Monday, February 04, 2013

What Came in the Mail, Books I Read, and What I Ate



Have you visited Donna at Cottage Days? She takes amazing photos of nature on her trips. Recently she held a giveaway for a photo book of her trip to Alaska. She also gave away a desk calender, which I won. It arrived the day before we left on our trip, so I didn't have a chance to photograph it and show you. I'm going to enjoy looking at this wonderful scenery while seated at my desk. Thank you, Donna.


These are the three books I read on our vacation. Each one is unique, although both The Postmistress and Mr. Churchill's Secretary are set during the second World War. The School of Essential Ingredients is a series of chapters each focusing on various members of a cooking school class. What really sets this book apart is the description of food - it made me want to go home and cook, cook, cook.


When we are on vacation, we do some of our own cooking, and some restaurant meals. I like to try new dishes or new ways of eating something familiar. These green beans, cooked in a little oil in a hot skillet, then dressed with garlic, ginger and soy sauce were so good that I came home re-created the recipe. The sauce at the restaurant was perhaps a little sweeter, but this is still delicious. I could have eaten them all. You can find the recipe on my other blog. Copycat Green Beans - since I took the inspiration from the meal we had in Carlsbad.

That's what I received, what I read, and what I ate recently. Now I want to think about Valentine's Day!

13 comments:

  1. I love a good book recommendation. I enjoyed the Postmistress and I'll look for the other two - thank you!

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  2. Lovely calendar, interesting books and yummy looking green beans. Just wondering when you had time to read with all your walks.

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  3. It looks like a wonderful calender, good book recommendations, and a delicious way to make green beans that i will have to try soon!

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  4. I have the Postmistress on my library list, but don't know the other two. The foody one sounds fascinating.

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  5. lovely calander and yummy green beans..
    have a lovely day x

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  6. Thanks for the book suggestions and those green beans look delicious!

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  7. I have to doctor green beans to get them down the hatch. Wonder if that recipe would be enough doctoring for me. ☺

    Your books sound intriguing, especially Mr. Churchill's Secretary.

    Yes, I love to visit Donna and see her beautiful photography. It's inspiring and intimidating all at the same time. Congratulations on such a lovely win and practical win!

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  8. The green beans look delicious. I'll have to check on that ingredients book...

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  9. The books look good. Wonder if the food book would be good for a book club. And yes to the green beans. I love to do them in a similar way. Did you have trouble sleeping that night? My sister has been telling me about ginger and some of its effects. !!!

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  10. Hi Lorrie,

    It sounds like you had a very nice vacation! Your green beans look and sound delicious! Those books look like something I might enjoy reading; I love to read and I love collecting books.

    Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you have a wonderful week!

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  11. Must make those beans -- they look delicious!

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  12. I'm so glad that you like the calendar! I hope it makes you smile each month you flip the page. Congratulations, again, and thank you for the sweet compliments!

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  13. What do I think about Valentine's Day? Just another commercial venture. Gone are the days when young lovers sent anonymous cards.

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Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

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