Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

And Don't Bring Jeremy - Marilyn Levinson


Cauliflower Casserole
(A Marilyn Levinson Special)

1 medium head of cauliflower
1 red pepper
1/2 large onion
4 mushrooms
4 eggs
1/4 cup of milk or yogurt
2/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons of slivered almonds
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
to taste:
salt
pepper
fresh cilantro, cut up
fresh parsley cut up
red pepper flakes
nutmeg
cinnamon
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Cut the cauliflower into small pieces. Discard core. Cook in microwave until still firm. (Shall we say al dente?) If done the day before, refrigerate cauliflower.  Spray a deep casserole with oil. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut up and sauté the red pepper, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil, and set aside.  Beat eggs In mixing bowl. Add milk or yogurt, the cheese, breadcrumbs.   Mix together, then add the sautéed veggies and cauliflower.   Mix together, then add slivered almonds, fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes.   Mix and cover with Parm. cheese, a 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and cinnamon.   Bake covered 40-50 minutes.


Be creative! Use broccoli instead of cauliflower, basil instead of cilantro, or a different kind of cheese. 


And Don't Bring Jeremy - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"Adam?”  
I turned around to see what Eddie wanted.  
“We— Mark and Danny and me—well, we were thinking of going out for pizza before the game tomorrow.  At Gino's.  Want to come?”  
"Sure, why not?  I'll check with my mom and let you know."  I shrugged my shoulders, trying to shake the uneasy feeling that just took hold of me.  What was wrong?  
"Great.  Meet us there at twelve.  Bring your bicycle. Then we'll ride over to the field early and practice before the rest of the team comes”  
I suddenly knew.  “All right."  In spite of myself, Mom's drilling me to try to include Jeremy whenever I could won out.  "But is it alright if I— “ 
"And Adam—“
“Hmm?”  
His voice cut across my question. "And don't bring Jeremy. Okay?"

Sixth grader Adam and his older brother Jeremy are new to the neighborhood, and Adam is finding it hard to make friends. When Adam joins a Little League baseball team, his mother sees to it that Jeremy, who has disabilities and no interest in baseball, is placed on the same team. Because Jeremy is awkward and always doing something to embarrass Adam, Adam is ashamed to have people know that Jeremy is his brother. When Eddie Gordon, the coach’s son, befriends Adam, he makes it very clear that he wants no part of Jeremy. 

Adam and Eddie spend more time together, and Adam finds himself saying nothing when Eddie calls Jeremy names and picks on him. Jeremy tells Adam that Eddie has done some bad things, but Adam defends Eddie. And then Eddie accuses Jeremy of ruining the sets for the sixth grade’s play. Adam learns a few home truths about Eddie Gordon and just how strong the bond between brothers can be.

When I started reading this book I felt the pain that Adam and Jeremy both felt. This book brings to light the emotions and difficulties children who have siblings like Jeremy must face.  Even though this is a book written for children/young adults, to me it is one that needs to be read by all young people who have a slower sibling. It needs to be read by all parents that have a child with any kind of handicap. It needs to be read by every teacher.  Actually... this book needs to be a #1 seller and read by everyone, young and old, whether you do or don't have dealings with a disabled or challenged child OR adult. I really feel it will help you to see that person in a totally different light. This isn't a hard book to read. I read it in 2 nights but learned a life's worth of knowledge.



Sunday, September 25, 2011

An Uncommon Family - Christa Polkinhorn, Author


Tiramisu à l‘orange
(A Christa favorite)

Ingredients:

1 package of lady fingers
juice of 4 to 5 oranges (4 is usually enough)
a shot of Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional)
250 grams mascarpone
500 grams sour cream
grated skin of two oranges
120 grams of sugar
1 package of vanilla sugar or a shot of vanilla extract

Cover the bottom of a bowl with a layer of lady fingers.
Pour the orange juice and the Grand Marnier or Cointreau over the lady fingers, so that the lady fingers are just covered.
Mix the mascarpone, sour cream, sugar, vanilla sugar, grated orange skin and pour the mixture over the lady fingers.

Keep in the refrigerator for a few hours, preferably overnight.
Dust with chocolate powder (optional).
 

An Uncommon Family – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and Think With Your Taste Buds – Desserts

“Mama?” she whispered.  She saw the woman only from behind, but the bounce in her step, the long, reddish-blond hair flowing down her back, swaying left and right, the tall, slender figure – it must be her mother.  She tossed the rest of the ice cream into the trash can, got up, and ran after the woman.  “Mama!” she called as the woman got ready to cross the street.  The light turned from blinking red to solid red, just as the woman reached the other side.  Karla rushed after her, barely aware of the honking around her or of the shrill warning bell of the blue-and-white streetcar.  She heard someone yell at her but by then she had arrived at the other side.  The woman was walking along the river toward the Lake of Zurich.  “Mama, wait!” Karla bumped into someone.  “Watch it, kiddo.” A man stepped aside.  “Mama…”  The woman finally turned around and looked back, scanning the people behind her, then walked on.  Karla stopped dumbfounded.  It as the face of a stranger.

Six year old Karla is devastated when she realizes the woman she followed wasn’t her mother.  The disappointment she felt when finding out she had been mistaken brought her to her tears causing her to fall and skin her knees.  Jonas Bergman was walking by at that time and helped the little girl up and tried to ease her pain until her Aunt Anna made it to her side.  When Karla explained that she thought the lady was her mother, Anna had to explain to not just her but Jonas as well that her mother wouldn’t be coming back.  Karla’s mother and grandmother had both been killed in a car accident.  This was something that Karla knew but wasn’t ready to accept.

After her sister and mother were killed, Anna took custody of Anna.  She was a single woman with memories of a happier, yet devastating time when she was younger.  Twenty years ago she was married to a wonderful man and living in New York.  Live couldn’t be better.  But it could be worse and that’s exactly what it became. 

Jonas was a widower.  The love of his life had died of cancer leaving him with an emptiness that no one would ever fill again.  His life now consisted of his art work and teaching.  And after seeing some of Karla’s work, he knew she would be a master student. 

Now, can you take 3 very lonely people and make them into one happy family?  Can you take the lack of trust from a woman that has been hurt so badly that she swore to never trust another man and turn her into a loving companion?  Can you take a man who spends his free time talking to his deceased wife as if she is there and convenience him to take a step toward healing and happiness?  This is what Karla and her best friend Maja plan to do.

An Uncommon Family was an extremely heart touching book.  When I read a book to review I normally make notes or post stickies on pages marking events I want to remember.  I didn’t do that with this book.  I didn’t have time.  I became so engrossed that I turned page after page and forgot the notes.  This is a truly beautiful story about love and the loss of love.
 

 
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