. After reading No Angel (see below) I couldn’t wait to start the 2nd book. A friend said to me that she liked #2 better than the first one, and I think I agree. It carries on the saga of this gentrified family in the publishing business in WWII era England. There are wartime injuries, even deaths as the family spreads out some (France and America), but it’s still about the London-based core family group that get themselves into trouble at several junctures. Loved this one. Do read them in order, though.
. No, not that Homer, but Homer, the blind cat. It’s a charming, funny, sweet, riveting book that any animal lover should read. We haven’t owned cats for decades, but I enjoy reading about them even if I don’t have one. Homer was a tiny kitten when found, with a dangerous eye infection. The vet who saved him had to remove his eyes, so the little kitten never knew sight. He’s adopted by a patient gal who is a writer already, and I can imagine that little Homer almost wrote the book himself. He’s very brave, willing to take risks – she almost loses him once. If you love animals, you’ve got to read this. I found it at Costco, but it’s also cheap at Amazon in paperback.
by Sarah McCoy. A really really interesting story. About WWII but told from the side of loyal German Hitler-loving citizens. The kind of local people who could be your neighbors, who were very nationalistic and truly believed Hitler was leading them to a better future. I’ve never read anything with a German perspective. The book isn’t political. In a way it’s a type of chick lit (which is why I didn’t suggest my DH read it) as it’s got a moderate amount of romance in it. The entire book is enveloped in the story of the family, who live in Garmisch (a place I’ve visited twice), who own a bakery. Mostly it’s about one of the bakery owner’s daughters. One daughter goes to a 
– by Erik Larson (hard copy) – wow, what a book. In all the literary fiction I’ve read about Nazi Germany, I’d never read that much about what it was like living in Berlin leading up to Hitler’s demonic rampages. This biography is about America’s ambassador to Germany from 1933-37, William Dodd. An academician, Dodd was probably unsuited to the job, yet he brought a kind of humility and clarity to the unrest. Accompanied by his wife and two adult children, they assimilated into the gay life of diplomacy. Dodd was not liked by his counterparts at home, yet he had the ear and appointment specifically because of Roosevelt, but only after 5 other career diplomats turned down the job. Dodd took his position very seriously, hoping that he’d make time to write a book he had worked on for much of his life (a detailed history of the American South). With no internet, no commercial jets and little but old fashioned typewriters or often written by hand, communiques sailed back and forth in diplomatic pouches. Dodd originally was lenient with Hitler, wanting to believe the hype Hitler broadcast. In time, though, he came to realize that Hitler had an insidious master plan. Dodd’s vivacious and beautiful daughter dated all manner of diplomats, Nazis and Russians, and very few Americans. She leaned left. Very far left, to the point of socialism. She had affairs – very inappropriate ones (says me), which undermined her father’s role (yet he seemed oblivious). This book is a real picture of the day to day life back then, well written, well researched and riveting. The Ambassador never did finish his book. But this book – well, everyone should read it. Erik Larson is the famous author of 
– by Willa Cather (on my Kindle) – what a joy to read. I’ve been a big fan of Cather’s writing most of my adult life, although I’ve not read all of her books. She had such a gift of words – such an ability to write a liquid picture – a conjurer of time and place that just doesn’t happen anymore in today’s writing world. The story revolves around a young girl (yes, it’s a coming of age novel) the daughter of a minister in the Midwest who has a musical gift. Her mentors help her to go to Chicago to study. Thea, the heroine here, is a very serious and studious young woman and not given to joy in life. She struggles with loneliness, yet seems to have no ability to reach out of her box to find friends or companionship. As with any young person who moves to a new place for work or study, there is that soulful pull from “home.” Does she give in? I’m not telling. A very good read.
– by Penny Vincenzi (hard copy from the library) – when two friends of mine recommended this book I knew I needed to read it. It’s not new (2004), but it is part of a trilogy by this English author. And I just refused to pay the very high Kindle price so that’s why I visited my local library and found it on the shelf. Vincenzi writes about the day-to-day lives of English gentry, and since I’m addicted to Downton Abbey these days, it sounded like a natural to read this book. It chronicles the lives of this particular family including marriages, births, affairs and chicanery, with their lovely home as the surround, the life style of the then-rich-and-famous, formal dinners. See? Downton Abbey. The difference is that there’s not much in this book about the servants, the below-stairs family. It takes place during the same pre-WWI era (1910′s). Prominent in the story is the book publishing business the family maintains (and with difficulty during the war years run by the two women left at home). Now I need to find the next in the series. If you enjoy family sagas, this one is a gem.
(Stacy Schiff); 
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I know this doesn’t LOOK like an apple cobbler. And it doesn’t really taste like what I usually associate with the words “apple cobbler.” What this is, is an apple-pie type filling with a delicious top crust. But it’s not like a regular pie crust. It’s a kind of shortbread or cookie type top. And believe it or not, it’s also really low on sugar. That makes it a winner in my book.
With a bunch of apples in my refrigerator and a dessert I needed to make for dinner guests, I went searching for a recipe that suited me. This was it – a recipe I found at Simply Recipes a few years ago. I read what Elise had to say about this and knew I needed to try it. First you cook the peeled, cored and sliced apples with just a little bit of sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, flour and butter. You don’t cook this long, just enough to take the edge off raw apples. It takes more apples than you might think – I think I used 6 and it could have used more. Elise’s recipe calls for 3 pounds. I didn’t weigh mine, so I really don’t know how many I had – surely it was more than 2 pounds, but it might not have been a full 3 pounds. It filled up the pie plate, but once it baked, the apples kind of slumped. Mostly it’s because I used some Gala apples – not just Granny Smiths that totally hold their shape during baking/cooking.
The crust is a bit different – it has the usual kind of ingredients, but then it has orange zest and a bunch of chopped up crystallized ginger. You can vaguely make out the little bumpy things all over the raw crust, shown at left. That photo was before I baked it, obviously.
This crust also contained a little bit of butter (just 2 tablespoons) and a cup of heavy cream. That’s what provided the necessary fat to give the crust a delicious crunchy texture.
What I really liked about it was the minimal sugar necessary to make this. As I mentioned, Elise’s recipe calls for just Granny Smiths, but I had just 2 of them, and I had a bunch of Galas. Since Galas are sweeter than Granny Smiths, I cut down even more on the sugar. Elise’s recipe called for 1/4 cup in the filling. I used 2 T. of Splenda instead, so halved it. You’ll need to decide, based on what kind of apples you use, as to how much sugar to add. In the crust, it calls for 1/4 cup also – I used a scant measure of real sugar (not Splenda) as I think real sugar is more necessary in pastry. I could have put in half sugar and half Splenda, though, and it probably would have been just fine.
There’s a photo of the cut. It sure looks like apple pie, doesn’t it. Nope! One little tip I should add to the instructions – I used a pizza peel to slide the crust onto the top of the pie. The crust was fragile. It was thick and weighty, actually, but it was a bit on the dry side, so I knew if I tried to pick it up or roll it onto the rolling pin it would fall apart completely. The pizza peel worked perfectly and I was able to slide it gently into place over the apple filling. (I’ll also tell you that the crust was delicious raw – our son-in-law’s mother Ann was visiting and she and I polished off the scraps in short order!)
What I liked: everything about it – the taste, the texture, the apples, the ginger in it, the fact that there was a lot less sugar than usual. Loved the crust. We served it with whipped cream on top. Loverly, it ‘twas.
What I didn’t like: absolutely nothing. Definitely a make again recipe. Thank you, Elise!
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Apple Cobbler with a Cookie Crust
Recipe By: From Elise at Simply Recipes; she got it from Gourmet Mag.
Serving Size: 8
NOTE: You can use other apple types. Granny Smiths hold their shape well, though. Others will begin to fall apart when cooked. Or use a mixture of both, as I did. If you use sweeter apples, reduce the sugar in the filling.
FILLING:
1/4 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ounces unsalted butter
3 pounds tart apples — (such as granny smith) peeled, cored, and sliced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CRUST:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter — chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup crystallized ginger — coarsely chopped
Zest of one orange
1 cup heavy cream
1. FILLING: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour. Cover partially and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to buttered 10″ pie dish. (This recipe has the crust only on the top).
2. CRUST: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in ginger. Stir orange zest into cream; then, using a fork, stir cream into flour until it holds together. Gather dough into a ball; knead briefly then roll out to a little larger than pie dish. Transfer to dish; trim off excess. Score the center so the steam can escape while baking. Brush with cream.
3. Bake 10 minutes in a 450º oven. Reduce heat to 375º and bake 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.
Per Serving: 439 Calories; 20g Fat (40.5% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 62g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 208mg Sodium.
. Not every dish I’ve made has made it to a post on my blog, as I’m not experienced enough yet. One pork dish I made was not very good (pork chops were too thin, I think, so it overcooked). I’m liking the long, slow cooking for more things – the less tender cuts. Not steaks and such – they are best with relatively little sous vide cooking. I had a big chunk of pork in the freezer – I’d purchased a gigantic pork shoulder a month or so ago, at a great price and cut it up into smaller cooking portions. But I didn’t have a sous vide cooker then. So the meat was just vacuum sealed with nothing whatsoever in it. I decided to just go with it that way. Nothing else in the pouch but the meat. No salt. No pepper. No onions or seasonings of any kind. I knew I’d need to doctor it up with seasonings later.
, I hunted through all the dozens of possible permutations, trying to find one that was low on sugar. We’re mostly tuned into such sauces containing lots and lots of ketchup. Then I read about the sauce that is the favorite with folks in North Carolina. It’s a vinegar sauce and has nary a teaspoon of tomato in it – like ketchup or tomato paste.
. I knew this salad would showcase the oranges beautifully, and I assumed the relatively simple walnut oil dressing would go well enough with pasta. My only deviation from Joanne Weir’s recipe was to use Pecorino cheese (she suggested Manchego from Spain, or Parmigiano-Reggiano). I had a nice wedge of Pecorino with truffles in it and it worked very well with this. I used a lot less cheese than called for – and I didn’t use all the dressing, either (great, some leftover for another day!).
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