Rattled

After many failed attempts to get together, we finally had another Book Club! This go-round we read the book Rattled, by...um...well...I don't think it really matters who the author was. I think this was probably a record for length of time we talked about a book (I think we all got in a sentence or two). If we don't watch ourselves, this is going to turn into a real "moms club", and all the mocking we receive from our husbands about Book Club just being an excuse to get together and drink wine...might actually come true. Just kidding, we would never let it get that far. The book was really too light of a read to garner much discussion. We all enjoyed Carly's idea of a Dirty Santa book swap and with the exception of Guylene (sorry), we all got a new book to read, and made promises to continue swapping the books so everyone could read them all. We also had the pleasure of welcoming a new member, Kerry. Luckily for Kerry, she is also a mother (her daughter is Emma's age), so she felt right at home with our conversations that heavily favor motherhood. Speaking of kids, we were all excited to see the wonderfully adorable and smiley Christopher, who made an appearance at the end.

We look forward to Courtney hosting the next time. I think we're shooting for the end of January, maybe the weekend after MLK Day? It was nice to see everyone. Merry Christmas!

The Double Bind

Thanks to Libby for hosting another great Book Club. The Double Bind was an intriguing book that was at times hard to read but mostly enjoyed by everyone. We were also graced by the sweet presence of adorable baby Christopher.

Looking forward to the next one!

The Double Bind

The Double Bind won. I am waiting for the books to be ready at the library, which will be sometime next week. I'll be in touch w/ everyone once I have them. Anyone reading anything fun between our book club books? I picked out a couple of books at the library to take to the beach that I hope I'll be able to read. We're off to the coast! Talk to you next week.

Hi Ladies! Here are the book choices for August. . .

Brighten The Corner Where You Are (Fred Chappell)

Double Bind (Chris Bohjalian)

Church Folk (Michele Andrea Bowen)

I'm waiting on a couple more votes. So far, the votes are very widespread. It shall be interesting!! I hope everyone is staying cool!

Breath, Eyes, Memory

Tonight's Book Club was special for many reasons. One, we got to meet Baby Connor (who is beautiful and is such a good baby)! Two, we all enjoyed the book. Three, this is the last book club that will meet at my current house. Hooray!

We enjoyed zucchini muffins, pesto pizza, spinach and artichoke dip, quesadillas, and a wonderful chicken pie that Fernanda's husband made. Dessert was fruit parfait.

I was too busy to print questions and our discussion ended up pretty loose, but good. I love reading and do it on my own (well, I did before I became a mother!), but I especially love book club for the opportunity it gives me to hear different perspectives and interpretations.


Edwidge Danticat


I just had to set off her name...anyway, I would be interested to hear if anyone reads her other book. Let us know how it is. We missed you Carly and Guylene, and we hope to see you next time.

Looking forward to the next choices, Libby!

I enjoyed our last meeting! The food and company was great. Thanks to Robyn for hosting and Jennifer for posting all of those wonderful pictures:)

Run by Ann Patchett

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Thanks to Robyn for hosting us this go-round. We all enjoyed this book and had a great discussion. We were happy to welcome Fernanda to our group!

We also got to enjoy the company of Courtney and Carly for the last time before they become sleep-deprived zombies (I mean, new mommies).

Congratulations to Carly, who gave birth to Christopher Grant earlier today. We can't wait to see pictures of the new baby and happy parents!!

Here are the pictures, I couldn't resist posting all of them!






Here is the recipe for my dish: Zucchini Corn Pancakes. I follow the recipe pretty closely except this last time I added some spinach because I didn't have quite enough corn. Also, my jalapeno was smashed when I got home from the store so I had to leave that out of the salsa. I generally add a few splashes of olive oil and red wine vinegar to the salsa, to give it a little more "juice".

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/7458

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I can't believe that this is the first book I didn't read (and the first dish I didn't cook).

I enjoyed the first hour hanging out with everyone and sorry I missed the discussion (and the dessert!) And sorry about the book floating above Courtney's head. We were just so unbalanced and I couldn't bare to leave that much white space in the picture. It looks goofy now, but at least I feel the picture is more balanced! ;)

Look forward to seeing you soon!

Thanks to Guylene for hosting the last book club! It was fun as always to get together and see everyone.

March book club options

I really had a great time last Sunday, thanks Courtney for hosting book club (and for the sinful cupcakes!).
Here is my selection for next month, I thought I would try to pick something a bit different.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer (Author), Annie Barrows (Author)
- Guernsey Island is just a couple of miles off the coast where I grew up, the book got great reviews

Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America
by Jay Parini (Author)
- Yes, I dared put a non-fiction as one of our options ;)

The Book Thief (Paperback)
by Markus Zusak (Author)
- This one seems like a safe choice in case we don't feel too adventurous...

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

This month's read was by Lorna Landvik.

You can hardly even see those cute baby bumps!

An enjoyable book for all of us, which led to a really good discussion. The book followed 5 women who met as young wives/mothers and started a book club in the 60s. It followed them through the 90s. It touched on personal growth as well as societal issues such as womens' rights, civil rights, AIDS, Vietnam, etc. Although it was set in such times of societal upheaval and could be serious at times, it was overall a light and enjoyable read.

Thanks to Courtney for hosting! We all fell in love with Connor Wesley's adorable nursery! Courtney and Carly were caught off guard by a surprize baby shower. And what better gift from fellow book club members to the baby boys but books!

The food was yummy as always. We had cowboy caviar, banana flax muffins, crepe cake, ham pesto biscuits, tomato and mozzarella pizza, topped off by some delicious Maxie B's, I mean, homemade cupcakes.

For some reason I didn't remember to take pictures of the cupcakes or the present opening, but I hope you enjoy these.

Starr, we missed you! Hope you're feeling better and we'll see you soon.

Guylene is hosting next time...

Better Late Than Never??

So I have to admit that I have been slack on checking the Banana Garden Seven Blog... BUT i finally checked in this morning and although the season has passed, here is the Gingerbread recipe, maybe you can use it next year. I had a great time last night as always. Hope you ladies all have a great week. AND Thanks again for the surprise shower, what a cute idea to get books from the book club. I'm sure we will use them often. :)

Gingerbread Cake
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: 12 servings
Softened unsalted butter, as needed
1 cup vegetable oil, like soy, peanut, or corn
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 to 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup water
1 tablespoon baking soda
Serving suggestions: Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Lightly butter a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, molasses, and crystallized ginger. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.
In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Whisk the molasses mixture into the flour mixture until evenly combined.
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Whisk the hot water into the batter until just combined. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the center of the oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Marinated Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli

This is from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

Time: 15 to 20 min to prepare; at least 2 hours to marinate
Yield: 6 servings

3 medium sized sweet potatoes or yams (1 1/2 to 2 lbs.)

Marinade:
1/2 C walnut oil (if unavailable, use olive oil)
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 T lemon juice
2 T raspberry vinegar (if unavailable, use red wine vinegar)
1 to 1 1/2 t salt
1 T dry mustard
1 T honey
freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch broccoli (1 to 1 1/2 lbs.), cut into small spears

Optional Garnishes: thin slices green apple
chopped, toasted pecans

1) Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them in halves or quarters, then into thin slices. Put them up to cook, either in or over boiling water (in a steamer). Meanwhile, prepare the marinade.

2) Combine the marinade ingredients in a medium-large bowl. As soon as the sweet potato slices are tender, add them, still hot, to the marinade. Mix gently.

3) Steam the broccoli until bright green and just tender. Rinse under cold running water and drain completely. Lay the broccoli spears carefully on top of the salad. Cover tightly and marinate for several hours.

4)Within 15 minutes of serving, mix in broccoli from top. Serve garnished with thin slices of green apple and chopped, toasted pecans.