Get new posts by email:

Archives

Currently Reading

Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. Now in 2023, I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

The Vineyard, by Barbara Delinsky. A novel with many current day issues. Husband and wife own a vineyard in Rhode Island. Husband dies. Widow soon (too soon) marries the manager, a hired employee, much to the consternation of her two grown children. Widow hires woman as personal assistant (much of the book comes from her voice) and she gets entangled into the many webs, clinging from the many decades the winery has tried to be successful. Really interesting. Lots of plot twists, but all revolving around work of the vineyard. Cute love story too. It wouldn’t be a Delinsky book without that aspect.

Consequences, Penelope Lively. I’ve always loved this author’s writing style. Have read many of her books. This one follows a rather dotted line family, the women, as they grow through worn-torn London and England. There’s poverty and both major events and minor ones that send the story’s trajectory in new directions. Riveting for me. Lively won the Booker Prize for Moon Tiger, her most famous book.

Below Zero, C.J. Box. Mystery of the first order. A Joe Pickett novel (he’s a game warden in Wyoming) with a family member thought dead is suddenly alive. Or is she? Joe’s on the hunt to find out. I don’t read these books at night – too scary. I love his books, though.

Consolations of the Forest: Alone in a Cabin on the Siberian Taiga, by Sylvain Tesson. I’m not sure what possessed me to read this book. About a late 30s guy who seems to crave solitude; he’s offered a 11×11 cabin in the cold/frozen Siberian outback, on a huge lake that freezes over in winter. Here’s a quote from the book: “A visit to my wooden crates. My supplies are dwindling. I have enough pasta left for a month and Tabasco to drench it in. I have flour, tea and oil. I’m low on coffee. As for vodka, I should make it to the end of April.” Vodka plays large in this book. Tesson (who is French, with Russian heritage) is a gifted writer, about the wilderness, the flora and fauna, about the alone-ness, the introspection. Mostly he ate pasta with Tabasco. No other sauce. Many shots of vodka every day. Drunkenness plays a serious role too – what else is there to do, you might ask? He lived there for about a year. I’d have lasted a week, no more.

The Auburn Conference by Tom Piazza. Another one, given my druthers I’m not sure I’d have picked up. For one of my book clubs. Excellent writing. 1883, upstate NY. A young professor decides to make a name for himself and puts on an event, inviting many literary luminaries of the day (Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Forrest Taylor and a romance novelist [the outlier] Lucy Comstock). Part panel discussion, part private conversations, the author weaves a tale of discord, some moderate yelling, some rascism and much ridicule of the romance novelist. Also some words of wisdom, maybe not from the authors you’d have expected. Unusual book.

As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner. 1918. Philadelphia. About a young family arriving with the highest of hopes. Then the Spanish Flu hits and dashes everything. You’ll learn a whole lot about that particular virulent flu and the tragic aftermath. Really good read.

Hour of the Witch, by Chris Bohjalian. Boston, 1662. A young woman becomes the 2nd wife of a powerful man, a cruel man. She determines to leave him, something just “not done” back then. Twists and turns, she’s accused of being a witch. Story of survival, and a redeeming love too.

My Oxford Year, by Julia Whelan. At 24, a young woman is honored with a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. She’s older than most of her fellow classmates, and as an American, doesn’t fit in very well. She’s left a good job back home, but determines to try to work some for the political campaign job she’s left, and also do the work for her Oxford scholarship. She meets a professor. Oh my. Such an interesting book. I loved learning about the culture of Oxford, and there’s a fascinating romance too, somewhat a forbidden one with said professor.

Madame Pommery, by Rebecca Rosenberg. I love champagne. Have read a number of books over the years (novels) about the region (and I’ve visited there once). This is real history, though in a novelized form. Madame Pommery was widowed, and determined she would blaze a trail that was not well received (no women in the champagne business for starters). And she decides to make a different, less sweet version. She’s hated and reviled, but sticks to her guns, veering away from the then very sweet version all the winemakers were producing. Fascinating story.

The Wager, by David Grann. A true tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder back in the 1740s. Not exactly my usual genre of reading, but once I heard about the book, I decided I needed to read it. This is a novelized version of the story, based on the facts of an English shipwreck, first off Brazil, then later off Chile. Of the men, their struggle to survive (and many didn’t). Yes, there’s murder involved, and yes, there’s mutiny as well. Those who survived stood trial back in England many years later. Riveting read.

Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate. 1939. A shantyboat in the backwaters of the Mississippi River. A 12-year old girl is left to care for her younger siblings when her mother is taken ill. A mystery ensues, and soon officials chase these youngsters to take them into an orphanage, one that became infamous for “selling” the children, weaving wild tales of their provenance. Dual timeline, you read about a successful young attorney who returns home to help her father, and questions come up about the family history. Fascinating read. You’ll learn about this real abominable woman, Georgia Tann, who profited by her “sales.”

The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Goff. This tells the story of a young servant girl, in the aftermath of the starvation in Jamestown, the beleaguered town that virtually disappeared because the people weren’t prepared for the harshness of survival in those days. She escapes before the demise of the town and heads west, with nothing but the clothes she’s wearing. She survives longer than you might think, and encounters a lot of interesting experiences and people. Very interesting historical read.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Woman, Lisa See. Historical fiction, from 1469, Ming Dynasty, China. Based on the true story, however, about a young woman mostly raised by her grandmother who is a well known physician. Her grandfather is a scholarly physician, her grandmother, more an herbalist, or like a pharmacist of the day. Tan eventually marries into a family and is immediately subjugated by the matriarch, who won’t allow her to practice any of her healing arts. Quite a story, and also about how she eventually does treat women (women “doctors” were only allowed to treat women) as a midwife and herbalist. You’ll learn a whole lot about the use of flowers and herbs for healing and about the four humors.

Winter Garden, by Kristen Hannah. Quite a story, taking place in Washington State with apple orchards forming a backdrop and family business. Two sisters, never much friends even when they were young, return home to help care for their ailing father. Their mother? What an enigma. She took no part in raising them, yet she lived in the home. She cooked for the family, but rarely interacted. Yet her father adored his wife, their mother. How do they bridge the gulf between each other and also with their mother. Another page turner from Kristen Hannah.

Trail of the Lost, by Andrea Lankford. Not my usual genre. This is nonfiction, about Lankford who has plenty of credentials for rescue services, and is an avid hiker herself, determines to try to find some missing people who have disappeared off the face of the earth on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s about how rescues work, everything from the disconnect between active citizens who want to help, and seemingly the unwillingness of authorities to share information. Not exactly a positive for law enforcement in this book. Really fascinating. There are hundreds of people who have disappeared off various long hike trails in the U.S. This is about four who were hiking (separately and at different times) on the PCT.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. I’ve never been a “gamer.” Not by any standard definition, anyway. Not like people who really get into games, adventure, killers, etc. And this book isn’t a game .. . but it’s a novel (and a great story, I might add) about how these games come into being. How they’re invented, how they morph. First there were two college students, then a third person is added, and they end up creating a wildly popular game. A company is born. And it goes from there. Mostly it’s about the people, their relationships, but set amidst the work of creating and running a gaming company. Not all fun and games, pun intended.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. Oh gosh, what a fabulous book. It’s a novel; however, much of the story is about the intelligence of octopus. In particular this one, Marcellus, who lives in an aquarium in a fictitious town in western Washington State. More than anything the book is about relationships, not only Marcellus with a woman (of a certain age) who cleans the aquarium at night, but the various people in this small town.

Trust, by Herman Diaz. This novel is an enigma in so many ways. It’s a book, within a book, within a book. About the stock market crash back in 1929, but it’s about a man. Oh my. It’s really interesting. This book won the Pulitzer. That’s why I bought it.

Cassidy Hutchinson is a young woman (a real one) who works in politics or “government.” She’s worked for some prestigious Washington politicians, and ended up working for Trump. The book is a memoir of her short spin working at the highest levels, and obviously at the White House. She worked under Mark Meadows and suffered a lot of ridicule when she quit. Truth and lies . . . when she couldn’t live with herself and subvert the truth. Enough, gives you plenty of detail leading up to and after the January 6th uprising. She testified to Congress about what she knew. Really interesting. I almost never read books about politics because I think many (most?) of our elected politicians succumb to the lure of power and forget who they work for, us, the public.

Becoming Dr. Q, by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, MD, is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. This is his memoir about how he went from being a penniless migrant from Mexico to one of the world’s most renowned experts in brain tumors.

The Invincible Miss Cust, by Penny Haw.  In 1868 Ireland, a woman wasn’t allowed to attend veterinary school, much less become a veterinarian. It took  years of trying (to the horror of her aristocratic family) and finally someone took her under their wing, she enrolled using a pseudonym (a name not revealing her gender). This is a true story of Aleen Isabel Cust, who did just that.

Her Heart for a Compass, by Sarah Ferguson (yes), the Duchess of York. I was pleasantly surprised as I read this book that it wasn’t the usual romantic romp – there’s more to this story than you might think. Ferguson utilizes some of her family ancestors as real characters in the book. Sweet story but with lots of twists and turns.

Someone Else’s Shoes, by Jojo Moyes.Nisha, our heroine, is a wealthy socialite. She thinks her life is perfect. At the gym someone else grabs her gym bag, so she grabs the similar one. Then she finds out her husband is leaving her and he’s locked her out of their high-rise apartment. She’s penniless. No attorney will take her on. She has nothing but this gym bag belonging to someone else (who?).

The Eleventh Man, Ivan Doig. What a story. Ben, part of a Montana college football team in the 1940s, joins the service during WWII. So do all of his eleven teammates. After suffering some injuries in pilot training he is recruited by a stealthy military propaganda machine. His job is to write articles about his teammates as they are picked off at various battle theaters around the Pacific and Europe. Ben goes there, in person, to fuel the stories. Ivan Doig is a crafty writer; I’ve read several of his books, my favorite being The Whistling Season.

Wavewalker, by Suzanne Heywood. Oh my goodness. A memoir about a very young English girl who goes off with her besotted and narcissistic parents and her brother on a years-long sailing journey supposedly following the route of James Cook. A very old, decrepit 70-foot schooner. Four people, 2 sort-of adults and 2 children. Sometimes a helper or two. A seasick mother. A dad who is driven to the extreme, whatever the damage he creates. She spent 10 years aboard.

Claire Keegan wrote Small Things Like These. It’s won a lot of awards, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Takes place in Ireland. Some profound questions come up in this novella, about complicity, about restitution. There’s a convent nearby, and attached one of those places young girls were sent if they found themselves “in the family way,” and about how the church helped, supposedly, by taking the children and placing them in homes, without consent. It’s ugly, the truth of the matter. Really good read.

Nicholas Sparks isn’t an author I read very often because his books are pretty sappy, but daughter Sara recommended this one, The Longest Ride. It begins with Ira (age 93), stuck in his car as it plunges off the edge of a road, and it’s snowing. As the hours tick by, he reminisces about his life.

The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind, by Barbara Lipska. Interesting that I’ve read two books recently about the brain (see Doctor Q above). This is a true story about a woman, a neuroscientist, who developed a metastatic melanoma in the brain.

The Price of Inheritance, by Karin Tanabe. This is a mystery, of sorts. Our heroine is an up and coming employee at Christie’s (auction house). In bringing a large collection of expensive art to auction, she makes a misstep about the provenance of a desk. She’s fired. She goes back to her roots, takes a job at a small antique store where she used to work.

The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese. Did you read Cutting for Stone, years ago, by this author? Such a good book, so I knew I’d enjoy this one, and oh, did I!. The book takes place in a little known area of southern India, and chronicles a variety of people over a few generations, who inhabit the place.

Finding Dorothy, by Elizabeth Letts. My friend Dianne recommended this book to me, and it was so special. Loved it beginning to end. It’s based on the story of 77-year old Maud Gage Baum (her husband Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz).

The Bandit Queens, by Parini Shroff. It’s about a young Indian woman, Geeta, as she tries her best to make a living after her husband leaves her. Yet the community she lives in, thinks Geeta murdered him.

Attribution, by Linda Moore. We follow art historian Cate, as she struggles to succeed in her chosen field against sexist advisors. She finds what she thinks is a hidden painting.

The Measure, Nikki Erlick. Oh my goodness. This story grabbed me from about the third sentence. Everyone in the world finds a wooden box on their doorstep, or in front of their camper or tent, that contains a string. Nothing but a string. The author has a vivid imagination (I admire that) and you just will not believe the various reactions (frenzy?) from people who are short-stringers, or long-stringers.

The Book Spy by Alan Hlad. True stories, but in novel form, of a special Axis group of men and women librarians and microfilm specialists, sent to strategic locations in Europe to acquire and scour newspapers, books, technical manuals and periodicals, for information about German troop locations, weaponry and military plans of WWII. I was glued to the book beginning to end. Fascinating accounts.

A Dangerous Business, Jane Smiley. What a story. 1850s gold rush, story of two young prostitutes, finding their way in a lawless town in the Wild West. There’s a murder, or two, or three, or some of the town’s prostitutes, and the two women set out to solve the crime.

Storm Watch, by C. J. Box. I’m such a fan of his tales of Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett’s adventures catching criminals. Loved it, just like I’ve loved every one of his books.

Defiant Dreams, by Sola Mahfouz. True story about the author, born in Afghanistan in 1996. This is about her journey to acquire an education. It’s unbelievable what the Taliban does to deter and forbid women from bettering themselves.

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This is fairly light read, a novel – but interesting, about the meaning behind many flowers.

The Rome Apartment, by Kerry Fisher. Such a cute story. Maybe not an interesting read for a man. It’s about Beth, whose husband has just left her, and her daughter has just gone off to college. Beth needs a new lease on life, so she rents a room from a woman who lives in Rome.

All the Beauty in the World, a memoir by Patrick Bringley. Absolutely LOVED this book. Bringley was at loose ends and accepted a job as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. He’d been a journalist at The New Yorker magazine, but after his brother was ill and died, he needed refreshing. After his training at the museum, he moves from room to room, guarding the precious art, and learning all about the pieces and the painters or sculptors.

The Queen’s Lady, by Joanna Hickson. I love stories about Tudor England, and this one didn’t disappoint. Joan Guildford is a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth. Oh my goodness are there twists and turns.

Once in awhile I’m ready to read another Louise Penny mystery. This time it was World of Curiosities. Usually I’d write something wonderful regarding “another tome about Three Pines.” Not going to say it this time. Three Pines becomes a sinister place. Murders (many).

Over the years I’ve read many of Jodi Picoult’s books. This, her newest, or very new, is called Mad Honey. Oh, my. This book is beyond Picoult’s usual borders, but then she always writes edgy books. That’s her genre. This one is written with a co-author, a woman who is gay (I think) and also a trans-gender.

Philippa Gregory is one of my fav authors. Just finished her 3rd (and last, I think) in the Fairmile series called Dawnlands. If you scroll down below you’ll find the 2nd book in the series, Tidelands. Very interesting about English history, but about the same families from the first book in the group. Loved it, as I loved all of them.

Am currently reading Rutherfurd’s long, long book, Paris. I love these involved historical novels about a place (he’s written many about specific places in the world). It’s a saga that goes back and forth in time, following the travails of various people and families, through thick and thin. Some of it during the era of the King Louis’ (plural, should I say Louies?). Very interesting about some of the city’s history and royalty.

Although this book says A Christmas Memory, by Richard Paul Evans, it’s not just about Christmas. A young boy is the hero here, but really an older widower man who lives next door plays a pivotal part of this book.

Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult. Another page-turner. I loved this book. A thirty-something woman, about to take a trip with her boyfriend, when Covid breaks out. Covid plays a major role in this book, beginning to end. She decides to go anyway as her boyfriend is a doctor and cannot leave. She ends up on a remote Galapagos island, and you go along with her – with people she meets, the life she leads, the isolation she experiences, the loneliness she feels, but the joy of nature is a sustaining aspect.

Not everyone wants to read food memoirs. When I saw Sally Schmitt had written a memoir, titled Six California Kitchens, I knew I wanted to read it. I met Sally a few times over the years when I visited Napa Valley, and bought some of her famous pickled items, chutneys, jams, etc. She was the original chef at The French Laundry, before it became truly famous by Thomas Keller.

Being a fan of Vivian Howard (from her TV show), when I saw she’d written another book, I knew I should buy it. This Will Make It Taste Good is such an unusual name for a cookbook, but once you get into the groove of the book, you’ll understand. What’s here are recipes for some “kitchen heroes” she calls them. They’re condiments. They’re food additions, they’re flavor enhancers.

As soon as it came out, I ordered Spare, by Prince Harry. I’ve always been interested in the Royal Family.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Usually I don’t seek out short stories. I might have purchased this book without realizing it was. There aren’t that many stories – each one gets you very ingrained in the characters. I love her writing, and would think each story in this book could be made into a full-fledged novel.

A Lantern in Her Hand, by Beth Streeter Aldrich. A very interesting and harrowing story of early pioneer days in the Midwest (Nebraska I think); covered wagon time up to about 80 years later as the heroine, Abbie Deal, and her husband start a family in a small town.

The Messy Lives of Book People, by Phaedra Patrick. From amazon’s page: Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can’t believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse.

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I’m a fan of this author and relished reading his book about a year in his personal life, with his wife and very new, newborn twins. Doerr was given an auspicious award – a year of study in Rome, with apartment and a stipend. There are four chapters, by season.

Kristin Hannah’s Distant Shores is quite a read. Some described it as like a soap opera. Not me. Interesting character development of a couple who married young. She put her own career/wants/desires aside to raise their children. He forged ahead with his life dreams. The children grow up and move on. Then he’s offered a huge promotion across the country. She’s torn – she doesn’t want to be in New York, but nothing would get in the way of his career.

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton is divorced. But she’s still sort of friendly with her ex. It’s complicated. Out of the blue he asks her to go on a trip with him to discover something about his roots.

Tidelands,  by Philippa Gregory. It tells the tale of a peasant woman, Alinor (an herbalist and midwife), who lives barely above the poverty level, trying to raise two children, during the time of great turmoil in England, the rancorous civil war about Charles 1.

Read Reminders of Him, by Colleen Hoover. A page turner of a story. A young woman is convicted of a crime (young and foolish type). Once released her sole purpose is to be a part of her daughter’s life.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. Oh my goodness. The wicked webs we weave. How in the world did the author even come UP with this wild story, but she did, and it kept me glued. Sophie walked away from her wedding day, and always wondered if she made the wrong decision.

Very funny and poignant story, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one). Mrs. Palfrey, a woman of a certain age, moves into an old folks’ home in London. It’s a sort of hotel, but has full time elderly quirky residents.

For one of my book clubs we read Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. This book is so hard to describe. Elizabeth is a wizard at chemistry and struggles to be recognized for her intelligence and research. She meets a man at her company who is brilliant too. They make quite a pair. They have a child, then he suddenly dies. Her work isn’t taken seriously, so she leaves her employment and becomes an overnight phenom on a cooking show where she uses the chemical names for things like sodium chloride, etc. You go alongside her struggles, and her raising of her daughter. LOTS of humor, lots to discuss for a book club.

Horse. Oh my, is it a page turner. Loved it from the first page to the last. Sad when it ended. It’s a fictional creation but based on a real racehorse owned by a black man, back in the 1850s. Technically, the story is about a painting of the horse but there are many twists and turns. If you’ve ever enjoyed Brooks’ books in the past, this one won’t disappoint.

The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel (no, not Hannah). Certainly a little-known chunk of history about a woman who becomes a master forger during WWII to help get Jewish children out of France. Not easy to read, meaning the difficulty of anyone finding the means and place to DO the forgery and right under the noses of the Nazis. Really good read.

Liane Moriarty’s first novel, Three Wishes, follows the travails of adult triplets, so different, yet similar in many ways. Two are identical, the third is not. So alike, and so not. It takes you through a series of heart-wrenching events, seemingly unrelated, but ones that could bring a family to its breaking point and test the bonds of love and strength.

Recently I’ve read both of Erin French’s books, her cookbook, The Lost Kitchen, and since then her memoir, Finding Freedom. About her life growing up (difficult) about her coming of age mostly working in the family diner, flipper burgers and fries (and learning how much she liked to cook). Now she’s a very successful restaurant entrepreneur (The Lost Kitchen is also the name of her restaurant) in the minuscule town of Freedom, Maine. She’s not a classically trained chef, but she’s terrifically creative. See her TV series on Discover+ if you subscribe.

Jo Jo Moyes has a bunch of books to her credit. And she writes well, with riveting stories. Everything I’ve read of hers has been good. This book, The Girl You Left Behind, is so different, so intriguing, so controversial and a fascinating historical story. There are two timelines here, one during WWI, in France, when a relatively unknown painter (in the style of Matisse) paints a picture of his wife. The war intervenes for both the husband and the wife.

Eli Shafak’s Island of Missing Trees. This book was just a page turner. If you’ve never read anything about the conflict in Cyprus (the island) between the Turks and the Greeks, you’re in for a big history lesson here. But, the entire story centers around a fig tree. You get into the head/brain/feelings of this big fig tree which plays a very central part of the story. You’ll learn a lot about animals, insects (ants, mosquitos, butterflies) and other flora and fauna of Cyprus.

Also read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Ohhh my, such a good book. I couldn’t put it down. Whatever you do, do not read the ending before you start the book. I’ve never understood people who do this. The book chronicles the day a mom just ups and disappears. The grown children come back home, in panic. The dad isn’t much help, and he becomes the prime suspect of foul play. There is no body, however.

If you’d like a mystery read, try Dete Meserve’s The Space Between. It’s just the kind of page-turner I enjoy – a wife returns to her home after being away on business for a few days, to find her husband missing and what he’s left for her is an unexplained bank deposit of a million dollars, a loaded Glock in the nightstand, and a video security system that’s been wiped clean.

Read Alyson Richman’s historical novel called The Velvet Hours. Most of the book takes place in Paris, with a young woman and her grandmother, a very wealthy (but aging) woman who led a life of a semi-courtesan. Or at least a kept woman. But this grandmother was very astute and found ways to invest her money, to grow her money, and to buy very expensive goods. Then WWII intervenes, and the granddaughter has to close up her grandmother’s apartment, leaving it much the way it had been throughout her grandmother’s life, to escape the Nazis. Years go by, and finally answers are sought and found. An intriguing book, based on the author’s experience with an apartment that had been locked up similarly for decades, also in Paris.

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. This book, The Nature of Fragile Things tells a very unusual story. About a young Irish immigrant, desperate to find a way out of poverty, answers an ad for a mail order bride.

Also read Rachel Hauck’s The Writing Desk. You could call this a romance. A young professional, a writer of one successful book, has writer’s block. Then she’s asked to go to Florida to help her mother (from whom she’s mostly estranged) through chemo. She goes, hoping she can find new inspiration.

Also recently finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. The book goes backwards and forwards in time, from the 1600s in London with the day-to-day lives of a group of Jews (who had to be very careful about how they worshiped) to current day as an old house is discovered to hold a treasure-trove of historical papers.

Colleen Hoover has written quite a book, It Ends with Us: A Novel, with a love story being the central theme, but again, this book is not for everyone – it can be an awakening for any reader not acquainted with domestic violence and how such injury can emerge as innocent (sort of) but then becomes something else. There is graphic detail here.

Nicolas Barreau’s novel Love Letters from Montmartre: A Novel  is very poignant, very sweet book. Seems like I’ve read several books lately about grieving; this one has a charming ending, but as anyone who has gone through a grave loss of someone dear knows, you can’t predict day to day, week to week. “Snap out of it,” people say, thinking they’re helping.

Another very quirky book, that happens to contain a lot of historical truth is The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: A Novel by Harry N. Abrams. Set in Japan just after the tsunami 10 years ago when 18,000 people died. At a private park miles away, some very special people installed a phone booth, with a phone (that didn’t work) at the edge of the park, and the survivors of the tsunami began wending their way there to “talk” to their deceased loved ones. Very poignant story.

No question, the most quirky book I’ve read of late, a recommendation from my friend Karen, West with Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge. Back in the 1930s a small group of giraffes were brought across the Atlantic from Africa to New York, destined for the then-growing San Diego Zoo. The story is of their journey across the United States in the care of two oh-so-different people, both with a mission.

Could hardly put down Krueger’s book, This Tender Land: A Novel. Tells the harrowing story of a young boy, Odie, (and his brother Albert) who became orphans back in the 30s. At first there is a boarding school, part of an Indian (Native American) agreement, though they are not Indian. They escape, and they are “on the run.”

Just finished Kristin Hannah’s latest book, The Four Winds: A Novel. What a story. One I’ve never read about, although I certainly have heard about the “dust bowl” years when there was a steady migration of down-and-out farmers from the Midwest, to California, for what they hoped to be the American Dream. It tells the story of one particular family, the Martinellis, the grandparents, their son, his wife, and their two children.

Also finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s recent book, The Book of Longings: A Novel. It is a book that might challenge some Christian readers, as it tells the tale of Jesus marrying a woman named Mary. I loved the book from the first word to the last one. The book is believable to me, even though the Bible never says one way or the other that Jesus ever married. It’s been presumed he never did. But maybe he did?

Jeanine Cummins has written an eye-opener, American Dirt. A must read. Oh my goodness. I will never, ever, ever look at Mexican (and further southern) migrants, particularly those who are victims of the vicious cartels, without sympathy. It tells the story of a woman and her young son, who were lucky enough to hide when the cartel murdered every member of her family – her husband, her mother, and many others. It’s about her journey and escape to America.

Also read JoJo Moyes’ book, The Giver of Stars. Oh gosh, what a GREAT book. Alice joins the Horseback Librarians in the rural south.

Frances Liardet has written a blockbuster tale, We Must Be Brave. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Although the scene is WWII England, this book is not really about the war. It’s about the people at home, waiting it out, struggling with enough food, clothing and enough heat.

William Kent Krueger wrote Ordinary Grace. From amazon: a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. It’s a coming of age story.

A Column of Fire: A Novel by Ken Follett. It takes place in the 1500s, in England, and has everything to do with the war between the Catholics and the Protestants, that raged throughout Europe during that time, culminating in the Spanish Inquisition.

My Name Is Resolute by Nancy Turner. She’s the author of another book of some renown, These is my Words:

The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks. This is a memoir, so a true story, of a young man growing up in the Lake District of Northern England, who becomes a shepherd. Not just any-old shepherd – actually a well educated one. He knows how to weave a story.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

Scroll down to the bottom to view my Blogroll

Posted in easy, Pasta, Vegetarian, on April 7th, 2022.

Creamy pasta with luscious lemon flavor and arugula. And cheese. Yummy Parmigiano-Reggiano. A post from Carolyn, but it’s really from my friend Linda.

Linda says: I spent the weekend with my friends Carolyn & Dave many years ago in Palm Desert, California. I picked up a book called “Cooking for Mr. Latte” by Amanda Hesser, a writer [and later editor] for the New York Times food section. I made this recipe finally and it was outstanding. The pasta I used was imported lemon linguine. I added extra lemon zest, Parmesan & arugula. My suggestion is to taste and adjust to your preference. I thought it needed more of everything, except lemon juice. The pepper is important!

From Carolyn: the book from Amanda Hesser is just so cute – it’s about her meeting her (now) husband, and their courtship. He wasn’t much into food, and of course, she was/is. Yet he managed to pull recipes from his back pocket (you’d have to read the book to learn about his cooking), so each chapter tells a little story of their courtship, then bookended with a recipe. Some are his, and most are hers.

When Linda visited me last fall  at the desert house, we went shopping at Home Goods, and she picked up a package of lemon linguine. Now . . . this recipe doesn’t call for “lemon linguine,” just linguine, but hey, if you can find lemon linguine (it might be available at World Market), use it. I bought a package of that lemon linguine too, the same time she did, and I need to try it. As you know, I don’t eat much pasta, but this would be a special occasion.

What’s GOOD: Linda says it was outstanding. That’s enough said! Easy too.

What’s NOT: only that you need arugula and crème fraiche on hand.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook recipe (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Linguine with Meyer Lemon Zest, Crème Fraiche and Parm

Recipe By: Adapted from Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Serving Size: 4

Sea Salt
1 pound linguine — lemon flavored if you can find it
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
2 Meyer lemons — zest and juice
2 1/2 cups arugula — roughly chopped
1/2 cup crème fraiche
Lots of freshly ground black pepper

1. Fill a large pot with water and season with lots of salt – enough that you can taste the salt. Bring it to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente (still firm and not quite cooked through).
2. While it cooks, finely grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into a large serving bowl. Zest the lemons into the bowl, then add the arugula.
3. Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Juice one of the lemons and set aside.
4. Drain the pasta and turn it out into the serving bowl with the cheese, lemon zest and arugula. Working quickly, sprinkle over the lemon juice and a little pasta water. Add crème fraiche, then begin to fold all of the ingredients together. Fold over and over again until the pasta is slicked with sauce, the cheese is fully melted, the arugula wilted and the flavors harmonized. Season with plenty of ground black pepper. Taste a strand of linguine, then add more lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and creme fraiche, as needed. Or add more grated cheese if it’s needed. If the sauce is a bit too sticky, add a little more pasta water and mix again. [Notes from Linda: she added more lemon zest, arugula, cheese and pepper – she didn’t think it needed more lemon juice or the creme fraiche – but then, this recipe is very adaptable to your own individual taste.]
Per Serving: 783 Calories; 29g Fat (34.1% calories from fat); 37g Protein; 91g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 78mg Cholesterol; 753mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 752mg Calcium; 5mg Iron; 394mg Potassium; 636mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Brunch, low-carb, on March 31st, 2022.

Every so tasty quiche and no guilt because it didn’t have the crust.

A post from Carolyn. In the last week, since I’m no longer president of my P.E.O. chapter, I’ve done a whole lot more cooking. I’ve had time to do a whole lot of things I’ve not had time for in the last four years. There are several projects I have on my to-do list (read through a huge pile of magazines I’ve not had time to read – some of them pre-pandemic, even; clean up my desk in the study, get back to some painting/art/drawings; go out to lunch more often; and COOK!).

Daughter Sara, granddaughter Sabrina, her friend Liv, my other granddaughter Taylor (the one who is living with me) and I shared a brunch last Sunday morning. Sara, Sabrina and Liv ran either a 5K or 10K that morning and came here afterwards to have food as they were all very hungry. Sara made scones and brought them (recipe coming up soon) and I made this quiche.  It was pretty darned easy, especially since it doesn’t have a crust. I’m perfectly fine with a crustless quiche, but as much as I love pastry, don’t we know it’s not all that good for us. Not that this quiche is all that low calorie – it is not. It has bacon in it and cheese, so it still has a generous amount of fat. I started with a recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen and made some modifications along the way. Same 9 or 10-inch pie dish (good old Pyrex), but I added more eggs, more dairy, also parsley, my own mixture of herbs and cheese that I had in my refrigerator (Gruyere and Mozzarella).

First off, fry up the bacon until crisp, then drain on paper towels. My bacon was thick-sliced and very meaty, so it had very little fat to pour off. Once cooled down it was added to a bowl and the other ingredients added in: the grated cheeses, pepper, green onions (white parts), herbs (I used an herb mix I had amongst my little spice and herb bottles) and cayenne. That was mixed up a little bit (don’t do this when the bacon is hot or it’ll begin melting the cheese) and added to the pie dish. Make sure it’s evenly distributed. Then you mix up the eggs, half and half and a little bit of cream, along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. That’s poured into the pie dish, and use a fork to ease the egg mixture into the bacon/cheese stuff so there aren’t any clumps or air pockets. The bacon kind of sank to the bottom (see photo) but it didn’t make any difference to the flavors.

Into the oven it goes for about 45 minutes. I checked it a couple of times and it was really nice and puffy, but once out of the oven it did dip a bit in the middle (normal). I let it cool for about 5 minutes while I plated up the chicken sausages I had done and fruit of all kinds. Sara had brought the scones, so they went onto the table with butter. Taylor had bought me a bottle of a mango sparkling wine awhile back (she said she got it at World Market) which was just lovely with the brunch. And we all had at least one or two coffee lattes, one before brunch, and again after brunch.

What’s GOOD: really easy as long as you’ve got all the ingredients on hand. Taste was just perfect – tasty all around. The green onions add a lot of flavor – and then there’s the bacon, of course. The whole house smelled like bacon! Yes, I’d definitely make this again.

What’s NOT: gee, nothing that I can think of. It took about 30 minutes to prepare it, 45 minutes to bake it and in no time at all and it was gone.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Crustless Quiche Lorraine

Recipe By: Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen blog
Serving Size: 6

8 slices bacon — [thick sliced]
1/2 cup sliced green onions — white part mostly
1 cup Gruyere cheese — grated, or Swiss
1 cup Mozzarella cheese — grated fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon herb blend — your choice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
8 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup half and half
GARNISH:
2 tablespoons green onion — finely chopped
2 tablespoons parsley — finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 or 10 inch pie dish with nonstick spray.
2. Cook bacon until it’s crisp; remove to drain on paper towels.
3. Slice green onions (reserve the green part for the garnish) and grate cheese.
4. In a bowl combine the white part of the green onions, bacon, cheeses and season well with freshly ground black pepper, herb blend and the cayenne. Mix well with a fork. Sprinkle the mixture in the pie dish.
5. Beat the eggs until yolks and whites are completely combined, then whisk in the half and half and cream.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients; use a fork to gently move the ingredients so there aren’t clumps or air bubbles.
7. Bake 45 minutes or until the center is firm and the top is a light golden brown. The quiche will puff up as it cooks, but when it cools slightly it will sink. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then slice in wedges and serve warm, garnished with green onions and parsley.
8. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days and can be reheated in the microwave.
Per Serving: 599 Calories; 49g Fat (73.8% calories from fat); 35g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 369mg Cholesterol; 871mg Sodium; 2g Total Sugars; 2mcg Vitamin D; 682mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 298mg Potassium; 609mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian, on March 25th, 2022.

Another recipe from my friend Linda

A post from Carolyn. My dear friend Linda is an avid cook. There are any number of recipes of hers on my blog and she so nicely asked if I wanted a couple more recipes to post, favorites of hers. I said of course! This soup, made popular by Ina Garten, actually has different beginnings. It’s from Bobbi Brown, the originator of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. The recipe is in one of Ina’s cookbooks, but at Food & Wine they introduced the recipe (from Ina) but said that it was from Bobbi Brown. Who knew . . . I went online to read a bit more about Brown – she’s married with three sons – lives in New Jersey and she and her husband recently renovated an old hotel there and it re-opened as one a couple or three years ago. Click on the link above, to Wikipedia, if you’re interested in knowing more.

French Green de Puy Lentils Texture Picture | Free Photograph | Photos Public DomainThe one important note here – it’s necessary that you find and  use French Le Puy lentils. Sometimes they’re a bit harder to find. They hold their shape after cooking. You know that orange lentils dissolve once cooked. Here you want the distinct shape and texture of the lentil. Online it says Walmart and Target both carry French/Le Puy. So does amazon.

Anyway, the soup is quite straight forward – soak the lentils, cook onions, garlic and leeks until tender, then add celery and carrots. Broth, tomato paste and lentils are added and cooked for about an hour, then you add some red wine. Always a flavorful addition to hearty soups. Season it well – sometimes lentils need more salt than you might think. This soup has garlic, thyme and cumin in it. You can drizzle the top of the soup with olive oil and grate some Parm on top too. As with all soups (IMHO) they’re better if made a day ahead. The recipe indicates this keeps for two days. Huh? Just two days? Surely lentil and vegetable soup would keep more than two days; not sure why that would be the case. Thank you, Linda, for the recipe and the soup photo.

What’s GOOD: Linda says this soup is just wonderful. Not hard to make. Good, deep flavor. Freezes well too.

What’s NOT: only that you need to find Le Puy lentils. Buy two so you have some when you want to make this again.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

French Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Recipe By: Ina Garten (and from Bobbi Brown)
Serving Size: 8

1 pound lentils — Le Puy French type, picked over and rinsed
Boiling water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil — plus more for serving
3 large onions — chopped
3 medium garlic cloves — minced
2 large leeks — white and tender green parts only, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme — chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 celery ribs — cut into 1/2-inch dice
6 medium carrots — cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 quarts low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine — or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese — for serving

1. In a large heatproof bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions, garlic, leeks, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper and the thyme and cumin and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the celery and carrots and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste and lentils to the pot. Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 1 hour. Stir in the red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
4. To Make Ahead: The soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Let return to room temperature and reheat gently, adding more stock to adjust the consistency if necessary.
Per Serving: 379 Calories; 10g Fat (22.4% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 158mg Sodium; 8g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 83mg Calcium; 6mg Iron; 1050mg Potassium; 315mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Breads, on March 22nd, 2022.

Don’t you just want to dive into that bread? Slice off a piece and spread it with butter?

A quick post from Carolyn. You’ve seen this bread here before – – I posted it years 12 years ago, and I haven’t tampered with the recipe one iota. It stands the test of time. I’ve made it many, many St. Patrick’s Days to go along with a delicious corned beef dinner. And this time it was no different, other than I didn’t remind you to MAKE THIS prior to March 17th. It makes the most lovely bread the morning after, toasted lightly and again, spread with softened butter. This year my friend Cherrie and her husband Bud invited my granddaughter Taylor and me to dinner that night, even though Cherrie is recovering from shoulder replacement surgery. Bud has become a wonder in the kitchen, but I know Cherrie did plenty of small tasks getting ready for us too. It was a scrumptious dinner and this bread was perfect to go with it. If you haven’t saved this recipe before, you should click through and read how easy it is to make. And then make it.

Posted in easy, IP, Soups, on March 17th, 2022.

So very easy to make in the Instant Pot. 

A post from Carolyn. For quite awhile I’m been reading a blog called Ministry of Curry. And I’ve made several of Archana’s recipes, since I’m a lover of all things Indian food. This recipe isn’t Indian – that’s not to say they don’t eat barley in India – – – I have no idea, actually. But there are no Indian spices here, as this is very much a simple, lightly seasoned mushroom and vegetable soup with some added barley. I started out with her recipe, although I altered it. You can find thousands of mushroom barley soup recipes on the web and there may be nothing all that unusual about this one. But I’ll just tell you it’s a good stick-to-the-ribs kind of cold-weather soup for these cool/cold evenings. The easy part is that it’s made in the Instant Pot. Love that pot.

A few weeks ago I was out in the desert at the 2nd home (condo) my daughter Sara, her husband John and I purchased in 2020. We’re in the process of renovating it now, and that will likely take a long time to finish. As I write this, the guest bath (mine) is getting a total makeover – new shower and tile, new cabinet, fixtures, lighting. Except for a vessel sink and granite countertop the bathroom was circa 1985. Old. Tired. Eventually we’re going to vinyl (wood-like) plank the floors in the whole house, but for now it’s tile. Anyway, I got sidetracked there – – I wanted to make a batch of butter chicken and the recipe I’ve posted here (that I just love-love-love) is made in the Instant Pot. Well, shoot  – we didn’t have an Instant Pot at that house. So, I went to Costco and bought one. I don’t think I could function anymore without an Instant Pot in my kitchen. My most common use for it is making hard boiled eggs (the 2-10-2 method – 2 minutes manual pressure – 10 resting – release pressure – then 2 minutes in ice water). I eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast seven days a week with a little yogurt and fruit on the side.

So back to this recipe . . . am I giving all of you TMI? . . . I went to a local market and got some bulk barley (I can’t tell you the last time I bought or ate barley), a big honkin’ leek, onions, mushrooms, celery, carrots, etc. This soup doesn’t inherently have any protein in it – although barley has some – but when I reheated bowls of it I added in some chopped up rotisserie chicken so I would have some protein. But many of the heated bowls I ate as is, no protein. It’s very filling, let me say. I really liked the addition of sour cream on top that gets mixed in as you eat it. There’s a little bit of tomato paste in the recipe (good umami flavor), and I also used mushroom soup base (try amazon) that is a regular fixture in my frig. And over a pound of mushrooms. And I added some sherry wine to it also. Every time I heat a bowl of it the sherry aroma wafts from the steam.

As with all soups, this one tasted so much better the next day and I’ve been eating away at it for a week with enough to put some in the freezer too. It’s very filling – a scant cup is plenty for me for lunch.

What’s GOOD: just the wholesomeness of it – healthy, hearty, filling. So very easy in the Instant Pot (15 minutes, that’s it). The chopping up of all the veggies took a lot more time than that! Good for freezing. Good umami flavors throughout.

What’s NOT: nary a thing.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Mushroom Barley Soup in the Instant Pot

Recipe By: Adapted from Ministry of Curry
Serving Size: 6

1 pound mushrooms — crimini
4 tablespoons EVOO
4 tablespoons dry sherry
1 large leek — or two medium sized ones
1 1/2 cups onion — finely chopped
3 cloves garlic — minced
1 1/2 cups celery — thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups carrots — diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons mushroom base — a concentrate
4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup barley
1/4 cup parsley — minced
GARNISH:
1 cup sour cream

1. Slice half of the mushrooms. Dice the remaining half.
2. Set the Instant pot to sauté mode and heat half of the oil. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add cooking sherry as the mushrooms start to stick to the pot, cooking for additional 2 minutes. Remove cooked mushrooms with liquids and set aside.
3. To the Instant Pot add remaining oil, leeks, onions, garlic, and celery to the pot. Sauté for 2 minutes. Next, add mushrooms and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add carrots, tomato paste, bay leaves, barley, salt, pepper, and mushroom paste and water.
4. Pressure Cook for 15 minutes followed by natural pressure release. Remove bay leaves.
5. Stir in the reserved mushrooms. Cool soup and for best flavor, refrigerate overnight. Reheat then garnish with parsley. Serve hot with bread. You can also add a dollop of sour cream as a garnish.
Per Serving: 290 Calories; 16g Fat (48.0% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 735mg Sodium; 10g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 107mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 833mg Potassium; 190mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Cookies, on March 14th, 2022.

Ah, yes, yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe. Hope you’re not tired of them.

A post from Carolyn. Until recently I’d never heard of Zoë Francois. That is until I began watching Magnolia Network where she has her own show call Zoë Bakes. She’s a baker of high esteem and her shows are filmed (I’m assuming) in her home kitchen in Vermont (so quaint). 90% of her recipes are sweets. Some of them are quite fussy (well, they are to me, who doesn’t really like fussy cooking or baking). But hey, I’m always on the lookout for a new or different chocolate chip cookie recipe.

So what’s different about this one? (1) she uses some shortening in it – mostly butter as the fat quotient, and just a little shortening (which supposedly helps the cookies not spread); and (2) she has you chill the cookie balls, on the sheet, before baking. If you are at all interested in reading the ins and outs of chocolate chip cookies and the ingredients that go into them and how they make a cookie react, you should read the long intro to the recipe. It’s quite detailed and unless you’re a professional baker, I’d guess you’d learn something from it. I certainly did.

My granddaughter Taylor loves chocolate chip cookies. And if you’ve followed this blog for any length of time you’ve learned that I do too. As I write this up, Taylor’s been home in Northern California for 2 weeks on a spring break and will hit the grindstone tomorrow with new nursing classes and two different hospitals where she’ll be learning clinical skills. I wanted her to be able to take a few cookies to school or to snack on when she’s studying here at home.

Who doesn’t like a good chocolate chip cookie? Maybe some of those rare people (I know one person – yes Kerry, that’s you) who don’t really care for sweets. I dug out my stand mixer and started in on these. I actually 1 1/2 times the recipe, but the recipe below is the original, which makes 36 cookies regular sized, or 18 if you like the giant ones. I did measure the ingredients carefully, even using my scale for the chips and flour.

For quite awhile I’ve not been doing any baking (trying NOT to), and when I dug out my brown sugar I discovered every speck of brown sugar I had was hard as a rock. Oh dear. I wasn’t about to make a trip to the grocery store. So I googled “how to rehydrate brown sugar,” and there are plenty of recommendations. The one that worked for me was to measure out about 1 cup of the hard brown sugar (first I had to break it up with a mallet) and it went into a sealing type plastic bag, then I added exactly 3/4 tsp of water. You just throw it in the bag and zip it up. It went in the microwave for 15 seconds, then you mush it around by hand, in the bag, breaking apart any of the hard chunks. Then back into the microwave for 10 second increments (it took just one more 10 second round) to make this brown sugar as soft and pliable as a fresh one from the store. At first there was a wet streak (that’s normal) in the middle of the sugar, but as it warms up, it absorbs into the whole lot. Just keep massaging it around. Who knew?

As it turned out, I was lazy and didn’t do the chill-in-the-frig part. I just scooped them and baked them. The recipe indicated 375°F for 8-9 minutes (using the chilled ones), but after making several trays straight from the bowl, I settled on 355°F for 12 minutes exactly. My oven runs a little on the hot side, I’ve learned. I made some of them without walnuts and some with them (the baker didn’t add them, but I prefer with walnuts). I added a measurement of walnuts in the recipe below, so you can choose to or not. I also didn’t add the flaky sea salt to the top. When I tasted the dough I thought they were plenty salty, so didn’t want to add more.

What’s GOOD: really good choc chip cookies. Are they better than others? I liked that they held their shape. They were a little on the brownish side underneath – that’s why I reduced the oven temp a little bit. Try a test batch when you make them. My favorite chocolate chip cookies still remain the ones from the Silver Moon Bakery. Click the link to read my post about them.

What’s NOT: nothing at all. These were delicious. Over the top? Maybe not. Certainly good, however.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Zoe Francois

Recipe By: Zoe Francois, Magnolia Network
Serving Size: 36

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour — (320g) unbleached
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter — at room temperature
4 tablespoons shortening — (57g)
1 cup granulated sugar — (200g)
1 cup brown sugar — (230g) packed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs — at room temperature
12 ounces chocolate — use 72% cocoa, chopped in largish chunks (about 1/4-inch wide)
Flaky Sea Salt
ADDITION: 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped (not in the original recipe)

NOTE: Reserve one small chunk of chopped chocolate to place on the top of each raw cookie. If you are using the flake sea salt on top of the cookies you might want to scant the salt measurement in the batter.
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
2. In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, then add the shortening until evenly mixed in. Add sugars and beat for 3 minutes on medium speed. Mix in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated. Add flour and mix just until incorporated. Mix in chocolate, leaving at least one chunk of chocolate that you place on top of each cookie. [If adding walnuts, add them at this time.]
3. Scoop cookie dough using a portion scoop. You can make the cookies larger or smaller, but it will effect the baking time.
4. Refrigerate the raw cookies (on the baking sheets) for at least 30 minutes if you are in a hurry, but they improve if you let them sit for 24-36 hours. Resting will make them taste better, be more uniform in shape and color nicely when they bake. After they are chilled you can bake them or freeze the dough balls for later baking.
5. To bake: Heat oven to 375°F. Bake 6 chilled cookie balls (the large ones), evenly spaced on a sheet pan in the middle of the oven for about 12-15 minutes. If you’re making smaller cookies, you can fit 9-12 on a sheet and they will bake in about 8-9 minutes. Watch carefully that they don’t burn. When the cookies are about 3/4 baked, remove pan and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Continue baking. [For my oven, without chilling the dough, the cookies were best baked at 355°F for 12 minutes.]
6. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the pan and then remove to a cooling rack.
Per Serving: 180 Calories; 11g Fat (52.4% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 148mg Sodium; 10g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 17mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 98mg Potassium; 54mg Phosphorus.

Posted in easy, Pork, on March 10th, 2022.

This recipe comes from my friend, Linda. 

A post from Carolyn. First off, I have to apologize to my readers . . . I’ve not been very “present” with my blog lately as I’ve been so crazy-busy – I’ve felt like I hardly have time to think. After four years, I’m finally going to be turning over my presidential gavel in my P.E.O. chapter to someone else. I’m hoping that’s going to free up a lot of my time. That happens exactly two weeks from today. I’ve hardly done recipe testing of late. My granddaughter, Taylor, the one who is in nursing school and is living with me, went home to Northern California on a 2-week break. Cooking a nice meal for her sometimes motivated me to try a new recipe or two. It’s not that I am eating out all that much, or buying ready-made food. I don’t really. Writing up a blog post about my usual evening green salad with everything in it but the kitchen sink wouldn’t be very noteworthy for you, my readers.

Anyway, my friend Linda offered to take a picture of a pork chop dish she made recently, these deviled pork chops. She said they were the best – the moistest – pork chops she’d ever had. Ever! That’s high praise, for sure.

As I was thinking about this recipe, the name for sure, how did anything get to be called “deviled” I wondered. Well, the web is certainly helpful: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in 1786 to “devil” a food meant to cook it with a spicy seasoning or over very high heat. For hard boiled eggs, it meant to garnish it with red (meaning from the devil), and that would mean using  paprika. Who knew?

So this recipe came from America’s Test Kitchen. Linda and I are faithful watchers of that PBS program. Linda’s comments: Made this tonight after seeing it on ATK. SUPER EASY! Takes about 15 minutes.  Brown panko crumbs in butter, make a paste of good stuff. Smear on chops, pat crumbs on & bake on a rack at 275 for 40-50 minutes. Sounds very straight forward! Easy. Do use THICKER pork chops – you probably can’t do this with the thin ones at all.

What’s GOOD: I’m paraphrasing from what Linda told me via email and phone that this recipe was just so very easy. The chops were extremely moist (often a problem with today’s lower-fat pork chops).

What’s NOT: only that you need to allow for 40-50 minutes of baking time. And be sure to buy thicker pork chops.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Deviled Pork Chops

Recipe By: America’s Test Kitchen
Serving Size: 4

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup panko break crumbs
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic — minced to paste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
24 ounces boneless pork chops — ¾ to 1 inch thick

Notes: For the best results, be sure to buy chops of similar size. This recipe was developed using natural pork; if using enhanced pork (injected with a salt solution), do not add salt to the mustard paste in step 2. Serve the pork chops with mashed potatoes, rice, or buttered egg noodles.
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275°F.
2. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add panko and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir Dijon, sugar, dry mustard, garlic, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in second bowl until smooth.
3. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray with vegetable oil spray. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Transfer chops to prepared wire rack, spacing them 1 inch apart. Brush 1 tablespoon mustard mixture over top and sides of each chop (leave bottoms uncoated). Spoon 2 tablespoons toasted panko evenly over top of each chop and press lightly to adhere.
4. Roast until meat registers 140°F, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Per Serving: 390 Calories; 19g Fat (44.9% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 129mg Cholesterol; 348mg Sodium; 3g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 52mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 698mg Potassium; 432mg Phosphorus.

Posted in easy, Fish, on March 1st, 2022.

Want to make salmon in a simple pan sauce? So easy and tasty.

A post from Carolyn. In trying to make salmon about once a week at my house, I search through the untried recipes in my file and this one popped up because I had all the ingredients on hand. That’s a win in my book!

The original recipe used lime juice, but I had lemon, so I used what I had. It would likely be even better with lime juice merely because of the coconut milk – they seem to make a common marriage in lots of recipes. Because I knew this would come together in a hurry, I got everything ready before I started. The veggies that went along with it (zucchini and yellow squash) plus a side of rice I started before I even began the salmon. It came together so very quickly. There is garlic, ginger and lemongrass (I had some in a tube) plus a tiny bit of brown sugar, and you could use any number of types of hot chili paste – I used Thai red chili paste (very little). One extra addition was a tiny splash of Vietnamese fish sauce which added a little more umami flavor. I totally forgot to keep some of the lemon zest for the top – – oh well.

My only caution – do NOT overcook the salmon. I had two pieces (one for my granddaughter Taylor and the thinner one for me) and one was much thicker than the other, so they required very different cooking times. A thin fillet as you see in the picture above will take just a couple of minutes on each side to cook through. Just be careful about that. I added some additional lemon juice at the end which gave the sauce even better flavor.

What’s GOOD: how easy this was, beginning to end. Loved the sauce that flooded over into the rice. Altogether yum.

What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Poached Salmon in Coconut Lemon Sauce

Recipe By: Adapted slightly from Recipe Tin Eats blog
Serving Size: 4

24 ounces salmon fillets
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons neutral oil — divided use
2 cloves garlic — finely grated
2 teaspoons fresh ginger — finely grated
1 teaspoon lemongrass paste — or use fresh
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Thai red chili paste
8 ounces coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons lemon zest — or lime zest
lemon juice to squeeze on top (or lime juice)
cilantro leaves for garnish

1. Sprinkle both sides of salmon with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 T oil in a non stick pan or well seasoned skillet over medium high heat. Add salmon, skin side up, and sear for just 1 1/2 minutes until golden. Turn salmon over and cook the other side just for 1 minute, then remove onto a plate (should still be raw inside).
3. Turn heat down to medium low and allow skillet to cool.
4. Heat remaining 1 T oil. Add garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Cook until garlic is light golden, about a minute.
5. Add sugar and cook for 20 seconds until it becomes caramelized, then stir in chili paste. Add coconut milk and stir, scraping the bottom of the skillet to dissolve any bits stuck on the base into the sauce. Stir in fish sauce, increase heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Place salmon into the sauce, lower heat and simmer gently for 2-4 minutes, or until just cooked. Do not overcook. Salmon is done when the internal temp reaches 135°F. Remove salmon, stir in lemon or lime zest and juice to taste. Adjust salt to taste with fish sauce.
7. Serve salmon alongside noodles or rice. Spoon sauce over the salmon, garnish with citrus zest and cilantro leaves if using.
Per Serving: 408 Calories; 27g Fat (58.6% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 126mg Cholesterol; 448mg Sodium; 4g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 36mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 909mg Potassium; 542mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Chicken, Grilling, on February 20th, 2022.

:

Do you ever wish you could make something that is just bursting with lemon flavor? And garlic too? Throw in rosemary as well?

A post from Carolyn. Since I didn’t name this recipe, I guess I really shouldn’t re-name it; even so, it would be difficult to do, because these three flavors (lemon, garlic, rosemary) are just all there. Equally so. I think the lemon is predominant, however.

My friend Dianne made this chicken for the luncheon I told you about in my last post (for the classic rice pilaf – that went with this chicken). She told me that a few years ago her grown kids and grandkids were visiting and her daughter said “what’s for dinner,” and Dianne suggested they try one of the recipes from Zov’s (a local restaurant). It’s since become a favorite in her family and whenever they visit, it’s a regular on the menu. The recipe comes from Zov’s cookbook, Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart. It was published in 2005, (also updated in 2008) but it’s still available. Zov is Armenian by heritage and her recipes certainly reflect the Mediterranean and beyond culture and cuisine.

So, the recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. Dianne pounds them to an even thickness (so you get even cooking on the grill). Then they’re marinated for about 24 hours. The recipe indicates you can marinate them a shorter period, or even longer, but Dianne likes the 24 hours as a regular benchmark. They are patted dry with paper towels, then grilled swiftly over a medium-high grill heat. Then she carefully slices them on the diagonal (so you get slightly wider slices than when cutting straight down). Put them onto a heated platter (because they cool very quickly) and serve immediately. Do put some fresh rosemary and a wedge or two of lemon on the platter when serving  – it looks so pretty.

Dianne made more than enough of this, so when we were divvying up the leftovers, she generously let me have a bunch. My granddaughter Taylor and I had two dinner meals with the leftovers, and still had more for some evening dinner salads with the chopped up cold chicken on top.

What’s GOOD: the flavors are, as I mentioned, just bursting through. Does that tell you enough – the lemon, the garlic and the rosemary. Absolutely delicious. So worth making.

What’s NOT: only that you must plan ahead at least 24 hours to get the most out of the marinating.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe).

* Exported from MasterCook *

Rosemary Garlic Chicken with Lemon

Recipe By: Zov Karamardian, Zov’s Bistro
Serving Size: 8

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary — chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme — chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Italian parsley or rosemary sprigs, for garnish lemon wedges, for garnish

1. Place chicken breast (firm side up) on a piece of plastic wrap and cover with a second piece. Gently pound chicken with a flat pounder until chicken is an even thickness. Repeat for remaining chicken pieces.
2. Whisk lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and oil in a large bowl to blend. Add chicken and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate, tossing occasionally, for at least one hour or up to two days.
3. Prepare barbecue for medium-high heat. Grill chicken breasts until they are just cooked through and golden brown, about 3 minutes on the first side, and about 1 minute on the 2nd side. Test the interior temperature with an instant read thermometer – it should not exceed 160°F. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and slice chicken on a slant into long strips then transfer chicken to a heated platter. Ganish with parsley or rosemary and lemon wedges.
Per Serving: 350 Calories; 17g Fat (44.0% calories from fat); 48g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 151mg Cholesterol; 1277mg Sodium; trace Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 19mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 804mg Potassium; 472mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Veggies/sides, on February 13th, 2022.

Such a delicious side, great for a family meal or guests. The goodies on top included dried apricots, golden raisins and toasted pine nuts.

A post from Carolyn. On Friday, my friend Dianne and I hosted a luncheon at my house. It was a fund-raising event for my P.E.O. chapter. Eight of our friends paid $15 or more (it was a bidding process) to come have lunch with us (and the money is used to fund philanthropies that help educate women). Dianne and I slaved for the better part of two days to put together the menu (3 courses) and figure out how to make it fun. We served a cold pea soup (it was about 90°F outside and my A/C was running at full speed), grilled chicken, this rice pilaf, and then we prepared three desserts (coconut cupcakes, lemon bars and Viennese chocolate walnut bars). As we ate, Dianne and I explained the stories behind the recipes we served. Then, after lunch was over, all of our guests brought out their favorite cookbook(s) and/or a few special recipes and told stories about them. It was so very fun.

There’s my dining room table, all set up with a red Valentine’s theme. Dianne has tons of red tableware and décor, which she shared with me. Between us we had enough for ten place settings. Neither of us had 10 of anything, so we did a lot of mixing and matching, but hey, it worked.

The pilaf was actually very easy to make. The recipe comes from Zov Karamardian, a local chef/restaurateur. And the recipe is in her cookbook, Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart. I see that you can buy used copies of her cookbook for $1.90 plus shipping. Anyway, the recipe is the usual combination of rice (this time jasmine was called for) and vermicelli, with more than the usual amount of butter added, then broth, and the garnishes on top. If you get out everything before you begin, it comes together in a flash. While Dianne grilled the chicken outside, the pilaf sat quietly steaming on the stove until tender.

The only extra step necessary in the preparation was toasting the pasta – and it took exactly 5 minutes in my toaster oven. Do watch it carefully as it could go from just right, to burned in a matter of seconds. And do that well ahead of when you need it. Have all the garnishes out and ready too, so all you have to do is sprinkle them on top.

What’s GOOD: how easy this is to make, and oh-so tasty. This recipe is a keeper.

What’s NOT: nothing really.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Classic Rice Pilaf

Recipe By: Zov Karamardian, restaurateur
Serving Size: 10

1 cup vermicelli — or fideo noodles (sometimes hard to find)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter — (3/4 stick)
2 cups jasmine rice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth — (I use chicken broth)
1/2 cup water
Garnishes:
1/3 cup pine nuts — toasted
1/3 cup dried apricots — minced
1/3 cup golden raisins — plumped in water if they’re too dry
1/3 cup slivered almonds — toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange vermicelli on heavy baking sheet. Bake until the vermicelli are golden brown, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning, about 5 min. These burn easily so watch them carefully. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in rice and toasted vermicelli. Add salt and pepper. Stir for about one minute to lightly toast the rice then add broth and water. Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to boil.
3. Cover and simmer gently over low heat until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. (Do not stir rice as it cooks). Remove saucepan from the heat. Fluff the rice with a fork, then transfer to a bowl and serve with garnishes sprinkled on top.
Per Serving: 291 Calories; 19g Fat (56.3% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 698mg Sodium; 6g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 33mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 190mg Potassium; 73mg Phosphorus.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...