Hello . . . May I have a moment of your time, please?

As you may know, as of July 1st Google Reader will no longer be available.
Meaning that if you subscribe to Once Upon a Plate via RSS feed, and view it in Google reader, you  will no longer see my updates (or any of your other favorite blogs.)
To continue to get my RSS feed updates, sign up for BlogLovin'  or Feedly as an alternative feed reader. They are both easy and free.
I'll miss you otherwise!
Thank you everyone.
~Mari xo
P.S. The sandwich buns have nothing to do with this post . . . except I got them yesterday at the  Farmer's Market, because we're having burgers from the grill for dinner tonight. :o)
They are whole wheat, baked locally ~ and I didn't feel like baking in this HEAT.

Have a great remainder of your weekend, friends!

"The Circle of Kindness" by Jana Kolpen & Mary Tiegreen

Hello! 
Welcome in once again as The Novel Bakers play with the third book in Jana Kolpen's and Mary Tiegreen's Trilogy; "The Circle of Kindness".




Whew ~ Please excuse me as I'm late to the party  (computer got cranky...)
Here we go! 

We find that our main character Mlle. J. has been invited from The Villa della Luna in Italy, to Ireland:
This could well be my favorite of the three books. :)

The story is enchanting ~ the other Novel Bakers are such wonderful story tellers, so if you have visited them, I'm sure you've gotten the gist of The Circle of Kindness. 
I love the story and the message of the book, however, I got side-tracked by the food, as well. (what's new??) *grin*
Lots of bits of wisdom in this sweet little book . . .

"Through her experiences she had come to understand  the power we hold in our hands and in our hearts."




We learn that Mlle. J is invited to stay with Shannon,  in her little thatched-roof cottage, framed with roses.



"It was here in this land of many greens that Mademoiselle J. would find the generosity of spirit and compassion that turns the world."

~*~*~*~*~

The first morning Mlle. awoke to Shannon baking bread.
Shannon teaches Mlle. J.  how to bake delicious, bread . . . all the while promoting kindness, compassion and friendship . . .

So I made some, too . . .


It's not a yeast bread, it's a soda bread ~  goes together very quickly and it's delicious! If you don't have the book, here is another excellent recipe for brown bread.



I ground red wheat berries very coarsely, the texture was perfect.
(If you don't have a grinder you can probably find coarse-ground at your healthy food store.) 

After some good tea and bread, a little later we're off for an outing into town . . .
One of the stops? To visit a shop ~






 And also "The Inn Between" !



Called the "Inn Between", because it is located between the barber shop and the bakery (and it holds very odd hours.)




Fascinated by the names of the item menu, I had to make a few!



The first one:



Bubble and Squeak Cakes . . .




Traditionally made with mashed potatoes, mixed with some kind of leftovers; cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, etc. And made into one large cake, then shallow  fried until crispy and brown.





No recipe in the book for this one, so I followed Gordon Ramsay's version, with Brussels sprouts.
Very good! Thumbs up at our house.



Such an adorable format!




The next item from the menu that I made was Irish Toasties.   


There are many, many versions of Toasties, limited only by your imagination. Basically it's a toasted/baked cheese sandwich, with other things . . .

Again, no recipe in the book ~ but I followed this one,  and used the Brown Bread I had made earlier.
It is very good, especially if you like the sweet and savory flavor play.  You build it on a good, sturdy brown or multi-grain bread, toasted. Smear with Fig jam, then pile a mixture of grated white cheddar cheese (mixed with, minced shallots, whole grain mustard, and beaten egg.)
Another really good recipe.
~*~*~*~*~


Teatime!!

I made Mrs. Monahan's RaggaMuffins.

No recipe in the book, but used this one, for Maple Sugar RaggaMuffins, I added some cinnamon to the filling.  (You could substitute brown sugar for the Maple Sugar.) Some like to ice them with Maple icing, but we thought they were sweet enough. 




The texture is similar to a biscuit, rather than traditional cinnamon roll.  Again, because no yeast is involved, they go together quickly and are really good with a cup of tea or coffee.

I would make them again, but would increase the amount of cinnamon to maybe 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons.
~*~*~*~*~

Happy messages, and words of wisdom about kindness are sprinkled throughout the book:




And the good changes that even the smallest kind gesture can make.



~*~*~*~*~

Ice cream really doesn't have anything to do with the book ~ but it is an act of kindness to share some, yes?


This is real, honest to goodness homemade Mint ice cream, no artificial colors.
I used David Lebovitz's recipe ~ you steep the fresh mint leaves in warm milk, cool, then combine with the egg custard mixture and chill before freezing.
His recipe goes a step further and he adds chocolate to make Mint Chip ice cream. mmmmm.




It goes really well with a little slice of Shortbread,  made with Irish butter, of course. ;-)



(My violets didn't produce many blossoms this year so I made sugared violas instead, the color is not as vibrant, but they are deliciously in mild flavor.)







If you grow mint, you know how out of control it  can become unless you contain it. 
This recipe is a great way to use up quite a bit of mint. The flavor doesn't scream mint, it is more delicate.  You could add a little pure mint extract and food color if you want it to taste and look more like the commercial product.

Thank you for stopping by today friends! I love when you leave me comments, I  cherish each one. 


I'll close with this lovely and touching sentiment from "Circle of Kindness" . . .




I'll have the recipe for the gluten-free/fat-free Amaretti cookies (from Wednesday's post) over on my recipe blog a little later today.

~*~*~*~*~
Please stop by to see the magical goodness my Novel Baker friends have in store for you!

--  Home is Where the Boat Is
--  A Quiet Life
--  Rattlebridge Farm

Have a good weekend everyone,  and spread the kindness.  xoxo

"The Legend of The Villa della Luna" ~ by Jana Kolpen

Hello and welcome! Today I am joining the Novel Bakers as we take a look at the charming book "The Legend of The Villa della Luna", written and designed by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen.
(This is the second in the series, following "The Secrets of Pistoulet" which we visited two days ago.)


(Click the image to learn more)


Mlle. J has been invited from Paris to visit Italy ...

To give you a little background; from the back cover:

"Welcome to The Villa della Luna where the past embraces the future. Within our gates are doors to be opened, tastes to be savored, old legends to be traced, and new ones to be created."
"When Mademoiselle J. arrives at The Villa della Luna, she is searching for a way to open her heart. As she wanders through The Villa's ancient gardens and strolls along the rugged Italian coastline, she comes to learn the legend of the rose garden that blooms throughout the year, a memorial to a tragic accident that took one lover and left the other afraid to love again. Should Mlle J. approach this grieving man? Helping her to decide are three wise teachers and the fortitude of such recipes as Pasta Vivante, for those are are afraid of the passion of life, ant the Focaccia of Forgiveness and Release, for those who need to let go of an emotional burden."
~*~*~*~*~

The books are adult fairy tales, but with words and lessons of wisdom woven throughout.



"Before climbing into the oversized bed with many down pillows,  Mademoiselle filled the inviting claw-footed tub with warm water.  Attracted by a slender bottle of gardenia bath oil sitting on a glass shelf, she put several drops in her bath."
~~~


Of course, I am particularly drawn to the recipes of the books, so that is what I'll be focusing on in this post!
Very little verbiage needed as everything is fairly self explanatory ~ I hope you enjoy!

I had planned on having a small outdoor picnic, but the weather did not cooperate, so we're indoors for the day:





























"Afternoons were spent in the cucina with Rita ..."




"One one such afternoon, Rita was preparing a pasta sauce she calls 'Vivante'.  The aroma of tomatoes, [along with Pancetta, garlic and Porcini mushrooms] strong and exciting filled the air with joy."




We truly enjoyed this pasta sauce!



In fact, it was my favorite recipe in the book.




I'm sure you could surmise this as I shared so many pictures of it !  
Boring?  
I apologize, I couldn't help myself.  :o)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My second favorite recipe was for the Amaretti Cookies. 



They are so EASY to make, just ground almonds, sugar, egg whites, and almond extract.  (They are Fat-free and Gluten-free.)



Roll the dough into balls approximately "three fingers wide" balls*,   (instructed the recipe),  sift powdered sugar over the raw cookies, and let them rest for one hour before baking in a preheated 300º(F) oven  for about 25 minutes.

Note: My fingers are of average size; I hoped for average sized  Amaretti cookies so I made the balls about two-fingers wide, rather than three as the recipe suggests.   Hmmm, they spread more that I would have liked,  making larger cookies than I had hoped.  It could be that my hen eggs (the whites) were larger than those in the recipe.   That is one negative about the baked recipes in these books, they are entertaining, but rather vague, and if you're a baker you know that accurate  measurements are important. 
Not so important when it comes to cooking, but baked recipes require accuracy.  (My 2 cents.)  ;) Next time I would make the dough even thicker with more ground almonds,  or fewer egg whites, and form balls about the size of a small cherry tomato. The recipe is very good though, and if  anyone wants it, you can find it on my recipe blog.
Click here for Amaretti Cookie recipe.
* * *

After baking, cool them thoroughly and wrap in tissue paper . . .




 . . .  and put them on a pretty platter.




Preferably an Italian one. :-)
I've had this one for years and years . . . I'm not so much into acquiring new serving pieces at this stage of my life.  I know... BORING. 



PARTITO!




My cookies spread out to about 2 1/4-inches, a bit larger than I was aiming for ~ but no matter, they go very well with: 
 

(just a few roses left blooming, not many more until Autumn here...)




And a few hours later, after our feast, at bedtime,   it would be extra nice to place one of these:



Under your pillow for a calming and restful night.
buonanotte!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you very much for coming to visit today, friends!

Please stop by to visit the other Novel Bakers today to see their gorgeous photos and interpretations of "The Legend of The Villa della Luna":

A Quiet Life
Home is Where the Boat Is
Rattlebridge Farm

Please check back Friday, when we'll meet up in Ireland with "Circle of Kindness", the third book in the series.

Have a wonderful day.