(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.
; and 
;
.
So, last week I had about a pound of leftover leg of lamb. Cooked leg of lamb. My imagination failed me – I couldn’t come up with anything very innovative, nor did I really come up with anything ELSE to do with this except Shepherd’s Pie. Now, I love the stuff, but as I sat there in my kitchen typing up this post, although the A/C was set at 75, I was sweating because I’d been working in front of the oven, and stirring over the hot stove. Not a happy camper did this make. But, it had to be done. A quick dip in the pool was in order that evening. Our outside temp is in the mid 80’s most days. Somehow, Shepherd’s Pie just didn’t fit the mold for a summer dinner on the patio. But oh well. That’s what I had! And that’s what I made.
I have a fantastic Shepherd’s Pie with Latin Twist that I posted – oh, probably last year – that has a southwest flair to it and uses mashed sweet potatoes and regular potatoes on the top. It’s a spicy hot mixture. But the leg of lamb leftovers didn’t suit me for that recipe, so I went online and found one at Epicurious. Other testers had made some comments, so I took those into consideration as I chopped and minced, stirred, and thickened the mixture. My version is a very loose adaptation of that recipe.
My understanding is that Shepherd’s Pie was one of those things British home cooks did with the leftover Sunday roast and the leftover Sunday mashers. And likely the leftover gravy as well. At least that’s the way I’ve made it many times in the past. But I didn’t have anything except the leftover lamb, so needed to improvise with all the other ingredients. I don’t like turnips. I didn’t have leeks. So, I used what I had on hand (onions, carrots, celery, the lamb and potatoes). I totally forgot to add the frozen peas. But then, I’m not all that crazy about overcooked peas; and that’s why sometimes I sprinkle the just refreshed frozen peas to the TOP of the dish after it’s come out of the oven. That way you still have bright green peas. They’re kind of a mandatory ingredient in my book.
This made enough for one deep dish pie plate and two single crocks full of it for the freezer. If you have he-men eating, maybe this won’t serve 8, but if you round out a meal with a salad perhaps, this would certainly serve that many normal servings. Verdict: really, really good. The sauce was finger-lickin’ good with the use of red wine and some of the chicken broth concentrate (the paste stuff I buy at Penzey’s).
Lamb Shepherd’s Pie
Recipe: Inspired and loosely adapted from a recipe on Epicurious.
Servings: 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 whole yellow onion — minced
3 whole carrots — cubed or sliced
2 stalks celery — diced
2 whole garlic cloves — minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups broth — beef or chicken
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound lamb — cooked, cubed
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
MASHED POTATOES:
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
3 tablespoons milk — or cream, or half and half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat a large, heavy skillet and add the oil and butter. When it’s bubbling, add the diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue cooking until the vegetables are nearly cooked, but not soft. Add the garlic. Sprinkle the flour all over the vegetables and stir to make sure all the flour is absorbed with the vegetables. Add all of the liquid (broth and wine) at the same time and simmer until the mixture has thickened.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the peeled potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are just barely cooked through. Drain and mash while they’re hot. Add the milk, butter, cream cheese and seasonings. Adjust seasonings to taste.
3. To the large skillet with the vegetables, add the lamb, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Add more water if mixture is too thick.
4. Pour or scoop the meat mixture into a deep pie dish or casserole. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top, and try to spread it to the outer edges.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake the pie for about 20-30 minutes until heated through. Add cheese on top if you’d prefer it (Cheddar or Parmesan).
Per Serving: 430 Calories; 21g Fat (47.1% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 56mg Cholesterol; 185mg Sodium.
printer-friendly pdf
Leave a Comment!