Thirteen Ways of Looking at Construction

The street was barely recognizable as construction equipment and safety pylons were everywhere.  Inside though it was serene and elegant with Diana Krall serenading us all evening.  Thank you to Lynda who welcomed us so warmly.

All of us had strong reactions to Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, finding it grimly realistic, unlike Trixie the dress shop sales clerk:

"To Trixie, even the apocalypse is cute.  Scorched earth. Galloping black horses foaming at the mouth.  The shadow of the scythe wielding deal of Fate bearing down on her.  All super cute."

We did a little planning for future book club evenings.  Remember that next month we will be at Wanda's to talk about A Gentleman in Moscow.  Since it's late in the month - the 29th, and since people are travelling here and there, we're skipping July.  Our next book club will be at Jane's on August 3rd. We'll be reading Prison Book Club by Ann Walmsley. Maureen's trip to Kingston for the Kingston Pen Tour was the inspiration for choosing this book.

I can't think of any other books that we talked about last night, but some movies were mentioned:

• A Sense of an Ending
• Personal Shopper
• I, Daniel Blake
• Going in Style
• Maudie

And some great TV offerings were also recommended:

• The Handmaid's Tale
• Where to Invade Next
• The Thirteenth
• Occupied
• Black Mirror

James Garden Summer 2016

Let it Rain!

The weather was crummy but it was all sunny smiles at Saara's book club evening.  The food was wonderful; your recipes have been posted.
Thank you Saara!

The next book is Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad.  We will meet at Lynda's on May 11th.

Looking ahead, we made a plan for Thursday, June 29th at Wanda's.  The book will be A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles.

Books:

• Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann 
• Going into a Dark House by Jane Gardam 
• The Pier Falls: and other stories by Mark Haddon
• A Measure of Light by Beth Powning
• If I Fall If I Die by Michael Christie

On Netflix: 

• 13 Reasons Why based on the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Ingredients

7 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 lb. unsalted butter
7 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. In a small saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat
3. In large bowl beat egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes
4. Gradually beat in warm chocolate mixture and vanilla 
5. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, add remaining 1/4 cup of sugar 1 tbsp. at a time, continue beating until stiff
6. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture
7. Pour 3/4 of batter into ungreased 9 x 3 spring form pan, cover remaining batter and refrigerate, bake 35 minutes
8. 8 Prepare whip cream frosting (mix whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla)
9. Remove cake and cool (cake will drop as it cools)
10. Remove outside ring of spring form pan
11. Stir remaining batter to soften slightly, spread on top of cake, refrigerate until firm
12. Spread whip cream frosting over top and sides, garnish with chocolate flakes
13. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight, may be frozen.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Mexican Shells with Boursin Red Chilli Pepper

Ingredients

• 150g (6 oz.) Boursin® Red Chili Pepper
• 24 round mini nachos shells
• 30ml (2 tbsp.) olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ green pepper, diced
• ½ red pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh coriander

Preparation

Step 1

In a skillet on medium-high heat, fry the onions for 2 minutes in olive oil. Add the peppers and garlic, and then cook for 3 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, turn off the stove and set the mixture aside.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). In a large bowl, combine the Boursin® with the fried vegetables. Fill the shells with the mixture and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Step 3

Garnish each shell with a leaf of fresh coriander and serve immediately.

Beef Hoisin Mini Meatballs

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 13 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 8 oz extra-lean ground beef
• 3 Tbsp dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp minced green onion

Sauce

• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup red currant jelly
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp water

Garnish

• 2 Tbsp chopped green onion
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. For the meatballs, combine the beef, bread crumbs, hoisin sauce, garlic, egg and onion. Form into 20 to 24 meatballs, about one inch in diameter.

2. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking oil and add the meatballs. Cook over medium-high heat for three minutes, turning until browned on all sides.

3. For the sauce, combine the hoisin sauce, jelly, garlic, ginger and water in a small bowl. Add to the meatballs and stir well. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Serve garnished.

Last evening at Maureen's

Thank you for everything, Maureen. Your home and hospitality are awesome with that little extra grace: an alphabetized bookshelf.  And thank you for providing Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing inspired some enthusiastic conversation about an obscure bit of history.

    

Books we mentioned: 

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
• The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien
• The Break by Katherina Vermette
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
• Purity by Jonathan Franzen
• Exit West by Mohsin Hamid 

Recommended movies: 

• The Founder
• A United Kingdom

All Our Names

February thaw - Yes!

Thank you to Susan for a special evening. It was perfect as usual.

Thank you also to the groundhog for this amazing weather.

All Our Names has an unusual structure, and most of us found it a little disconnected because of the two narratives and the various locations.  I wish I'd heard Mengestu talk about the book in advance but here he is now talking about his intentions:



There were no changes in the dates or locations for the next few book club evenings.

• March 23 will be at Maureen's and the book title is Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.
• On April 20 we'll go to Saara's for a discussion of Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall.
• The May 11 meeting will be at Lynda's where we'll talk about 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad.

We are resolved to consult with everyone about future dates to avoid conflicts if possible.

Books mentioned at our meeting: 

• His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay
• The Hunter and the Wild Girl by Pauline Holdstock
• The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
• Just Kids by Patti Smith
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Son of a Certain Woman by Wayne Johnston
• Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

With Oscar night nearly upon us, we came up with this list of memorable films: 

• Hell and High Water
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Lion
• Manchester by the Sea
• Hidden Figures
• Fences
• Jackie
• Moonlight
• Arrival 

General Interest: 

• Learning Unlimited Etobicoke will resume again in the fall
• Hot Docs usually lists something interesting, including their festival
• Lifelong Learning Mississauga has spring series on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Netflix Pix:

• Line of Duty
• Rectify
• The Fall
• Paranoid
• Santa Clarita Diet  

Don't miss these (not on Netflix yet): 

• This is Us
• Pure