Cookbook Wednesday: Only One Day Late!

I had a little bit of free time today.  I wonder how that happened?  No matter; I came to visit you.

I got this cookbook a few years back from one of my daughters for Christmas.  It's certainly a very pretty cookbook, loaded with gorgeous pictures.  It's so pretty it's almost intimidating.

THE PROVENCAL COOKBOOK
"Shop, cook and eat like a local"

(Around here, that means Old Forge Style Pizza.  Just sayin'.)

 There are even lots of pretty pictures included with the table of contents.

 All about olive oil, and its myriad uses.  Good for a dolt like me.

 How to make your own Bouquet Garni.  Here and I thought that was just a spice bottle my mother had on her shelf to look fancy despite the fact that she could barely boil water.

 I think this was the only page without pictures.

 I've made this salad dressing.  But that isn't what's interesting about this page.

 Ryan bought me this bookmark from a school field trip when he was in about 7th grade.  Look at the sharks.

 Now look again when I turn it slightly!  The sharks are coming, and boy are they p**sed!

 I guess this is where pilaf comes from?

 Don't ever let anyone tell you ketchup isn't authentic French food.  Here's your proof.

 Something to do with pine nuts besides make pesto!

 And, of course, the obligatory cheese section.  Because life is not complete without cheese.  Just ask my (future) son in law, the "cheese snob" (his soon-to-be wife's words, not mine).

Happy Cookbook Wednesday on Thorsday, everyone!  With my eternal thanks to Louise for creating this event, and hopes that we will see you perhaps around the holidays, or whenever your hiatus ends!

Garden Tuesday: Drive By

The grass has mostly come in; Ryan has gently mowed it for me a couple of times.  Sadly, there are still bare spots where the stupid sprinkler washed away the seed, so I've overseeded those in hopes that we will be all green in 3 weeks....

And, in a random turn of events, we had a visiting kittycat on the porch the other day.  He did not stay to say hello after I opened the door.

Happy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

Book Review...on Monday?

It's been a hectic weekend.  Our oldest son and his wife came for the weekend, the sons went to the first part of the bachelor weekend (paintballing, skipping the casino), I sewed two-and-a-half test dresses in search of the right pattern for my mother-of-the-bride dress, and a big contact lens problem at 6:30AM today has me seeing blurry.

So I'm hiding.  And I thought I'd write a review of a book I read probably 2 months ago.

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
By  Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I bought this book at a used book sale in April, and it waited for a couple of months for my attention.  "Literary" and "Pie" in the title?  It had to be good, right?  The book is set in the aftermath of WWII, in London and on Guernsey.  Juliet Ashton is an author attempting to begin her second novel, when she receives a letter from the Isle of Guernsey.  Her name had been written inside a book, and the writer wanted to know if she could recommend a book for him.  Thus began a correspondence between Juliet and the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, so named when some of the members were caught breaking the Nazi imposed curfew during the war.

The book consists entirely of letters between Juliet and others: her publisher, her best friend, members of the Society...

I had to stick with it through the first quarter or so of this book, until I became caught up enough in the story to want to see it through, to find out what happened to the member who was taken by the SS, what happened to the father of that woman's child, what would become of the marriage proposal Juliet received from a rich man, how those on Guernsey fared after the war.  I'm just not a fan of reading nothing but letters between people and waiting to see how they are interrelated and interwoven.  Ultimately, it was a good book, but I would have enjoyed it much more had it been a more standard narrative.  3.5/5

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: Plums!

Well, I guess that even though the wedding plans are pretty well firmed up, tiny crises are going to continue to plague me!  I've been a pretty inconsistent poster the past couple of months, and it's not going to get any better, apparently.

But over the weekend, I strolled down to our orchard, and found our three plum trees teeming with beautiful little plums!

 From a little farther back on the second tree, you can see the plums scattered over the branches!

I picked in excess of 50 of them; since this is still about 40 in this bowl, you can surmise just how tiny they are.  But they are lovely and sweet, with just a little tang to the skins.

I can't find any recipes for plums, but I'm thinking of attempting to create maybe a cobbler with some of these.  And another trip to the trees is probably in order.

Happy Garden Tuesday, everyone!  See you next time my brain is untangled.

Garden Tuesday: Lawn Update

Well, look at that!  Just a couple of thin spots where the sprinkler washed out the seed (note to self: sprinklers are evil...), and I"m working on the overseed.  I think William can mow it next week!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Monday Miscellany

So, how many of you have signed up for ancestry com?  My dearly beloved urged me to sign up last fall after seeing an advertisement on TV:"I know you had it years ago! But the ad says it's easier and better!  Try it!"  Now you know why I can't let the man watch commercials.

So, I signed up.  And I spent many hours watching TV while searching into both his and my ancestors.  And I found some expected things, some unexpected things (ancestors who were Tories, and left for Canada in 1777, along with some who stayed).  I found my grandfather's parents, whose names I didn't even know, but not complete information because of the commonality of the name.  And I learned that his mother's genes have doomed every one of her descendants (and her siblings to the extent I can find them) to a very short lifespan.

To back up a bit, when I was a child, there was a 3"x4" picture of a young man in a military uniform in my grandmother's house.  So when I was maybe 11 or 12, I asked who the "soldier" was, and they told me it was "Uncle Jimmy," who left home in the early to mid 1950s and never came back.  So, in 1987, I decided I would find the missing Uncle Jimmy, whose name was actually Robert.  Confused yet? Me, too, when I learned that Jimmy was short for Robert.  So I actually found his son, who said his father was an orphaned only child.  Well, then.  But he spoke to his father, who eventually admitted that I was his relative, but didn't want to speak to anyone from the family; he was happy being an orphaned only child.  Fast forward to about 2 months ago, when I got a message through said ancestry website that someone claimed to be the granddaughter of my grandmother.  What? I'm the only granddaughter. Nope.  Not any more. 

So, this weekend I met my cousin for the first time, and learned that there are at least 3 more cousins out there.  Seems Uncle Jimmy is not forthright with his information, even amongst his children.  But it was interesting to meet her; both of us learned a lot about the family's history.  It is strange, however, to get not one, but 4 brand new cousins when you're as old as I am!

How about all of you; any family mysteries in your background?

Busy Weekend!

My other daughters and I held a bridal shower for the bride-to-be.  I'm glad that's done; the worry of planning, and whether everyone would be happy, made me crazy.  This from the person who thinks nothing of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 25!  Who'd have thought holding an event that's catered and not at my house would trouble me?

Buying miscellaneous china tea cups and decorating them as shower favors was positively inspired!  Everyone made sure to take theirs with them. (Note: it took a lot longer than I anticipated to get all those bows just right.)

 The groom's mother ordered the cake, red velvet.  Of course, Blogger turned the picture upside down and I can't make it get right.  Stand on your head to see it properly oriented.  Trust me; I'm helping you get your exercise.  You're welcome.

 Presents.  The fabric wrapped things were shrubs for the bride's new house.  Both the groom's mother and I had pictures from their childhoods printed, we ordered matching sets of frames, and set them up for all to admire.

 Her sisters insisted Shannon needed a veil.  Just look how thrilled she was.  It lasted at least 90 seconds after the picture was taken.

 Bridal Pictionary is a great shower game.

 Even 94 year old grannies can participate!

So, that's where I've been.  I made myself a new dress for the occasion, but since I ran the camera, it's not photographed anywhere.  Oh, well.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Thorsday Book Review: The Little Paris Bookshop

THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP
by Nina George

It all started with a table.

Jean Perdu owns The Literary Apothecary, a bookstore aboard a barge in Paris.  He won't sell just any book to a customer, but only what he feels they need.  His life, however, isn't in such fine condition.  One afternoon, when he returned home, his landlady told him that there was a new tenant in the flat across the hall from him, and since her wealthy husband had just put her clothing in a suitcase on the doorstep with divorce papers atop it, and changed the locks, all of the tenants in the building were contributing furnishings to help her.  The landlady determined that Jean needs to donate a table, which leads him to a slow emotional meltdown, the origins of which stretch back 20 years, and which is revealed to us slowly.  Because of this meltdown, one day Jean unties his bookstore/barge from its moorings and sets off downriver, accompanied by his two barge cats and a young author who lives in his building, who is suffering from writer's block and can't even begin his second novel.

I chose this book because of the title, and the pretty picture on the cover.  I"m a sucker for book stores, and love stories set in France (where I will never visit, because the reality is never as pretty as the pictures in your head).

I loved this book.  I read it last week, almost finishing it before Jeff and Tank came to visit.  Of course, I stayed up most of Friday night to finish it, because I enjoyed it so.  5/5

Note: I received this book free from Blogging for Books.  All opinions are my own.

And, since it's Thorsday, here are some pictures of Tank from last weekend.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Cookbook Wednesday: Too Busy?

Yes, the title is correct: Too Busy To Cook?  And who amongst us hasn't had such days?

 I mail ordered this from Bon Appetit magazine back around 1984.  The mail order receipt has been carefully tucked inside this cookbook ever since.

 The recipes are pretty simple, and at the beginning of every section is a brown bar containing handy tips for when simple recipes just aren't easy enough.

 There are some pretty pictures, but not that many.

 Every section contains those handy tips.

 In each category, you have your hot section,

 the do ahead section,

 and the microwave section.

 I want this dessert.  Now.  I never have the patience to arrange my berries so prettily.

 And, being Bon Appetit, of course they had to include a chart which tells you which cheeses go well with which wines.

 This is Cookbook Wednesday, in honor of Louise, who is on hiatus for the summer.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: The Walled Garden, Again

It took 5 days for very fine grass to appear, and 7 days to this point.

This point is in very deep shade.  I just finished overseeding it with deep shade grass seed.

 Right next to my feet, the sprinkler flooded away the seed, and it's in deep shade.  You can see the bright green where we get a few hours of sun a day.

 Again, shade.

 And standing water from the 2" of rain we had overnight.  I probably won't need to water for a day or 2.

Maybe next week it'll all be lush green!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Tank is here...

Tank is here this weekend.  This is going on a lot!