BOOK REVIEW - DEAREST COUSIN JANE

This book jumped into my hands while purusing the books at Costco.  I am a Jane Austen junkie and couldn't resist.  I enjoyed it but it isn't for everyone.  I think you need to be an Austen aficionado to have the patience for a book like this.  Evidentally Jane Austen had a nortorious cousin, Eliza Hancock, believed to have influenced Jane's writing.  Eliza married a French count and after his death Jane's brother, 10 years her junior.  Eliza's social escapades and extravagances were often in question. Her life and colorful character was entwined with the Austen family for most of Jane's life.   The book has no plot.  Each chapter is a first person account of an Austen family member including Jane, her sister Cassandra, her mother, Eliza, Jane's brothers, some of Jane's cousins and a sister in law.  Some of the story is told in letters from one of these family members to another.  It is a choppy way to write a story but I did enjoy learning about the interactions and movings of her family.  I feel like I have a good understanding of the family dynamics that surrounded Jane's life and writing.  It is fiction based loosley on  knowledge of the real family.  I would give it 3 stars out of 5. 

CREPES FLORENTINE - 2 Ways

This is a recipe I have had for 25 years but never put it in my computer file. I remember making it years ago for a mother daughter luncheon. It might be "chick food" but my husband will eat it as a side dish with meat. It would be a great vegetarian dish. I made it this year for Easter and then again for a family get-to-gether and everyone seemed to enjoy it. (You know when they have seconds) It is a bit of work as you have to make the crepes, sauce and saute the mushrooms but it makes 16 crepes and they freeze nicely if you only want to eat half. Pre-washed spinach at Costco makes that part easier. I fill a large dutch oven size pan full and pushed down of rinsed Costco spinach and that makes about a pound. (There is 2 1/2 pounds in a bag) The second time I made the recipe I used garlic and parmesean cheese instead of onions and swiss cheese. I like both versions.

Crepes
4 eggs
1 C. milk
¾ C. wather
1 ¾ C. flour
1 tsp salt
1 T. veg. Oil
Beat until smooth.(A blender is good) Pour scant ¼ cup in a 7-8 inch non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam. Tilt to coat pan and cook until lightly brown on one side and turn to brown the other. Stack on a plate

SPINICH AND MUSHROOM FILLING

1 lb. fresh spinach
4 T. butter
½ c. chopped sweet onion or 1 clove grated garlic
6 T. flour
3 C. milk
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce or pinch of cayenne pepper
1 C. shredded Swiss cheese or Parmesan
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
3 T. butter
1 C. heavy cream, whipped.

Steam the washed spinach with only the water clinging to the leaves 3-4 minutes or just until the leaves are wilted. Drain well and chop. (squeeze out the liquid)

Heat 4 T. butter in pan and onion (or garlic) saute until tender but not brown about 10 minutes (for onions). Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add milk gradually. Cook, stiring constantly until the mixture tickens and bubbles 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. salt, hot sauce and cheese. Reserve 3/4 C. sauce for topping.

Heat the remaining 3 T. butter and saute mushrooms often until very lightly browned. Stir half the mushrooms into cheese sauce along with the spinach. Spread ¼ C. filling on each crepe; roll up arrange in shallow baking dish. (this will fill 2-9x13 inch casseroles) Cover and refrigerate until ready to heat and serve. Freeze half the crepes for later if desired.

Bake crepes covered 20 minutes or just until heated through (if fresh made. It will take 30 minutes from the refrigerator) 350 degrees. Fold the whipped cream into the reserved cheese sauce; spoon over crepes; broil 2-3 minutes. (Just until the bubbles brown a bit. Garnish with the reserved mushrooms.

ZION IN SPRING

I spent a day last week in Zion which may be the most beautiful place on earth this time of year with the trees a sprightly green, blooming trees, pools and waterfalls that are only there early in the year.

LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD - TV SERIES REVIEW

My husband says I am a sucker for anything with an English accent and he may be right.  I don't watch TV, except for Masterpiece Theatre and somehow I missed the "Larkrise to Candleford" series which shows on Saturday evening here on PBS.  After a couple of friends asked if I was watching it I decided to use my Netflix membership to order a disc and give it a peek.  A month and 23 hours later I have watched both season one and two.  I finished the final one with Maren last night, who spent some time with me last week and watched 12 hours herself.  My friend Carole Turner had a copy of season 2, which was good because Netflix said they had a "long wait" for the first disc of season two.  Today I am missing my Larkrise friends and feeling sad that I don't have my daily encounter with them to look forward to.  This is kinda "Little House on the Prarie" in two English hamlets in 1895, only a lot better.  There is a lot of wisdom in the stories.  A friend told me this week that it is "therapy" for her.  Each one hour segment is a different story but the people, their lives and interactions carry from episode to episode.  I have to say that the last episode left me disappointed and wanting so I am sure there will be a season 3.  5 stars...pure delight!

Book Review - Lizzi & Fredl

One of my favorite memoirs is German Boy http://www.amazon.com/German-Boy-Wolfgang-W-E-Samuel/dp/0340822600/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271201250&sr=8-1-catcorr  I found a review of "Lizzi and Fredl" on Holly's blog. (see blog roll) It intrigued me because of the Nazi theme. Lizzi and Fredl were living in Austria in 1938 when Hitler's Nazi regime ordered Fredl and his brothers to report to a munitions factory as workers. Not wanting to be part of this dreaded force they decided to escape to France with their wives.

The three couples manage to crawl across the border under very dangerous circumstances. But life in France, as the war unfolds and the Germans invade, has its own nightmares, especially for Fredyl and his brother Ernstl, who was married to Lizzi's sister. The French were suspicious of foreign men, wondering where their sympathies were, so they were sent to interment and labor camps for the duration of the war. These camps are horrific, sad adventures in hard work, mal-nutrition, abuse and raw deprivation.

Fredl and Lizzi are separated for much of the war. The women fare better in France and I was impressed with the help and support that Lizzi and her sister received from the government agencies and the local women. The book was written by the couples only son, Dr. William B. Stanford who was born in France after the war about 3 years before the couple imigrated to the US. The writing was simple and I probably wouldn't have tolerated it had it been fiction. Stanford portrayed a sweet connection between this couple as they pushed through the tragedies that might have otherwise broken Fredl as he suffered heart problems and Rheumatoid Arthritis, exacerbated by his poor living conditions and hard work.

There were miracles as Providence, love and faith direct Lizzi and Fredl on many occasions. The strength of the human spirit to go on in spite of almost unfathomable obstacles was witnessed here. 2 stars for the writing, 4 stars for the story.

THE BEST FROSTING

                 

I really enjoy the Pioneer Woman's Blog (See my blog roll)  Recently she had a recipe for frosting that she said was the "Best frosting I've ever had." http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/03/a-tasty-recipe-thats-the-best-frosting-ive-ever-had/  I used to have a recipe like this but it was made with shortening and since I don't cook with trans fats anymore I haven't made it for a long time.  But when she said butter, I was in for a try.  This is easy and indeed delicious but I thought it needed a couple of changes.  The first would be that it was too salty for me and needed to be made with unsalted butter.  I think a pinch of salt might be OK.  The second problem for me was beating it in my Kitchen Aid.  It didn't quite get the bottom mixed up good enough so I need to make sure if I beat it in this mixer again that I scrape the bottom with a rubber scraper a few times during the whip time. 

BEST FROSTING

Ingredients
 1 cup Milk
 5 Tablespoons Flour
 1 teaspoon Vanilla
 1 cup Unsalted butter
 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)
A pinch of salt to taste.

Preparation Instructions
Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool or any cake that needs a rich buttery frosting.  This is my favorite homemade chocolate cake.  http://charmainesgibblegabble.blogspot.com/2009/06/best-from-scratch-chocolate-cake.html

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink until it cools.) Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Rubber scrape the bottom of the bowl often while whipping.

Taste Test