Book Review: A Place for Annika, by Rebecca Velez

While I review just about everything I read over on Goodreads (mostly a lot of old books from Project Gutenberg), I only put up reviews of books here that I think other people might enjoy. I came across this one in a Goodreads group I belong to, and thought it sounded like something I'd like to read. I was right.

Four Stars

Things haven't really felt like home since her mother died. Seventeen-year-old Annika lives on a small farm in 1800s Germany with her father. She dreams of a husband, children and a home. She even has the man already picked out, but there are hurdles.

By the time the book is over, Annika has had to deal with shattered dreams and doubts, but maybe, just maybe, with the help of good friends and family, God can work good out of it all.

I thought this was a good read. I found myself hoping and worrying along with Annika, which is always a good thing in a book.

While there's nothing graphic, there is some abuse in the book, so be aware if that's a trigger for you.

I'm hoping there's a sequel. I want to know what happens to Annnika next.

Chocolate Sour Cream Drop Cookies/Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Here’s yet another variant on the Sour Cream Drop Cookie recipe from the Betty Crocker Picture Cooky Book. Because chocolate. But when I taste-tested the first batch out of the oven, they didn’t taste like chocolate at all. Next time, I’ll probably substitute in ¼ cup of cocoa for ¼ cup of the flour—my usual fix if the chocolate isn’t intense enough—but it was too late for that. What to do?

I decided to roll them in a mixture of half powdered espresso and half sugar. The dough was a bit sticky for forming into balls but it worked reasonably well. The espresso powder “perked” the cookies up nicely and gave them a handsome speckled appearance.

½ cup shortening

2 squares (2 ounces) melted baking chocolate

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream* (half a 500 ml tub)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (I didn’t bother)

2 ¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

 

Cream together shortening, chocolate and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Stir in nuts.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into shortening mixture. Chill at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased baking sheet. Or, if you’re doing the espresso variant, form into 1-inch balls and roll in a mixture of half espresso powder and half sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes until delicately brown.

Makes about 5 dozen.

 

Book Review: Corduroy by Ruth Comfort Mitchell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars (worth a read but not a reread) I don't normally read romances, other than the Regency variety, but because I'd picked this up on Project Gutenberg, I didn't know it was a romance--they can be chary of detail sometimes. By the time I'd figured that out, I was invested in the characters and the plot.

It's mostly set in California just after the First World War. Half Scottish and half Spanish, Ginger, practically born in the saddle, is the sole proprietor of a large cattle ranch. Dean is a proper Bostonian who is more into mental activities. They meet because he and Ginger's brother were buddies in the war and he was there when her brother died. Once he's partly recovered from his own wounds, he travels across the country to deliver her brother's last message.

Throw in the local Spanish rancher who's always planned to marry Ginger, Dean's lack of interest in the great outdoors and Ginger's lack of culture, and I'm sure you can see where this is going. But getting there is half the fun. If you enjoy romance in a western setting, it's worth a read.

Strawberry Snow Pudding

 My mother-in-law used to make a dessert called lemon snow which involved unflavoured gelatin, lemons, sugar, egg whites and lots of elbow grease. My husband loves it, so I tried to make it. Once. While it came out edible, it did not come out right. So when I saw this recipe in Royal Fruit Gelatin Suggestions, published in 1926 by the Royal Baking Powder Company, I thought it looked much easier and I’d give it a try.

It is much easier, and chances are you have the ingredients in your house already. Apparently Royal Gelatin still exists, though I’ve never seen it. I’ve made this twice, once with grape Jell-o jelly powder, once with cherry store-brand generic. Both worked fine. The original recipe called for sugar but I took that out as packaged jelly powder these days generally comes with it already added.

 

1 package strawberry-flavoured jelly powder

1 cup boiling water

½ cup cold water

2 egg whites

 

Dissolve Royal Strawberry Gelatin and sugar in boiling water. Add cold water and chill until mixture begins to thicken. When almost set, whip with egg beater (Hah! Haven’t owned one of those useless implements for years. I used a hand whisk instead). When light and frothy, add egg whites beaten stiff. Continue to beat until mixture holds shape. Pile into sherbet glasses or place in moulds and chill. Serve with custard sauce. Serves 8.

My MIL’s recipe was also served with custard sauce. I suspect it’s because it uses up the two egg yolks rather than any special affinity for gelatin and custard. I didn’t bother making the custard sauce but will probably turn the egg yolks into custard later for a separate dessert.

Book Review: Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers

Another gem found on Project Gutenberg. I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads because 3.5 wasn't an option

I enjoyed this collection of short stories featuring Sayer's rich aristocrat/amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. There was quite a selection of plots, from a really ingenious ghost story to a treasure hunt, blackmail, jewel theft, murder (of course), odd wills (three different stories), spies, and even a criminal secret society. If you don't like horror (I don't), skip the first story. The rest are fine.

These were obviously all written before Lord Peter developed a social conscience, and I actually like him better this way. Some of the stories I did figure out before I got to the end (yay, me!) but I have to admit the crossword puzzle one left me clueless. Fortunately, the answers are in the back of the book.

Book Review: Four Girls of Forty Years Ago by Nina Rhoades

Seems I can post book reviews I do on Goodreads here as well, so why not?

I gave this children's story five stars. That means I think it's worth telling other people about and worth rereading.

This was really good! I think that younger fans of Anne of Green Gables would like it.

While the four girls aren't technically orphans, with their mother dead, their father working far away, and the fact that they're living with a step-grandmother who's not fond of children, this does feel like that kind of book.

Dulcie, the oldest, is an avid reader and teller of tales, and believes that the fictional stories she reads reflect real life. This is forever getting them into trouble, for example, when they decide a young girl they see on the street is a stolen child and needs to be restored to her rightful family. While they often go astray, their hearts are in the right place.

For those who are concerned about political correctness, there is one character in the book (not one of the girls) who firmly believes that the higher class you are, the better person. And there is an unflattering description of the home of an Irish family living in poverty, though the family itself is portrayed as loving. And a fistfight between two boys, if that sort of thing bothers you. All perfectly normal for the period in which the book was written.

Product Review: Giovanni Rana Fettucine Mushroom Sauce with Mild Italian Sausage Meal Kit

Saw this in Walmart’s fresh food section the other day and it sounded good, so I picked up a package. By the heft of it, I thought it would abundantly feed the two of us, so the eight bucks plus sticker price wasn’t too outlandish.

When I opened the outer wrap to prepare dinner, I found a very large microwaveable container, a package of fresh pasta, and a package of sauce. Fresh pasta, eh? That did make the sticker price sound better.

I spread the pasta out in the dish as instructed and shook up the sauce package, then poured it over. Looked and smelled like Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, but I like Campbells. The dish, however, wasn’t even half full. I started to have doubts as to whether it would feed both of us. Maybe it would expand on cooking? Nope.

Did cook perfectly fine in the microwave, however (I did it for 6 minutes since I’m not fond of al dente). Tasted quite good, too, more like something you’d get in a restaurant. As for servings, while the website claims the package makes 2.5 portions, I’d say 2 would be more realistic, and then only if you were serving it as a side dish, with perhaps bread and salad. And dessert, of course. Or wiener schnitzel. It would be awesome with that.

I was disappointed that other than the microwaveable container, none of the packaging was recyclable. That seems to be more and more common these days and I don't understand why.

 

Coconut Sour Cream Drop Cookies

Here’s another variant on the Sour Cream Drop Cookie recipe from the Betty Crocker Picture Cooky Book. I actually made it several weeks ago, but life got in the way.

Just for fun, I made it with banana yogurt rather than sour cream, thinking banana would go well with coconut. However, you could only taste the banana if you already knew it was there. Not a wasted experiment, though, as I now know yogurt can be substituted for sour cream, if that’s what you’ve got in the house.

½ cup shortening

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream* (half a 500 ml tub)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut

2 ¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

 

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Stir in coconut.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into shortening mixture. Chill at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until delicately brown.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Granola

With the price of everything, including breakfast cereal, sky high these days, I decided to pull out my old recipe for homemade granola. Making your own is easy, cheaper than store-bought, and you know what’s in it. Don’t like raisins? Allergic to nuts? No problem. Use your own add-ins. I like dark chocolate curls and banana chips.

 

6 cups quick cook oats

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

3 ounces vegetable oil (coconut gives a nice flavour if you happen to have any on hand)

2/3 cup water

Add-ins (optional) such as raisins, almonds, dried pineapple…

Combine oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in vegetable oil and water. Spread thinly on one or two cookie sheets (the ones with sides, not the flat ones) and dry in a 225⁰F oven for two hours. Stir in desired add-ins.

Sportsmanlike Conduct

The winter I was eight, we must have had a lot of snowstorms followed by thaws. There was a small paved patch near our house, and that year it got covered with a layer of ice, turning it into a mini rink. While it was small, it was much more convenient than going to the official rink a few blocks away, which was also outdoors. This was especially so since we always had to walk to the rink wearing our skates (with guards on the blades, of course).

I was out on the mini rink by myself one morning, skating slowly around, when I saw a group of boys headed my direction and carrying hockey sticks. Since the ice wasn’t big enough for them to play on and me to skate on, I started moving faster, determined to enjoy the last few seconds before they kicked me off. After all, I was a girl and I was alone. I understood the laws of the playground.

The boys arrived, and we eyed each other warily. Though they must have been from the neighborhood, I didn’t know any of them, not surprisingly since they were a little older than me and we hadn’t been living there that long.

Finally, one of them spoke. “Do you know how to play hockey?”

I shook my head. I barely knew how to skate.

They looked at each other. Here it comes, I thought. “Okay, why don’t you play goalie?” he said. And so I did. They marked off a goal at one end with piles of clothing, and I stood in front of it, while they skated around and took shots. I even managed to stop a few. I felt pretty good about it as I walked back to the house.

Looking back, I realized the boys were probably happy to have someone else in net—that gave them all the chance to try and score goals. It was still very generous of them to share the ice with me (even though I was there first). Their willingness to share the game they loved, even with a girl, has left me with a fond spot for hockey in my heart ever since.

Burnt Butter Icing

Here’s the icing from the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book to go with the Butterscotch Drop Cookies. It only makes enough to cover 30 so you’ll need to do a double batch if you want to ice all of them.

 

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

hot water

Melt butter until golden brown. Blend in icing sugar and vanilla. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons hot water until icing spreads smoothly.

Note: Since the cookies are rather craggy, there is no way the icing is going to spread smoothly. Get it to a good modelling consistency and, once cool enough to handle, take a small quantity and smoosh it over the top of each cookie.

I haven’t tried this on anything else yet, but am thinking it would be good on cake or thinned down to a glaze for doughnuts.

 

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/02/butterscotch-drop-cookies.html

Butterscotch Drop Cookies

Here’s the first variant on the Sour Cream Drop Cookie recipe from my last post. They tell you to just substitute brown sugar for white and add nuts, but rather than make you go back and look, I’ve typed it out below.

I’ve been on a quest for a cookie that actually tastes like butterscotch for years, only to be disappointed every time. Even using butterscotch pudding mix or butter pecan cake mix didn’t work. So I didn’t think a simple swap of brown sugar for white would magically produce butterscotch. It didn’t, though it’s a good cookie, but the icing! That does taste like butterscotch. I may have to try using brown butter in some of my cookie recipes to see if that’s the answer I’ve been looking for.

½ cup shortening

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream (half a 500 ml tub)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans zapped in my coffee grinder until coarse)

 

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in sour cream and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into shortening mixture. Stir in nuts. Chill at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until delicately brown.

Cool. Ice with burnt butter icing.

Makes about 5 dozen.

 

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/02/old-fashioned-sour-cream-drop-cookies.html

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/02/burnt-butter-icing.html

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Drop Cookies

Sometime before Christmas, I came across the Betty Crocker Picture Cooky Book on Project Gutenberg. There were lots of interesting recipes in it, but my Christmas baking list was finalized, so I had to wait until everything had been baked AND eaten before trying something new.

This particular recipe is a “key” recipe, a basic recipe followed by several variations. While it was easy to work with and the cookies came out light and puffy, they were rather plain. I was a bit disappointed, as the combination of sour cream and vanilla in the dough made it smell like cheesecake, but the aroma didn’t survive the oven. However, they’d be easy enough to spice up, either with one of the given variations or your own add-ins. In fact, I’ve already tried variation two, and it was delicious.

 

½ cup shortening

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream* (half a 500 ml tub)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in sour cream and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into shortening mixture. Chill at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until delicately brown.

Makes about 5 dozen.

 

*The recipe called for “thick” sour cream but the 5% I used worked just fine.

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/02/butterscotch-drop-cookies.html

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/02/burnt-butter-icing.html

https://www.katesvirtualkitchen.com/2024/04/coconut-sour-cream-drop-cookies.html

Product Review: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

The last time I put a grocery order in, I noticed they had Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough available (it’s in with the other Pillsbury cookies). I wasn’t really expecting too much, but we needed cookies, having finally run out of Christmas baking, and I was short on time so figured they were worth a try.

The package makes two dozen cookies. When I took off the outer wrap, I found a cardboard tray with 24 little cubes sitting on it. All I had to do was plunk them on a cookie sheet, squash them down with a fork, and bake them. Can’t get any easier than that.

They were really good. Better than most “boughten” cookies. They actually tasted like homemade, and the price and quantity was comparable to a regular package of cookies. If you need cookies in a hurry, they’re a good option.

The package also claims you can eat the dough without actually baking it first, that they’re, “Safe to eat raw.” I didn’t try it, but given the cooked flavour, I imagine they’d be great.

If you’re (sshhh!) trying to pass these off as your own baking, you might want to roll the cubes in your hands until they’re round before placing them on the sheet and flattening them. Otherwise, the cookies come out looking a little square.

Found and Tested: Peppermint Mocha Scones

 

I always like to try at least one new recipe each Christmas. This past year I was looking for breakfast items as I have more than enough cookie recipes already. I came across this recipe for Peppermint Mocha Scones. I like peppermint, I like mocha, I like scones. Seemed worth a try.

It actually came out fairly well, though despite similar ingredients and technique, nothing like scones. More like a cake, really, though not overly sweet. Would I make it again? Yes, definitely.

First things first. You can actually buy pre-crushed candy canes, and the fact that I had a bag on hand probably gave me a push towards trying this recipe. I bought mine at Yupik, but I don’t think they exist outside of Montreal. I’ve heard they can sometimes be found at Walmart or The Bulk Barn. Anyway, what you need to know is that six crushed candy canes is roughly ¾ cup.

The amount of peppermint called for was perfect. Enough, but not overpowering. And the remaining ¼ cup of candy cane dust sprinkled over the top gives it that festive look.

I’d probably leave out the optional coffee powder next time. The one I used (an espresso powder), even though I used less, was too strong, masking the cocoa.

Rather than patting the dough into a nine-inch pan and then dumping it out on the counter to be cut into wedges, I formed it into a roll, cut it into six slices and baked it in a hamburger bun mould. That gave me rather large servings; we generally cut them half and made them serve two.