Beach Book

It's a week of early dismissals here, with school almost over.  I think we have a party every afternoon!

Yesterday, it was our Mother-Daughter Book Club meeting, which was held at a local beach.  And, yes, we did manage to discuss the book!  It was L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, which I had never read.  

And in truth, I didn't finish.  I started it late and the first several chapters were rather slow going.  It did pick up--with vignettes on Anne's life on PEI (Prince Edward Island.)  In fact, that vignette structure is very familiar from other "girl's" books such as the Little House series and even Little Women--the crisis at school, the crisis at the ball, the crisis at church, the crisis in the kitchen, etc etc etc.    Montgomery combines the lyrical and poetic imagination of her protagonist (the White Way of Delight, Dryad's Bubble, etc etc.) with a materialistic account of her surroundings--all those flowers, her "wincey" dress, various dress designs, the different types of tea sets, all the food (boiled pork and cabbage, raspberry cordial/currant wine) and richly drawn character studies.  I'm definitely enjoying it now and will finish it soon.

We did some activities, such as choose your own name like Anne wants to be called Cordelia.  I was "Meg" (from Little Women, also clearly feminine, which mine name isn't and it so bothered me as a child unable to find bookmarks or shoelaces or whatnot with my name and some pink, always rockets), Sis chose "Alex," and Bud was "Kevin."  (He was hanging around and so he got to choose a name, too.)  We designed the kind of dress Anne would like (with those puffed sleeves!) and tried to guess the nicknames she gave various land features.  And then the kids played a kind of red light/green light with one being Aunt Josephine.  

It wasn't PEI, but it was indeed a beautiful day at the beach.  The kids played in the shallows, finding hermit crabs and avoiding the razor-sharp clam shells.  I couldn't find any sea glass, just a bunch of rocks, no doubt from long-ago glaciers sweeping over the area and now coming down the rivers.  I also didn't find any arrowheads or the like (though I'm not sure I'd recognize stone tools on a beach) from the native inhabitants who used the site as fishing grounds, pre- and early-contact.  


I did find some nice stones and decided, last minute, to decorate one and leave it on the beach.  An Art Rock Drop . . . the kids and I have decided to leave several in various places this summer.  My first one, with just the Sharpies on hand, has the quote from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tonys sonnet.

The full text of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sonnet:

My wife's the reason anything gets done. She nudges me towards promise by degrees. She is a perfect symphony of one. Our son is her most beautiful reprise. We chase the melodies that seem to find us Until they're finished songs and start to play. When senseless acts of tragedy remind us That nothing here is promised, not one day This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall, and light from dying embers Remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love; Cannot be killed or swept aside. I sing Vanessa's symphony; Eliza tells her story. Now fill the world with music, love, and pride. 

Book Club of the Blue Dolphin

The cover of the book I had

We hosted our Mother-Daughter book club tonight, having chosen Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins.  Sis chose it because she likes survival stories.  She even read my copy, marked clearly, "Jamie, Fourth Grade."  35+ years old.

The book imagines the story of the experiences of a woman, named Karana in the book but Juana Maria in the historical record, who was actually left behind on an island off the coast of Los Angeles in the mid-19th century when her tribe went away.  Yes, the bones of the tale are real--she lived on the island alone for 18 years (no one came for her and the boat of her people went down with all aboard)--archaeologists think they've even found her cave!  She  was eventually brought to shore, where she couldn't communicate because no one spoke her language anymore, and she died just a few weeks after her "rescue" of dysentery.  Her cormorant skirt was sent to the Vatican and some of her other belongings were sent to a museum.

But the book deals with the time on the island, from the original events that led to her people leaving, to her jumping in the water to go back for her mischievous little brother, her brother's death by the pack of wild dogs, and her skills at making weapons, shelters, food, and friends of some of the animal inhabitants.  Karana survives visitors, a tsunami, serious injury, a leaky canoe during an attempted escape.  As we discussed tonight, she was resilient, resourceful, strong, brave.  She secured food, shelter, weapons, clothing . . . but also needed companionship (Rontu, Rontu-aru, the otter, the birds, and the visiting fox; it was because she was lonely that she finally left the island) and even beauty (the cormorant skirt, the necklace and earrings she made to match, even the abalone wind-chime type things.)

We also talked about what we would take if we were stranded on an island.  Sis said iodine to purify the water (I thought she was really clever to think of this.)  I wanted a pot with a lid and a tarp.  Many of us wanted knives and matches in a waterproof box.  Some wanted blankets or a first aid kit.  A few said "log cabin" or "refrigerator," laughing at missing the point.  I also mentioned wanting a book but couldn't quite decide--the collected works of Shakespeare are long and complex, but then I'd want a good dictionary to go with it!   But there were very few non-necessities (even the most religious among us wasn't going to take a Bible or the Book of Mormon.)  I'm not sure most of us would last very long, any longer than Karana laster when she got to the mainland.

As we discussed the book, we all worked on our own little woven Jute basket, just as Karana made baskets in the book.  Ours had a plastic frame that we wove strands of twine through, adding colorful beads.  Each mother and daughter made different patterns and color choices; some drew them tight to change the shape and one even made the twine pass across the opening to section off areas for different pencils!  It took us awhile to settle into talking while we wove, but eventually it was one great "basket bee."

We also ate two loaves of banana bread, a ton of popcorn, some Red Zinger punch (this time with gingerale) and then the kids ended the evening playing with the cats and then having lightsaber battles outside.  All in all, a very successful book club meeting.

Life Everlasting

“Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live.” 

The mother-daughter book club met last night to discuss Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  I won't give away the big spoilers but will say that the book explores questions of the meaning of life and death and the meaning that death gives to life.

But the meeting wasn't all serious discussions--though, the majority of girls opted for the choice the protagonist Winnie Foster didn't make (except my Sis, and a couple, who agreed with Winnie)--we were treated to flapjacks, just like the ones Winnie enjoyed with the Tucks.

Even better, the hosts served them with buttermilk syrup!!  I had never heard of such a thing, but it is amazing, sweet deliciousness--all sweet creamy buttery-ness.  I bought buttermilk today to make some with pancakes later in the week.

Sis, during the discussion of life and death, said that if she could, she would grant Mr. P immortal life.  So sweet.  He is doing remarkably well, all things considered.  We put him on an appetite stimulant and he ate almost two small cans (which is what he needs to eat to avert liver failure.)  He is also moving more--he's been downstairs twice (he's here right now!)--and being more like himself. He has even made his usual "mac" sound that we haven't heard since before last Wednesday.  And he's been sitting on me and leaning up against me, even curling up in my arms.  It's good to see our Mr. P's little light shine brighter.

Of course, we recognize that he is at the end of his life.  Stats seem to say that cats with congestive heart failure--and 40% don't make it through their first episode--usually live just months (which makes sense--I think humans only live about 5 years?), so we know our time together is short.  But knowing this reminds us to appreciate every day.

Which, in many ways, was the lesson of Tuck Everlasting.


Buttermilk Syrup
via Six Sisters Stuff

¾ cup buttermilk
1 cup of sugar
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, and buttermilk and bring to a boil. Once it's at a complete boil, let it boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and whisk in baking soda and vanilla. It will foam up during the boiling, and especially when other ingredients are added. Serve with your favorite pancakes or waffles. Best served warm.  Good on pancakes, fruit, with a spoon!

Sock Fun Left and Right

We had our Mother-Daughter Book Club holiday party last night, which was loads of fun.  Each family brought a read-aloud book and a wrapped pair of fun socks.  After reading several of the Christmas picture books--Sis had me perform Cajun Night Before Christmas in my best Cajun accent--the girls exchanged the socks by playing a special game.  They sat in a circle while the host read an adapted Twas the Night Before Christmas with the words "left" and "right" included, directing the girls to pass their wrapped socks either way.  By the end, they all had a different pair of socks.  Sis got the pink ones, above, having brought the long red-striped ones to her right.  Then they ate cookies and hot chocolate.  It was a sweet night, simple but fun.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Here's the amended story, in case you need it for a gift exchange.  Cute idea.

Twas The Night Before Christmas Story

Twas the night RIGHT before Christmas
when RIGHT through the house
Not a creature was LEFT stirring, not even a mouse—
The stockings were hung RIGHT by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be RIGHT there
The children were nestled RIGHT snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced Right around in their heads
And mama LEFT in her kerchief, and I LEFT in my cap
had just settled RIGHT down for a long winter’s nap,
When RIGHT out on the LEFT lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang RIGHT from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the RIGHT window I LEFT like a flash;
Tore open the RIGHT shutters and threw up the LEFT sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
LEFT the luster of mid-day to objects RIGHT below
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver RIGHT lively and quick;
I knew RIGHT in a moment it must be St. Nick
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came;
And he whistled and shouted, and called them RIGHT by name:
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen!
To the RIGHT top of the porch! To the LEFT top of the wall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash RIGHT away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly
When they meet RIGHT with an obstacle,
mount RIGHT up to the sky,
So RIGHT up to the housetop the coursers they LEFT flew,
With a sleigh full of toys and St. Nicholas, too.
And then in a twinkling, I heard RIGHT on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each little RIGHT and LEFT hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around
Down the LEFT side of the chimney St. Nicholas
came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur,
RIGHT from his head to his LEFT foot,
And his clothes were all LEFT tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he flung RIGHT on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His RIGHT and LEFT eyes, oh how they twinkled!
His dimples? Oh how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was LEFT drawn up like a bow!
And the beard LEFT on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held RIGHT in his teeth,
and the smoke– it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a round little belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was RIGHT chubby and plump,
a RIGHT, RIGHT jolly old elf,
And I was LEFT laughing when I saw him in spite of myself.
A wink of his LEFT eye and a LEFT twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing LEFT to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went RIGHT straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; LEFT to RIGHT,
then turned with a jerk
And laying his finger to the LEFT of his nose,
And giving a nod, he LEFT… Up the chimney he rose.
He sprang RIGHT to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all LEFT like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, as he LEFT—out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all—to all a good night!”

Book Club Review

We had a meeting of our Mother/Daughter book club last night and I realized it's been about a year since we started.  We've met about ten times, reading historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, and classics.  The girls enjoy the relaxed gatherings, with some games and activities and always snacks, probably more than the books, but it's interesting to have their tastes stretched in reading books they might not otherwise choose.  And I get to re-read some of my childhood favorites and then learn about the next generation's favorites.

So far, we've read the following books, with some of the club activities (the ones I recall, anyway) listed in parentheses:

• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (jump the chasm, draw a character, trivia contest)
• The Borrowers:  (build a Borrower's burrow, 20 questions withcharacter name taped to your back)
• Joshua's Song (tasted molasses, made newspaper craft)
• A Christmas Carol
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  (chocolate tasting)
• The Magic Half--I think this is the only one we completely missed, due to surgery
• Frindle (make up your own "Frindle" word)
• Tangle of Knots (character charades, cake tasting)
• Nim's Island (watch the movie)
• A Wrinkle in Time (draw Aunt Beast, book Jeopardy!)

The more we read, the longer the list gets of things we'd like to read.  Ideas for the near future:

• Anne of Green Gables
• The Giver
• Tuck Everlasting
• The Children of Green Knowe
• The Little White Horse
• Island of the Blue Dolphins
• The Candymakers

Summer Fun: Final List

Summer has just about drawn to a close.  And it's been a pretty good one.  Here's our final Summer Fun 2015 list of completed activities.

My sketch of our summer of fun

• Have a lemonade stand (cookies for cancer?):  helped the local cat shelter
• Party/activity in honor of Aunt Sis:  planted two memorial hydrangeas, which aren't happy with the heat
• Go swimming at Y with friends:  Well, we went swimming by ourselves at the Y.  We'll go with Gommie
• *Go to nature center:  for camp!
• *Go to aquarium:  for camp!
• *Go to bird festvial:  Such fun!  Loved the Eastern Screech Owl
• Host a sleepover with friends:  went to a sleepover with several friends; had one sleepover last week and stayed up watching Minecraft videos and making fudge

• *Beach trip in city--in August--they even went boogie boarding!
• Mario kart-athon--Well, they did a few Splatfest-athons!
• Movie night--lots of these, most recently with Back to the Future
• Learn to cook weekly dinners--they did another favorite-meal cooking lesson with Mama, with steamed mussels for Bud and fried chicken for Sis
• Hang pictures--we filled the wall in our bedroom.
• Learn a new game
• Do nothing special
• Meet friends at ice rink:  Yep, it's now a weekly event.
• *Attend town festival in June/volunteer at historic house:  we did this before school was even out!
• Family book club (we're reading Menagerie and also Redwall):  I started Menagerie over 4th of July weekend.  It was pretty good.  The kids haven't started Redwall yet.
• Eat Dole Whip:  first night of summer, we got Dole Whip and Fluffernutter sundaes!
• Make ice cream:  Strawberry Soda is great.  Peaches and Cream is great, too.
• Picnic:  we had a deli picnic, but I hope to do something more sophisticated soon.
• Watch some movie musicals:  we started by watching "Lost Broadway Treasures" and other compilations of famous songs.
• Play in sprinkler:  and used it to make a slippery water slide!
• *Go to culture festival (Scottish, Irish, Greek, etc.):  we loved the Greek festival food, as always!  
• Decorate chalkboard for summer:  we started our own mini-drawings of Awesome Summer Things.
• Celebrate 4th of July:  Yes, we did!
• Celebrate Solstice:  they stayed up "all night," which was midnight for Sis and about an hour later for Bud.  I even played Mario Kart with them at midnight.
• Celebrate Mama's birthday:  a weekend of take-out meals and movies!
• Birthday party for kids:   Minions movie birthday party, with decorate-your-own-Minion jars and Minion cupcakes.
• Learn how to clean bathrooms:  Bud earned a ticket for this already--on his own initiative!
• Learn an ASL sign a day (or more)
• Learn some computer coding using Scratch:  they have started making a cat draw stars around the earth.
• Make shrub for 4th of July:  Bud and I really like it
• Photos with public art around town ("benching," Bud called it)  We're about a third of the way done.

• Attend friends' Friday Night Dance Party:  for first one, the kids swam and tried "kiddy crack" (butter-cinnamon-sugar spread on graham crackers); they also like badminton, or "chaosminton" with several shuttlecocks.
• Explore new music genres together ("Music Mondays"):  we started with the 80s, then Celtic (Secret of Roan Inish soundtrack), Broadway, jazz, and patriotic.  Not sure what this week will be.
• Research places to go in England, etc:  I'm reading Susan Branch's book about falling in love with the English countryside
• Purge and donate toys and books:  doing really well with this; lots of donations.  Kids prepping to have room makeovers.
• Do a 1000 piece puzzle:  Bud and Mama are our puzzlers--they've done cupcakes, Broadway, London, New York, among others.
• We also made or ate the following foods, which I totally forgot to blog about:

FODMAPS Rice Pudding

1 litre of lactose-free milk

100g of raw rice (Arborio, white, basmati)

1 tablespoon of raw sugar

Cinnamon

1.     Pour lactose-free milk into a medium-large sized saucepan.

2.     Place saucepan onto a stove top and allow lactose-free milk to almost reach boiling point. Then reduce the heat, add in the rice and allow to simmer.

3.     Add in 1 tablespoon of raw sugar to the milk-rice mixture and stir through. Continue stirring frequently for approximately 20 minutes until the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened to your liking.  If mixture is too thick you can add more milk. If mixture is too runny continue cooking – it will thicken up.

4.     Keep stirring frequently so that the milk doesn’t burn and to avoid rice pudding sticking to the bottom.

5.     Once cooked, remove rice pudding from saucepan.

TRADITIONAL SERVING SUGGESTIONS

·       Serve it hot with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

·       Serve it cold by cooling it in the fridge first, then a sprinkle of cinnamon on top 

OTHER SUGGESTED TOPPING

·         Grated dark chocolate

·         Maple syrup

·         Blueberries and strawberries

·         Banana and passionfruit

·         Grated chocolate, strawberries and a drizzle of maple syrup

·         Add zest of an orange or lemon while cooking, for a taste of citrus

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake from Melissa Clark

FOR THE CAKE:

 Butter for greasing baking pans
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup best-quality cocoa powder
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup sour cream, at room temperature

FOR THE FROSTING:

6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 ounces ( 3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. For cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter sides of two 8-inch cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a knife blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Process to make a smooth, thick batter.
2. Using a rubber spatula, divide batter between pans, and smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake pans.
3. For frosting: Combine chocolate and butter in a large heat-proof bowl, and heat until melted in a microwave oven or over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in corn syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until very smooth. Frosting should be thick and spreadable. If necessary, add a teaspoon or two of boiling water to thin it, or additional sifted confectioners' sugar to thicken.
4. Cut four strips of waxed or parchment paper, and place them side by side on a cake plate, covering the surface. Place one cake layer domed-side down on plate.
5. Spoon about a third of the frosting onto center of cake, and use a knife or a spatula to spread it evenly. Place the other cake on top, domed side up. Spoon another third of frosting on top of cake, spreading to make swirls or a smooth finish. Spread sides of cake with remaining frosting, and allow to sit for a few minutes until set. Carefully remove paper strips. Place cake under glass or in an airtight container, and set aside in a cool place until serving.

FROM BOOK CLUB CAKE PARTY (we just sampled--delicious!)

 Toby’s (Not Quite Perfect) Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting, from Lisa Graff, A Tangle of Knots

FOR THE CAKE:
2 1/2 cups flour (plus extra for preparing the pan)
 

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 

1/2 teaspoon salt
 

1 cup butter, at room temperature (plus extra for the pan)
 

1 1/2 cups sugar
 

2 teaspoons vanilla
 

3 large eggs, at room temperature
 

1 cup milk, at room temperature
 
           FOR THE FROSTING:

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
 

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
 

1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with butter. Using the cake pans as a template, trace two circles onto wax paper and cut them out, placing one wax circle in the bottom of each pan. Grease both pans with butter again, covering the wax paper as well as the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the inside of the pans lightly with flour, and tap the pans to distribute it evenly. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.

4. Reducing the speed on the mixer to low, add about a third of the flour mixture to the batter, combining well. Add about half of the milk and combine. Then add another third of the flour mixture, the last of the milk, and then the last of the flour, combining well each time.

5. Pour the batter into the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

6. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting: In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl fitted into a saucepan of simmering water, carefully melt the chocolate chips. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

7. In a large bowl, cream the butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, blending well. Beat in 2 tbsp of the milk and all of the vanilla, then beat in the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the remaining milk. Add the cooled melted chocolate to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.

8. When the cakes are completely cooled, place one cake layer on a plate and spread a thin layer of frosting on top. Repeat with the second cake layer, and cover the whole cake with frosting.

*recipes adapted from Real Simple's Yellow Cake with Strawberry Filling recipe and Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Ninth Edition.

The Owner’s Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting,  from Lisa Graff, A Tangle of Knots

What you'll need:

         FOR THE CAKE:

small sliver of butter (for greasing the cake pan)

2 1/4 cups flour (plus extra for preparing the pan)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature

         FOR THE FROSTING:
3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 to 2/3 cup milk

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with butter. Using the cake pans as a template, trace two circles onto wax paper and cut them out, placing one wax circle in the bottom of each pan. Grease both pans with butter again, covering the wax paper as well as the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the inside of the pans lightly with flour, and tap the pans to distribute it evenly. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla and milk until well combined. 

4. Gradually add the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture and beat until combined. Divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes completely before frosting. 

5. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting: In a medium bowl, cream the powdered sugar and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of milk, and beat until well combined. Gradually add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.

6. When the cakes are completely cooled, place one cake layer on a plate and spread a thin layer of frosting on top. Repeat with the second cake layer, and cover the whole cake with frosting.

*recipes adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Ninth Edition 

Marigold’s Lime Pound Cake,  from Lisa Graff, A Tangle of Knots

 FOR THE CAKE:

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons grated lime zest (from approximately 2 limes)

2 tablespoons lime juice (from approximately 1 lime)

1 cup butter, at room temperature (plus extra for greasing the pan)

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and the salt and beat, starting on low speed and then increasing to medium-high, until well combined, about 2 minutes more. Slowly add the egg mixture and beat until well combined, about 3 minutes.

4. Reducing the speed on the mixer to low, gradually add the flour to the batter, and beat until just combined.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

*recipe adapted from Real Simple's Citrus Pound Cake with Cranberry Syrup     

A Trio of Treats

Yesterday, I finished off three books through which I have been working my way.  The first was a Twinkie read, Susan Wiitig Albert's Tale of Hill Top Farm, which is a delightful and simple romp through the Lake District with a fictionalized version of the author/illustrator, her new neighbors, and all of their talking animals.  It wasn't much of a mystery and talking animals are a bit precious, but I enjoyed the ambiance . . . I even learned about arval, or funeral, cakes, and other details of rural life at the turn of the 20th century.  I had started the book during my long test at the doctor's office and finished it off yesterday.

I also finished another book I had read at that long test at the doctor's office (I got tired midway and changed genres), Vivian Swift's watercolored memoir, When Wanderers Cease to Roam.  Swift, who had traveled extensively, settled down in Pelham, NY, and recorded both her observations of life in her village and reminiscences of her world travels.  I liked the little illustrations and her art journaling of types of mud in March and snowflakes in December and her "memoir in five moments" where she reflects on different times she's been on a beach or been in the rain.  And she likes cats.  I've been experimenting with different kinds of journaling, having recorded my days each evening or so for years and also learned more doodling.  It's best to read her book a page or two at a time, or just a month; I read too much of it in one sitting, which didn't invite close looking.  I'd actually discovered it because I loved Susan Branch's A Fine Romance, an illustrated memoir of her extended travels through England and readers recommended Swift.  Of the two, I still prefer Branch, but I plan to read Swift's memoir of France soon.

Lastly, I also finished Lisa Graff's A Tangle of Knots, which was our mother-daughter book club read this month.  I'd actually started it just a day or two before and had tried to read it during an insomniac bout but found it too complicated.  There are a dozen or so characters whose lives are, unbeknownst to them, entwined--I just got confused at 3 a.m.  But in the light of day, it was a great story.  Each of those characters (well, most of them) has a special Talent, which is almost a magical ability to do something--whistle, tie knots, hide between walls, knit, even divine a person's perfect cake.  There are even cake recipes interspersed between the chapters.

So when our book club met this evening, we sampled a few of the cakes.  Three, to be exact:  yellow cake with chocolate frosting, peanut butter cake, and lime pound cake.  Beautiful and delicious (I had a bite of each, smaller than my thumbNAIL, just crumbs really, and will be curious to see if I suffer for the gluten and dairy.)  The recipes are in the book--and on the author's website.  We also played a game at the end--guess your mom's perfect cake.  A couple of the girls guessed "nutcake," which struck me as funny, and none of them guessed correctly, and then Sis stood up and said, "My mom's perfect cake is orange chocolate."  And you know what?  She is right.  I guessed that Sis would be either chocolate molten lava cake or yellow cake with frosting--she clarified that the frosting would be melted chocolate chips.

Which we had just made yesterday!  We tested a GF (gluten-free)/DF (dairy free) King Arthur Flour yellow cake, made into cupcakes.  Wonderful!  And not just wonderful for GF/DF.  (Or I've gotten desperate in 2 weeks.)  I had mine with marmalade and Sis had hers with . . . melted chocolate chips. It was nice to bake together, which is one of our favorite shared pastimes.   Sis has been great about the whole restricted diet thing.

And it helps that there is cake.

Sticky Situation

Parenting fail:  last night at our mom-daughter book club, there was an art activity that involved cutting. But NO left-handed scissors, so I had to do the cutting.  Having no other lefties in my immediate family, I never think of such things.  But now I know to travel with lefty scissors.   (Sis hasn't mastered cutting with her right hand.)

Otherwise, our book club was fun.  The book was Joshua's Song, a fictional account of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston, coupled with a Newsies's-like story of newspapers and reporters. We had actually tried to watch Newsies, the Disney movie musical turned Broadway show about newsboys, in advance, but Amazon Instant Video was down. Another time.  Sis enjoyed the book, particularly the girl newsie who dressed like a boy to seel her papers.  My favorite part was the end, when Joshua comforted a woman trapped in the destruction of the flood by singing to her--it reminded me of hospice.  The kids really connected with the story and had lots of answers to questions and questions to answer.

They even got to dip their hands in real molasses to get a sense of its viscosity.

And then there was the newspaper-flower-cutting activity.  Sis attached her finished flower onto my scarf.

We also "won" the door prize--we were the only ones who wanted the unopened jar of molasses!!  With holidays coming up, we can use that.

I really like this book club--reading new books, discussing different points of view, socializing with girls we don't usually see (though, many of them are in our GS troop.)  Our next book is Dickens's Christmas Carol, with some wonderful book club activities planned.

[Insert Some Clever Pun on "Borrow" and "Book" Here]

Sis is in a book club! One of my Girl Scout co-leaders started it in August with several of the girls from our troop and school.  The purpose is pretty straightforward--read and share books with a group of friends, with food, activities, and moms sitting around to chime in.  The first book was Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, by the author of Pippi Longstocking.  The girls tried their hand at jumping a faux ravine, drawing what they thought the characters looked like based on descriptions in the book, and competing in a team trivia contest.  We all had a great time.

Sis and I hosted last week, for the book, The Borrowers, which Sis chose (I liked it as a child, too.)   We already knew that several club members hadn't finished or even read the book, it being the first meeting during school.  So, we planned activities that could reach as many people as possible.  First, we set up the house with little items sprinkled around--marbles, toothpicks, small composition books, little boxes, and many other things.  When the girls arrived, we divided them up into groups, named after the families in the book--the Clocks,Overmantles, Harpsichords, Bell-Pulls, Rain-Pipes,etc. Together they searched the house for items to build their own Borrower room.  Girls scattered about merrily, building bedrooms and living rooms in our cat tree, fireplace, tv corner, and bookshelf.  Then they gave us all a tour.  

We had a break for popcorn, cheese and crackers, and Crockpot Hot Chocolate, which was a huge success.  Then we chatted some about perspective and how it changes in the book:  the perspective of the storyteller Mrs. May and Kate, Homily perspective on whether a girl could go borrow, Arietty's perspective (both physical and philosophical) and how it changes when she meets The Boy, the Boy's changing view of the Borrowers whom he first thought were thieves, and then the reader's perspective at the end when Mrs. May hints that her brother might have made it all up.

Our last activity of the evening was one of those 20 yes-or-no questions games where what you are trying to guess is taped to your back.  The kids each got one of the characters, even including Uncle Hendreary and Aunt Lupy (I almost included the servant who saw the Overmantle, Rosa Pickhatchet, but didn't!)  They had fun guessing and were pretty quick about it,too (well once you cut it in half from Borrower vs. not Borrower, and then boy/girl, it's a small pool.)

More food, the rest of the hot chocolate, maybe even some tossing of marshmallows and the evening wrapped up.  We look forward to our next gathering, where I think we'll be discussing Joshua's Song.

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Christmas Eve Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate 

1.5 cups heavy cream

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)

2 cups milk chocolate chips

6 cups of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract.