Sunday, January 18, 2009

This is our book for February, we will be meeting on February the 20th at Sue K's house.





Written in 1565 at the request of her confessor, St Teresa's autobiography is at once an extraordinary chronicle of a life governed by the desire to draw closer to God and a literary masterpiece that brings to life a woman of candor, humor, and great spiritual strength. Teresa writes of her early life, the conflicts and crises she faced, and her decision to enter a life of prayer. Her lyrical, almost erotic description of ecstatic experiences call to mind the sensuous language of the song of songs.

TERESA OF AVILA (1515-1582), also called St. Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish nun and one of the great mystics and religious women of the Roman Catholic Church. She was the leader of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of this religious order. Canonized in 1622, she was elevated to Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970, the first woman to be honored.
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Friday, January 16, 2009

The book that nearly did us in......

One Hundred Years of Solitude will not be voted as the favorite book of this years' club.  It's long and confusing and of six generations of a family, they recycle the same four names over and over.  I resorted to making flowcharts and family trees to keep myself awake and on track. I thought I was gonna lose my bookclub friends over this one.....but this group of women never disappoints.  We found plenty of meaningful discussion and then went on a tangent to dividing the room into two camps....those with OCD and those with ADD.  We all know which camp I fall into and if you can't remember, I'll give you a clue.  My dishwasher is half unloaded.....I have four books going right now....and I can't find the piece of scrap paper that I jotted stuff down on today at bookclub. 

We now move into the chapter of The Well Educated Mind on memoirs.  We start with an autobiography on St.Teresa of Avila....hosted by Sue....on Feb. 20.  I have to say I'm thankful to be done with the book of magical realism with too much insest and too few names.  I need to read some literary fluff before I start back into the 'classics'.  

Our schedule for the spring, in case you want to read along, is as follows:

Feb. 20  The autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila
Mar. 19  The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin  (changed to Thursday because of G-parents day)
Apr. 17  Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis  (Leigh Ann's)
May 15  Elie Wiesel   (Kim's)

More info upcoming on the children's bookclub that we will start in June.  We will try to do three books this summer and potentially have 2 groups- a 1-3 grade and 4-6.   The book we will use to guide the children is called Deconstructing Penguins.  I haven't ask yet, but maybe Pamela would like to be our moderator for one of the groups? Pretty please.

A huge thank you to Polly for opening her amazing home to us.  Shame on me for forgetting my memory card.  I will have to make a trip back soon to take pics.  The food and fellowship were wonderful as always!  And even though this wasn't my favorite book, I'm loving this bookclub.
Thanks for hanging in there girls even when the going gets tough.

Love to you all,
Edie
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Our Recipes

Our Recipes
Baked Brie

Baked Brie

1 Whole Wheel of Brie
1 Sheet Puff Pastry or
1 Sheet Regular Pastry
3 T Orange Marmalade
1 egg for glaze


Bring the Cheese and Pastry to room temperature.
Do not remove the rind from the Cheese
Place the Marmalade on the center of the pastry.
Place the Brie in top of the Marmalade.
Wrap the Pastry around the Brie, use a small amount of a water wash to help the Pastry adhere to itself.
Invert the wrapped brie on to a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and coat with the egg wash.
At this point the Baked Brie can be stored in the refridgerator for up to 4 days, when you are ready to finish the cooking of the Brie, pre-heat your oven to 350', bring the Wrapped Brie back to room temperature, place in the hot oven and cook for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Do not serve immedistely, but place on your serving platter and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Serve with Crackers or French bread

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe can be served as an entree or cut into bite size pieces as an Hor'sD'oeuvre

Awaiting recipe

Petite Fours and Croissant

Petite Fours and Croissant
Petite Fours

Petite Fours and Croissant

Recipe to be submitted

Mini pickled Okra sandwiches

Mini pickled Okra sandwiches

Mini Pickled Okra Sandwiches

This recipe can be made up to 2 hrs in advance, due to the Cream Cheese acting as a barrier and preventing the Bread from absorbing the liquid from the Pickled Okra--simply make your sandwiches, cover them with a slightly damp piece of paper towel , then some Saran Wrap and refridgerate for up to 2 hours. The Cream Cheese mixture also works well with Cucumber Sandwiches.

1 Loaf of Bread
8 oz cream cheese
2 T Dill.Herb Spice Mix (Tastefully Simple)
1 Jar of Pickled Okra
Bring the cream cheese to room temp and add the Spice mix.
Remove the crusts from the bread and roll out with a rolling pin.
Take 2 pieces of bread apply some of the cream cheese add the Okra cut in to desired shapes and serve.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Recipe to be submitted

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This recipe is dangerous, Why? because you are only 5 minutes away from Chocolate Cake at any given time of day.

4 T Flour
4 T Sugar
2 T Cocoa
1 Egg
3 T Milk
3 T Oil
# T Chocolate Chips (otional)
a small dash of Vanilla Extract
1 Large Coffee Mug

Add all of the dry ingredients to the mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and again mix well. Add the chocolate chips ( if using ) and vanilla extract, after you have mixed well, place the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1,000 watts ( high ). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, do not be alarmed! Allow the cake to cool a little and then invert on to a plate. This recipe can serve 2 ( if you want to feel slightly more virtuous ).
Recipe by Tina Faust