February Book Club

Thank you to Jo for welcoming us last night.  The fire was a nice touch on a crisp evening.

Please remember that next time we'll be at Lynda's on March 17th to talk about The Green Road.

Healthy Recipes from Susan

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites

• 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
• 1 cup (about 4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup chopped vegetables cooked {steamed, roasted, etc}
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray or oil.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Divide the mixture evenly between the cups of the mini muffin tin, and press down to pack it in firmly.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Banana Bread

• 1 ¼ C mashed ripe banana
• 3 eggs
• ¼ C macadamia nut oil, coconut oil or cold pressed olive oil
• 2 tbs raw honey or organic maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking soda + 1 tbsp lemon juice (lemon activates the baking soda)
• 2 C almond meal
• ¼ C ground flaxseed or chia seed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 320.
2. Combine oil, bananas, and eggs (by hand in a large bowl or with a good blender)
3. Add the next 4 ingredients and mix.
4. Add the almond meal and seed and mix well.
5. Lightly oil one loaf tin and coat liberally with extra almond meal or desiccated coconut. This will prevent the cake from sticking.
6. Spoon the batter into the tin. Decorate with sliced banana or chopped walnuts and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.
7. Bake at least 60 to 70 minutes. Bake 20 min., cover and bake 20 minutes. Bake uncovered the remaining time. A skewer in the centre should come out dry. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out the loaf.

A Train in Winter

Yes, Friday the thirteenth was on Wednesday this month, and it turned out to be an excellent day to have book club after all. 
Thank you Susan for hosting.  We are hoping to get a couple of your recipes if you have time.

The book was thought-provoking about a difficult subject, certainly  worth reading and discussing.

We made plans for upcoming months, April and May.  On Thursday, April 21st we'll meet at Maureen's new condo to talk about Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
On Thursday, May 26th we'll be at my place (Marian) to talk about A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore.

And to recap next month will be at Jo's on Thursday, February 11th - Fifteen Dogs.  March's book club will be on Thursday, March 17th at Lynda's - The Green Road.

Also mentioned last evening:

• Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
• Adult Onset by Ann-Marie MacDonald 
• Close to Hugh by Marina Endicott 
• Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan
• Purity by Jonathan Franzen
• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout  
• The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
• The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
• The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

Booker Prize winner's complaint

Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings, feels that people like us have too much influence on the publishing industry: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/30/marlon-james-writers-of-colour-pander-white-woman-man-booker-event-brief-history-seven-killings

Last time in 2015

The final book club gathering of the year took us out in fine form with some great conversation on many topics. Thank you to Jan for hosting this time.  It was a great evening.

Our next book club will be in 2016.  We'll meet at Susan's on Wednesday, January 13th and the book will be A Train in Winter: An extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, Resistance in Occupied France by Caroline Moorehead.

The following month we'll be at Jo's.  The book will be Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis and the date is Thursday, February 11th.

On St. Patrick's day, Thursday, March 17 we're going to Lynda's to talk about The Green Road by Anne Enright. Better be prepared for blarney.

Here are some of the book suggestions:

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Road Ends by Mary Lawson
• Hand me Down World by Lloyd Jones
• Capital by John Lanchester (the inspiration for a new BBC series)
• Us by David Nicholls
• Illegal by Lawrence Hill
• Daddy Lenin and Other Stories by Guy Vanderhaeghe
• Neapolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) by Elena Ferrante
• Aging Backwards (Essentrics) by Miranda Osmonde-White

And some talk about TV and movies:

• Mimi and Donna
• River (Netflix)
• Spotlight
• Room
• Hinterland (Netflix)
• Indian Summers
• Borgen
• Master of None (Netflix)

Here is the recipe for Jan's amazing dip:

Imperial Cheese Dip

• 115 grams Imperial Cheese ( half of a container) 
•  1/4 block of cream cheese 
•  1/2 tbsp brandy 
•  3 finely chopped green onions 
•  Curry powder to taste 

Blend together and press into serving dish.   Top with Chutney of your choice ( I used President's Choice Mango Chutney)

As requested...

A great evening at Jane's was made even better by perfect attendance.  Thank you Jane.  A good time was had by all.  So much so that as we were leaving there were requests for your cookie recipe. Here it is.  It's a version of a recipe by Delia Smith.

Jane's Cookies

• 4oz butter
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
• 3oz demerara sugar

Dissolve gently in a saucepan for 3-4 minutes.  Then mix together:

• 4oz self-raising flour
• 4oz porridge oats 
• pinch of salt
• 2oz dried cranberries (Reddi-bulk)

Pour in butter mixture and combine well. Put large walnut size lumps on a greased pan and flatten with fingers. Press slivered almonds on top.
Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes on centre rack. Cool on tray for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack
Suggested variations: raisins and hazelnuts, apricots and pecans, dark chocolate and unblanched almonds. Always 2oz fruit plus 1.5oz nuts, chopped if necessary.

And then there was a request for some photos of the summer weddings. Hint: Click on the photo to see a larger version.

In the end we didn't do much talking about books other than The Children Act.  I did note:

• They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson
• The Illegal by Lawrence Hill  

Please remember that our next book club will be at Jan's house on Thursday, November 26th and the book will be The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King.

September

Our September book was Ellen In Pieces.  Our September host was totally Wanda.  Thank you Wanda! The evening was a pleasure in every way.

A reminder that our next book is The Children Act, and we'll meet at Jane's on October 15th which is another Thursday.

I can't remember any books being mentioned.  Correct me if I'm wrong.
But here's the Ted Talk about palliative care, what really matters at the end of life:

For Lifeline Syria click here. There are several options for giving, either to resettle refugees in Canada, or to bring humanitarian aid to those in camps on the donate page.

Also since we all missed the debate in favour of book club here's your chance to see the WHOLE THING.