stories of his adventures in Paris, foodish or not. Lebovitz has included recipes at the end of each chapter and I'm looking forward to trying his dulce de leche brownies and chocolate yogurt snack cakes.

These folks are not the only ones who bake cakes! I do too. We have a birthday coming up next week, number 8, and The Girl wanted Molly's lemon yogurt cake. That's my girl. But. Can you imagine if I serve this to a bunch of second graders and they !gasp! didn't eat it and I had to throw it away? I would cry. So we have agreed on cupcakes for friends and lemon cake for the household. Good plan.

Farmers' Market - September 20

I had company again this week at the market. While there, she ate a doughnut and an apple cider popsicle. On the way home she ate a tiny apple that was gifted to her. Lucky girl!

Funny, this doesn't look as heavy as it felt! Peppers, corn, wax beans, leeks, spinach, garlic, meats, and fresh apple cider (!!). Last night we feasted on flank steak, corn on the cob and spinach. I can never believe that you can start with so much spinach and wind up with less than a cup when you cook it.

In exciting news, my new cookbook arrived today. It looks divine and after the first quick browse, I might do something from it tonight. More on Tender later. I see the price has gone up. Nuts.

Clean Food

Terry Walters believes that in order to nourish our bodies we should eat food as close to the natural source as possible. Her new cookbook, Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You,is being released today and illustrates her philosophy with delicious sounding recipes.




For the last couple of years I've personally decreased the amount of meat in my family's diet. At first I found it to be a challenge, now it feels ordinary. When I was offered Clean Food for review, I thought it sounded like a good fit for me. While we do eat plenty of vegetarian meals, it would be nice to sometimes eat even lower on the food chain, that is to say vegan, and I thought I could use some ideas.

I've only had a chance to try one recipe from Clean Food so far, that for Fruity Balsamic Vinaigrette and it is a winner. This vinaigrette is lighter than the usual salad dressing I prepare, the juices contained in it balance out the olive oil to create a wonderful dressing we all enjoyed. Other recipes that I haven't made yet but have marked to try include: Sesame Brussels Sprout Saute (you know how I love my brussels!), Crispy Chickpea Fritters, Millet Black Bean Patties with Corn, Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Guacamole (!!), Spiced Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Dumpling Squash with Orange Scented Quinoa Stuffing, and Wild Rice Pilaf. I could go on.

While many of the recipes use ingredients that are common in my kitchen, there are ingredients that are new to me as well such as sea vegetables, various condiments (that frankly, I've seen at the store and always wondered about), and different types of flours, grains, and beans. Walters often uses kombu, a sea vegetable when cooking grains or beans. She writes that it adds minerals and tenderizes legumes. I'd heard about kombu before, but have finally been inspired to buy some and will try it the next time I cook a pot of beans.

I noticed early on that the recipes didn't contain wheat -I wondered why- then Walters mentioned that one her children had sensitivities to wheat, corn, soy, and dairy. It all made sense to me then, and I realized what a great resource this book could be for families with similar food allergies. There are loads of yummy sounding desserts in the book that are dairy-free, gluten-free, you name it. These sorts of recipes are a God-send for families that struggle with what to prepare for allergic children.

If you're interested in Clean Food, I suggest checking out Terry's website. There is more information about Terry's philosophy about food and cooking as well as fun videos of her cooking and shopping.

Many thanks to Megan with Sterling Publishing for sending me Clean Food for review.

Pre-Ordered. Done.

They had me at Nigel Slater.




And then I watched a video in which Nigel states that he wrote 600 pages about vegetables. Uh-huh.

It had to be mine. The best price can be found here.

I'm counting down the days until Tender: Volume 1: A Cook and his Vegetable Patch arrives. That means there is going to be a Volume 2; it is about fruit.

Merry Christmas to me!

As promised, here are the books 'my husband' got me for Christmas. (I chose and ordered all of them. Which makes me perfectly happy.)

Here are the Persephone Books. I'm sorry the photo is so terrible, there is no light here, we're expecting a storm. I ordered the short stories by Dorothy Whipple and the Vere Hodgson Diaries. I've had my eye on both of these for some time.



Here are the cookbooks. I'm having a wonderful time reading these! The Riverford Farm book is arranged by vegetable alphabetically, the Abel & Cole is arranged by season. Both are lovely, with lots of photos and inspiration. My only question is, what is swede? My guess is turnip.



Here are the rest from The Book Depository. Emily Barr is my guilty pleasure, another by Mary Stanley, I believe this is the only one I didn't have, and Shopped as recommended by Nutmeg. I figure whatever is going on in British supermarkets is probably going on here.



Finally, I placed an order with a used bookstore recently and ordered these for myself. A couple Viragos, and I chose the Barbara Ewing book since I enjoyed her book The Trespass a few years ago.



The reason I was ordering from a used bookstore was to buy this, A Ride on The Red Mare's Back by Ursula Le Guin. Have you heard of it?



My daughter read it at school and they did a unit about it. She loved it and wanted her own copy but it's out of print. This is the gift she was most excited about, which was pretty thrilling. The copy is very nice with dust jacket intact. It is inscribed 'To my little Susie, Love, Grandma' so I had to explain that. I'm not sure how much Susie liked it since it's in such good condition.

I have a few reviews of 2008 books yet to write, but with all these people in the house and getting interrupted every 83 seconds prevents me from doing them. Also, I'm still watching Lost and have finished up to episode 13 of the first season. What did Kate do? Will the Korean man ever discover his wife's secret? Who was Ethan? Yep, I'm obsessed.

Blabbering

It occurred to me last night that what has been a pretty amazing week for me online and as a blogger has been completely overshadowed by my my fairly lousy 'real life' week.

Along with what went on last weekend (car accident, lying child) on Wednesday my hard drive crashed along with everything on it. We spent all evening on the phone with 2 guys from India (doesn't that sound like a movie?) and re-installed everything from the ground up. Fortunately we have an external hard drive. Unfortunately it hasn't been updated since May. So we lost a fair amount of music and possibly some photos. All in all, not so bad. I haven't gotten much (any?) reading done this week, in part from worrying, talking to folks in India, and reading Setting Limits with your Strong-Willed Child which should explain everything else. I recommend this title, by the way.

Whew. Enough of that. Let's look at the bright side.

I won two books from drawings this week! How amazing is that? I won Shoot the Moon from Bree and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society from A Reader's Respite. I also received the I Love Your Blog! award from Ti which touched my heart and I pass right back to all of you good people who have been giving support with your kind words.

I got a brand-new cookbook in the mail, In Season by Sarah Ravens, which is gorgeous, and has ribbon markers, and was free because I had gift cards from overstock.com!

I also received a couple of review copies of books, one of which is Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas. I think the gentleman who emailed me about this one read my mind: Christmas, cooking and Paris? What more could I want. Stay tuned, because there just might be a giveaway for this one.

Lots of books, and lots of blessings have filled my bookish and bloggish life this week, and I am grateful for that.

An Award and Some Peppers

Wow! I'm really , really touched by my win in the BBAW Best Cookbook Blog category. Thanks to whomever nominated and voted, it is so very kind of you.


In the spirit of cookbooks, I thought I'd mention a recipe I made from this book, Vegetarian Suppers by Deborah Madison. I actually made that cover recipe, Yellow Peppers stuffed with quinoa, corn and feta cheese. I made some deletions and substitutions based on what I had in the house (monteray jack instead of feta, for example) and wound up with this (photo taken before they went into the oven) :




I thought they were very good. My husband liked the filling, not so much the idea of stuffed peppers. When pressed, he said if we were going to eat veg, he'd rather have the filling alongside black beans. I can see that. My daughter, quinoa lover that she is, was not super thrilled with all the additions, but wanted to eat the pepper.

Enjoy the weekend!

First Soup of the Season

I just noticed that I was nominated for for Best Cookbook Blog over at My Friend Amy's book blog awards. Wow! That is really lovely, thank you to those who nominated me. I was going to review The Likeness by Tana French today, and post this next week, but in honor of this nomination, and visitors who may be looking for a cooking blog, I will offer this instead.

Have I mentioned that it's freezing here? Yesterday the high here was 64 degrees, and since I had a refrigerator full of vegetables, and plans to return to the farmer's market 2 days later, I decided to make soup. I was inspired by all my vegetables, as well as the chapter on Soups I'd been reading in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

If you want to be elegant you could call this soup Late Summer Vegetable Soup, or if you want to be more practical you could call it clean-out-the-refrigerator-soup.



First, I made a stock for this soup using Madison's instructions. I sauteed onion, carrot, garlic, the greens of leeks, and potato peelings in a bit of oil, then added water, bay leaf, salt, and peppercorns and simmered around 1/2 hour. Madison states that water is fine to use instead of stock but I just felt like trying this. The flavor was unexpectedly wonderful!

I then began the soup by sauteing onion, carrots, garlic, a poblano pepper (seeded) and leeks in butter and olive oil, then adding diced potatoes and zucchini. When everything was tender, I pureed a few cups of the soup to add body and added it back in along with some green beans. I was pretty impressed with the flavor of this soup. I didn't even add herbs because I was too lazy to go outside, so the only seasonings were salt and pepper. I think leeks add something really special to soups and other dishes and plan to use more of them in my cooking.

Schools Out!!! (Or Blah, blah, blah)

It's hard to believe that just last August I was so anxious about kindergarten for my little girl and now it is over and she's a first grader. Unbelievable. I asked her what she though we should do to celebrate the end of the school year - she suggested we watch a movie and eat some popcorn. I think that is a great idea.
It's especially unbelievable how far she has come this year. We started the year with a child who said 'Mo-O-o-O-o-M! Just read the book!!' And now we have a full-fledged reader- and writer. I love it. She decided our first stop today would be the library - which was completely packed. And who lets their kids run around in circles and yell there? Hmmm. We used to go weekly when she was younger but during the school year her visits have been few. She got to sign up for the reading program, as well. I asked her if she knew who always won the summer library reading programs when I was a kid - yep, yours truly.


I also asked her what she thought we should have for dinner last night. 'Cauliflower Cheese Pie - from your book' was the response. My book is my new personal cookbook that I'm still in the process of putting together. I wanted something special so I went to the Russell and Hazel store and picked out a pretty binder (I have the orange one) and picked up some heavyweight plastic page protectors (thanks everyone for the suggestion!) at the office supply store. I just love seeing all my recipes in one place. I also love that my daughter wants Cauliflower Cheese pie - basically a potato crust in a pie pan filled with cooked cauliflower, cheese and topped with an egg and milk mixture. (My version of the recipe uses 1 3/4 cups cheese and fresh herbs.) It fits right into the vegetarian cooking I've been doing this week. We've also had Alice Water's Pasta and Cheese Gratin (macaroni and cheese for the rest of us) from The Art of Simple Food and black bean tacos the other night from The New Vegetarian Epicure. Both turned out quite well but my girl was not so fond of the bread crumbs on the mac and cheese. Apparently, they are just not supposed to be there. Vegetarian cooking seems like more work to me. Not that I'm opposed to working in the kitchen which I love, but I'm having a hard time coming up with quick and satisfying meals. Any ideas from the vegetarians out there?

In other news, my peonies have still not opened. Here they are pictured last May. It's been so chilly here! I'm really wondering what this is going to do to the growing situation for farmers - how are we even going to grow tomatoes if we don't have heat? It was a long winter here, and summer still hasn't begun.

It must be that time of year

This is my first experience with the 'end of the school year' and it's a doozy. I can hardly keep track of everyplace we need to be let alone gather my thoughts and write an intelligent review of anything. I've watched my girl in 5 'performances' since last Thursday, not including t-ball or swimming, or the kindergarten art show or girl scouts...whew. So, since I haven't shown any book stacks in some time, I thought I'd share some recent acquisitions.

Lots of these books came from bookcloseouts. I was thrilled to find Dark Hearts of Chicago there - I'd read some great reviews of this a year or so ago and wouldn't you know it hasn't been published in the US. Similar story applies to A Hidden Life. The Louise Erdrich book was bought used since I enjoyed The Master Butcher's Singing Club so much.



The four books on the bottom of this stack were purchased at a book sale. I went to the same sale last year and had better luck. There were a lot of 'dealers' there - they had scanners and would scan the codes on the books to see if they matched what they were looking for. I found them irritating since they would block whole sections of shelves and the space was quite cramped. I was happy to snatch The Blood Doctor right out from under someones nose before he could scan it. Ha! This pile is heavy on suspense, including another mooched Barbara Vine and the Sophie Hannah book, an author I became aware of through other book bloggers and who is not published here as far as I can tell. Can you see that Agatha Christie? It's And Then There Were None - I've yet to read her but read a great review of this recently.


This third stack is quite a mishmash. Book Crush is Nancy Pearl's version of Book Lust for children and teens. I've found loads of great suggestions for my daughter and for friend's children as well. My daughter tends to go straight for the 'character' books (barbie, princesses, etc.) and I'm trying to steer her gently away. Karen wrote about Can Any Mother Help Me? some time ago and I've been waiting for the paperback to come out (bookdepository). The subject is fascinating - a group of women in England in the 1930's form a secret magazine which they write and pass around - and leave each other comments on! It sounds like blogging but without computers. Let's see, more nonfiction, A Fatal Waltz compliments of Harper Collins and finally a book I was excited to pick up this past weekend, The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. It's filled with stories of restaurants, farms, and recipes using local ingredients. So far, I'm the only owner of it on LibraryThing! I just realized I forgot to photograph another book which seems timely - The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly - which is set in Burma. I read about it on a blog, I think, but cannot remember where.


As I look over these books, I am again astounded by how many have been purchased as a direct result of book bloggers. I never would have known about many of these or thought I would have been interested them. I thank you, as always, for letting me be a part of this amazing community.

Hopefully, regular programming to return soon.

New Stacks

Welcome to my first post of 2008! I realized I haven't done a post on new book acquisitions in a while and I have a few things to share.

Here are the books I received as gifts:



Thunderstruck and The Art of Simple Food were from my husband and I think he made terrific choices. Thunderstruck is by Erik Larson, author of Devil in the White City - which I loved (and my husband devoured last week). The Art of Simple Food is going to be a great read and a great resource. It is written by Alice Waters founder of Chez Panisse and seems to be more of her own work than her other books (which have generally been co written according to what I've read). The third book, The Florist's Daughter is a memoir by a local woman and was given to me by my in-laws. I am really looking forward to it. Not pictured is a giftcard to Borders (yeah!) which I've already begun using by ordering Michael Pollan's new book.

Half Price Books had a big sale and here's what I picked up - I shopped two different locations:



From left to right:

Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood - I love her writing and thought I should try her short stories.

My Place by Sally Morgan - An autobiography of an Australian Aborigine - I've been interested in this topic since I read Bryson's book on Australia.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - There are so many great blog reviews of this.

Falling Blossom by Peter Pagnamenta and Momoko Williams - Published in the US as Sword and Blossom, this is a love story between a British officer and a Japanese woman.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - A book I always think I ought to read.

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine - Well, I love Barbara Vine!

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood - A purchase directly related to great blog reviews.

Daughter of Earth by Agnes Smedley - A Virago Modern Classic and my bargain purchase at only 80 cents.

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher - An old love of mine, this has the same floral cover my copy had and doesn't look as though it's been read. I had wanted to replace this book, but was not crazy about the new cover.

Whew! What a way to start the year.

I have also been spending time lately watching a few films. I have been enjoying the Up Series, starting with Seven Up. This series began following British children in 1964 and checks in with them every 7 years. It's just a fascinating social document and I look forward to watching the rest of the series ( the most recent is 49 Up, released in 2005).

I have also had the great pleasure of watching Cranford. How you might ask? Ah, the power of Y** T*b*. My girlfriend from work and I have been delighting over the series and we agree that it is one of our favorite 'period' productions and would love to own it and watch it over and over.

A Visit to a Bookshop

This past Sunday I had the good fortune to visit a wonderful book shop, Common Good Books, owned by Garrison Keillor. I wish I could tell you why I hadn't been there before, but I cannot. In any case, I walked down to this basement shop and feasted my eyes on the books, ignoring the freshly baked bread sitting on a table outside the shop. "Would you like to try our bread?" a voice said. "Yes, please." I replied and turned around. I suddenly realized that I recognized this man, Jeff Hertzberg. I read an article about him and him co-author Zoe Francois who have just published a book entitled Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. "I'm on the list at the library for your book" I told him and he laughed. Naturally, I had to buy a copy and have it signed 'To Tara'. What fun. I happened to look on Amazon last night to read the reviews of the book and not only are they wonderful, but this book has sold out and Amazon won't be shipping until it's been reprinted. Obviously, a wonderful success for these nice people.

The book looks wonderful and if you're interested in their method do go to their website. Jeff told me there are reviews posted there that include recipes.




My husband who suggested I go to this bookshop soon arrived - we were meant to go for dinner - naturally I told him 'I hope you don't think I'm leaving now, that I've arrived at this wonderful shop.' It's really a lovely place, full of familiar titles, but also unfamiliar ones, to me the primary reason for shopping at independent stores. I also purchased The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson which is about the 1854 London cholera epidemic. Another book the caught my eye was Golden Legacy, about the history of Golden Books and is full of wonderful illustrations.

As I was checking out, I noticed a card entitled 'Ode: On the First Anniversary' by G.K.

I leave you with a bit of it:

A bookstore is for people who love books and need to touch them, open them, browse for awhile,

And find some common good --- that's why we read.

A Post in Two Parts

Part 1 - The Trouble With Christmas Shopping

I'm not a big shopper, that is, I don't do much browsing. Well, I do in bookstores, but you already knew that. I'm just saying that I go shopping when I need to buy something, I walk in, pick it up and pay for it and that's the end of it. When a new season arrives, I go to a bunch of stores/websites, buy my child's clothing for the next 6 months and I'm done. Thus, the necessity of shopping, of browsing, for gifts for people for whom I'm not sure what to get, well it gets tricky for me. Mostly because I'm really good at finding things I'd like for myself.

Take, for example, the cool local craft show I attended recently. Every few years I'll make handmade gifts (hand-stamped stationary, jewelery, chocolate truffles, embroidered items) but it's a little late for that now. I figured the next best thing was supporting local crafters. See that cool bag with the gray and blue and red ribbon around it? Yep, that's mine now. I can't wait to use it this Spring. These folks make some terrific smelling soaps and bath salts - I threw a bar in for me. Here are some cute gifts for babies - fortunately I didn't need one myself. Look at these crazy cute animals - my little one is getting a gingerbread girl tree ornament - they look to be all gone. Then there is my new pin bought alongside my daughters new hair clip, my new chocolate lip balm...you get the picture.

I went to my favorite local gift shop, full of things you never knew you needed, and found these fantastic mugs. There is a cute red bird on the other side. I thought these would be great for my sisters....but wouldn't it be fun if we each had the same one? Of course it would. And it sort of matches my new bag, no? The thing is, I always tell people 'don't get me anything!'. What they don't realize is, I've already done it for them.

Part 2 - Why I Love Nigel Slater (again)


The 30-Minute Cook by Nigel Slater arrived the other day. I bought it from Abebooks for about 5 dollars. I just cannot get enough of this man's writing. I have three of his books on my nightstand right now. Really. I wish I could have all of his food knowledge and ideas inside my head or at the very least eat at his table for the next month. Here are my favorite 'Nigelisms' from this book:

"Chinese cooking is a doddle. Unless, of course, you take it very seriously."

"Hooray for the salsa."

"..avoid any chilli sauce made in Vietnam. If you value your tastebuds and sinuses, that is."

On coconut milk:
"You can use fresh coconut. If you have all day. You can use desiccated coconut. If you're desperate."

On coriander (cilantro for those of us in the US):
"After initially thinking it tasted of washing-up liquid I became addicted to the stuff."

"I had become a bit bored with broccoli."

I love this man. I'd love to watch him cook but don't think he's ever been on US television.

*****
Sorry for such a disjointed post, I've been reading but haven't finished anything. I spent most of yesterday sitting in a house with a broken furnace waiting for repair. It was 52 degrees in the house and about 8 degrees outside. The only good news is, it wasn't the house I live in. There will be lots of crafting here this weekend, tonight there is an event at my daughter's school and tomorrow we'll be building a gingerbread house at her old preschool. Have a great weekend!

Oops I Did It Again...

I ordered more books from Bookcloseouts. Here they are:


Reading Groups by Jenny Hartley was recommend by Simon a few months back. There are some nice reading lists in the back.

The Widow's War by Sally Gunning was recommend by Gentle Reader.

The Viceroy's Daughters by Anne de Courcy and Ladies and Not-So-Gentle Women by Alfred Allan Lewis are nice big biographies of women - I love these sorts of books.

Title Deeds by Liza Campbell - I read about this book last fall in Vogue - and again this fall by its US title.

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes is a novel about Australian women traveling to the UK to reunite with the UK born husbands.

Here are my latest mooches and used book purchases:


The Brimstone Wedding and The House of Stairs are my 2 latest Barbara Vine acquisitions.

Celia by E.H. Young is the book on these piles I'm most excited about. It's been eluding me until now.

The Optomist's Daughter by Eudora Welty - another Virago

Masie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear - There was a meme a while back and one of the questions was 'What character in fiction would you want to be?' So many people answered Maisie Dobbs and I just knew I needed to find out what all the fuss was about.

The Matriarchs edited by Susan Mitchell is a compilation of twelve Australian women's thoughts on their lives. I think I'm the only person on Librarything with this one!

City of Dreadful Delight by Judith R. Walkowitz - The subtitle is Narratives of Sexual Danger in Late-Victorian London. It looks very scholarly.

************
A Meal to Please the Masses

It's rare to prepare a meal that everyone is equally excited about. Last night I prepared Broccoli with Wonderful Peanut Sauce from Mollie Katzen's new cookbook The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without. I figured that if you were dipping broccoli into peanut sauce, you might as well dip the rest of your dinner, too, so I prepared broiled chicken marinated in lime juice, olive oil, and cumin, and quinoa mixed with lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, and soy sauce.

(Changes I made to the peanut sauce recipe include: using a bit less water, 2 whole cloves of garlic, and more soy sauce than called for.)

*************

I've been feeling quite smug for the past week that I hadn't picked up the cold my family has been sporting but my luck has ran out. I'm still in the beginning stages with my headache and swollen throat, soon to be followed by the stuffy nose and cough. And there's so much to do. Anyhow, I'm skipping the gym today and throwing myself at the couch to watch Perfume, a movie based on a very strange and creepy book. I read the book a few years ago and Danielle has reminded me that I must watch the film.

Enjoy the weekend!

Friday Fumblings

Whew. If there was an award for Mom of the day, I'd be in the running today. I have baked a butterfly cake (from scratch) complete with three colors of frosting, tied many tiny butterflies to lengths of curling ribbon and attached them to my chandelier, soon I'll go sell books at the aforementioned book sale, followed by dinner and more preparations for tomorrow's party.

*****

Bookclub was held at my house last night when we discussed Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I was somewhat surprised by the reaction: 3 people liked it, 2 "did not like it and would not recommend it", and 1 thought it was 'okay'. Hmmm. We had a good discussion nonetheless and voted on what we'll read in 2008. I'm fairly pleased with the list. I didn't feel the suggestions this year were the greatest...and other people must have felt the same because we added three titles spontaneously that no one had suggested. One was my husband's idea. Here is the list - the titles I've already read are bolded.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
There are No Children Here by Alex Kottowitz
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I was a little disappointed but not surprised that no one voted for Half of a Yellow Sun.

*****

I was very envious recently when so many UK blog writers wrote their thoughts on the new version of Room With a View shown on television. My clever friend from work who is also a fan of all things 'period' found it online, I won't spell it out for fear of it being removed but the initials of the place are Y** T***. You can watch it in 10 segments. I liked it.....but I have loved the original 1985 film for years and have watched it many times - though not recently. The new film didn't live up to the old version for me, so I'm going to re watch it- the old version - and see if it lives up to its place in my memory.



*****

Nutmeg asked me in a comment to list Nigella's books from favorite to least favorite. Here goes:

1. How to Eat - for reading pleasure and recipes
2. How to Be a Domestic Goddess - about baking - same thoughts as number one
3. Nigella Bites - I love the TV show this book was based on and have some favorite recipes from it- chocolate cake anyone?
4. Feast - I haven't cooked much from this but it's a terrific read.
5. Forever Summer - Similar in style to Nigella Bites (that is to say, less wordy - which is my favorite thing about Nigella - her writing). There are a couple recipes I make regularly.
6. Nigella Express - I don't see myself using this much. This is also less wordy that her previous books.

I would suggest How to Eat or HTBADG to start with. I think those really represent how Nigella cooks and much of the rest is a bit diluted - in my opinion.

Have a lovely weekend - after the party I'll be making my shopping list for Thanksgiving.

Gingerbread....and other stuff

Well, it looks like I really struck gold by mentioning 84, Charing Cross Road! Thanks so much to everyone for mentioning how much they enjoyed it and for suggesting additional reading and watching. I picked up Hanff's sequel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street from the library today and will hopefully report back on it soon.
*****
I helped set up the Scholastic Book Fair yesterday at my daughter's elementary school - I was surprised by how much fun it was! I got to live out my fantasy of working in a bookstore for a little while - unpacking boxes, setting up displays, figuring out where books should go - what fun!

*****
I've been tagged for a fun meme by Lisamm at Books on the Brain. Here are the directions:

Open up the book you’re currently reading to page 161 and read the sixth sentence on the page, then think of 5 bloggers to tag.

I currently doing some light reading (The Island by Victoria Hislop), and the sixth sentence on page 161 is:

Levels of starvation in Crete were, by now, reaching such high levels that it was not unheard of for local people to accept what was know as the 'Deutsche drachma' for a tip-off about the whereabouts of resistance fighters.

Well. That doesn't sound very light, does it? If you would like to do this please do, and let me know. I love knowing what people are reading.

*****
Today I baked Nigella's Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing from How to be a Domestic Goddess.



I have made this recipe several times and it's always been successful and received rave reviews. The only change I've made is in the icing.....when I've mixed it as directed it's been more of a glaze and there has not been enough. I generally sift a pile of confectioner's sugar (1 1/2 to 2 cups) then add most of the juice of a lemon - stir in warm water until you have a thick, white spreadable paste (it resembles glue).

I love making gingerbread in the fall but it makes so much that I like to make it for a crowd - that's where tonight's bookclub meeting comes in handy. Are there any recipes you look forward to making each fall (or any other season for that matter)? I'm thinking of recipes that are not generally repeated often, just made year after year.

The Almost Moon

As I said in my last post I enjoyed Alice Sebold's first novel, The Lovely Bones (except for that strange part at the end and I see I'm not alone there). Despite the odd ending, I considered it a book I might re-read at some point.

I don't like to give away plot points, but I think by telling you The Almost Moon is about a woman who kills her mother I've given nothing away. This fact is made clear in the first line and the rest of the book details this daughter's actions and thoughts over the next 24 hours, as well as a look back at her dysfunctional family and childhood.

I like Sebold's writing, I think she tells a good tale. But the tale itself? Mmmmmmm, well, I was not a fan. I like sad books, depressing books, books that show the negative side of human nature. But this was somehow different. Perhaps because all our families are a little bit dysfunctional or odd behind closed doors, perhaps because at some point most of us will deal with an aged, or ill parent, perhaps it hits too close to home but it all serves to make this an uncomfortable read. The first few chapters are so intense I wouldn't be surprised if casual readers don't make it past them. I do like the cover of this book - an almost blinding red - it is intense and harsh, just like the words it holds within. The characters in this book are highly unlikable - I found I couldn't identify with them or their choices, particularly the main character, Helen.

I am sure The Almost Moon will be purchased and read by the thousands, thus my opinion won't hurt it's success at all. I'll certainly be interested to see what others think of this book. To tell you the truth, I don't think I can say 'I'm glad I read it' but I don't think I could have helped myself.



On a brighter note, I posted a while back about some cookbook releases I was looking forward to. I've been fortunate enough to borrow some of these from the library and thought I'd share one I've particularly enjoyed browsing, The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without by Mollie Katzen. This is a slim book, only around 160 pages containing just under 100 recipes. The book is beautifully produced with a colorful cover and the hand written text and drawings within are done by Katzen. I have tagged so many recipes in it, I think this may have to go on my Christmas list. The recipes are interesting and unique without being fussy or calling for too many ingredients. Here are some of the wonderful sounding recipes:

Artichoke heart and spinach gratin
Tarragon pecan asparagus
Braised Brussels sprouts in maple mustard sauce
Southwest summer corn hash
Mushroom stuffed mushrooms with wild rice and goat cheese

And many more! I think this would be a great book for a vegetarian or really anyone looking for interesting vegetable recipes as a side dish.


Incidentally, my Bookclub met on Thursday evening to discuss Water for Elephants and it was universally loved by all. We found ourselves discussing our own lives a bit more than the book, but it was a good meeting and a rarity since we hardly ever all agree on books.

Chicken Soup.....and the stack on my nightstand

Chicken soup simply had to be made this week - not only did I have a chicken carcass, but I also have a cold. I do not have a picture to share - for several reasons, but the main one being that the soup was not that pretty, quite dark actually. I used Nigel Slater's Roast chicken broth recipe from Real Cooking as a template.

I sauteed onion, carrots, and leeks in olive oil, then added the chicken carcass and browned it. Brandy and red wine are added at this point and allowed to cook until almost evaporated - this made the soup dark brown. I then threw in 4 cups of water, bay leaves, peppercorns, and some fresh thyme and cooked gently for an hour. The house smelled fantastic - as though I were cooking Thanksgiving dinner. After I strained it, I brought it to the boil and added a bit of sherry (Nigel's suggestion - this is a very boozy chicken soup), leftover chicken, some orzo and peas for color. It was delicious. Nigel suggests using ginger and mushrooms during the initial vegetable saute, which sounded wonderful, but I didn't have either.

I haven't finished any books because I keep starting new ones. Here is what I've got going right now:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell- It's been a few weeks since I picked this up, but I definitely plan on going back to it.

This Time of Dying by Reina James- I noticed this in the Portobello Books catalog and found a copy at the library. I am enjoying it so far.

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold- I was a fan of The Lovely Bones (despite that strange out-of-body-experience portion towards the end) and hoped that despite the negative press I've heard about this one, it might be a winner. I'm about 80 pages into it since I picked it up at the library yesterday and I can say it's dark. It's very dark.

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett- This is the first book I've won from the Library Thing early reviewers program - I am thrilled! I only put my name in for a couple of books that I was really interested in and knew I would want to read right away. It feels very official! It came with a letter from the publisher addressed to me, not just 'Dear reader'.

I have my bookclub meeting tonight when we will discuss Water for Elephants. I cannot wait to see what everyone thought of it. I think we will also start emailing lists of each member's suggestions for next year, which I always look forward to.

A few things

I have not finished any books lately - though I am almost done with Sister Carrie and am looking forward to selecting my next read. I think I enjoy the selection process as much as I enjoy the actual reading (as much as I enjoy looking at books, and reading about them!). So today, a few things that have been on my mind.

First I would like to thank Nan for giving me the Nice Matters Award. She gave this award to me in August and I have been delinquent in properly thanking her for it. She is undeniably one of the nicest people I've met through blogging. Thank you Nan! (I've tried to figure out how to add the lovely picture that came with the award but it's not working and I'm too computer and time challenged to figure it out.)

Second, I would like to show you my new Moo cards.


Aren't they fun? I saw these on someones blog and had to have my own. They have my name and information on the back and will come in handy when I am exchanging numbers with the other parents at school.


I decided to watch Northanger Abbey this past week - a friend sent it to me to watch online. NA is the Jane Austen novel that I know the least. I've only read it once in early 2001 while traveling to England with plans to visit Bath. I didn't remember much of the story so was not able to compare this film to the novel. The movie was fine, I did like the second half better and enjoyed the ending more than that of Persuasion (all that running around was really silly). There were quite a few heaving bosom sort of scenes related to the heroine, Catherine, reading The Mysteries of Udolfo. I didn't really care for these parts, nor did I care for the elder Mr. Tilney who was rather creepy. I was happy to see these films early, though, and look forward to the rest this Spring on Masterpiece Theater.

Finally, there are lots of cookbooks being released this Fall, and as I am a collector of them as much as I am a collector of (all) other sorts of books I have a few on my wishlist.



I've seen Apples for Jam all over the place on the blogs and have been waiting to salivate over it myself. I've often seen it described at the "most beautiful cookbook I've even seen." This is actually not on my wishlist anymore, but is instead on its way to me from overstock.com thanks to a gift certificate.


I am also waiting for Diane Rossen Worthington's Seriously Simple Holidays -I just loved her book Seriously Simple and have made loads of things from it and hope I am just as lucky with this one. Nigella Express is on my must have list. I also am looking out for Jamie Oliver's new US release ( somehow we are a year behind over here) - I doubt I'll need to own this one but I do enjoy looking through his books. Mark Bittman has a new vegetarian book coming out- it looks to be the size of his book How to Cook Everything - that is to say, enormous. I am not vegetarian, but would love some more meal ideas that my family will eat. Last but not least, and not an actual cookbook I believe but more a book of essays, is Nigel Slater's newest release about British Cookery. I doubt this one will have a US release so this will be a Book Depository purchase.