Book Treats : Maple Walnut Cookies

Our Book Mobile in our featured Cozy Mystery takes place in Michigan. And one of our favorite times while living in Michigan was Maple time . So enjoy these book inspired treats…… Lisa

Cookie Recipe :

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (Michigan syrup) https://curreyfarms.com/
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts (pecans)

1. Beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed with an electric mixer for three minutes or until light and fluffy
2. Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix until well incorporated. Add the maple syrup and mix .
3. In a separate bowl vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the walnuts.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for thirty minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drop spoonfuls of the cookie, about 1 inch balls, onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake at for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Great Vegetables

“For new and novice gardeners who want a straightforward, unfussy guide to growing their own food.” —Library Journal

You can grow beautiful, healthy, delicious veggies and herbs right from the start—just follow the trustworthy advice found in The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Great Vegetables. Expert gardener Lorene Edwards Forkner shares all the information you need to create a thriving garden, from facts about soil and sun to tips on fertilizing, mulching, and watering. Regional planting charts show what to plant when, and a month-by-month planner takes you from January through December. Profiles of popular edibles explain exactly how to plant, care for, and harvest your bounty. Whether your garden grows in the ground, on a balcony, or in containers on a sunny patio, this is your guide to grow-your-own success. Your backyard bounty awaits!

Net Galley Book:

 Informative book that will help me do more than just grow some tomatoes. You will learn how and when to start planting, how to help your soil, and the monthly actions you should take to make sure your garden will prosper. So read this book and have a bountiful and beautiful garden.

Net Galley Book

The Garden in Every Sense and Season: A Year of Insights and Inspiration from My Garden

“Reminds us that the best way to get to know a garden is through our senses. Don’t expect to make it through many pages before you feel an urge to run outdoors to reintroduce yourself to your own landscape.” —Michelle Slatalla, Gardenista

So much of gardening is focused on seasonal to-do lists and daily upkeep. But what about taking time to just enjoy the garden? The Garden in Every Sense and Season urges you to revel in what you’ve created. From the heady fragrance of spring lilacs to the delicious silence of a winter snowfall, writer and lifelong gardener Tovah Martin explores the glories of her garden using the five senses. Her sage advice and gratifying reflections on the rewards of a more mindful way of gardening will inspire you to look closer, breathe deeper, listen harder, and truly savor the gifts of your garden.

A great book the reflects all the moments in a garden. To take that moment to stop and smell the flowers . Would make the perfect Mother’s Day gift who someone loves to garden or just outside.

Books Review : Container Gardening

Container Gardening For Beginners: A Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Edible Flowers

Everything you need to grow a thriving garden in containers

Whether you’re on a budget, live in a small space, or simply want to raise a new plant or two, container gardening is a practical method for urban and suburban gardeners alike. Container Gardening for Beginners is packed with information and advice for using different types of containers to grow your own vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers.

Learn how to get started, from gathering the tools you’ll need to choosing the right container and soil mix. Once you’ve covered the basics, you’ll get advice on what you should plant and when, when to water and how, and finally, how you can successfully grow and harvest your crop.

Container Gardening for Beginners includes:

• Step-by-step guidance―Find detailed gardening guidance from start to finish, including things to know before you grow, how to start seeds, plant care and maintenance tips, and how to tell when your crop is ripe.
• Basic best practices―Grow happy, healthy plants with expert gardening insights to set you up for success, from making sure your container is properly sized to regularly fertilizing your soil.
• Illustrated plant profiles―Choose the right plants for you with info on the particular needs and characteristics of 30 different fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Start and sustain a flourishing container garden with help from the practical advice in Container Gardening for Beginners.

Book Review:

Don’t have a lot of space or have questions about container gardening? Read this book to get you started in the right way and with success. Lots of smart information we can all use. I highly recommend this book.

Book Treats : English Shortbread cookies

Today’s recipe is inspired by our feature cozy mystery. It’s the Perfect recipe for afternoon tea with friends and a good book discussion. https://lisaevrydayread.wordpress.com/2021/04/07/deadhead-and-buried/

Why do they call it shortbread?

Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word “short”, as opposed to “long”, or stretchy). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. … The related word “shortening” refers to any fat that may be added to produce a “short” (crumbly) texture.

•  cup 8 oz. butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (2oz/60g)) powdered sugar (sifted)
• 2 cups (10oz/300g)) all purpose flour

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl cream together the soft butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light inf fluffy.
• Add in the flour and mix until the dough just comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a counter dusted with powdered sugar and gently roll the dough into a long two-by-two-inch log.
• Wrap the log of cookie dough in plastic wrap and allow it to firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Once the dough is firm slice the cookies into 3/4 inch thick rounds. Place each round on your baking tray and bake for 16-18 minutes or until just golden.
• Allow cooling slightly before transferring to a cooling rack. Once cool the cookies can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Lisa Kitchen tips :

Why do you chill shortbread before baking?

A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much. Also, it helps concentrate those flavors for your best ever shortbread.

Today’s Book : Ku

Lisa Book Club

Tuesday book is a great plant based cookbook.  Full of great recipes and tips to eat healthy.

Spiced  Sweet potato fries

2 to 3 sweet potato

2 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt,garlic powder, red pepper flakes,black pepper

Preheat oven 450 . Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss together sweet potatoes and seasoning and place on baking sheet in a single layer and bake until crispy brown.  About 25 to 30 minutes. 

Back cover.

Book reviews: I enjoyed this cookbook . Lots of great pictures ,recipes and tips about the health benefits of  vegetable, fruit, grains,herbs and teas. Lisa

Book Club

Welcome to my Tuesday Book Club post. It’s the end of January and we are finishing up our first selection for January and our February selection is posted on the home page.

Due to the pandemic our club is kept very small because of safety reason but I also post the books and discussions on the towns Facebook page so everyone can join in virtually.

How is your library functioning during the pandemic?

Limited hours, drop off or drive thru , or suggestions for ebook services.

I am doing it all and looking forward when we can all get back to normal.

Today’s tea cup:

Mom tea cup

My Mom was a collector of books, people , crystal and tea cups. As I go through her collections I rember the great book discussion we had with friends over afternoon tea.

So this Tuesday enjoy a cup of tea with Me. In remembering Mom and her dedication to reading.

January Book Club

At our local public library -I run a book club. We gather together on Tuesday and Thursday and discuss books and what’s going on in the community. Our Book Club is all about sharing the love of reading and books.

Our Book:

Discover this moving story of five remarkable friends as Mary Alice Monroe, the New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House explores the power of friendship with tenderness and honesty.

On the surface, it is a monthly book club. But for five women, it is so much more. For Eve Porter, whose husband’s sudden death cheats her of every security she had planned on, the club is a place of sanctuary. For Annie Blake, a brilliant attorney intent on starting a family late in life, it is the chance to finally let down her guard and dream of other possibilities. For Doris Bridges, it is her support group as she acknowledges her dying marriage and finds the ultimate freedom in her husband’s betrayal. For Gabriella Rivera, the “perfect” wife, mother and friend who offers support to everyone but is afraid to ask for it herself, it is a sense of community. And for Midge Kirsch, an artist who has always lived her life against the grain, it is a haven of acceptance.

They are five women from different walks of life, embracing the challenge of change. And as they share their hopes and fears and triumphs, they will hold fast to the true magic of the book club—friendship.

Originally published in 1999.

Chat :

Starting a New Year we Welcome New members. And we are discussing what we want our book club to accomplice this year , type of books we want to read , guest to invite and project we will be tackling this year. The quarterly community project always involves reading and books and how we can get books and learning in hands of others. Lisa

Community Project:

Little Free Library

We are planning on building ours from scrap lumber and placing in front of City Hall . Filling it with extra donated books will be part of the Book Club duties.

Welcome to the world’s largest book-sharing movement! Join us in:https://littlefreelibrary.org/

Building Community
Inspiring Readers
Expanding Book Access for All