Magic Lessons served with Chicken Pot Pie

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman served with Chicken pot pie. 

Such a fan of Hoffman and of this series.  I read Practical Magic probably 15 years ago.  Then 2 years ago i read Rules of Magic and now Magic Lessons.   This is the start of the Owen family curse.  Set in the 1600 it follows Maria Owens who is found and raised by Hannah Owens.  Hannah teaches her how to heal and help people.   Hannah is eventually  killed by a man who blames her for his love leaving him . Maria goes to Curacao where she meets, falls in love and is betrayed by a man.  She follows him back to Salem Massachusetts.  It is on the trip back that she meets another man who will have a big impact on her life.  Without giving too much away let's just say we see the salem witch trials, we follow Maria's daughter through her early life and we see what one will do for love.    Lot's of types of love in this book.  

I really enjoyed this story.  I just find Hoffman's writing to be magical.  She is a master storyteller.  I loved Maria and her journey to learn magic.  We get to see the good and the bad of magic.  Only thing i struggled with was the daughter Faith.  We obviously need to see the damage done by the evil of the witch trials and this man but I wanted all Maria all the time.   The last part of the book loses that focus a bit.    But one of my favorite things was the relationship between Maria and Samuel.   It isn't the major part of the book but was one of my favorite parts.   

Still i am giving this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I made Chicken Pot  Pie.   I was going to make apple pie since it plays a big part in the story but at one point Maria makes a chicken pot pie and I just thought it sounded so good for this time of year.  She calls it a chicken pie closed into a coffin of crust that is flavored with rosemary.    I used the recipe that came with the Ninja pot.  What I love about this recipe is that I can make it all in one pot and i can change it up as much as I want.   

https://www.ninjakitchen.com/recipes/search/0/all/101377/chicken-pot-pie/?epik=dj0yJnU9aHFGdWcxRjUxV0h6UUp3cUdtMXRBZy1RTGdocFJDTDAmcD0wJm49U2RIQ25oVXZRMEVxallrMWZKb1A0QSZ0PUFBQUFBR0hFaU1R 

I changed it up just a little bit with frozen peas and carrots.  I also always toss in a bit more in the spice area.  It is super easy and delicious. 

I have the final Owens book , The Book of Magic, on hold at the library.  It will be ready in ~6 weeks.  I'm excited to read and also a little sad to wrap up this family story! 

 

Things in Jars served with dessert in jars

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd served with Apple Caramel Cheesecake in a jar. 

This was an odd book but I liked it.  Kind of hard to describe it but here goes....  

Birdie is a detective in Victorian times.   She is hired to investigate the kidnapping of a child who has been kept in secret and has special powers.  That makes it sound pretty straightforward but there is a ghost with tattoo's that stays with Birdie throughout the story, a housemaid who is 7 foot tall and folktales of mermaids that may or maynot be true.  The story goes back and forth in time so we see Birdie's history.  Her childhood was not easy and she makes an enemy early on who will come back into her life.    We also hear some of the story from the viewpoint of the kidnappers.  There is a nursemaid  who is just bad to the bone who has her own story to tell.     

At times I was confused but never bored.  The child has pike teeth and can drown a man with memories.  Birdie is fearless and takes on this challenge and her history.  I had to reread parts of the book several times to make sure I had understood what just happened.   This story stayed with me.   In a good way.  It was entertaining, suspenseful, well written, great characters and just really fun.   Gave it 4 stars only because it did take me awhile to get use to some of the oddities.   By the time I hit mid point, i was all in!  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Of course i knew this had to be served with something in a jar.  Obviously.  I made apple caramel cheesecake in jars.   Super easy and yummy

I put graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the jar.  Mixed a block of cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of heavy cream and a tbsp of cinnamon.  Layered the cream cheese mixture on top of the graham cracker crumbs and topped it with canned apple pie filling.  Then repeated all layers and topped with caramel sauce.  It made 4 jars and was super tasty!      

Mrs Everything and Jello Salad

 Mrs Everything by Jennifer Weiner served with Jello salad  

My book group is reading this for our December meeting.  We usually try to read something we think will be fairly light because the December meeting is all about our cookie exchange.  I will  actually be going to California for the gathering which will be the first time i'm seeing the group live in 2 years!  Woohoo! 

I liked this one but didn't love it.  I listened to it on audio and it is long!  14+ hours.  The narrators do a great job but I just wasn't super interested in the story.  It goes back and forth between 2 sisters, Jo and Bethie starting when they are little kids in the 50's and working through their entire lives.  There are struggles and turns in their lives they didn't expect.  Lots of tough topics including racism, rape, abortion, drug use, etc.  throughout it all the sisters tell their stories and even when they go their separate ways, they are still tied together.  Jo has 3 daughters of her own and the story starts to become their story also.   

Couple of things that I struggled with.  I felt like it needed a good editor.  the book tried to cover too much.  Yes, our lives are full of struggles but did we have to throw in every single struggle you can think of?  Being overweight, being sexual molested, being gay, being jewish, being a multiracial couple.  The list just keeps going.    I appreciated that it added drama but I also think she covered a lot.  it makes it hard to really latch on to one issue and feel the struggle.    I didn't like Jo's kids very much so when the story started moving to her daughter who is struggling, i didn't enjoy it.  I had grown attached to Jo and Bethie but didn't really want to follow along with a new character. 

Obviously the names of the characters are a reference to Little Women the ultimate story of sisterly love.  If someone ask me about books that influenced my life, Little Women is always on that list.  The story of how we love family and how family/sisters are there for each other.  Jo and Beth are the sisters that are the most bonded and similar to this story, Jo is a tomboy and trying to figure out who she is.  

Overall I give this 3 stars.  I enjoyed it enough to finish it and did feel  emotionally invested in the characters.  But, as stated above, I think less is often more and that was the gap.   ⭐⭐⭐

I knew I must post this Thanksgiving weekend.  There is a big scene in the first half of the book where Jo makes a jello salad for Thanksgiving and of course it goes bad.  It doesn't set up and spills all over the table and ruins the table setting.  This leads to giant argument/ confrontation with her mother where hurtful things are said.  I grew up with Jello salad for every holiday.  Either mom or Nana would make one and the 2 I most remember is the pink jello with pineapple and cream cheese  OR the layered salad with bananas and marshmallows topping. 

I decided to go with a jello salad that I discovered in college and have made it since then.  The strawberry pretzel salad.  If you've gone to a picnic in the last 20 years, there is a chance you've had it.  I find when I take the other jello salads to dinners with friends, not many folks eat it.  There is a jello prejudice thing happening!   But folks are more likely to eat this one. 

This isn't an original recipe because it is all over Pinterest.  I'm going to link in the recipe i used.  I made 2 small batches in 8 X 8 pans but the recipe calls for a larger pan.  The advantage to 2 small ones is that I can take one and keep one!    The other thing I love about Jello salad is that I can tell folks i'm having salad for lunch.  Enjoy

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/99853316728984489/

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and finger foods

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo served with Tik Tok pasta chips.  

 I'm a little late with this review but wanted to go ahead and post.  I kept seeing the 7 Husbands all over Bookstagram and decided to make it a summer listening on audibles.   So glad I did!   This was my first Taylor Jenkins Reid book and I think i need to read her others now.  

This is the story of Evelyn Hugo telling her life story to a young journalist.  She has never revealed her secrets and chooses an unknown  for the job.  Monique can't figure out why she is invited into Evelyn's life but she recognizes an amazing opportunity and takes it.    

Evelyn is a Hollywood Icon who just happens to have married 7 times.  Her story is her journey to fame and all of her loves along the way.  And yes, there is one true love but to be honest I think she loves each husband in her own way.  She isn't always likable and is honest about the things she did to get ahead in her career.  A totally flawed character but you also understand her and what drove each of those decisions.  By the end you understand her connection to Monique.  It actually caught me by surprise as i didn't see it coming.   

I really loved this book.  The narrators were great. There are 3 that read, 1 for Evelyn's story, 1 for Monique's story and 1 who is the newspaper articles about Evelyn and Hollywood gossip.   This was 4.5 stars for me.  I think the only reason i'm withholding that half star is that there was a spot in the middle where I thought it dragged just a bit.  I was like....  okay, let's get going here.  Besides that it was delightful!  I highly recommend it, especially the audio. 

I knew I wanted to do finger foods/ appetizers.  Every year when I watch the Academy awards, i do a spread of appetizers and that is dinner on Oscar night.  When i was much younger, I would host friends and we'd all dress up and have a party while watching.  Now I barely go to the movies (actually I haven't since COVID started)  and most of the time i haven't see what is nominated.  But it is still fun to watch if just for the outfits.  I decided to make the Tik Tok pasta chips i kept seeing on my feed.  Okay, here's the thing...   they were not good.  Not sure if i did it wrong but I did NOT like them.  It was a waste of perfectly good pasta.  I'll let you look up the recipe but eating crunchy pasta is not my thing.  I would say....  skip the pasta but read the book!  Enjoy! 

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel served with Golden Beets

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland.  

This was a fun one.  I saw it described as Dirty Dancing meets Mrs. Maisel !  The Golden Hotel was the gem of the Catskills back in the day but now it has fallen on hard times.  The 2 owners, the Goldmans and the Weingolds have a long history together and at times it is full of love and frustration.  The story goes back and forth in time as the family is coming together to make a decision on selling to a large company who wants a casino.  

To be honest at the beginning I had a hard time keeping the characters straight.  I kept getting confused on who was who and which family the belonged to.  But once i figured that out, it was a fast fun read.  I enjoyed the nostalgia of the days when the Catskills was THE place to vacation if you were jewish.    The family drama kept it interesting.  I loved how the grandkids really started pushing the parents and grandparents to go modern with social media.  I liked the tension between the families and the tension between parents and children. Of course there are secrets revealed and confessions made.  Overall just a fun trip through some family drama and history.  I was torn between 3.5 to 4 stars but i'm going with 4.  Enjoyable quick read ⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of the best parts was all of the references to the jewish dishes the resort served.  They were so old fashion and the kids just couldn't understand them.  They had borscht a lot!  I am not a borscht fan but to be fair, I think i've tried it 1 time.  BUT I love beets so much .   I decided to pair this with golden beets (golden hotel...) served on a bed of soft polenta which is my go-to comfort food.  Just roasted the beets in the oven for an hour.   I took the beet greens and sauteed them with some onions and sprinkled just a pinch of apple cider vinegar over them.    I didn't find the golden beets to be a flavorful as my usual red beets so next time i'll go back to red.  

Enjoy the book and my borscht substitute!    

Firekeeper's Daughter served with Berry infused Vodka

 Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I heard about this one through Bookstagram and it kept showing up as a favorite from readers.   I picked it up and it was my first book to finish in the month of Oct which feels appropriate because i said i was going to read some mysteries for Halloween.   Not sure this a truly a mystery maybe more of a thriller but there is a murder and an investigation on who did it.    I really enjoyed this story.  I have not read much about the native american culture so it super interesting to learn about the language, rituals and issues facing them. 

Daunis is preparing for her first year of college.  She has had a tough year with the loss of her uncle and the stroke of her grandmother.  Early on in the book she witnesses a murder and from there she is tossed into an investigation with the FBI.  There is meth being sold and her community is greatly impacted.  Daunis falls for Jamie, a new guy on the scene but isn't sure she can trust him  and must try to figure out what role her half brother Levi  plays in the situation.   There are some pretty intense topics here- Murder, drug use, rape, bigotry.  

Really well written.  Just enough suspense that i had to know what was going on.  Daunis is a strong character who I cared about .  Boulley  did a nice job of educating us on the indigenous communities and incorporating it into the story.  Super glad I believed the hype around this book.  And I hear it going to be a Netflix movie! 

I would give this ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars.   Highly recommend!  

I knew i wanted to pair it with some type of berries.  She talks about the ritual in her culture that when a young woman gets her first period, they must go a year without eating berries.  At the end of the year, a feast is held and berries are eaten.  I did a little research on this and it is still a custom with the Ojibwe tribe and they believe that during menstruation women are spiritually powerful.    Unfortunately with summer ending, berries aren't in season right now so i went around and around about what type of berries to use.   I ended up doing infused vodka.  I infuse vodka all the time.  It's kind of fun to try different types.  For this book I did Strawberry Basil and Cranberry Orange vodka.  I fill a mason jar with the chosen infusion and then pour vodka over it.  I typically leave it for at least a week shaking it daily.  At the end of the week, i strain it through a cheese cloth and it is ready to go.  The flavor is light but nice.  IF you want it to be a more intense flavor, let is sit for longer.  I have let it sit up to a month but the berries do start to fall apart.  Perfect for making a vodka mule or a martini.  Enjoy 

Dial A for Aunties and Shrimp Fried Rice

 Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto served with Shrimp Fried Rice 

This book was fun and a little bit silly.  It is a total farce and far fetched but it's so fun that you are willing to overlook it.   The plot in a nutshell, Meddelin Chan kills her blind date accidentally and runs to her mom and aunties to help get rid of the body.  Of course they are in the middle of running the largest Chinese socialite wedding of the year (the family runs a wedding planning business).  And of course there is an old love that Meddelin walked away from years ago who shows up.  The aunties are a crack up and of course the dead body ends up in all the wrong places in the wedding.  There is also a terrible groom, a sad bride and a maid of honor who doesn't have a lot of honor.  Fun read.  Totally unrealistic but you just need to let go of that.     You know how sometimes you read a book and you can just picture the movie the entire time, this is one of those.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I made Shrimp fried rice.  I love making fried rice because I use up whatever I have in the fridge.  I had left over rice from a dish earlier in the week that I needed to use so that was my inspiration.   I sauteed

some onions, peppers, peas, mushroom in a bit of olive oil.  I added frozen shrimp and 2 eggs.  Once the eggs were scrambled, I added the rice , soy sauce and little bit of fish sauce.  Put the lid on and let the whole thing steam for about 10 minutes.   Delicious!  

Broken Horses served with biscuits and coffee

 Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile served with biscuits and coffee 

True confession time.....   I didn't really know Brandi's music.  I knew who she was because if you live in Seattle, you know.  Seattle LOVES Brandi and is super proud of her.  I just hadn't taken the time to really explore her.  But I did know the Highwomen and was a big fan of the first album.   

My dear friend Sandy gave me an autographed copy of Brandi's book and told me that I HAD to read it.  I started it and then heard that she narrates is on audio and sings the songs at the end of each chapter.  I flipped to audio and went back and forth so I could see the photos' and hear the songs. Here's the thing....  it is like getting a lovely story of faith, love and success and a great album all in one.   I really enjoyed it.  The songs are lovely.  I enjoyed her struggles as a young person, the family drama,  her thoughts on religion, her love for Elton John and Dolly Parton, all of it.   Even without me knowing anything about her, I found the story easy to listen to and enjoyable.  If you can do both, the book and the audio, do it.  You don't get the photos in the audio so that's why the book was nice and handy. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

At first I couldn't think of what to make with this book.  But in the end, I settled on biscuits.  The book just has a homey southern feel.  And yes, I know she grew up in the PNW.   When I think of country and the south, I think of my Nana's biscuits.  I wish I had spent time next to her making those biscuits but I didn't.  I was too busy eating them.  Over the years i've made a dozen different biscuit recipes.  Some were difficult and some were easy.  Most were just okay.  I moved to Pillsbury frozen biscuits a few years ago because they are just so darn easy and delicious.  I realized half of what I made wasn't as good as that.  But, for this book, I went back to a recipe that is pretty easy and tasty and probably my go to recipe since I always have all of the ingredients in my house.  (I'm always stunned when people tell me they don't keep flour or baking powder in the cabinet! how is that possible?) 

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

4 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

2 teaspoons sugar 

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter 

3/4 cup of milk. 

Oven 450 

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cut butter in with pastry blender or your hands till it is blended and small pieces.   Pour in the milk and stir until the dough sticks together and pulls away from the bowl. 

Put on a lightly floured surface and knead 5-6 times.  Don't overdue it. Pat into a square approx 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  You can use a biscuit cutter here if you want round biscuits but I use my pastry cutter and cut it into 16 small biscuits.  IF you want larger biscuits, cut into 9-12 pieces.   Place on an ungreased pan not touching but close enough. Bake 10-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Try not to eat all of them at one time! 

Lizzie & Dante served with Lasagna Soup

 Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly served with Lasagna soup. 

I enjoyed this one.  I would call it a good beach read.  Romantic, beautiful setting, great food and some good characters.  I didn't love it but beach reads are quick and enjoyable and not usually earth shattering. 

Basic plot , and i'm not spoiling anything because this is all in the book overview, Lizzie has a serious illness and goes off on a vacation with her ex boyfriend to an island off of Italy's coast.  There she meets a chef who has a daughter and cooks crazy good food.  There is some romance, some BFF hard talk, joy from the 12 yr old daughter and heartbreak.   That is all.  Totally enjoyable.  This is probably more of a 3.5 star book but since goodreads doesn't do 1/2 stars, I rounded up to 4.  Read it in a weekend. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I made Lasagna soup in the Ninja Instant pot.  I would call this deconstructed Lasagna.  Super easy recipe and delicious.  I used the recipe on the Skinnytaste website. 

https://www.skinnytaste.com/lasagna-soup/

I used ground turkey instead of sausage and I cooked the entire thing in the instant pot. Next time i will break up the noodles into smaller pieces.  that was the only bad thing.  They were too big. 

but a 5 star soup! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, served with Flan and Guava pastries

 I could not let Latinx Heritage Month go by without posting something!  I read this cute book last month after seeing it all over bookstagram.  A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is all the things I enjoy in a book.  Fun engaging characters, a little bit of romance, a great setting and FOOD.  

Lila Reyes' family ships her off to England for the summer to stay with her cousin after she goes through several large set backs.  Her abuela dies, her best friend moves away and her boyfriend decides he needs a break.  She is planning to take over the families Cuban bakery but first she needs to get her life back together.  Of course she meets someone, learns some new baking skills and gets to use her already great skills, makes friends and starts to think about other ideas for her future.  

I really enjoyed Orion, the love interest and was so interested in some of the food discussed.  This is a quick read and maybe just a little predictable but still fun.  I enjoyed it! Probably 3.5 stars but I rounded up because Goodreads doesn't do halves!  They should. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was inspired to try Cuban Flan and guava pastries.  I love flan and thought this can't be too hard. 

I'll be honest, my food turned out okay but i think with a little alterations, it could be great. 

Here is the flan recipe I used. https://www.baconismagic.ca/cuba/cuban-flan/   It was super east but....  I  burned the caramel .  It moves so quickly to the dark caramel color and i didn't remove it from the heat fast enough.  I went ahead and used it but it had a bit of a burned taste to it.  The flan itself was really good.  Next time, remove it from the heat!   

The guava pastries were super easy.  I order guava paste on line.  I had never bought guava paste and couldn't find it in the grocery store.  I used Puff Pastry and cut up the guava paste, topped with some cream cheese and baked. The guava paste was not easy to work with.  it is thick and sticky!  But these tasted good.  Next time i think i'll cut up the puff pastry into squares in advance because cutting it after i had it stuffed was tough.  The guava kept sticking to the knife.  AND I use more cream cheese.  I was skimpy with the cream cheese and I recognize now that i needed much, much more.  but, overall super simple and tasty.  

Young Jane Young and Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

 I saw a reference to this book on a book blog I follow and I checked it out.  So glad I did! This is Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin.  I read one of her other books, the Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and really liked it so I had a feeling this one would be good.  

The story is told from the view point of 5 women.  Aviva Grossman had an affair with a prominent congressman and she was branded a slut by the internet.  This is the story of what happened.  I loved all 5 of the viewpoints.  At first my favorite was Ruby who is just a firecracker of a kid.  Later i realized my favorite might have been the congressman's wife story.  Now I'm not sure.  I really liked all of them.  Why do we shame the woman but the man goes untarnished and has a great career?  it is totally shades of Monica Lewinsky in this story .  A fun, fast read which also made me think about how we treat women in society.  I highly recommend it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I decided to make Chicken Matzo Ball soup for this one.  This seemed right for a few reasons; 

   1) Rachel Grossman is a good Jewish mother 

   2) it was Rosh Hashanah this week. 

  3)  i have a terrible cold and everyone calls this Jewish Penicillin! 

I even made my own chicken broth!  Here is what i'd say...   it was just okay.  It was a lot of work making my own chicken broth.  I think the broth i use is just as good if not better.  Next time i will just use that. 

But , here is the recipe if you have the time and patience for it! 

• 4 lb whole chicken (use a whole chicken, or a mixture of white and dark meat chicken pieces - must be bone in, skin on)
• 2 lb celery stalks, cleaned
• 1 lb carrots, peeled
• 1 yellow onion, skin on, rinsed clean
• 2 ounces fresh parsley (one large handful), rinsed clean
• 1.5 ounces fresh dill (one handful), rinsed clean
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp saffron threads (optional-- adds a rich yellow color and depth of flavor to the broth; only use high quality expensive saffron, the other kind has no flavor)

I did not use saffron.  I couldn't find it.  I cleaned the chicken and covered it with water.  Cooked it in a giant pot with the onion, 3/4 of the celery, parsley, 2/3 of the dill, peppercorn, bay leaves and salt.  Bring the water to a boil and let boil for 15 minutes.  Scrap off the white foam from the pot.  Then turn down to simmer and let simmer with a lid on for 90 minutes.  Remove the chicken and drain the broth.  Throw out the onion, celery and other stuff and just keep the broth.  pick the chicken .  Add broth back to the pot and add the remaining celery and carrots.  add more salt and let cook for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are tender.  Add chicken and the remaining dill.  cook maybe 10 minutes more.   spoon over Matzo balls.  I used the Matzo ball mix which worked just fine.   

Enjoy! 

Guncle , Plum Cake and Ice cream

 Guncle by Steven Rowley served with Plum Cake and Plum Ice Cream 

This book has been all over Bookstagram.  It has been the book of the summer and for good reason.  I won't spend a lot of time on this but it is a delight to read.  GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) takes in his niece and nephew for the summer after their mom dies and their dad needs help kicking an addiction.  Patrick lives in Palm Springs and gave up acting years ago when he had his own tragedy .   He finds himself trying to help a 6 & 9 year old deal with a parents death and also help himself move forward in life.  There is a lot of joy in this book as they get to know each other and have fun.  Patrick let's them have treats and teaches them Guncle rules but there is also some sweetness as they all move through their pain.   It was just what I needed at the time. 

It just so happened that my nephew John was visiting this past weekend.  I had been thinking about what to make for this book when a friend brought me so plums.  Patrick gives the kids cake and ice cream so it  felt like the perfect weekend for plum upside cake with a nephew AND I had enough for plum ice-cream also! 

This upside cake is a favorite of mine.  it is super easy and can be thrown together in a minute.  I love a cake like that!   For the Ice cream, I just made a basic ice cream base and added some plum puree to it. 

 

Here is the cake recipe.  Enjoy!  

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 6-8 plums.  Pitted and thinly sliced 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch cake pan.  I actually used a copper deep skillet.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the prepared pan, combine 3 tablespoons margarine and brown sugar. Place pan inside the preheated oven until the margarine melts and begins to bubble. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the 1/3 cup margarine and 1 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.

Arrange plums around the edges of the prepared pan, overlapping slightly.  Pour batter into prepared pan, covering fruit completely. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

Beth and Amy - Squash Casserole

 Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra 

I read this first book sometime ago and really enjoyed it. (link to first book) I'm a true sucker for all things Little Women . This is the 2nd book in the series and focused on Beth and Amy.  It's a modern retelling and the chapters flip back and forth between the two sisters.  I really enjoyed this one as Beth was my favorite character and Amy my least but....  after the most recent movie version of Little Women, I started to appreciate Amy and view her in a whole new light.   Amy is building a business in NYC and has comes home for Jo's wedding.

  She is hiding a secret from her sisters about Laurie.  I think we all know how that's going to end but I had fun getting there.  Beth's story was a bit different and I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  She is a country music star and suffering tremendous anxiety about life on tour but wants to stay with her famous boyfriend who, by the way, she made famous with her song writing.   Beth also has a secret from her sisters that I won't share here.  

Just like the original story, this story is about family and sisterhood but also about these women finding their way in the world.  Really enjoyed the two stories and how the story went back and forth.  Marmie is very different in this modern version and I like her.    You could read this book with very little knowledge f the classic and still really enjoy it.   I hope she continues the series!  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I struggled a bit with the food.  To be honest no food stood out for me and sometimes i get into the story and forget to listen for it.  But, I have two Little Women Cookbooks so I decided to prepare one of the recipes listed.  I choose the squash casserole A) because I love Butternut Squash  B) it was a Beth recipe . 

This was super easy and pretty tasty.  BUT i'm not a big fan of nutmeg and next time I would leave that out.  I also felt like it could use a little pick me up so i'm wondering if saute onions might be a good addition.  I'm going to need to think about this and maybe play around with the recipe.  It's a good base to start with!    I used the Little Women Cookbook by Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada.  Below is a photo of the recipe.   

Enjoy

Henna Artist served with Butter Chicken and Naan

I had seen this book for a while on Bookstagram and finally got around to checking it out.  So glad I did!  Not only do I not know a ton about India but even less the India of the 1950's.

 

 This is the story of Lakshmi who escaped an abusive marriage and recreated herself in Jaipur as a Henna Artist and health advisor for the wealthy women.  She has a sister who she never met who comes to live with her. Her life changes drastically when this happens.  The story is about how a woman must survive on her own in India, how she must now provide for her sister, how gossip and status and can bring someone down and finally how love can save you.    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed all of the characters, even the one's that you weren't supposed to like were well developed and you felt for them.   Just a wonderful story and I'm excited to see there is a 2nd novel!   I'm adding it to my library list! 

I decided to make Butter Chicken and Naan. I found a recipe on Pinterest by Little Sunny Kitchen. 

It turned out great!  I made a couple of small changes listed below with the recipe. 

https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/

The Naan I made just turned out okay.  Not going to share the recipe yet because i think I might need to make this one more time to try to get it right.    

The easiest ever Instant Pot butter chicken! This super creamy, and fragrant Indian dish is so comforting, healthy and delicious.

–+Servings

Ingredients

• ▢3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢5 cloves garlic about 5 teaspoons, minced or crushed
• ▢2 inch (5 cm) fresh ginger root grated (about 2 tablespoons) I didn't have fresh ginger so used pre ground.  I put in a teaspoon. 
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• ▢1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ▢½ teaspoon chili powder optional
• ▢1 teaspoon salt add more if needed
• ▢2 pounds (900g) chicken thighs skinless, boneless, diced into bite-size pieces
• ▢17 oz (500g) tomato sauce or passata
• 1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream or coconut milk, or half and half*  I did heavy cream 
• ▢2 tablespoons fresh parsley, mint, or cilantro for garnish

Instructions

• On the Instant Pot press on SAUTE and melt the butter. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
• Add all of the spices, and the salt, stir, and cook for a minute. You might want to deglaze the pot at this point if the mixture is stuck to the bottom of the pot, just add a splash of water and scrape off any stuck bits with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato sauce (passata) and a ¼ cup of water. Switch off the saute setting.
• Add the chicken thighs, give everything a mix.
• Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
• Carefully remove the lid, and press on SAUTE. Stir in the cream, and allow the sauce to reduce a little (season with more salt if necessary). Taste the sauce and see if you need to add a little bit more salt. Serve warm over rice with chopped parsley or cilantro.
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