(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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There isn’t a time that I make cauliflower anymore, that I don’t think about our friends Lynn and Sue who are frequent dinner guests at our home (and we at theirs). Lynn, who professes to be somewhat neutral about cauliflower, has never quite forgiven me because twice I’ve served him masqueraded cauliflower. The first time I served him a salad that I said was tabbouleh. But it was made with cauliflower, not bulgur wheat. He loved it. The second time I served cauliflower masquerading as mashed potatoes, containing all the trimmings of baked potatoes – like butter, sour cream, green onions and the like, with cauliflower that’s completely mashed up like potatoes. He loved that one too. So now he’s always on the lookout for what kind of innocent vegetable I might serve him. He wants to know if I’ve got cauliflower hiding somewhere. He’s onto my game!
This dish, though, is straight, up front and definitely cauliflower. No masquerade here! But it’s certainly prepared in a different way. Using my new resource I wrote up yesterday, Eat Your Books, I found a recipe in my cookbook collection from Deborah Madison’s book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Veering off from the cooking method in the book, I made it mostly in a skillet, choosing not to bake or broil the finished dish. I microwave steamed the cauliflower and added it to the already prepared sauce (well, not exactly a sauce) of onions, fresh tomatoes, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, a speck of honey, capers, lemon juice, and a bunch of crumbled feta cheese. The combo of the sweet and sour (honey and sweet onions vs. capers and lemon juice) was very noticeable. Prominent, actually, But the texture of the cauliflower kept it as cauliflower. We both liked it a lot. Really a lot. Not exactly a five star recipe, but it was good. Different. I always like different. I’ll have to call our friend Lynn and tell him all about it!
Cauliflower Gratin with Tomatoes and Feta
Recipe By: Adapted from Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Serving Size: 4
2 tablespoons olive oil — (2 to 3)
1 onion — thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves — chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 fresh tomatoes — peeled, seeded, and diced or 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon capers — rinsed
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 large cauliflower — about 11/2 pounds, broken into florets
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 ounces feta cheese — crumbled
Finely chopped parsley
1. Cut up the cauliflower and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a tablespoon of water, cover and cook the cauliflower until it’s almost cooked through, but still just slightly firm.
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and cinnamon and cook until the onion is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cook for 7 minutes more, then add the honey and capers and season with salt and pepper. Add the drained cauliflower then add the lemon juice and feta cheese.
3.Simmer the cauliflower for 3-5 minutes until it’s heated through, the cauliflower is cooked and the feta has softened. Garnish with the parsley and serve.
Per Serving: 174 Calories; 12g Fat (58.1% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 279mg Sodium.
A year ago: Cauliflower and Green Onion Mash
Two years ago: An earthquake
Three years ago: Marinated Brussels Sprouts
(by Nicole Aloni), it intrigued me. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I was researching what to make for a luncheon I’m doing for 5 couples in a few days and went through this cookbook with more than a passing glance. This was the first recipe I paused over. It had all kinds of spices (not herbs) in it. And the top note said she, the author, who used to be a Hollywood caterer, served this so often she knew it by heart. She suggested it went well with a curry. That led to reading another recipe, and that’s how I came to make the curry dinner last week. (I’m doing a different menu for the luncheon.)
. I adapted it very slightly – oiled the bottom of the mushroom, more garlic and more cheese. That was our dinner entree, actually. We enjoyed it with some freshly grilled corn and an heirloom tomato salad with fresh Mozzie and an arugula salad tumbled on top of it.
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