Book in Review

Our book club just completed a very

moving novel that I'd like to share with you.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by

Khaled Hosseini

The novel focuses on the lives of two remarkable Afghan women through a span of thirty years, roughly the 1960's - 2003.   From the Soviet invasion to the rule of the Taliban and the post war rebuilding Hosseini is able to bring fear, violence, desperation and hope to life within the pages of his novel. To me it is Hosseini's incredible storytelling ability that propels this heartbreaking story of 

Miriam and Laila.

 In more than one way, it is a love story. 

A love between a man and a woman, family love, parental love, the love that exists within a friendship, love of your country, and love of God.  The characters seek love and in certain ways are truly saved by love.  Both women are flawed and hurting in different ways, yet are drawn together by a common misery.  The story's of Miriam and Laila, their journeys and lives in Kabul became very real to me! 

As real as any story a close friend would share in secret.

 

Their story was so gripping, which makes it hard to pace yourself girls.  

At the heart, it is an amazing story of human life,

human loss, and human love.

And Hope.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

 

"Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder,

God has a reason."

"Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting."

And my favorite-favorite...
"In a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on life, who will never burden others, who will never let on that she too had sorrows, disappointments, dreams that have been ridiculed.

A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washes over her."

Spring Break

So this was Cade's To-Do list for his Spring Break...

We had a super time in Dallas over Spring Break

checking things off our "to-do" list.

And no where on there do I see

Give Mom some concentrated time on the computer,

which is why this Spring Break post is coming late!

Oh well, it was a fun week!!!

Here's a little peak...

Ree and Me...a recipe for fun!

Thursday night my friend Jennifer and I loaded up the Tahoe, set the GPS, and headed south to Austin for a book signing with none other than the pioneer woman herself!

That's right kiddies, we got to hob nob with the undisputed QUEEN of food blogging,

REE DRUMMOND

What a fun night. We arrived at the bookstore around 6 p.m. and by 7, you couldn't stir 'em with a stick! It was packed. Ree briefly came down and did a quick Q&A session with the crowd then proceeded to sign copies of her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Which is chalked full of down home yummy southern recipes and beautiful photography and stories...just like her blog!

My favorite question that someone asked was,"How many packages of butter does she go through in a month!" In true Pioneer Woman form she replied, "That's too personal of a question, I'd rather not answer that!"

HA!

Let me tell you that she was as delightful in person as she seems on her blog! She even hooked everyone at the book signing up with a free t-shirt which her husband a.k.a. Marlboro Man toted to the event!

Now...my only dilemma is what to cook first!

What's that?

You have never even heard of The Pioneer Woman?

Well good grief.

Crawl out from beneath that rock and go visit:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

She ROCKS!!!!!

Oh and if you want a great Christmas gift for the chef in the family you can pick up her new cookbook at a great price from amazon.com!

Menu Monday...A TWILIGHT Dinner Party

If you know me at all, you know my love of the Twilight book series! Initially two friends and I began reading the books together. V-E-R-Y quickly, one book turned into all 4. And by the end of two weeks, we'd completed the entire series and decided to start a book club! I hosted our first book club meeting at my home, since reading Twilight was my idea.

The three of us discussed the plot, characters, our favorite quotes and many other aspects of the novel over blood red pomegranate martinis, antipasti salad, and portabello mushroom ravioli with tomato cream sauce! {just like Bella feasted on on her first "unofficial" date with Edward} After dinner, we moved into the living room to watch the movie! For dessert, I served up ReD VeLvEt cupcakes with almond BuTTerCReaM icing.

It was such a fun night! I am excited to see where the book club road will lead us. We have decided to rotate choosing books each month & the person who chooses the book will also plan the activity or host a dinner party. I am looking forward to our next book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Thanks for coming Amanda and Jennifer, you girlies rock!!!

Since it IS Monday, here are a few recipes from our dinner party:

Oprah's Pomegranate Martini

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 ounces Absolute Citron vodka
1 ounce Cointreau liquor
Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses

Italian Antipasti Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, cut into 1-inch squares
1/4 lb sliced pepperoni & salami, chopped
1/3 cup WELL DRAINED sliced pimientos (one 4-ounce jar)
1/3 cup chopped red onion

3 slices of provolone cheese, sliced into squares
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- chopped pepperoncini peppers (optional)

In a large salad bowl, combine salad ingredients and toss. Then add salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Toss again to serve.

Portabello Mushroom Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce

1 package of frozen Portabello Mushroom Ravioli

1 pint Whipping Cream

2-3 scallions, diced

1 can of Italian style Diced tomatoes {you can even substitute jarred spaghetti sauce or even sun dried tomatoes depending on your taste}

1/2 of an onion, chopped

Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Vodka, a splash, maybe 2 Tbsp.
salt and pepper

Cook Ravioli according to package directions. Then chop half of an onion and saute it in some olive oil, allowing it to sweat & brown a bit. Add your cream, about a pint, maybe a little less and let it bubble and cook (medium high heat) until it reduces to half it's original amount and thickens. Sneak in a little freshly ground pepper, salt and then add your splash of vodka and let it work it's magic. After cooking a bit, add your can of diced tomatoes and a handful of Parmesan cheese, real stuff peeps...not the kind in the can! Stir and taste. You can add more seasoning or cheese if needed. Plate and top with diced scallions! Enjoy and dream of Edward :)

Three down...one to go

Eclipse is officially checked off my reading list and Breaking Dawn awaits me (i hope and pray) on some shelf at Wally World manana!

Do I really want these to end?

Bitten

I am hooked.

Hooked I tell you.

This is not the usual genre of books that I read, but I absolutely, hands down am intrigued by the story line, characters, and plot within this novel.

I read it in 3 days, which IS fast, but doesn't even compare to my sister-in-law who finished the book in 2 days...right Cindy?

It has almost 500 pages kids!!!

I am antsy to start the next book in the series, but Barnes and Noble was sold out of the paperback edition and I am too cheap to buy the hardback so I'm off to Wally World tomorrow with my fingers crossed that they'll have The New Moon waiting for me on one of their shelves.

Feeling the need to fall into an interesting story filled with twists & turns, beautiful allusions, captivating characters and a little romance?

Pick this one up...

Maybe you'll even beat my 3 day record!