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!