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READ ON MY KINDLE DURING THE TRIP TO ENGLAND: The Forgotten Garden (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.

Also read The Queen’s Governess (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.

And, I read The Invisible Bridge (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.

STILL READING: Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster – 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 Katherine, 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.

FINISHEDTime and Again – 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.

Spoken from the Heart— 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.

IN THE POWDER ROOM: Our guest half-bath has a little table with a pile of books that I change every now and then. They’re books that might pique someone’s interest even if for a very short read. The Greatest Stories Never Told; and Sara Midda’s South of France; and  Other People’s Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See; (edited by Bill Shapiro); Monet’s Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet (Joyes); The Trouble with Poetry (Billy Collins).

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Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small engraved sterling silver tea spoons that I use to taste as I'm cooking.

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Posted in Appetizers, on September 10th, 2008.

shrimp and avocado salsa

Lately I’ve been on a roll with salsas. There’s no question, I enjoy salsa of most varieties – except canned and ready-made grocery store types. We have one independent market near us, Pacific Ranch Market, which makes fabulous homemade salsa every day. Usually we rely on theirs – it’s so good – and already prepared.

But this time, we were going out for the evening on a Duffy Boat. You know of these things? Cute little electric-powered boats that hold oh, 8-12 people mostly. The driver sits in the rear seat and everybody else kind of sits around the edges. This one had clear plastic windows, but the cool evening breeze flowed in the front as we maneuvered all around Newport Harbor for two hours. From the picture at the right, you can see Cherrie and Joan, as we were cruisin’ and talkin’. We had lots of fun. My DH drove the boat most of the time – as he was the most experienced on the water, since he’s owned a sailboat since he was 7.  There were eight of us – I may have mentioned this group before – we call ourselves the HGG – Healthy Gourmet Group. Initially we were eating really, truly, healthy food, but the group decided to think this again – so we try to choose lower-fat ingredients if we can. If we can’t, well, so be it. But we still call ourselves HGG anyway.

I was the front-man on this – I made the arrangements – so I suggested we bring heavy appetizers or finger food. The menu came together so fast I couldn’t believe it. Cherrie said she’d make some wraps (both turkey and ham). Joan would bring skewers of fresh fruit. I’d make some other kind of hearty appetizer, and Sue would bring dessert (brownies with Chambord in them) and coffee. Each couple brought a bottle of wine (one white, three reds). We tootled around the harbor for two hours, ate good food, drank good wine, and had hilarious fun talking.

Going through my appetizer repertoire (that I haven’t already blogged about, that is) I spotted this recipe for avocado and shrimp salsa. Very hearty. And absolutely delicious. I have no recollection where this recipe came from, but I’ve altered so much over the years that it no longer resembles the original version anyway. So it’s as good as “my” recipe. And note, there’s not a single bit of oil or fat in this except what little natural fat there is in some foods, provided by Mother Nature.

Shrimp & Avocado Salsa
Recipe: my own concoction
Servings: 12
1 pound shrimp — not canned, peeled, deveined, cooked
2 whole poblano chiles — broiled, peeled (also called pasilla)
2 bunches green onions — minced
1 bunch fresh cilantro — minced
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 pounds canned tomatoes — diced
1 cup fresh tomatoes — chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chipotle chile canned in adobo — minced
2 ears corn on the cob — removed, raw
2 whole avocados — chopped
salt — to taste
garlic salt — to taste, or one fresh garlic clove minced
1. Roast the poblano chiles: cut them in half, core them, remove seeds, lay flat on a broiling pan skin side up, then broil for about 5-8 minutes until the skin is crinkly black. Remove, cool, then easily slip the skin off. Roughly chop the chiles in small pieces. Watch carefully while broiling or it will completely dry up the chile flesh – that you don’t want!
2. Do not use canned shrimp in this dish. Cook and devein the shrimp and chop into medium-sized pieces. You want to be able to see the shrimp pieces.
3. In a large non-metallic bowl combine the shrimp, poblano chiles, onions, cilantro, lime juice, red wine vinegar, both tomatoes, oregano (may need more), chipotle chiles, avocados, corn and both salts. Taste for seasonings (add more wine vinegar or lime juice if desired). Chill for 8-24 hours before serving with tortilla chips.
Per Serving: 129 Calories; 6g Fat (39.9% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 58mg Cholesterol; 179mg Sodium.
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  1. Sophie

    said on September 16th, 2008:

    We would like to feature your shrimp and avocado salsa on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)

    You can view our blog here:
    blog.keyingredient.com/

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