Cream the butter and sugar and then add the flour. Press into a 9 inch springform pan.
Middle
1 package cream cheese (250 grams)
1 cup plain Greek yogourt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
Beat cream cheese and yogourt until smooth. Add rest of ingredients and beat until mixed. Pour over the crust.
Topping
3 or 4 apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Peel and slice the apples and place them on top of the cream cheese mixture in a spiral pattern. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top of the apples.
It was a marvelous evening at Jan's house, sharing the stories of the births that made first-time grandmothers of three of us. Understandably the talk about the book was a secondary priority in the circumstances. Still, the beautifully crafted Garden of Evening Mists also deserved and won some of our attention. Thank you to Jan for a perfect evening. See cheesecake recipe above.
We made some plans for future evenings. On December 1st we will be at Lynda's and the book we settled on last night is Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston.
On January 5th book club will be at my house (Marian) and the book will be All Our Names by by Dinaw Mengestu.
On February 15th we'll meet at Maureen's to talk about Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.
We decided to meet at Susan's in March but the book and the precise date are up for grabs.
Contending with travel fatigue, rain and traffic on the Gardiner we were rewarded by a great evening at Jo's house talking about The Summer Before the War and other things. A big thank you to Jo! Too bad the weather didn't allow us to meet in your beautiful backyard retreat.
Next month we'll be at Jan's. The book will be The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. The date is Tuesday, October 25th, when we can expect much sharing of baby photos.
We chose Wednesday December 1st for the next meeting at Lynda's but didn't decide on a book.
Here are the other books we mentioned:
Norman Bray and the Performance of his Life by Trevor Cole
I found out today that the Toronto Public Library subscribes to the OED online, and so can be accessed using one's library card. Wonderful for crosswords!
Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun.
Book club started with the quiet of Jane's garden, and finished with an enthusiastic around-the-table discussion of the book, My Name is Lucy Barton, separated by an exciting Olympic race on television. Thank you Jane - a memorable evening!
Here's Elizabeth Strout talking about the book:
We've made plans for next month. We'll be at Jo's on September 29th and the book we've chosen is The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson.
Books mentioned last night:
People You'd Trust Your Life To by Bronwen Wallace
What a treat to relax in Wanda's garden on a summer's evening. Thank you Wanda for providing a wonderful ambience, including candles and a cooling breeze.
I think we were generally impressed with themes we discovered in Elizabeth is Missing, especially since it was a first novel of a young writer. Here's a video where Emma Healey is interviewed at length about herself and her writing.
We finally came up with a decision about August's book. We'll be at Jane's on the 18th and we'll be talking about My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.
Canada Day eve was excellent with perfect weather. Thank you to Saara for graciously hosting another wonderful evening. And today is Canada's birthday!
A reminder that next book club will be held on July 21st at Wanda's. The book is Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. In August we'll be at Jane's and let's really try to choose a book before then.
