Leann's Recipes: Summer Soup & Southwestern Bean Salad

SUMMER SOUP

1 bottle (46 oz) reduced-sodium V8 juice
2 cans (14 ½ oz each) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
(or use your own toms and add Ital. seasoning)
2 cans (5 ½ oz each) spicy hot V8 juice
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup chopped green onions
½ cup reduced-fat zesty Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
¾ teaspoon celery salt

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. That is all there is to do! Yield: 12 servings.


SOUTHWESTERN BEAN SALAD

SALAD:
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 med. Red onion, diced
1 med. Tomato, diced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed

DRESSING:
¾ cup thick & chucky salsa
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin

In a bowl, combine all beans, celery, onion, tomato and corn. In a small bowl, combine salsa, oil, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin; mix well. Pour over the bean mixture and toss to coat. Cove and chill for at least 2 hours. Yields: 10 servings

August 22 meeting - The Historian & The Piano Tuner

Leann provided a delicious meal of gazpacho soup and Southwestern bean salad (and a green salad and bread and raw veggies & dip and a buffet of desserts!). We had a lot to catch up but managed to talk about the books too. ;-)

The Historian
About half of us loved this book and couldn't put it down, and the other half thought it was hard to get into and much too long. Lisa appreciated how much of Eastern European history was found in it, making us all miss Liba's unique perspective. We discovered as well that Darla is a reader of vampire and other scary stories. We all enjoyed the idea of Vlad's library (maybe because so many of us are involved in libraries?).

The Piano Tuner
The tables were pretty much reversed with this book; those who loved The Historian found this one hard to get into and vice versa. I'm afraid the conversation was hampered by yours truly because I hadn't finished the book. Thank you for being so evasive, you guys! I did learn there is a twist at the end and the big question was: Is he or isn't he? I will have to find out.

Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 5, at Darla's (before the snow flies and we can still make it up her driveway).

Next Books
Our next books are Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, and Leonard Chang's Over the Shoulder. If anyone has trouble finding Over the Shoulder, send the group a note. Leonard Chang's Fade to Clear is also excellent and more recent (and features the same main character, Allen Choice).

June 29 Meeting - Eragon

A wonderful crowd for the June 29 meeting! New member Christine joined us, Lisa M. who's been lurking since the begining was able to come, and we welcomed back Becky, an original member who moved away and came back. Leann and Lisa L. rounded out the group, as our other members were missing for various and sundry reasons. (You're truly has been stricken with the plague and the group should be glad I didn't come breathe on them. ;-)

I asked Lisa L., our hostess, to summarize the discussion of Eragon, and here's what she said:

"We agreed lots of HP and Tolkien in it, but as I pointed out in the discussion, these types of books are what are getting Reece's age group to read again, and families are finding them interesting enough to read together, to discuss. All of us liked the Dragon, Saphira, and also the fact that Eragon did not choose to be who he was, and didn't buy into this quest right away. The WereCat was a great touch, we all being cat people thought it was an interesting and original character. And the ending was too abrupt, almost as if he wanted us to buy the next book. This is again something that seems quite common for these young adult books, as is the pace of the book, where there is not a moment of breathing space! Some of us have already pre-ordered the next book, and agreed that we will be interested to see how his writing has evolved."

Thanks Lisa! I hear your gazpacho was yummy, and I'm sorry I missed it.

Next meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 22, 6:30 p.m. We'll be meeting at Leann's and reading two books: The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova and The Piano Tuner, by Daniel Mason.

Happy reading!

May 19 Meeting - Wicked

A small but thoughtful group discussed Wicked last night at Nancy's. We wanted to take the book at face value, but there were just so many niggly questions! I believe the consensus was that we liked it, but it struck us each a little differently, and most of us felt we were waiting for something to happen -- for Dorothy to show up, for instance.

We're going to try something different next time: Eragon, by Chrisotpher Paolini. Lisa's son Reece suggested it. How could we resist?

Next meeting is Wednesday June 29th, at Lisa's. Happy reading!

P.S. I made Italian Sausage Soup; click here for the recipe.

March 14 Meeting - The Kite Runner

We had a lovely meal of paella and chickpea salad at Liba's beautiful home and a rousing discussion of the The Kite Runner. Everyone loved it. We talked a bit about the immigrant experience and the effects of trauma on children. I complained that the second half of the story took on an archetypal cast, and Lisa hit the nail on the head when she said it reminded her of a folk tale. It reads like part memoir, part Afghani folk tale. We speculated that the early part of the book might be based on the author's experience, but nobody really knew about him. So, I found an article from SFgate.com about him. Check it out.

All in all, good food, good book, and good discussion.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, April 28th, at Nancy's, and we will read Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. When you are finished reading, you might want to check out Wicked on Broadway.net, which talks about the musical adaption of the book and has a page comparing the book to the play.

Norwich Bookstore Author Appearances

Darla has reserved 6 seats for our group to attend some author readings at the Norwich Bookstore on April 13 and May 4 at 7 p.m.

April 13 - Jodi Picoult, discussing her latest, Vanishing Acts http://www.jodipicoult.com/index.htm

May 4 - Sue Miller, disucssing her latest, Lost in the Forest
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?1400042267

Please let Darla know if you can go; if we can all make it, we can get another seat reserved.

February 3 Meeting - The Plot Against America

We had a lovely evening and a delicious meal at Sue's house. She made a delicious lentil soup and a fabulous baba ganoush. Thanks Sue!

We also welcomed a new member, Liba. It's great that you could join us!

We had much roving discussion, but we touched on alot of stuff in The Plot Against America. Consensus was that although it started a little slowly, we liked it. The ending seemed abrupt and the plot turn that brought us there contrived, but the powerful moral of the story is "it could happen here." Liba brought a fascinating perspective. Having grown up in Czechoslovakia, it reminded her of stories her parents told and thiings that had happend after WWII, and it had the thorough ring of authenticity.

We chose The Kite Runner as our next book, and we'll be meeting March 14 at Liba's house. Happy reading!

--N

Book Group Thursday

Of course everybody already knows we're meeting this Thursday, February 3rd, instead of January 31. But here it is anyway! Sue's house. Thetford. 6:30. The Plot Against America. Want to read Philip Roth's explanation of why he wrote the book? Click here (NYT essay).

Leann and I were chatting, wishing there were uplifting fiction books to read. I did some poking around on the Amazon lists and didn't come up with a lot. One that looked interesting was Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire (Regan Books; Reprint edition, November 6, 1996).

See you all Thursday!

--Nancy

December 20 Meeting - The Ghost Writer

Hi, all. Much fun, good food, and interesting discussion last night! Lisa's warm spinach and artichoke dip, yummy broccoli soup, delicious egg dish, and amazing jelly roll were just the best. Our little Yankee Swap was fun too.

Our review of The Ghost Writer by John Harwood was mixed...some of us loved it, some of us were disappointed by it and even mad at it! I loved Sue's comment -- why read this book? What truth is in it? The thing that grabbed us most was Harwood's description of what it is like to grow up in a family with secrets. We all agreed it was well-written and that John Harwood is a writer to keep an eye on.

Our next book is The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, and we will meet Monday, January 31 at Sue's. If you're interested, here is a link to the New York Times article about the book by William Saffire (thanks to Lisa):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/opinion/20safire.html?th

PLEASE NOTE: as of 2/1/05 you have to pay to read this article online. I leave the link as a reference. --N

New York Times Top Books of 2004

For your perusal and consideration...The New York Times has posted its 10 Best Books and 100 Notable Books for 2004 on their website (free but may require registration):

10 Best Books

100 Notable Books

--Nancy

Recipes

Hi, guys. When it comes to sharing recipes, you may do so however you like. My hope is to create a permanent list of recipes on this website, but I haven't figure out how to do that yet! What I would suggest is that for now, when you post a recipe, put in the title:

Recipe: XZY Soup

Or whatever it is.

This is fun!!

Yankee Swap

I was shopping today and found a perfect Yankee Swap item for under $5. :-)

Meeting Report and Next Book

We had a very nice meeting! We were sorry Leann couldn't join us, but we welcomed Sue, who brought a lovely fruit salad.

I did make the Albondigas Soup (Spanish meatball soup), and I had a quiche from the Co-op, and a salad. Add Darla''s hummus and pita bread and my husband's apple pie, and we were stuffed!

Reading Lolita in Tehran was deemed depressing by the group, but it did spark a lively discussion. We agreed that the stories of the author's girls -- the memebers of her secret class -- were the most compelling. I wish I could remember the other points of discussion, but they have slipped away. I guess I should take notes next time!

We tried to find something more cheery for next time, but they deferred to my choice, The Ghost Writer by John Harwood, a ghost story just in time for Christmas! We picked Monday, December 20, for the date of our next meeting, and Lisa offered to host.

Potential Recipe

I was trying to think of a yummy soup recipe that also falls into the "low carb" category, and of course did a Google search and found this:

Albondigas Soup

I printed it out so I could try it. We shall see!

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Our next meeting will be November 15, 2004, at Nancy' house, and we will be discussing Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Menu: Undediced!