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!