September evening

Janice's screened porch was just the place to gather for our September evening.  We were all cozy and comfortable in our wooly shawls and throws.  Thank you for a wonderfully relaxing evening and for introducing me to some excellent shrimp toast. Yum!

We chose a book for December 13th: The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis.  We'll be at Lynda's home in December. 

A reminder that next time we'll be at Jo's on October the 16th to talk about The Break by Katherena Vermette.

Books that were mentioned:

• Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato
• In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi
• The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol
• Serial Monogamy by Kate Taylor 
• Dreams of my Russian Summers by Andreï Makine
• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
• The Promise of Canada by Charlotte Gray
• The Massey Murder by Charlotte Gray
• Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of my Work by Douglas Coupland
• A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré

Prison Book Club

It was a lovely August evening and we were lucky to spend it sitting in Jane's beautiful and welcoming backyard.  Who could tell that the hostess had been subjected to an unsettling early morning wakeup that day (because of this)?  You certainly deserved a few extra hours of sleep on Friday morning Jane.

We made some decisions about future book club meetings, but there was no change to September which will be at Janice's on the 11th. The book is A Spool of Blue Thread.

On October 16th which will be at Jo's house we decided to read The Break by Katherena Vermette.

The November book club location has been changed as we switched venues for November and December.  We decided to read a classic, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and to meet at my house (Marian) on November 2nd.

That means that on December 13th we will be at Lynda's house.  We haven't chosen a book for that date.

Books that were mentioned:

• The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
• Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
• Swing Time by Zadie Smith
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• Worst.Person.Ever by Douglas Coupland
• The Long Song by Andrea Levy
• Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
• Quiet Until the Thaw by Alexandra Fuller
• The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Movie Suggestions: 

• The Glass Castle
• Baby Driver
• Dunkirk
• Dawson City: Frozen Time
• Rumble 

While on the subject of movies, if you are in the Kinmount area, Jo recommended the very unusual and popular Highland Cinemas.

Streaming Video Suggestions: 

• Ozark
• Outlander
• Hinterland
• Border Town
• Thirteen
• Thirteen Reasons Why

Happy Canada Day!

In honour of Canada's 150 celebration Wanda managed to colour coordinate the whole evening in red and white.  We all appreciated your creativity, Wanda.  Everything was wonderful. You made it an evening to remember.

Breakfast at the Chaliapin 

The book that we chose for our discussion this time was A Gentleman in Moscow, a clever comedy of manners which showcased the Moscow Metropol Hotel. In case you haven't visited the Metropol you can learn all about it and book a stay here where even the standard rooms have "noble and refined decor...for guests with children the hotel offers adjacent rooms connected by doorways".

Please remember that our next book club will be on August 3rd at Jane's home.  The book for that evening will be The Prison Book Club by Ann Walmsley.

Planning ahead we decided to meet on September 11th at Janice's place.  The book will be A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler.

We decided on dates and locations for the following three months, as follows:

• October 16th at Jo's
• November 2nd at Lynda's
• December 13th at Marian's 

We will leave the question of which books to read on these dates for another time.  Keep thinking about suggestions. 

Books that we mentioned: 

• The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
• The Break by Katerena Vermette
• The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols 
• Making it Up by Penelope Lively
• Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 
• The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

On the screen you may want to look for:

• Occupied (Netflix)
• A Man Called Ove (Netflix)
• Genius (National Geographic)
• Black Mirror (Netflix)

Recommended lecture series options this fall:

• Learning Unlimited Etobicoke 
• Lifelong Learning Mississauga

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.