Esther went above and beyond to provide us with a wonderful meal and great time at her family's retreat up river - The Pines. The cooler temperature and the wind moved our meal indoors instead of outside along the river, keeping Esther busy setting up inside. As always, a delicious selection of wonderful and bountiful treats were shared. Esther and Gary have done a great job creating their cozy and comfortable retreat! Thank you both for letting us explore and enjoy your hide-away!
Our book selection, "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr, received rave reviews by all. This story was well constructed and smooth with no rough edges. The author built in the current style for our modern short attention span, moving backwards and forwards in time while weaving together the unique stories of all the well developed characters. It was all about feeling, both physical (touch, smell) and emotional, as well as various forms of light: visible light (sun, moon), invisible light (ultraviolet, infrared, radio waves) and darkness from the lack of light. While set in World War II, it only touched on the Jewish aspect, focusing on the German invasion of France and the French resistance. The author brought it full-circle by pulling quotations from the beginning of the story and revisiting them at the end of the tale.
"Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever."
"This is cleaner, more mechanical, a war waged through the air, invisibly, and the front lines are anywhere."
"So many windows are dark. It's as if the city has become a library of books in an unknown language, the houses great shelves of illegible volumes, the lamps all extinguished."
"The moon sets and the eastern sky lightens, the hem of night pulling away, taking stars with it one by one until only two are left."
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2 comments:
Thank you for a wonderful review, Claudia. I so enjoyed having all of you at The Pines. In a few years, I would like to host there again, when we have made more progress. I so appreciate everyone's gracious enjoyment of our rough little cabin.
Dear Ladies,
Here is a version of the tomato tart that I served at The Pines. Enjoy!
Tomato Pie / La Tarte à la Tomate
1 store-bought pie crust (here, we use a puff pastry, or "pâte feuilletée")
2 or 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 cup of shredded Emmental cheese (or Gruyère)
2 or 3 large tomatoes, sliced
Tomato-tart
Instructions:
Roll out the store-bought crust (if rollable). Make sure the crust base is pre-cooked or the tart may turn out doughey-bottomed... Slather mustard across the dough's surface. Sprinkle cheese over the mustard and set the sliced tomatoes across the top. Add salt, pepper, herbes de Provence and a filet or "swirl" of olive oil to taste. Cook the tomato pie in a 425°F oven for 20 minutes.
*variation: try tapenade (crushed olive spread) in the place of the mustard.
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