Multi-Grain Dinner Rolls and a Book Review #BreadBakers #LitHappens

A combination of Oat Bran, Flax Seed, Whole Wheat, and Unbleached Bread Flour topped with Everything Bagel Seasoning.

The Bread Bakers are sharing Multi-Grain bread recipes today.......

Mastering the Art of French Hot Chocolate #CooktheBooks

I just finished reading a fun murder mystery starring chef, Julia Child. The novel was purely fiction but portrayed the chef as a good friend of the protagonist in the story.

The title of the book is, of course, a take on the title of Julia Child's world-renowned cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Pierogi Pasta Casserole and a review of The Huntress

All the flavors and goodness of Pierogi without making, rolling and forming the dough.  This pretend Pierogi recipe was inspired by The Huntress in which one of the protagonists pretends to be Polish.

Soup and Salad with 2 Book Reviews #LitHappens

I just finished reading two books, back to back.  They had absolutely nothing in common yet I was inspired to make a Japanese meal of Buckwheat Noodle Soup and Seaweed Salad. 

Allow me to share why I chose these recipes........

The Nightingale inspired Macarons #FilltheCookieJar #FoodiesRead

I just finished reading The Nightingale, a historical fiction set during the takeover of France by Germany prior to WWII.  It is the story of two sisters who are so very different and yet so very the same.  They reminded me of my relationship with my sister.  We love each other more than life itself and we agree on very little.

Before I go any further I want to just let you know that I waffled back and forth about this post and whether I should publish it.  It goes against my grain to speak out publicly against POTUS but it is exactly for this reason, my discomfort, that I am speaking my mind in this post.

I am not looking for a debate on this matter. This is my blog where I come to write about my life and my feelings.  I don't feel the need to apologize now, or ever, for what I post on my blog.  My readers are free to agree with me or not.  We are all entitled to our own opinions.  May God's peace surround us all.

This story was a very hard read for me.  Not because of the writing, which is excellent and not because it didn't hook me fast and hard and keep my attention, because it did.  This story was hard for me because of how I perceive what is happening in this Country, politically, as history just repeating itself.  This is something my sister and I see very differently as did Vianne and Isabelle.  It is also something at which I am at odds with many of my friends.  

I read in horror as France blindly allowed their President to barter a deal with Hitler saying he was doing what was best for his country.  I cringed as the French turned a blind eye to their fellow countrymen.  People who had been born and raised in France, people who had fought and died for France being persecuted for nothing more than the religion to which they were born and chose or chose not to practice.  I wept as German soldiers took risks to protect the innocent while keeping themselves and their families out of the line of fire and I raged at those soldiers and those in authority of each country who felt that they were better than others because of the station they held or the religion they professed.  

I was physically sick to my stomach when I compared what was happening now to what happened then and I truly wonder if one day, my writing these words could result in me and my family being executed for daring to speak against our Government.  

Food was a huge part of this story.  Mostly because of the lack of food for some while others had so much more than they could possibly use and chose to give the scraps to animals before sharing it with their fellow human beings.  I sit here stunned that our Government is proposing to cut funds that feed our elderly and our children as we pay millions of dollars for one child from one family to live outside of the White House so that he can attend his private school instead of the private school in Washington DC. I feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck screaming "danger, danger".  

Please, don't get me wrong.  I love my country. There is nowhere else in the world I would rather live. However, we must remember that the French felt the same way about their country, as did the Germans, Poles and Russians.  Many Germans were blinded by that love and could not see the true picture while the others quickly learned to protect themselves and those they loved by staying silent.

I am proud of the fact that our great country fought against the tyranny in Europe but that does not mean that our Government is exempt from making the same mistakes.  Russia, too, fought against Germany in WWII and I certainly wouldn't want to live in Russia.

The book ended, as did the war with people picking up their lives and continuing to live.  Life got better and people went about their business brushing the tragedies, deaths and atrocities under the rug to be hidden and never spoken of.  Be this due to the pain of remembering or the shame of remembering I guess depended on the person.

Back to the family in the novel. The sister who survives is now very elderly and lives in this great USofA and is summoned back to be honored for her, her sister's and  their father's part in the rescue of Jewish people and American soldiers who would otherwise have been taken prisoner.  This sister returns to France, accompanied, by her son who knew nothing of his family's involvement during this historic period. While walking down the streets of France together, she takes her son into a bakery and orders him a Macaron.  It is his first bite of France and the story his mother has to tell.

This scene, with mother sharing history with son, in the form of food resonated with me.  I decided to share some Macarons with my blogging community, my readers.

This recipe came from a publication distributed by my local grocer, Kroger.  I followed the recipe for the cookie exactly but chose to tint mine purple for Easter as this is the theme for this month's Fill the Cookie Jar.  I filled mine with a blueberry/lemon jam that our son made for us.  You can use any jam, lemon curd, caramel or chocolate ganache in the filling...whatever floats your boat.

I am linking this post to Fill the Cookie Jar and Foodies Read 2017.  You will find links to the other FTCJ recipes below mine.

Blueberry/Lemon Macarons
adapted from Kroger

1/2 c. almond flour
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 egg whites, room temperature
1-2 drops lilac food coloring
2 T. caster sugar
Blueberry/Lemon Jam (or your favorite filling)

Sift together the almond flour and the powdered sugar.  Set aside.

Place egg whites in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment.  Beat on medium speed until foamy.  Add the food coloring and continue mixing until egg whites are tinted.  With the mixer still on medium speed gradually add the caster sugar and beat until glossy and holding peaks.  Do not increase speed on mixer, be patient, it takes a little time.

Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the top of the egg whites and gently fold in.  Scoop the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with 1/2" round tip.  Pipe 1 1/2" rounds onto two large baking sheets covered with parchment paper.  Set aside and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Place in a preheated 300* oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops don't feel sticky to the touch.  Cool on baking sheets set onto wire racks.

When completely cool, spread a thin layer of jam on the bottom of a shell and top with a second shell.  Repeat with remaining shells.

These cookies are best refrigerated overnight before serving and can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Print Recipe

Let's Fill the Cookie Jar!

• Blueberry/Lemon Macaroons by A Day In The Life On The Farm 
• Carrot Oatmeal Cookies by Join Us Pull Up A Chair 
• Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies by Making Miracles 
• Chocolate Chip Bunny Cookie Pops by Cindy's Recipes and Writings 
• Honeybee Cookies by Palatable Pastime 
• Koulourakia by That Recipe 
• Lemon Butter Cookies by Marlys This and That 
• Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies by Feeding Big 
• Loaded Oreo M&M Cookie Bars by Jolene's Recipe Journal 
• No Bake Bird's Nest Cookies by Making Memories with your Kids 
• Spring Garden Malted Milk by Famished Fish

A Place Called Freedom: an Audible Book Review

Those who know me know that I am a huge historical fiction fan and that one of my favorite authors is Ken Follett.  My love affair with this author started in the 80's when I first read The Eye of the Needle, which remains one of my favorite books of this genre.

So I don't know how I missed this novel, A Place Called Freedom, that was published in 1995.  I came across this as I was browsing through audible. com.  We listened to it while we were on our road trip a week or so ago.  In true Follett fashion, this book grabs you with the characters that you love and some that you love to hate, and weaves you through history teaching you without you realizing that you are having a lesson.

This novel was narrated by Simon Prebble who, I thought, did an excellent job.  It was the perfect book for a road trip.  Fifteen hours in length and the time just flew by!!  This is a story of Mack McAsh, a Scottish coalminer owned by a prominent wealthy family.  Mack's father had also been a coalminer and was traditional for all coalminers in that day, was given a stipend when his son was born, ensuring that the child would also become a coalminer and the property of the owner.  The tides are changing and John Wilkes is speaking out about the fact that a child cannot be sold into slavery. He states that once the child is an adult he is free to leave.  The law states that an adult, once he has worked in the coal mines for one year and one day becomes slave to his employer.  Mack is fast reaching that one year and one day point when he stands up in church one day and announces that he is a free man and that no man can own him.

Thus starts the story that winds through coal country to London to Colonies, still owned by the British.  The story interweaves Mack McAsh and the family that owns him, including the wife of the youngest son, who is drawn to Mack and his ideals, his integrity and his morals.

I would reccomend this audible book or the novel very highly, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction.