= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Archive for April 20th, 2008
Sunday, April 20th, 2008The Lace Reader - Book Review
The Lace Reader must stare at the piece of lace until the pattern blurs and the face of the Seeker disappears completely behind the veil. When the eyes begin to fill with tears and the patience is long exhausted, there will appear a glimpse of something not quite seen. In this moment an image will begin to form…in the space between what is real and what is only imagined. -From The Lace Reader, page 1-
Brunonia Barry’s debut novel, The Lace Reader, is an unusual story which (like the lace which her Great Aunt Eva ‘reads’) is difficult to understand until the final pages. Part mystery with a literary twist exploring women’s issues (incest, mental illness, and family dynamics), the novel evolves slowly, developing from multiple story threads which all come back to the central character - Towner Whitney. The novel opens in Towner’s point of view, and the reader is warned: ‘Never believe me. I lie all the time.‘
Towner Whitney lives in California, but is motivated to return to her birthplace in Salem, Massachusetts when her brother calls to report Towner’s great aunt missing. Once back in New England, Towner must unravel the mystery of Eva’s disappearance while coming to terms with her own shattered past. Salem is recognized historically for the famous witch trials of 1692 and is an apt setting for a book which spins around precognition and the idea of intuition. As the story unfolds, it becomes difficult to ascertain what is real and what is only imagined. Barry alternates point of view from chapter to chapter - something which adds depth to her story and helps to fill in the missing pieces of Towner’s childhood.
Barry’s writing is strong, creating a gothic feel to the book. She steers away from cliche characters, instead giving us complex individuals. Despite these strengths, the book is not without its weaknesses.
At times the plot felt thin to me - and although the ending has a surprise twist, many times I was able to predict an event before it unfolded. I also wondered about the accuracy of police procedure when one character ‘disappears’ and a full-blown search is immediately begun. In most adult missing person cases searches do not occur for at least 48 hours as often it is assumed the person chose to disappear. I also thought it unlikely that a police department would assist an abusive man in finding an adult woman who had disappeared. Additionally, I picked up one geographical flaw which made me question the author’s reliability in other areas. A person residing in Sonoma County, California would not drive ‘up the coast to see it.‘ Rather they must follow a non-coastal route south to San Francisco. This seemed like a pretty obvious fact to get wrong.
The Lace Reader has an aggressive marketing campaign with a release date of July 29, 2008. Early reviews of the book have been mostly positive. I found it a quick and engaging read despite its flaws.
Rated: 
Sunday Salon - April 20, 2008
April 20, 2008
Good morning to all the Saloners. I hope you are all curled up reading a good book. I’ve had a wonderful weekend of reading and cooking…and despite the cooler weather, I’ve enjoyed some porch time in the sun here:
(Click to Enlarge photo)
A couple of weekends ago, I painted that little wicker table red - and love the splash of color it gives the lower porch.
This week I finished reading Stegner’s Angle of Repose (read my review). Wow. I cannot believe I waited so long to read a Wallace Stegner novel. I loved this one and plan on reading all his novels now. Stegner rivals Steinbeck in my opinion - and that is not an accolade I give lightly.
Some of you may remember my post last week regarding a negative article about John Steinbeck. Well, Zunguzungu’s blog owner posted a link to his take on Robert Gottlieb’s article and it is well worth the read. I wonder if Gottlieb has been reading these reactions - I hope so.
I’m well into an Advance Reader’s Edition of The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. This is her first novel and it is set in Salem, Massachusetts with its rich history of the witch trials. I’m not entirely sure how to characterize this book - the writing is good, but the plot is convoluted and a bit thin in places. I will refrain from a final decision since I’m still 100 pages from the end. I’ve learned that sometimes a book turns around in those final pages, reversing a so-so opinion into a good one.
Other Early Review Books on My Nightstand:
- Laughing Without An Accent, by Firoozeh Dumas
- The House at Midnight, by Lucie Whitehouse
- The Island of Eternal Love, by Daina Chaviano
- The Wednesday Sisters, by Meg Waite Clayton
- Volk’s Shadow, by Brent Ghelfi
- Black Wave, by John and Jean Silverwood
I’ve decided to read these in order of release date, alternating with other books on my shelf.
Later today, I think I’ll delve back into E.B. White’s wonderful essays and catch up on my magazine reading. There is a new Sunset Magazine and Country Home just screaming to be read. The fire is crackling, the cats are drowsing, and there is plenty of leftovers in the fridge. All I need to do is put the teapot on, and I have the perfect recipe for reading.
Happy Sunday to all of you…see you next week.
Sunday, April 20th, 2008Life in the Slow Lane - Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook
Americans are known throughout the modern world for their love of new technology in the mechanical and electronic realms. Any piece of equipment or tool that can do the job better and faster is immediately embraced and touted. So who could have predicted the success of a kitchen appliance that does the job more slowly? -From Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, page 1-
I decided to live life in the slow lane this weekend, cooking from Beth Hensperger’s wonderful cookbook - Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook. I became an instant fan of Hensperger when I began using her Bread Machine Cookbook: The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. I have yet to find a bread recipe there which isn’t delicious…and my copy of the cookbook has worn edges, food dripped pages, and sprawling notations throughout.
Hensperger collaborated with Julie Kaufmann to write her Slow Cooker Cookbook: ‘We found the slow cooker style of cooking is designed to complement the way we live- it is time conscious, economical, energy conscious, and reliable. We cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients, and we could cook the same dishes as easily for a dinner party as for a family supper.‘ The authors begin by giving a history of the slow cooker - noting that the Rival company developed this new appliance in 1971, marketing it as a tool for the working woman who wanted to serve her family homemade food despite her long hours away from the home. Slow cooking actually has its roots many years before Rival made it appealing to busy women - the technique of putting many root vegetables and tough meats in a burning fire pit (sometimes for up to 24 hours) to tenderize and meld their flavors was used by indigenous people in prehistoric times. Slow cooking is moist-heat cooking - cooking foods in a closed environment to utilize hot liquid in breaking down plants with lots of fiber, or meats with lots of connective tissue.
Among other things Hensperger and Kaufman provide information on shapes and sizes of slow cookers, temperature settings, high altitude cooking, and guidelines for adapting conventional recipes to slow cooking. All the information is organized for quick reference. The cookbook is broken up into sections including porridges to soups to rices and grains to main courses (by type) to desserts, jams, butters and compotes. Each recipe specifies the size of cooker best suited to the recipe as well as setting and cook time to be used.
I decided to cook from several sections of the cookbook: From the Porridge Pot; The Slow Cooker Soup Pot; Poultry, Game Birds, and Rabbit; and Slow Cooker Puddings, Cakes, and Breads. For all the dishes (except the oatmeal and tapioca pudding) I used Rival’s large Smart Pot (model #3850) which allows the cook to chose high or low setting and set a timer. It also has a warming feature.
Thursday Evening
Orange Hoisin Chicken (page 271) combines orange juice concentrate, honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fresh ginger, garlic, sesame oil and frozen boneless chicken breasts to create a delicious meal. The ginger and garlic meld together for a subtle, yet delectable flavor. The recipe indicates that sprinkling toasted sesame seeds on top of the chicken is optional - but I would strongly suggest following this step as it adds a wonderful nutty flavor to the dish. Toasting sesame seeds takes only a few minutes in a dry fry pan, and is well worth the effort. I paired the dish with American Basmati and Wild Rice (Safeway Select brand) which complimented the dish without overpowering it. I also whipped up a simple, baby green salad with Italian dressing. This is a dish I would make again.
Friday Afternoon
Friday was a cold, breezy day in Northern California - the perfect weather for soup and a loaf of hot, homemade bread. Minestrone Soup (page 63) uses a good amount of fresh vegetables: yellow onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, and Swiss Chard. It also requires canned red kidney beans, frozen baby lima beans, fresh parsley, a can of whole tomatoes, canned (or homemade) chicken broth, some type of macaroni or shell pasta (I used cappelletti), and a dry red wine. It gently cooks for about 8 hours (times may vary according to your machine) and fills the house with a mouthwatering smell. This recipe required the vegetables (except for the Swiss Chard) to be sauteed before being added to the pot. The result was a delicious, flavorful soup. I accompanied it with one of my favorite recipes from Hensperger’s bread machine cookbook: Sour Cream Rye (page 139). This bread is very moist and is a perfect addition to any vegetable based soup. This meal was delicious with a glass of BV Pinot Noir (which was also the wine I used in the recipe).
Saturday Morning
My husband and I woke to hot Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal (page 28) on Saturday morning. I prepared the recipe the evening before and let the cooker cook all night. This was my first experience with my small Rival slow cooker (model #3215) which does not have a choice of settings nor a timer. I wasn’t sure at what temperature I was cooking - and as it turned out, the cooker got very hot causing the oatmeal to stick to the bottom. The porridge was just okay - a little too bland for my taste. If I were to make it again, I would first spray the cooker with nonstick, butter flavored spray and add more cinnamon.
For dinner, I prepared Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Mushrooms (page 285) which is cooked on a high setting using a 4 pound broiler chicken, lemon, paprika, parsley, onion, garlic, soy sauce, Yukon Gold potatoes and fresh mushrooms. This recipe had a mistake in it (maybe two mistakes) in that it failed to tell me when to add the mushrooms. I decided to add them on the top along with the potatoes. It also did not indicate that the potatoes should be halved or quartered…and since they were small, I simply put them in whole. This turned out to be a mistake as they did not cook through. At 3.5 hours, I removed them, halved them and returned them to the pot. Even still, they were a bit undercooked at 5 hours (a half hour PAST the estimated cook time). Despite this, the meal was actually very flavorful and the chicken was done perfectly. The onion and lemon flavors melded beautifully and gave the dish an elegant taste. I would make this dish again, but would quarter the potatoes before adding them to the pot.
For dessert, I cooked Tapioca Pudding (page 432), an old favorite from childhood. Once again I used my small slow cooker, but this time (as advised in the recipe) I sprayed the inside of it with non stick vegetable spray first. The pudding was absolutely delicious topped with whipped cream. It made four small servings, which my husband and I consumed all in one sitting!
Concluding Notes
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed cooking from this cookbook. There are many recipes I did not try, but which I marked to make at a future date. A sampling includes: Corn Chowder (page 70), Cream of Artichoke Soup (page 73), Lazy Day Braised Pot Roast (page 316), Roast Pork With Apples (page 359), Fresh Raspberry Bread Pudding (page 437), and Chocolate Bread Pudding (page 438).
As with Hensperger’s bread machine cookbook, this is one I can highly recommend.
*NOTE: Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.