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.

The Christmas Jars and The Christmas Box

December 14, 2008

The newest members of Book Club - they can't be permanent members because they were only interested in the food and the socializing. They didn't seem to realize that in our Book Club, we really DO talk about the books!!

YUM!

I had to post this one too! Courtney's Christmas Tree veggie pizza!

CONGRATULATIONS to Carly and Courtney! Looks like our Book Club will be "mommies only" in a few months! We look forward to your new additions in May and are glad you finally won't be bored by all of our countless mommy stories ;)

Thanks to Carly for hosting Book Club this month. The books were both very well enjoyed and everyone seemed to really like reading Christmas books for a change of pace. The food was good as always. The gingerbread was killer, so Carly, you better post your recipe!! We were also impressed that Courtney revealed her inner Martha by making a beautiful Christmas tree veggie pizza!

Personal Reflections

• I thought the Christmas Box was sort of ho-hum. It isn't going on my bookshelf or on my list of Christmas Classics (what list of Christmas Classics?). I liked the message (spend more time with your kids because childhood is fleeting and priceless) but I agreed with Libby's thoughts that the entire book was kind of a downer. I also don't like reading about children who die young, so that could have been part of it. It was a sweet story but it never grabbed me.
  
• The first book on my list of Christmas Classics will be The Christmas Jars. I loved it! It hooked me in and didn't disappoint! Looking back on it now, it seems that it could have easily been construed as cheezy because of the way it all came together in the end, but I didn't think that at all. There really was some Christmas Magic in that book! I love that it has inspired many of us to create our own Christmas Jar tradition.

Spinach Quiche

I got my recipe from All Recipes. Here is the link:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Light-and-Fluffy-Spinach-Quiche/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

The changes I made were to use plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise, and I added some sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese.



We missed you Starr, hope your eye is feeling better!

Yay!

I'm finally on and typin with one hand...sleeping boy in the other. 2 things: I promise to share the sweet potato soup recipe. It is souper easy:) And Starr, The Namesake is one of my favorite books. The movie was satisfying too, for lovers of the book especially. That is Jumpha Lahiri right? I just heard something on NPR about her writing a new book. I'll do some research and get back here.
I'm looking forward to next weekend...hand cramping, more later. Happy Holidays!