TGI FridayReads! The Happy Prince

fridayreads:

Join thousands of readers across the internet—-and around the world—-by sharing what you’re reading this week. Just reblog this post and add a line about your book, and you’ll be entered to win wonderful books and prizes.

The Happy Prince, by Oscar Wilde. I’ve read this dozens and dozens of times, but am re-reading again today. In case you’ve never read it, it’s about a sparkling, gold-leaved, bejeweled statue of a prince who befriends a swallow who is on her way to Egypt for the winter. When she stops to rest on the prince’s shoulder he tells her that now that he stands so tall and can see everything in the city below, he is saddened by the poverty and by the arrogance and meanness of so many of the residents. He asks the bird to help him make amends, telling her that, in life, he was selfish too.

It’s a powerful story, one that for me shows the mark of great literature — it makes you happy and sad at the same time. It makes you think about what you’ve read.

When I was a kid we had a recording (remember records anyone?) of the Happy Prince, starring Bing Crosby (as the prince of course), Orson Welles narrating. My brothers and I listened to that record over and over, probably a thousand times, so much that my brother could recite it verbatim, with all the right tones and accents, to his grandchildren.

Yesterday I mentioned it to my grandchildren (ages 10 and almost 4), all the while thinking they’d be bored and roll their eyes and tell me to stop. But as I continued with the story they sat there, full-on attentive, waiting to hear what happened to the statue and the bird.

I stopped just short of the end and told them I would bring the book next time I see them.

They loved the story, as well they should and if you haven’t read The Happy Prince, do yourself a favor and read it. It’s a MUST.

Purim Balagan

A Balagan

Some words are difficult to define, exactly. You have to actually be in a situation that fits the word in order to get the real meaning.

Like the Hebrew word “balagan.” It means “a little chaotic.” But that’s really tame. And lame.

If you’ve ever been to a supermarket before a big snowstorm you may begin to understand the word a little. Or an airport when a few flights have been cancelled. Or if you’ve ever seen old time newsreels showing the pushcarts on the Lower East side at the turn of the 20th century.

But if you want to really understand what balagan means, go to a Purim celebration. You know how you always tell your kids to quiet down and behave? On Purim it’s just the opposite. You schlep them to synagogue, all dressed up as Queen Esther (if it’s a girl) or Mordechai (if it’s a boy) and you instruct them to make a lot of noise and run around and every time they hear the name “Haman” they shout, stamp their feet and make noise with their graggers, which are special toy noisemakers intended to kill your hearing as much as any rock concert would and designed to make senior citizens who are there with their grandchildren grateful they are old and can talk a trip to the bathroom for a few minutes.

It’s all in a good cause though. Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jews of ancient Persia, who were to be annihilated by order of Haman, who was the Prime Minister at the time. But Esther, who was married to the Persian King (Ahasueras), begged her husband to save her people. Mordechai, Esther’s cousin led the Jews in revolt. In the end, Haman was hanged, Mordechai was appointed the new Prime Minister and all was well. 

On Purim we are supposed to celebrate, to eat, drink and make merry. And so the costumes, the parties and the graggers, which are designed to blot out the name of the evil Haman. This year it all begins at sundown on March 18th. 

The food? Mostly Hamantashen, a three-cornered cake-cookie that’s supposed to resemble Haman’s hat. I don’t usually make hamantashen. Sometimes I buy them at The Bakery in Plainview, New York, but I’m not there very often (I live in Connecticut after all) and so this year I’ve chosen hamantashen from Kosher Care Packages (you can order them here: http://www.koshercarepackages.com/). 

My box came yesterday and I found I made a BIG mistake. I ordered the prune and apricot, which are really good — tender and not too sweet and also just the right size. Most hamantashen are too big. But Kosher Care Packages also has chocolate hamantashen and I, traditionalist, only ordered TWO. My grand daughter Lila and husband Ed said the chocolate was the best one! And now I have NONE LEFT! The raspberry was good too.

Who knew?! I do now, for next time.

Make sure you order some in chocolate (with sprinkles, which Lila said tasted great “like bubble gum.”)

Why wait to enjoy what you have?

Last weekend my husband Ed and I went to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City to see “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels.” Well, I know this is going to sound trite but there’s no way else to say it. This stuff can knock your socks off. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds. Brooches, necklaces, earrings. Pieces that could be taken apart to become pins and earrings but when put together they became a necklace. Cigarette cases, compacts, evening minaudieres. And much more. 

What a delight. And to think of all those women — Wallis Simpson, Grace Kelly, Barbara Hutton — etc. — who actually bought them and wore them. 

The pieces could make one’s heart go thumpety-thump. But what touched my heart more and has stayed in my mind more than this display of beautiful art was our guide, a friendly woman who looked to be about my age. In addition to lovingly describing some of the pieces we were seeing, she told us she was a widow and cautioned our group not to “put things away and never use them” but to “wear your jewelry” even if it is with jeans, and even if the jewelry is small or fake or not the kind that could knock your socks off. 

It was sad to think that it was an unfortunate life transforming moment that made her realize what she could have been taking pleasure in all along.

I feel fortunate to be among those people who never needed an excuse and actually have always looked forward to using anything I own. Especially when it comes to kitchen stuff and tableware. I don’t groan at having to take out the “good china” or the “good silver” when I have company. In fact I still get a laugh when I think about how the pattern I picked was being discontinued but I bought it anyway (a theme that would repeat itself forever and ever). And I still think about how beautiful the table looked when I invited my siblings over for my first “real dinner party” — even though I don’t remember what I served.

I love the way a pretty table looks and to me, it is worth the extra effort over and above whatever it is I am cooking for the meal. 

Why else would I have the stuff if not to use it? 

Am I nuts?

New Orleans French Toast

I’ve never been to Mardi Gras but have travelled to New Orleans, where I absolutely feasted, drank tons of coffee and ate more than my share of beignets. I don’t remember where it was that I sampled “New Orleans French Toast” but wherever it was the memory of the dish lingered long enough for me to develop a recipe of my own.

This dish is not exactly breakfast food. More for brunch or even dinner. Also, definitely for grown ups, not kids.

New Orleans French Toast

5 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons orange flavored brandy

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange peel

12 slices French or Italian bread cut about 1/2-inch thick

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees. Beat the eggs and sugar together with a whisk or hand beater for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the milk, brandy and orange peel and stir to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Place the mixture into a pan large enough to hold all the bread slices. Add the bread and let them soak up all the liquid, turning the pieces occasionally to moisten both sides. Place half the butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add some of the soaked bread and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and crispy. Keep warm in the preheated oven. Add remaining butter when half the bread slices have been cooked and repeat. You can cook this longer if you prefer French Toast less custardy. Makes 12 slices, serving 4-6 people

Oatmeal Cookies

I don’t understand the green food thing for St. Patrick’s Day. Someone emailed me (and several other women who bake for a biweekly Tea at Stamford Hospital, sponsored by our local Hadassah group) and suggested that we could, if we wish, bake something and color it green because the next Tea will be a St. Patrick themed event.

Nope.

When I bake with my grandchildren I let them use food coloring and we frequently have lavender or cerise blue or fuchsia butter cookies or layer cake. I have lots of little bottles with lots of colors that they can mix together.

But they’re kids.

Green bagels, green cake and so on is just not happening here. I don’t remember when that whole thing started.

Green Ireland is an amazing country, one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever been to. Emerald Isle is a good name for it, so true, so lovely. It rains a lot there and then it stops and the grass and the leaves, the bushes and plants and everything else is incredibly beautiful. To me the green in nature conjures up hopeful signs of life. But green, fake-colored food? Nope.

I’ll be making:

Oatmeal Cookies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanila extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together for a minute or so until creamy. Add the brown sugar and blend it in thoroughly. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and beat until the ingredients are well blended. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop mounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the cookie sheet, leaving some space between each lump of dough. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 4 dozen

Mom’s Raisin Bran Apple Crisp

Wanna Sell Your House? Smell this!

Yesterday I baked a Banana Bread that I couldn’t eat because I’m allergic. But I always have leftover bananas around so I make Banana Bread a lot. I love the aroma. In fact, I mentioned yesterday that it is one of the best kitchen smells there is.

Which reminded me about when we were selling our old house. The real estate agent told us to make sure there were some good aromas coming out of the kitchen in order to entice prospective buyers.

So I got to thinking about the good smells that come out of a kitchen and what I could bake or make to make my kitchen be the one someone wanted to cook in and therefore buy my house. I even wrote one of my newspaper articles about house-selling aromas.

Choices I considered: fresh coffee, tomato sauce, fresh-baked yeast bread, anything with baking apples.

Well, fresh coffee is the easiest but you can’t have it going all day or it tastes and begins to smell bitter.

Yeast bread is my favorite, but I didn’t always have the time to bake one.

Tomato sauce may be among my favorites but the garlic could be off-putting to some.

So, apple it was. Baked apple. Apple pie. Apple Crisp. 

Fortunately we had some wonderful desserts during that time. We did sell the house too!

Here’s a recipe with an intoxicating aroma — my 

 Mom’s Raisin Bran Apple Crisp:

•  2 tablespoons butter

• 4-5 large, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

• 2 tablespoons sugar or honey

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• pinch or two of salt

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 2 cups slightly crushed raisin bran cereal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter and set aside to cool slightly. Combine the apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, salt and melted butter and place in a baking dish. Cream the 1/3 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons butter with an electric beater until well combined. Beat in the flour. Add the raisin bran and work it into the creamed mixture gently, leaving the bran flakes more or less intact. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the apples. Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Makes 8 servings

Is that a book in your pocket?

fridayreads:

Or are you just happy it’s Friday?

Reblog this post with a line about what you’re reading this week, and you’ll be entered to win wonderful books and prizes.

Why? Because FridayReads loves you!

Still reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides! Big book, busy week. #fridayreads

Crocuses and Deer

Cake looks sooo tempting!  Speaking of crocuses, it was disappointing to find out this morning that the deer visited overnight night and ate my bright yellow crocuses.  

Submitted by tribesadozen:

I used to plant tomatoes every year. They were fabulous, sweet and juicy right off the plant. Then the deer found them. Year after year. I kept trying. One year they ate the tomatoes and EVEN the yellow flowers. That’s when I gave up. I get all my summer tomatoes from the farmer’s market now.

So I know how you feel. Guess the deer are hopeful about spring too. 

Ronnie

www.ronniefein.com

Simple Banana Bread

Why do I buy bananas? I’m allergic to them as I said yesterday. It’s almost as if watching someone else eat them gives me pleasure vicariously.

My husband says he likes bananas but whenever I buy a bunch, firm and bright yellow and green at the tip, just before the starch turns to sweet and the sugar level goes up, they sit on the plate waiting for anyone.

Anyone? Anyone?

So I wind up making Banana Bread. Very often the Banana Bread goes to patients and caregivers at our local hospital for a biweekly Tea that our local Hadassah gives. Or my grandchildren eat it.

Smart kids.

If you’ve never had a Banana Bread baking in your kitchen you are missing one of the best home aromas of all time. It’s right up there with coffee, tomato sauce and yeast bread.

And of course, it tastes pretty good too. Here’s a recipe for you to try:

Banana Bread

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

4-5 medium bananas, very ripe

4 large eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-cup bundt pan. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Place the sugar and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well blended. Add the bananas and beat them in. Add the eggs and beat them in. Add the flour mixture and beat the ingredients until well blended. Stir in the vanilla extract. Bake for about an hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes 12-16 servings

Banana Cream Pie

The old Chiquita Banana song was so catchy I remember it all these years later:

I’m Chiquita Banana and I’ve come to say

Bananas have to ripen in a certain way

When they are fleck’d with brown and have a golden hue

Bananas taste the best and are the best for you

Okay, I did get some help from the internet. I only remembered the first two lines. I also remember that that commercial taught a lot of people about when bananas are the sweetest (when their starch has started turning to sugar — the brown spots) and how not to store them:

But bananas love the climate of the very, very tropical equator,

So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator

Bananas are one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately I am allergic and haven’t eaten one for at least 20 years. My husband Ed said that by then I had eaten my lifetime fill. Before the allergy I would eat a banana at least once a day. When I was pregnant with my first child I would make a Banana Cream Pie on a Sunday and then cut it into 7 wedges. I ate one wedge every day until Sunday came around again and I would make another pie. I was thin in those days, so the extra calories did me no harm, and my daughter Meredith came out just fine! 

I confess it wasn’t the best pregnancy diet. But that was long ago and at least I have the memory of those Banana Cream Pies, so fabulously rich and creamy and that I can never eat again. 

And today is National Banana Cream Pie Day!

So, for those who have no gastronomic issues with bananas and love a great dessert, here’s a good recipe for Banana Cream Pie sob sob :(

Banana Cream Pie

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 bananas
• 1 fully baked 9-inch pie crust
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Place the 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt into a saucepan. Stir in enough milk to make a loose paste and place the pan over medium heat. Gradually add the remaining milk and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is as thick as yogurt. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add about one cup of the hot milk mixture to them. Mix well, then return the egg mixture to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes (do not boil). Remove the pan from the heat. Cool slightly. Stir in the vanilla extract. Slice the bananas about 1/2-inch thick and place them in a single layer inside the pie crust. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Spoon the cooled, cooked custard over the bananas. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or until chilled thoroughly. Whip the cream with the teaspoon of sugar until thick. Spread the whipped cream on top of the pie.

Makes 8 servings