(by Kate Morton, on my Kindle); several generations of women pepper this book with the story of their lives. It all revolves around a young girl who arrives on a pier in Australia in 1912 with no papers, no family. Nothing except a small white suitcase with little concrete information about her past. She’s four years old and keeps silent about what little she knows. Her story starts there, but then it jumps forward to 2005 when her granddaughter inherits a house in Cornwall (England), purchased by the grandmother and kept secret until after her death. There’s some secrecy going on with all the women. Then the story jumps back to 1975 when the grandmother is a middle-aged woman and you hear part of her story. Much of the book revolves around a walled garden at this house in Cornwall, and how it relates to the “big house” where the grandmother lived some of her early years. It’s quite a complex web of a family saga. I liked it, although each new chapter jumped to a different time, and it’s not until the last 10 pages or so that everything resolves. Good read.
(by Karen Harper, on my Kindle); this one is about a young girl from an impoverished family who is taken to Court and eventually becomes a playmate/governess to Elizabeth I (the story is based on fact, but is a novel). The two girls grow up together. It tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth I’s mother) and others of the court at that time, the intrigues, the murders, the beheadings, and the perseverance of all of the potential kings and queens. Fascinating story, particularly since we visited Castle Howard where where a small part of Henry VIII’s story transpires.
(by Julie Orringer, on my Kindle) too; a riveting story about a young Hungarian Jew who goes to Paris to study architecture, just before the start of WW II. He manages to scrape together enough money to eat, but barely, falls in love with an older woman, yet his work comes to the attention of some of the school’s teachers. He’s one of only a handful of Jews at the school. Then the Nazis begin invading. And the story goes into plenty of detail about the hardships, the imprisonments and eventual deaths of many of his friends and family. I could hardly put it down, though. Heart-wrenching, however.
– by Alison Weir (paperback from Costco). I was expecting this book to be along the same genre as Philippa Gregory’s novels – honing in on a particular English royal woman – telling her story in novel form. This is not one of those types. It’s non-fiction, and tells the factual story of Katherine Swynford, who eventually became the Duchess of Lancaster. But her journey from young bride to Hugh Swynford (this takes place in the 1300′s) to the Duchess is bursting with intrigue as she was John of Gaunt’s mistress for some time (eventually he married her when she was 46 (certainly an advanced age for that century), which caused all kinds of royal scandal). In that period of history no one related to royalty married for love. It was all about family, bearing many children to inherit land and wealth, to fight for the king, to maintain title and fortune. The Duchess’ children eventually became the House of Tudor (King Henry VII). Katherine Swynford was both reviled (because of her immoral behavior) and loved (by nearly everyone who knew her). Alison Weir is obviously a stickler for research – the footnotes comprise over 40 pages of fine print. She paints a different picture of this woman than was done by Anya Seton in her world-famous novel 
, first published in 1954. I was infatuated with that novel – it was one of my all-time favorites. But it’s a romance, and apparently many of the supposed facts – well, aren’t. Life in those times were not romantic. This Alison Weir book is not exactly easy reading; it’s almost like reading a textbook. But it’s fascinating and I’m enjoying it very much.
– by Jack Finney (paperback); read for one of my book clubs. Written in the 1940′s it was a runaway hit back then. An early look at time travel. It’s about a U.S. government experiment in the 1960′s (this is fiction, remember), sending a selected few men back to the 1880′s in New York City. They were told to observe. Not to change anything. To be unnoticeable. Yet one of the young men, just couldn’t quite do that (of course, otherwise there wouldn’t be a story!). It’s his adventure you read. The writer is a master at description. The reader feels transported to that time. Our book club really enjoyed it. Generally I’m not into that kind of book at all, but I found the book fascinating. There is a sequel as well, called From Time to Time.
— autobiography by Laura Bush (hardback from Costco). What a delightful read. It’s not about politics. It’s about Laura’s journey from her young years growing up in Midland, Texas to loving parents, to college grad to school teacher, librarian, to meeting George, whom she barely knew even though they grew up in the same small town, then marrying him. She didn’t come naturally to being a public speaker, but did it, to help her husband. I enjoyed reading about her early years more than the years at the White House. Much of that part was about all the social events required of the President and First Lady. Still interesting, though. I enjoyed the book very much.
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I think it was about 1973. At the time I was living in Oklahoma City with my then husband, and our daughter, Dana, who was about 5 years old. A neighbor invited my daughter and me for dinner. She said “oh, it’s just chili spaghetti, the kids will love it.” Now I must tell you, this IS a casserole (uh oh, is that an ugly word in blogdom?). But, when you consider the ingredients – chili with beans – buttered spaghetti – and a very unhealthy mound of shredded jack and cheddar cheese – it becomes comfort food to the sublime. How can this stuff be so darned good, I ask you? It was only years later – years and years and years – that I found a mention of Cincinnati Chili and reckoned this was a similar piece of work. The Cincinnati version is not baked, but it’s a do-it-yourself plate with many similar ingredients (and a couple of toppings like crumbled crackers and green onions).
Chili Spaghetti is simple. It’s tasty. It can be frozen. It’s kid friendly. It reheats well in the microwave. It can be made in lickety-split time if you need to, as long as you’ve got all the ingredients at the ready.
I made this recently and wondered why I hadn’t prepared it in so long. It’s not gourmet in the least. But it sure tastes good on a cold winter’s night. Below is the original recipe. You could substitute ground turkey with very little taste alteration, and you can definitely reduce the amount of cheese. I’ve even made it with less pasta, to try to bring down the carb count. Serve with a green salad, using a simple oil and vinegar dressing. You can serve garlic bread with it, but you hardly need it.
Chili Spaghetti (Cincinnati Chili)
Servings: 10
Preparation Time :1:30
Chili:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole yellow onion — chopped
2 cloves garlic — peeled, minced (2 to 3)
1 whole shallot — peeled, minced (optional)
16 ounces chopped tomatoes — with juice
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Casserole:
16 ounces black beans — with juice
8 ounces tomato sauce — preferably low sodium
water – as needed
1 pound linguine — cooked al dente
2 tablespoons butter — optional
6 ounces Monterey jack cheese — shredded
6 ounces cheddar cheese — shredded
1. Heat a large skillet with olive oil, then crumble in the ground beef. While it is cooking, mince up the onion, shallot and garlic separately. Once the beef has lost all its pink color, add the onion and shallot, stir in and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until the onions are limp. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 minute or so. Add the chili powder and cumin, the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir gently with a spoon, then bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. If the chili is too thick, add water to make it a soupy consistency (the pasta absorbs much of the liquid when it’s baked).
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add about a teaspoon of salt, then boil the pasta of your choice (I just happen to like the thin linguine, but any pasta will do) until it’s just undercooked, al dente. Drain (but do not rinse). Return pasta to the pot and add the butter (if you want to add it), stir until melted. Have the piles of cheese nearby. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. To the pan add half of the buttered pasta first, then scoop half the hot chili over it, spread to cover the pasta more evenly, then sprinkle liberally with the cheeses, then more pasta, more chili, and top with the remainder of the cheese. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling hot.
Printer friendly recipe.
Freya and Paul
said on April 27th, 2007:
I really enjoy bloggers making simple practical food and writing about it. This is the kind of thing we all like to eat while pretending we’re above it. I know I’m excited to try it. There’s nothing at all wrong with the humble casserole, especially when you put some zing in it.
Keep up the good work!
Dana
said on May 8th, 2007:
I remember eating this as a child and loving it. I told my daughter, my toughest critic, I was making a cassarole for dinner and she panicked, “What kind of cassarole?” she asked. I told her it was one of grandma’s recipies. Her response was “Oh good! I love grandma’s recipies!” My daughter is a pasta freak and my son loves chili. So I thought it might work out. We had it for dinner last night and my daughter loved it. She even took some to school for lunch today. Unfortunately my son was not home for dinner last night. My husband loved it to. It was just as good as I remembered it. Thanks mom!!