Monday, July 21, 2014
I would highly recommend...
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Maybe many of you have already read it, but if not, you should! I enjoyed reading it with Robyn and Carly, and discussing it with them.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Here is the recipe for the pasta salad from our June Book Club. Thanks Sharon!
Bowtie Pasta Salad
16 oz bow tie pasta cooked and cooled
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 large can mandarin oranges drained
2 cooked seasoned chicken breasts chopped (omit this if you want vegetarian)
1/2 cup sugared pecans
Poppy seed dressing
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 large can mandarin oranges drained
2 cooked seasoned chicken breasts chopped (omit this if you want vegetarian)
1/2 cup sugared pecans
Poppy seed dressing
Lightly mix ingredients together in salad bowl.
Poppy seed dressing
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 TB minced onion
1 TB poppy seed
Blend ingredients together in a blender or food processor for 2 minutes. Dressing will be thick.
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 TB minced onion
1 TB poppy seed
Blend ingredients together in a blender or food processor for 2 minutes. Dressing will be thick.
Sugared pecans
1 cup pecans
1 TB orange juice
3 TB sugar
1 TB orange juice
3 TB sugar
Heat the juice and 2 TB of sugar in small fry pan. Add the nuts and stir gently for 2 minutes until the juice is absorbed. Transfer to small bowl. Add the rest of the sugar. Spread nuts on foil on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Cool and store in fridge.
June Book Club
Sharon put on the spread for us at our June Book Club. She spoiled us with an amazing pasta salad, fruit, cheese and crackers, bread, and of course the pavlova. It was so good.
The pavlova was oh.so.good. I vote that we have a best of book club night so that we can repeat some of these amazing dishes. Let's be honest. I wish that all of you would be my personal chefs. Please?
Sharon put on the spread for us at our June Book Club. She spoiled us with an amazing pasta salad, fruit, cheese and crackers, bread, and of course the pavlova. It was so good.
 |
| Brenda, Sharon, & Kristie |
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| Kara, Heidi, Shannon, & Bethany |
We reviewed Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. We all really enjoyed the book.
Thanks for hosting Sharon! We had a great time!
Monday, July 7, 2014
May Book Club
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| Bethany, Heidi, Kara, Kristie, Britney, Sharon, & Brenda |
We had a great time at Brenda's. Her food was amazingly delicious (as always!) and this was all that we had left....
Yep. That good.
I was able grab a couple of pictures before we devoured it. She made a delicious shrimp sauce to go over angel hair pasta...
She served a side of french bread followed by ice cream with fresh fruit.
It was so delicious. Yum.
It was an evening filled with delicious food, laughter, and great conversation. Our discussions ranged from the to book, The Night Guest, to motherhood and all you can accomplish before 9 am. ;)
Thanks Brenda for a great evening! We missed all of you who weren't there!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
April Book Club
In April we did something that we have never done before - we went to the Bombay House for Book Club! Wow, was it delicious! I had forgotten how much I love Indian food. I have been craving the Chicken Makhani ever since. And I now know that they are not open for lunch. :(
The Bombay House was the perfect choice after reading The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, and the staff there was amazing. They went above and beyond.
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| Chicken Makhani |
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| Garlic Naan |
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| Kara's amazing Mango Cheesecake - So good! |
After dinner we enjoyed Kara's delicious Mango Cheesecake. Wow. It was that good. Now when were you going to post that recipe? :)
Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of all of us, but I know a few of you did. Please post!
See you all next month at Brenda's. And remember it is going to be the second Thursday instead of the first!
March Book Club
We had a great time at Heidi's for our March Book Club. We had a really interesting discussion about Freak the Mighty. Not only was the company great, but the food was mouth-watering! Heidi made a delicious Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, Salad, Rosemary & Olive Oil Bread (I may have to get a membership to Coscto just for this bread!), and the moistest Chocolate Bundt Cake you have ever had.
I know that you are all drooling over the pictures like I am! It was that good!
We missed all of you who weren't able to make it. We hope you can make it next time!
Friday, February 28, 2014
February Book Club
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| Shannon, Shauna, Bethany, Heidi & Stephanie |
We had a great time at Stephanie’s for Book Club to discuss
Red Sky in Morning. We enjoyed her delicious Irish lamb stew, Irish soda bread, fruit
and cheese (yes, I went and bought some the next day!), and amazing apple cake.
When it came time there might have been an incident with the camera. It just kept shooting and shooting...
We laughed, we cried…okay, we laughed so hard that we cried!
We missed all of you that weren’t there!
Monday, February 10, 2014
February Book Club Recipes
Before I forget, here are the recipes I cooked up for book club last week:
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
I thought you ladies might appreciate this story
Some of you may remember the time we read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and then I found a dead body in the park across the street from our house. Last weekend, I had another interesting book-related experience.
We have the family tradition of each opening a new book on Christmas Eve, so naturally I looked up Books Appetit for ideas, and scored with The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I'm sorry I missed out on that discussion. I'm sure it was a good one. I ended that book feeling a bit down about a few things--that my nursing sessions with Ivy wouldn't be filled with such great things to read and ponder, that I didn't have anyone to talk to about these great things, and that Leo Gursky was even lonelier than I'd thought. I just couldn't seem to shake this character from my thoughts (definitely a sign of a great book).
We'd recently had a family discussion about being counseled to be more specific in our prayers, so one morning I decided to pray to meet whatever "Leo Gurskeys" needed us most that day. We met three.
The first was a woman with white hair and a nice smile who we'd met before, but hadn't seen for awhile. The second was a woman we hadn't met before, but who knew some people we know.
The third reminded me so much of Leo Gursky himself, it was unreal. This gentleman in his late seventies wearing a suit and a black top hat sat down by us on the train. He opened and closed his right hand to try to get Ivy to smile, while holding a bag of popcorn with his left, every once in a while pausing to pop a piece in his mouth. (I've never seen anyone eating popcorn here in public except at a parade or at the movies, especially not on the train where eating is not allowed and most people obey this rule, especially the elderly. The popcorn reminded me of Leo who, as you might recall, would buy it and spill it just so people would notice him).
Myles asked him if he had any Enkelkinder. He said yes, four kids and grandchildren, and was happy to tell us all about them, so I was confused when I thought I'd heard him say that it was schlimm (bad) to have a big family (because here four is big). He did talk about how he used to work a lot, but that now he was retired. At some point, he turned around and waved for someone to come join him who never came. (Myles told me later that he thought it was a man in a brown coat with black glasses who he assumed was his friend, but didn't want to get up and move).
Since he seemed dressed for a special occasion, I wondered where he'd been or where he was going. He said he was just going to walk around downtown (even though the shops were closed) to pass the time. His eyes were so light blue that I wondered if he had cataracts or just another surreal characteristic. It wasn't until we'd said goodbye, stepped off the train, and Myles and I swapped what we'd heard that I figured out he was lonelier than I'd realized. Now that he had time for his kids who he felt like he'd worked so hard for, they didn't have any time for him.
At this point, Myles started singing "The Cats in the Cradle." Once I realized his situation, I felt bad we hadn't done more to help him out. We were on our way to eat homemade ice cream at our friends' place, and Myles said he was close to inviting him. And yet.
We have the family tradition of each opening a new book on Christmas Eve, so naturally I looked up Books Appetit for ideas, and scored with The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I'm sorry I missed out on that discussion. I'm sure it was a good one. I ended that book feeling a bit down about a few things--that my nursing sessions with Ivy wouldn't be filled with such great things to read and ponder, that I didn't have anyone to talk to about these great things, and that Leo Gursky was even lonelier than I'd thought. I just couldn't seem to shake this character from my thoughts (definitely a sign of a great book).
We'd recently had a family discussion about being counseled to be more specific in our prayers, so one morning I decided to pray to meet whatever "Leo Gurskeys" needed us most that day. We met three.
The first was a woman with white hair and a nice smile who we'd met before, but hadn't seen for awhile. The second was a woman we hadn't met before, but who knew some people we know.
The third reminded me so much of Leo Gursky himself, it was unreal. This gentleman in his late seventies wearing a suit and a black top hat sat down by us on the train. He opened and closed his right hand to try to get Ivy to smile, while holding a bag of popcorn with his left, every once in a while pausing to pop a piece in his mouth. (I've never seen anyone eating popcorn here in public except at a parade or at the movies, especially not on the train where eating is not allowed and most people obey this rule, especially the elderly. The popcorn reminded me of Leo who, as you might recall, would buy it and spill it just so people would notice him).
Myles asked him if he had any Enkelkinder. He said yes, four kids and grandchildren, and was happy to tell us all about them, so I was confused when I thought I'd heard him say that it was schlimm (bad) to have a big family (because here four is big). He did talk about how he used to work a lot, but that now he was retired. At some point, he turned around and waved for someone to come join him who never came. (Myles told me later that he thought it was a man in a brown coat with black glasses who he assumed was his friend, but didn't want to get up and move).
Since he seemed dressed for a special occasion, I wondered where he'd been or where he was going. He said he was just going to walk around downtown (even though the shops were closed) to pass the time. His eyes were so light blue that I wondered if he had cataracts or just another surreal characteristic. It wasn't until we'd said goodbye, stepped off the train, and Myles and I swapped what we'd heard that I figured out he was lonelier than I'd realized. Now that he had time for his kids who he felt like he'd worked so hard for, they didn't have any time for him.
At this point, Myles started singing "The Cats in the Cradle." Once I realized his situation, I felt bad we hadn't done more to help him out. We were on our way to eat homemade ice cream at our friends' place, and Myles said he was close to inviting him. And yet.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
hosted by Stephanie reviewed by Shauna March - Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick Hosted by Heidi reviewed by Brenda April - The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri hosted by Shannon reviewed by ? May - The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlaneHosted by? Reviewed by? June (2nd Thursday in June) - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy KalingHosted by Sharon Reviewed by Bethany July - No Book Club August - The Golem and the Jinni by Helene WeckerHosted by? Reviewed by Heidi September - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan CainHosted by Britney Reviewed by ? October - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Hosted by Bethany Reviewed by Britney November - And the Mountains Echoed by Khaied HosseiniHosted by ? Reviewed by? December - Christmas Party Hosted by BrendaBring a treat to share and white elephant gift |
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
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!
Monday, September 16, 2013
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.
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.
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