It's about books.... and eating... and gabbing

I haven't decided if our book club meetings are more about books or food or just sitting and talking.

But I don't suppose it really matters.

I love all of the above.

This past month's pick was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

Has anyone read a Kate Morton book before?

Overall it had a good review. 

Although one of us was a little miffed at the similarities with The Secret Garden :)

We had a hard time with the constant switching of viewpoints.  

It's this rapid change between characters, eras and situations.

I mean, every chapter is different.

About halfway thru the book I stopped noticing.

I inched thru the beginning and flew through the end.

I had a few issues with some of the characters, Nell in particular, as I couldn't identify with her reaction to news she wasn't who she thought she was.

Some of us figured out the end way before it came... but I wasn't one of those people. :)

In all honesty, there is very rarely a book that I finish that I don't like.

Have you read The Forgotten Garden?

Courtney and Alicia came with wine and this delicious concoction.

It's so simple but the ingredients were so fantastic, I couldn't stop eating it.

Sliced baguette, delicious creamy double cream brie, 

lightly salted marcona almonds and perfect lavender honey.

The cheese spread like soft butter on the bread and the honey and almonds are the best topping.

Soft, crunchy, sweet with a bit of salt.

Kelly made these stuffed pasta shells which we dove into after I stopped admiring her pyrex.

Also, she let me borrow her 50mm lens and I'm in love.

If anyone wants to buy it for me.  Hint, hint.

You know who you are.

I think it's necessary for food photography.

Anyway, the pasta shells are stuffed with a turkey and spinach mixture,

 topped with sauce and melty cheese.

 I'm requesting a recipe from her.

We'll be visiting this again, I'm sure.

I made the oreo cake I had found on pinterest.

So here's my review on this cake.

It's super easy to make and the cake itself is really, super delicious and chocolatey.

I changed up the frosting recipe a bit.

It calls for 1 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar but I only had 1 lb (1 box).

I mixed the frosting as directed and it was more then sweet enough.

In fact, we felt like the frosting was just a bit too much for the cake.

It might be that I served huge pieces, which I did, 

but I feel like I could halve the frosting recipe and use it just as a topping

with a different filling.

Or you could just serve really small pieces :)

Another great night with the girls!

They keep me reading which is always a good thing.  

I'm halfway thru my 52 book goal for this year and I'm picking up speed!