Reading, Writing & Pondering

The Cottage Kitchen by Marte Marie Forsberg is part autobiographical story book and part cookbook.  Forsberg was born and raised off of the coast of Norway. She grew up learning gardening, foraging and cooking delectible meals from her mum. Then she ended up living in England after going to a university and traveling for a time. She has a popular blog also entitled, The Cottage Kitchen. This book is divided by seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn and then concludes with an extra section on Afternoon Tea. Each section contains a mix of stories and seasonal recipes. I enjoyed reading this thick lovely book. Some of the recipes look a bit challenging for finding ingredients locally for me. Otherwise, I think many of the recipes look like fun. Many are different than the recipes in my area. Clearly the culture is different, but that is what I like about this book. I can try something new and fun. Even recipes like waffles and pancakes don't look like what I am used to in...

Jane, Celia and Margot Woodward's lives are shattered when their mother dies and their father's business scandal shatters their lives. Jane and Celia, the older sisters, come up with a plan to make a living  near their home in San Francisco while taking care of the youngest sister to bring a sense of normalcy to their lives. However, recent events put everything they have worked so hard for in jeopardy once again. This time, the sisters decide that  they just need to start over in a new location like Austin, Texas. Jane of Austin follows the Woodward sisters as they start a new life in Austin near their cousins. With Jane's tea plants and their experience, the girls hope to open a new tea shop there. In the meantime, they make some new acquaintances in up-and-coming musician Sean Willis and former Marine Caption Callum Beckett. You'll have to read the book to find out how things work out with the sisters and these new men because I don't want to spoil the plot ...

Kissing Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn was one of those books that I could have easily read in one sitting--because I didn't want to put it down until I reached the ending. Both the story and the setting kept me enthralled until I read the last words. . .and left me wanting more. In this third installment in the Father Christmas series, Anna visits England to attend her cousin Miranda's wedding (to Ian) in Kissing Father Christmas . While she was there, one of the groomsman caught her eye. A few months later, Anna returned to visit her English family and to, hopefully, spend some time with Peter. However, when Anna sees Peter again, she isn't so sure what his intentions are. In Kissing Father Christmas , the story of Peter and Anna was an especially sweet story to me. Gunn weaves their spiritual lives in so effortlessly and I was encouraged by this beautiful story of love and grace. I enjoyed all of the books in the series but this one might be my favorite ...

Miranda Carson is searching for the father she never knew. She follows a lead left by her deceased mother to England to see if she can find him in Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn. In addition, Miranda has never had a true Christmas celebration. In a touching story, Miranda finds the truth and learns more about Christmas then she has ever known before. In Engaging Father Christmas , Miranda Carson returns to England to spend Christmas with her boyfriend, Ian. Miranda is hoping that Ian will soon ask her to marry him and she can make the charming village of Carlton Heath her home. However, her past and true identity may challenge those relationships.  The two-in-one book from Robin Jones Gunn is destined to be one of my favorites by her. Yes, the ending is somewhat predictable, but sometimes we just need to unwind with a cup of tea and a "happy ending" tale to leave the world behind for awhile. This book let me do that. At the same time, the...

I don't know about you, but if you are a teadrinker, it isn't easy finding a good cup of tea when you are on the road. I've had some good ones and then I've had some that I could barely drink. When Border's closed in our nearby community, I found this great tea-on-the-go travel cup. I like loose tea so thought I could use the basket to brew my favorite teas on the go. Yesterday I gave it a try. Last Saturday, I had picked up a bag of Yorkshire Gold loose tea from a British Shop that I like to visit. I brewed a travel cupful of this to start with. My first try, I thought this looked bigger than my usual mugs I have tea in, so I put in 1 1/2 teaspoons of loose tea in the basket and poured my hot water over the top. . .I learned 2 things. . .Number 1 was that that was  1/2 teaspoon too much tea for my tastes. Secondly, that I needed to pour the water slowly as it quickly over shot the basket and I had loose tea in my water. But this particular travel cup has a sort o...

In celebration of autumn in the Midwest, I made a Streusel Concord Grape Pie. It bubbled over a bit this time so might not look beautiful in my picture but it was very tasty. It is time consuming recipe to prepare but we think it is worth it to have this annual treat. Streusel Concord Grape Pie 4 1/2 cups concord grapes 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup flour 2 tsp lemon juice 1/8 tsp salt Oat Streusel: Combine 1/2 cup quick oats 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup flour Cut in 1/4 cup butter to distribute evenly. Wash grapes and remove skins by pinching at the end opposite the stem. Reserve the skins. (I put the skins in a little food chopper so they are chopped up more finely and don't get tough when baked.) Place pulp in saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook a few minutes until pulp is soft. Put through a strainer or food mill, while pulp is hot, to remove seeds. Mix strained pulp with skins. Stir in sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Place grape mixture in pastry lined pie pan...

One of my favorite loose teas is the basic British cuppa brand, P G Tips. I can get this tea locally at a couple of stores or I can order on-line. It is my morning wake-up tea, brewed up and then tempered with a nice splash of milk. When we were in Arizona for a week in March, I had a hard time finding a good cup of tea at our hotel. They had a great selection of breakfast treats that we could get in a little eating area near the lobby. . .but hot water out of a pump thermos is not hot enough to brew a sturdy cup of black tea. I tried the microwave but I've never been a fan of microwaved tea water either. . .maybe it is just me, but it just doesn't taste the same and there is often a little white foam on top. So I decided one of my souvenirs from Arizona would be an electric kettle. Thankfully I found a pretty nice one at Target, nearby my hotel. I had one at home but it never hurts to have a back-up :). That one comfort from home just made the rest of my week. I loved the tr...