Cute Idea

One day when Carly was walking home from school, she admired this new decoration in the window of our cute, little bookstore.  The owner took notice, and when she changed it out for Christmas deco, she gifted it to Carly.

Also, Advents calendars are really big here.  Carly's busy making one for "the nice bookstore lady" by making a miniature book out of paper for each day and putting a little surprise and/or quote in that goes with each "book."  She realized that if we'd had enough match boxes, it would've worked really well to cover those in cute paper.

Just thought you might appreciate a few possible ideas for teachers' gifts, etc.

Happy reading and crafting!

Recipes for September's Book Club

LEMON CHICKEN:
http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/04/15/lemon-chicken/ -- original link

2 Tbs. Lemon Zest
1/3 C. fresh Lemon Juice
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 - 4 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (*I used boneless skinless breasts and reduced cooking time)
2-3 Tbs. melted butter

Place everything in a large ziploc bag and shake to distribute marinade. Refrigerate and let marinate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425'

Remove chicken from marinade and place in a baking dish (skin side up if using skin-on). Brush each piece with butter (or just put a sliver on top of each piece.) Reserve extra marinade.

Bake 50-55 minutes until done. Halfway through pour remaining marinade over chicken. Once finished cooking, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with leftover pan juices.

**I changed this a little bit. I extracted the pan juices from the roasting pan and put them in a saucepan and boiled them for quite awhile to reduce just a bit then I added just a bit of cream to give it a little ....mmmph.


GARLIC HERBED SPAGHETTI

Boil spaghetti as per box instructions.

Meanwhile in a skillet melt some butter....1/2 - 1 stick depending on how much pasta you have. Throw in some crushed/minced/diced garlic and let cook down in the butter. Once pasta is ready, add pasta to skillet with butter and garlic and a few drizzles of olive oil (enough to help coat the noodles) and add herbs of your choice (parsley, basil, even spinach,...), cracked fresh pepper, and some parmesan cheese. I used just a tiny bit of basil that night, but it wasn't quite enough.  Serve with the Lemon Chicken and the Lemon Chicken sauce.


SALAD WITH NECTARINES AND SPICY PECANS

SALAD:
Mixed Greens or Spinach (whatever you like)
Sliced Nectarines
Crunchy Bacon, chopped
Dressing
Pecans

DRESSING:
3 Tbs. finely chopped onion
3 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. salt (taste it)
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients. If needed, I sometimes drizzle in a little more olive oil...this is a really strong dressing so I sometimes tone it down.

PECANS:
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 c. pecan halves

Combine all of the dry ingredients (sugar thru the cayenne) in a bowl and stir til mixed well.
Rinse pecans with cold water and drain with a sieve or colander. Immediately add the pecans to the sugar mixture and toss well to coat.
Arrange pecans on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray (sometimes I line it with foil first and then spray with cooking spray.)
Bake at 350' for 10 minutes (or until starting to get golden and smell cooked)stirring occasionally.
Let cool. Chop as coarsely as desired.
*I frequently make extra of these b/c they're so good to snack on.


LAVENDER SHORTBREAD:
http://purplefoodie.com/lavender-shortbread-and-some-changes/#.Ujen0sacdyW -- original link

1 c. flour
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 - 1 tsp. dried lavender (more is NOT better)
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325' and lightly grease a 9" springform pan.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients to combine.
Add in the vanilla and butter -- cut in to combine.
(It will look like coarse crumbs...don't worry, it will still come together.)
Place the crumbs in the springform pan and press it down with your hands.
Score with a knife (I cut around 16 wedges.)
Sprinkle liberally with sugar to cover the top (don't worry if it covers your score marks.)
Bake 25 minutes or until slightly golden.

Transfer to a rack to cool for just a few minutes.
 Remove the springform and cut on score marks. Let finish cooling.


THYME ROASTED GRAPES ON GRILLED BREAD WITH FRESH RICOTTA

Slice any good crusty/hearty bread you like and lightly brush with just a wee bit of olive oil. Grill til slightly crunchy and get some good grill marks. Set aside.

RICOTTA:
http://www.goop.com/journal/make/102/brunch-with-the-barefoot-contessa -- original link

4 c. whole milk
2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 Tbs. white wine vinegar (or apple cider or just white...)

Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.

Pour the milk and cream into a heavy bottomed pot.
Stir in the salt.
Bring to a boil over medium, stirring occasionally.
Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar.
Let rest 1 minute while it curdles.
Pour mixture into the cheesecloth lined sieve and let drain at room temperature for about 20- 25 minutes. (You may need to pour off some of the liquid every now and then if it is about to touch the bottom of your sieve.)
If you like ricotta a little more moist, don't drain as long.
If you like it more....firm/thick, drain it longer.
Transfer to a bowl discarding the liquid and the cheesecloth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Will keep for 4-5 days. (It will get firmer as it cools off in the refrigerator and seem to thicken just a bit more.)

THYME ROASTED GRAPES:
http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/09/07/lunch-roasted-grapes-with-thyme-fresh-ricotta-grilled-bread/ -- original link

Preheat oven to 450'

Spread cleaned grapes onto a baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Use your hands to toss and combine.
Add in a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Roast for 7-9 minutes or until they grapes start to pop and release some juices (kind of like roasting small tomatoes...)
Remove any stems from the thyme.

Best when served warm....WAY better when warm.

A Celebrity Among Us!

I was paging through the Feb. Ensign when I came across this beautiful picture!



Thanks for coming to see me, Brenda.  It was a good day for a visit from a friend.
Here's the.link to the article.

March Book Club at Kara's

Kara hosted book club last night. We had a fabulous time and oooohed and aaaawed over her new house and great kitchen!

From that great kitchen Kara produced this masterpiece...

(okay, so I forgot to take a picture of it right out of the oven, but this it the same goodness she made) 

Under all the brown sugar and pecans were wonderful sweet potatoes!

Now imagine this bite all warm and good with some vanilla ice cream!

It was tasty stuff!

 We also had a really splendid discussion about The Catcher in the Rye. Many of us had read it before and it was interesting to see how our perspectives have changed (or haven't) from when we were young whippersnappers.

I have to say I always appreciate the different perspectives we have on each book. It makes for such an interesting discussion and I learn a lot from these smart ladies!

Stephanie, Heidi, Kara, Mariana, Bethany, Brenda & Britney Morgan was there too but had to leave early to she escaped the photo op)

Thanks so much Kara for hosting last minute and I know there were several requests for the recipe!

See you all next month at Morgan house -- we will probably meet the 2nd Thursday in April because of Spring Break -- more info to follow.

February Book Club

We came

We ate

We voted

Stephanie, Kristie, Kara, Shannon, Heidi Bethany & Morgan

As promised here is the Coconut cake recipe:

Coconut Cake
Recipe adapted from Marian Burros recipe in Cooking for Comfort

1 3/4 cups grated coconut
1 cup scaled milk
1 cup coconut milk
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour OR 3 cups sifted all purpose flour minus 3 Tablespoons
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut two pieces of parchment (or waxed) paper to fit in the bottoms of two 9x13 round cake pans. Butter and flour the sides of the pan (I buttered the bottoms too)

2. Place the coconut in the scalded milk and let it cool while you make the rest of the cake.

3. Cream butter until light (about 3 min) Add the sugar and beat 4 min more.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla

5. Mix dry ingredients together and add alternately to the butter mixture with the cup of coconut milk.

6. Press the coconut into  strainer to remove the excess milk. (I saved some of the milk to use in making my frosting) Add the coconut to the batter.

7. Divide the batter evenly into the two pans. Bake 20-30 min until a tested comes out clean.

8. Cool the cakes for 10 min. then remove from pans to cool completely

9. Frost with your favorite frosting. I used a cream cheese frosting but a Seven minute frosting would be fantastic too!

10. Enjoy!

Sorry I've been so tardy posting!
After all the votes were counted the winners are...

April - Where'd You Go Bernadette @ Morgan's house, Heidi reviews May - The Twentieth Wife @ Shauna's house, Bethany reviews June - Beautiful Ruins @ Kristie's house, Mariana reviews August - The Shoemaker's Wife @ Brenda's, Stephanie reviews September - Edenbrooke @ Britney's, Shannon reviews October - Mary Coin @ Heidi's, Kristie reviews November - In the Woods @ Bethany's, Britney reviews December - Christmas Party @ Kara's January - At Home @ Shannon's house, reviewed by Kara

Brenda's Nominations

Here are two books Brenda wants to nominate..

In the Woods by Tana French
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Read abou this one in Real Simple magazine
In 1936, a young mother resting by the side of a road in California is spontaneously photographed by a woman documenting the migrant laborers who have taken to America’s farms in search of work—little personal information is exchanged and neither has any way of knowing that their chance encounter has produced the most iconic image of the Great Depression.Three vibrant characters anchor the narrative of Mary Coin: Mary, the migrant mother herself, who emerges as a woman with deep reserves of courage and nerve, with private passions and carefully-guarded secrets. Vera Dare, the photographer wrestling with creative ambition who makes the choice to leave her children in order to pursue her work. And Walker Dodge, a present-day professor of cultural history, who discovers a family mystery embedded in the picture. In luminous, exquisitely observed prose, Silver creates an extraordinary tale from a brief moment in history, and reminds us that though a great photograph can capture the essence of a moment, it only scratches the surface of a life.

A Couple of Suggestions

I'm not usually a nonfiction reader, but these books seem really interesting to me.


First, this author is speaking at the Orem Library:

When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams

"I am leaving you all my journals, but you must promise me you won’t look at them until after I’m gone." This is what Terry Tempest Williams’s mother, the matriarch of a large Mormon clan in northern Utah, told her a week before she died. It was a shock to Williams to discover that her mother had kept journals. But not as much of a shock as it was to discover that the three shelves of journals were all blank. In fifty-four short chapters, Williams recounts memories of her mother, ponders her own faith, and contemplates the notion of absence and presence art and in our world. When Women Were Birds is a carefully crafted kaleidoscope that keeps turning around the question: What does it mean to have a voice?



Second, I read portions of this book, and it's fascinating, but it was due back at the library. It could be good for book club because you wouldn't need to read it start to finish--skipping around to read what you want and then discussing different parts would work well:

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

With his signature wit, charm, and seemingly limitless knowledge, Bill Bryson takes us on a room-by-room tour through his own house, using each room as a jumping off point into the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture. Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and his sheer prose fluency makes At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

Here are a few more suggestions (from my friend Morgan :) . . .

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – by Susan Cain

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.

Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so.

Code Name Verity – by Elizabeth Wein (This book just won the Printz Award Honor for YA Lit)

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team

The Wednesday Wars – by Gary D. Schmidt

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. THE WEDNESDAY WARS is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

Wonder – by  R.J. Palacio

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Heidi's Nominations

My first suggestion:

Where'd You Go, Bernadette 

by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

Beautiful Ruins 

by Jess Walter

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

The Shoemaker's Wife

 by Adriana Trigiani

The fateful first meeting of Enza and Ciro takes place amid the haunting majesty of the Italian Alps at the turn of the last century. Still teenagers, they are separated when Ciro is banished from his village and sent to hide in New York's Little Italy, apprenticed to a shoemaker, leaving a bereft Enza behind. But when her own family faces disaster, she, too, is forced to emigrate to America. Though destiny will reunite the star-crossed lovers, it will, just as abruptly, separate them once again—sending Ciro off to serve in World War I, while Enza is drawn into the glamorous world of the opera . . . and into the life of the international singing sensation Enrico Caruso. Still, Enza and Ciro have been touched by fate—and, ultimately, the power of their love will change their lives forever.

A riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny, inspired by the author's own family history,The Shoemaker's Wife is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write.

January Book Club at Bethany's House

Book Club was hosted by Bethany last night.  Here are the ladies who attended...

Mariana,  Bethany,  Kara,  Shannon,  Britney,  Kristie &  Heidi

We had a really great discussion about the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbran. It was unanimously loved.

We all learned a great deal from the Louis Zampernini and his endurance and forgiveness.

We also all agree that more should be taught in school about this part of WWII.

Bethany made some wonderful soup and homemade rolls for us!

A few of us got to have Brussel sprouts for the first time and they are magically delicious!

We also realized that we were supposed to vote on books last night but we all forgot! So we picked a classic to read in February and we will vote on new books next time.

So post your nominations for books!

Here is the schedule for the next two months:



February
The Rules of CivilityBy Amor Towles
Hosted by Heidi
Reviewed by Brenda
**VOTE ON NEW BOOKS**


MarchCatcher in the RyeBy JD Salinger
Hosted by Kara
**POTLUCK**
Reviewed by Britney

Christmas Party

 Shannon hosted us for the Christmas party this year.  We were a little short on numbers but we were not short on good food and some serious laughs!!

First the goodies...

Now the white elephant exchange...

As always there were some pretty great gifts!

Kristie was super excited to get some new records! Britney was pretty excited about it too!

Shannon is ready to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with her wood ready-to-be-painted and glittered cross complete with Jesus stickers.

Brenda is reasy to celebrate the true meaning of being a good wife with this page turner!

Britney scored with hot coco, mug and marshmallows

Okay so Kara is really the one who scored! She got this great plate and a rice bag that smelled divine!

It looks like I received some moon shine but it's actually like $5.000 work of Donna Karen Cashmere Mist

I saved the best for last!

Here are the pictures from the games we played...

The object of the first game was to shoot the toilet paper with a rubber band. The first one so drop the soda can won.

Britney is not very competitive

Again. Britney... not competitive at all

Next we tied a pair of tights around our waists. In one toe of the tights was a ball. So we had to do some serious pelvic thrusts to knock over the bottles.

This was seriously hilarious! We were crying we were laughing so hard.

Okay

Now

For the moment of the night

Shannon was really going for it

She wanted that bottle down!!

Such a great night!

We missed all of you who couldn't make it!