Weekend Cooking: Celebrations

We had reason to be celebrating (or perhaps the word should be commiserating) last weekend which is why I didn't get around to doing a Weekend Cooking post. I've also had house guests for the last couple of weeks which is why it has been a bit quiet post wise!

I thought that this week I would share some of the food that might have been consumed (although there were no photos taken. I meant to, but then I started talking and drinking and it just didn't happen!). A couple of the recipes are ones I have mentioned before, because, for example, there would be a mutiny amongst my friends if there was some kind of get together and these prawns and this cheesecake didn't feature somewhere on the menu.

Along with the prawns, for starters we also served up Thai Chicken Meatballs, which are definitely favourites in our family, and they are really easy to do!


Thai Chicken Balls

• 500g chicken mince
• quarter cup oyster sauce
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tbsp self raising flour
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 2 thirds cup coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Combine all ingredients, and then put 1 teaspoon of mixture into mini muffin pans.
3. Cook for 15 mins or until cooked through.
4. Serve with small bowls of sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce.

~~~~~~~~~~~

As it is now well and truly winter here in Melbourne, we decided that we would have different kinds of roast meats (pork, beef, lamb and chicken) with scalloped potatoes and broccoli and cauliflower cheese. Then for desserts there was the aforementioned cheesecake as well as trifle, lemon cheesecake, and strawberry pavlova rolls.

Finally for after dinner snacks there were chocolate brownie pieces and jelly slice, fruit platters and cheese platters. I thought I would share the recipe for Jelly Slice as it is definitely a favourite in our family, although we always, always, always use red jelly on top!

Jelly Slice

Image credit

• 125g Morning Coffee biscuits (semi sweet cookies) processed to fine crumbs
• 80g butter, melted, cooled
• 375g cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 200ml cream
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
• 85g packet jelly crystals

1. Line base and sides of a 3.5cm deep, 16cm x 26cm (base) slab pan with baking paper. Combine biscuit crumbs and butter. Press into base of lined pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in cream. Place water into a small bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Stir until gelatine dissolves. Set aside to cool slightly. Beat gelatine into filling until combined.
3. Pour filling over base. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or until set.
4. Meanwhile, make jelly, following packet directions. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Pour into a shallow dish. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or until jelly starts to thicken (like consistency of thickened cream). Pour jelly over cheesecake. Refrigerate for a further 3 hours or until jelly is set. Cut into squares to serve.

And the reason for all these celebrations?

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. 

Library Loot: June 8 to 14

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I feel like I haven't been to the library in weeks, but it was really just one week. I think having birthday celebrations and still having a house guest has thrown me all out of sync!

Here's the new loot I got:

The Female Man by Joanna Ross - When this author died a few weeks ago there was a lot of discussion about her books, especially this one.

Ten Ways to be Adored when Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean - the next book in the Love by Numbers trilogy.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonsen - In my first book club meeting they asked for suggestions for future reads and I suggested both this book and The Help. We are getting the latter but this one is first. I really hope they like it.
Reloot:

Clare has Mr Linky this week so be sure to go and add your link to share your loot!

Teaser Tuesday: Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick

Ah, a new Chadwick read. Very satisfying and enjoyable! This book was one of my most anticipated releases of this year, and to date I am pleased to say that it is meeting my expectations.

My teaser comes from page 78:

They rode in silence again, and Brian kept his distance because he knew that if he let her in, he would fall apart under the truth of her stare and he could not allow that to happen. She was right. Honour was both a gilded fancy and a stinking corpse, and she had not been the one to murder it in the name of strategy.

Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out  all about it, and how to join in!

In Conversation with Geraldine Brooks

Last night a friend and I attended an event run by Readers Feast bookshop which featured author Geraldine Brooks In Conversation.  Whilst there were a few younger readers there, it was an interesting contrast to other events I have been too recently as the crowd was much more mature in terms of the demographic.

I have been a fan of Geraldine Brooks ever since I read Year of Wonders many years ago. I really enjoyed March, and thought People of the Book was okay, so I was very excited to hear that there was a new book on the way, and the subject sounded very interesting.

Here is the blurb:

A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book.

Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure.

The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures.

Like Brooks's beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

In the conversation, the author touched on the idea of the actual history of Caleb going to Harvard being the "slender scaffold" that she built her story around, and about how the story that she wrote around this scaffold becoming the structure of the novel. She also talked about how she needed a first person voice as her narrator who tells the reader Caleb's story rather than using his voice. One of the reasons for his was partially out of respect in that she could not necessarily understand what it would have been like for a young native American man who was fluent enough in Latin and Greek to be able to meet the rigorous requirements that had to be met in order to be accepted to Harvard.

It always gave her an opportunity to share a story about how young women would have to snatch whatever learning they could however they could due to the fact that it was generally believed that it was bad for women to have book learning. Brooks talked about how this part of the story was inspired by a young girl from Afghanistan who used to sit on the roof of her house to listen to the school next year after girls were banned from school. (You can hear more about this aspect of Bethia's character in this reading)

It was fascinating to hear the discussion about the Wamponaog people, in particular about how their language was lost and then was bought back to life and about how the tribe forms such an important part of life on Martha's Vineyard today. She also shared with us the story about how it was that she came to live on Martha's Vineyard, and how that journey actually started way back when she was a rabid Star Trek fan as a youth. It was also great to hear exactly how some of the names should be pronounced.

While I enjoyed the whole night, which was held in one of the historical churches in Melbourne*, the highlight for me was really when the audience got to ask questions, and one lady started her question with the statement "I have a problem with you and the ending of Year of Wonders" and proceeded to talk about how she loved the whole of the book until getting to the completely improbably ending. This is completely my experience with Year of Wonders - loved the whole book but then there was that ending! I suspect that Geraldine Brooks might have heard this a few times before, but she took the time to explain that the ending that she gave to that book was actually based on a true story. She then went on to talk about the journeys that some of the more adventurous ladies had taken in the 17th century. Whilst I suspect that she possibly needs to make this clearer in her afterword if that is ever going to be revised, hearing that the ending was something that is based in fact and not just something improbably that she made up may just have changed my perception of that ending!

Luckily we were relatively close to the front of the audience and so it wasn't a long wait to get my copy of Caleb's Crossing signed. Now I just need to find time to read it!

*I always feel like I should clarify when I mention something historical here. The church we were in last night was found in 1843, which was only 5 years after the colony of Melbourne was founded, so that's historical to us!

When I am not reading ....

Whilst it is not a passion, I do have one other hobby - buying scrapbooking equipment! Every now and again I put that equipment to use by actually making cards! I have posted photos of a few of my cards over the years, but the reality is that the gulf between cardmaking and my real passion (reading and talking about reading) is huge!

Every month I go to a card making class and attempt to do a project, but the reality is that I spend most of my time talking and I don't often actually finish the class! I have loads of unfinished projects lying around the house.

One of the things we do each month are card swaps, where you have to come up with a design of your own using a particular theme as inspiration. It's lucky we do this actually as otherwise I would never make anything at all at home by myself!

In March the theme was shapes. I wanted to make some kind of pop up star card, but in the end went with this design, which I like but it is a bit too dark.

The April theme was Ribbon, and I was pretty darned happy with my design until I saw the amazing ones that everyone else came up with! Oh well. It could be said that I may be a little bit harder on myself than other people may be!

For May the theme was embossing which is a technique that I have been doing for a long time, but I still wanted to try something new. I therefore tried to make a flip flop card. While I really like the idea of the card, I am not very happy with the result. . I like the concept of the bird being caged and then free, but if I was to make it again I would construct it a little differently. Other people seemed to like it though

I thought instead of just putting up a photo I would put up a very short video showing why the card is called a flip flop card. It actually wasn't that hard to make, once you got all the measurements down. Don't mind the background stuff.

My standard disclaimer applies when it comes to the photos - one of these days I will get better at taking photos.

Library Loot: June 1 to 8

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Did you notice the date for this week's loot post? June! How can it possibly be June already?

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna - I heard an interview on NPR with the author, and the comparison to The Thorn Birds and other big juicy sagas but set in India sounded very appealing to me, so I requested it straight away. I had heard of it before.

The Countess Angelique by Sergeanne Golon - the next book in the Angelique series. How fabulously bawdy is this cover! I might have to scan the cover in again at some point to get a clearer picture!


Reloot:

Share the loot that you got this week by adding your link to Mr Linky below:

Teaser Tuesday: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

My teaser this week comes from In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming, the first book in the Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series. I have heard lots of good things about the later books in the series, but I can't start a series part of the way through so here I am at the beginning of the series, and so far, it seems like a very good read.

My teaser comes from page 88:

"I thought...I thought she'd finally be safe once she was in Albany. Once she was away.. Why did she come back?" Fresh tears rose in her eyes. "Why did she come back?"

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out  all about it, and how to join in!

Mailbox Monday: May edition

Uh-oh! It's another big acquisition month for me. I originally decided to do this post monthly as I do enough weekly memes and I wanted to leave Monday's free for other things. I am thinking however that maybe I should do it weekly because then I could be more in denial of how many books it is that are coming into my house!


Mailbox Monday is on tour and for April it is being hosted at Mari Reads. Head over there to share your links, or to see what everyone else has posted about this week.

Here's what I got this month:


Freebies

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherynne Valente - This book was available for a free download for a weekend. I have heard however that the illustrations and cover etc make this a book that you want to own the physical copy of! I loved the last book I read by Valente and have heard really good things about this one!

Sealed with a Kiss by Mary Margret Daughtridge - I remember not being interested in this one when it came out because I didn't read contemporary romance but that is changing so this is a chance for me to try this one.


Baby, I'm Yours by Stephanie Bond - Free download for the same reason as I downloaded Mary Margret Daughtridge.



For review

Whispers in the Sand by Barbara Erskine and Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware - For review from the publisher. I didn't like the only Barbara Erskine book I have previously read all that much, but I think she is one that I should like, so I will give her another chance. I have quite liked the other Ciji Ware books I have liked.

The Rose Garden  by Susanna Kearsley - This is one of my most anticipated releases for this year, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed with it at all! Such a fun read. Thanks again Susanna

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick - Another of my most anticipated releases for this year!

Before Versailles by Karleen Koen - for a blog tour later in the year.


Purchased

Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts and Nightsiders by Sue Isle - Both of these books are part of the Twelve Planets series being published by Twelfth Planet Press, which is a small independent publisher based in Perth.  I have read both of these and enjoyed them, especially Love and Romanpunk which was a lot of fun. I have already preordered the next release!

The Dead Girls Dance, Midnight Alley and Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine - I bought all of these for the author signing event that I went to earlier this month.

Exposed: Misbehaving with the Magnate and Wife for a Week by Kelly Hunter - Kelly Hunter is an Australian romance author who has been nominated for a RITA award this year. I thought it was time I gave her a try.

Sanctuary of Roses, A Whisper of Rosemary, Lavender Vows, Victoria Gardella - Vampire Slayer and The Shop of Shades and Secrets by Colleen Gleason - These are all available from Smashwords. The Gardella book is a short story introduction to the Gardella vampire series which I read I few years ago. Have to say, the covers on the first thee are gorgeous for self published books! I have no idea what the quality of these will be as I suspect they were early writing that is now being published.


City of Fallen Angels  and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - I have already read Clockwork Angel but I bought both of these books to get them signed at the author event I went to this week. I ended up deciding that I couldn't queue up for more than an hour to get the books signed!

Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore - I have read both of these before but couldn't pass up the chance to get signed copies when Kristin was in town this week.

Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith

From the award-winning author of A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, and The King’s Grace comes another masterful historical novel—the story of Cecily of York, mother of two kings and the heroine of one of history’s greatest love stories.


Anne Easter Smith’s novels are beloved by readers for their ability “to grab you, sweep you along with the story, and make you fall in love with the characters.”


In Cecily Neville, duchess of York and ancestor of every English monarch to the present day, she has found her most engrossing character yet. History remembers Cecily of York standing on the steps of the Market Cross at Ludlow, facing an attacking army while holding the hands of her two young sons. Queen by Right reveals how she came to step into her destiny, beginning with her marriage to Richard, duke of York, whom she meets when she is nine and he is thirteen. Raised together in her father’s household, they become a true love match and together face personal tragedies, pivotal events of history, and deadly political intrigue. All of England knows that Richard has a clear claim to the throne, and when King Henry VI becomes unfit to rule, Cecily must put aside her hopes and fears and help her husband decide what is right for their family and their country. Queen by Right marks Anne Easter Smith’s greatest achievement, a book that every fan of sweeping, exquisitely detailed historical fiction will devour.

Back in my pre blogging days I read and loved Sharon Kay Penman's Sunne in Splendour which was predominantly about Richard III. Reading that book sent me on a journey through lots of Ricardian fiction and one of my favourite reads at that time was Anne Easter Smith's debut novel A Rose for the Crown. In the nearly five years since I read that book, I had intended to read more from this author. With this new book, Queen by Right, I finally got around to actually doing so.

There can be no doubting whether Anne Easter Smith is for York or Lancaster when it comes to deciding which side she would have backed had she had to pick side in the war of the Roses, or at least there isn't much doubt based on the two books I have read so far. That should be sufficient warning to expect that York is good and Lancastrian is pretty much not!

Having now read most of this book, I must say I am a little amazed that we haven't heard more about Cicely's life before now. She has always been mentioned in books about Edward and Richard, her two sons who both ruled England, but Anne Easter Smith manages to give Cicely's story depth and interest all of it's own.

The novel opens with the woman who has been known as the Rose of Raby due to her beauty and also as Proud Cis for her bearing, grace and dignity. Now though, she is deep in mourning. Her beloved husband is dead, as are several of her other family members, and now she must find a way to carry on and support her remaining children.

Looking back retrospectively we see her meet and fall in love with her husband Richard and follow their lives together through their time in France and Ireland, parenting their many children and then to the conflict that pitted the Yorks against the formidable and nasty Margaret of Anjou, known through history as a she-wolf. Whilst battling for the rewards due to a man of his stature, Richard walks a fine line between loyalty and treachery against King Henry.

Of Cicely personally we meet a devout woman who believes passionately in the Virgin Mary. Her spiritual development is affected pretty early on as a result of the interactions that the book suggests she had with Jeanne de Arc. I am not sure that there is much historical basis, but with the timing all fitting, this part of the narrative has made it possible for the reader to view some of the most famous events of the time through the eyes of Cicely. Coincidentally, today is the anniversary of the death of the saint known to most of us as Joan of Arc.

As much as I have enjoyed reading this book, there are a couple of small things that I feel that I should mention. The first relates to Cicely and Richard's sex life. Whilst the scenes are not overly graphic in nature, I am not sure that we needed to be present for the conception of practically every child she had (and there were a lot!).  The second thing was that there appeared to be times where the author lost track of some of the characters, particularly the children, and keeping all of the key players straight in the conflicts later in the book was some times a little difficult. These are minor complaints though.

For the most part, we are given a fascinating glimpse into the life of a woman who is ancestor to nearly every king or queen of England since her death, was mother to two kings, and who seems to have left more of an imprint in the pages of historical fiction than a lot of other women of her time.

Luckily for me, I have two more of Anne Easter Smith's books sitting on my shelf that I can go back and read!

This book counts towards the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Thanks to Amy from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for organising the blog tour that this post is part of and for arranging for me to receive an e ARC. Head over to Historical Tapestry for your chance to win a copy of this book!

Sunday Salon: That was the week that was!

In last week's Sunday Salon I talked about the week I had coming up. I said it was going to be busy and I was right!

I was out every night this week as well as trying to do Armchair BEA. I had so much fun participating in Armchair BEA again this week, but I did run out of steam by the end of the week. I had pre written 3 posts, plus a couple of reviews, but with not being home I didn't get time to write the final two posts. I do want in particular to address the question about community, but I will save that for a future Sunday Salon post I think.

I was lucky enough to be interviewed not once, but twice, and I won a book that I have really wanted to read ever since it started to be blogged about so that was great too! Firstly, I was interviewed over at the Armchair BEA site as part of a group of four international bloggers. I talked a LOT, but then again that probably won't be a surprise to any of my regular readers. Also, I was interviewed by Rebecca from Kindle Fever, and finally I was lucky enough to be given a shout out by The Book Gatherer as well!

Last week I mentioned that I was doing a couple of book related things. First of all, I went to see Cassandra Clare in person. The event was held at Westgarth Theatre, which is a gorgeous venue. The theatre has an art deco vibe and the interior is very much an old fashioned theatre - big comfy, plush seats, loads of leg room,  and little trays in between each seat where you can put your drink.

The evening started off with a drama presentation of one of the earliest scenes in City of Bones, where Clary has just come to the Institute with Jace and there is opposition. It must have been a lot of fun for Cassandra Clare to see that, although with the movie casting news coming thick and fast, I am sure that it is something that she will be getting used to!

Local author Leanne Hall dressed up as Magnus and interviewed Cassandra Clare, who did really well to get up on the stage in the first place. The stairs were a little precarious, and she was wearing high heels despite the fact that she currently has a broken toe. What a trooper! Then again, I gave up wearing high heels except when I absolutely have to years ago!

Among some of the things that were discussed was the movie process, and about how involved or otherwise the author is in the casting process. She also talked about her future plans in terms of the books she would like to write. There will be more books set in the same world as her current series, and there are some plans for a YA adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and maybe some kids books as well.

A lot of the discussion centred around the themes of the latest trilogy set in the Shadowhunter world, and amongst those there will be an exploration of the theme of falling from grace. There will also be some page space given to the fact that Jace really needs to discover who he is after the revelations of the last book in the previous trilogy.

There were lots of people in the audience who went all out in dressing up for the appearance, something I would never, ever do, but I do admire those who have the bravado to do that kind of thing!

I did buy the two latest books with the intention of getting them signed, but the place in the queue where I stood looked like it was going to be more than an hours wait, so I had to decide between standing in the queue for more than an hour in my not so comfortable boots, or actually get home at a reasonable time. It is a sign of my advancing maturity that I chose to go home!

As usual, my photos from this event are very average!

On Thursday night, we attempted to have a Melbourne book blogger meet up. Bree and I had a great time chatting, but that's about all I will say about that.

Friday night after work I went to go and see Kristin Cashore. There was a short time where she was signing books at the State Library so I went and got both Graceling and Fire. Of course, once I was standing in front of her, I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. She was very gracious in taking the time to talk to everyone in the queue and I managed to get a photo too. Of course, if I look like I might have just rushed from one end of the city to the other, it would be because I had! Never mind!

This weekend, I managed to hurt my back getting washing out of the washing machine today and have house guests arriving soon. A quiet weekend was what I needed after a very busy week, but I could do with being able to move at least a little bit!