Ten of the Best #36

There is so much in the news about #Nenegate, and #Zumamustfall. It's made me wonder - if there is a modicum of truth (and it would appear that there is for the Financial Times to report it), should there not be an investigation? And then? Well it's relatively easy to decide what to do with the Gupta-corruptors, but what about the “corruptibles”? Click the pic for the article.

“It is not enough to do good; one must do it in the right way” is one of my favourite quotes - by John Morley, a member of the house of Lords from the 1900s. He also said "Those who would treat politics and morality apart will never understand the one or the other.” 

So moving swiftly from politics to morality, here's my favourite writer on why we are killing our children. Thank you Robyn. Sorry for the seriousness today, but this is devastating. 

Friday Book Hour

BookBeginnings is a weekly meme, hosted by Rose City Reader. To participate, share the opening lines and your thoughts about a book you're reading, or about to.


Beginning: 

The PA system crackled. "Would all those involved in the Lady Virginia Fenwick versus Mrs Emma Clifton..."

"The jury must have reached a decision," Trelford said, already on the move. 

My thoughts:

If you've read any of the books that feature n the series (five in all) before this, you will already be aware that Emma Clifton and Lady Virginia Fenwick are never on friendly terms. Book Five (Mightier than the sword) ended on a ginormous cliffhanger in the trial involving these two women. If you're anything like me, you are firmly on Emma's said, but you just cannot see a way for truth and justice to prevail. This is the sixth in The Clifton Chronicles, but Jeffrey Archer - Cometh the Hour.

Good Old Favourites #14

This was meant to be the Wednesday post, but dear beloved readers, I was laid low with terrible stomach flu. (And that's all I am saying - this is a food post after all.)

But what I thought we should cook this week is delicious Vegetable Tikka Masala. And then, to make the whole choice between rice and Naan a bit easier - why don't you try cauli-rice, and then you can serve Naan with the meal? (If you don't know how to make cauli-rice, all it is is cauliflower that has been food processed into tiny bits, like rice, and you fry in some coconut oil, with finely chopped onion and garlic - both optional.). So the carb becomes your vegetable, and that means that you can have some delicious Naan bread, which would always be my carb of choice, anyway. Banters - sorry you are only allowed the cauli-rice, no Naan for you!

Here's the recipe - originally from the LoSalt website.

Vegetable Tikka Masala

4 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato purée
a squeeze of lemon juice
100g mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 medium onion chopped
2 peppers (any colour), seeded and roughly chopped
100g small whole carrots, scrubbed
100g fresh or frozen peas (thawed)
chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
basmati rice and/or naan breads to serve

and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan, add half the onions, garlic and ginger and cook over a medium hear for 3-4 minutes until softening and smelling good. Now add the paprika, cumin, coriander and turmeric and cook for 5 minutes more.
2. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and lemon juice and simmer for 10-15 minutes then blend with an electric blender. This is a tikka masala sauce.  
3. Heat the remaning oil in large saucepan and add onions. Fry for 5 minutes until softening, then add the peppers, carrots and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tikka masala sauce and simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the peas and heat through for 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with pepper.
4. Serve scattered with fresh coriander, with boiled basmati rice and/or a pile of warm naans.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

"Life can turn on a dime" is the mantra that flows through this book. Everything we do and say has consequences, and the way we behave does affect destiny.

In this time travel novel, our hero, Jake Epping, a divorced, life-weary English teacher at a college is one of the unlikely sort. No great achievements, not really well connected, which is why he is chosen to go back and change history.

But history is obdurate, and makes it very difficult for a person to go back and change its course. Especially when it's the shooting of JFK that you want to alter. The past digs its heels in and screws with you.

A note on Stephen King. I am quite weary of people looking at me strangely when I gush about the man. There is a wide perception out there that all he can write is horror, and paranormal, and who the heck wants to read that anyway? Well, he doesn't. Ok most of his books have a little bit weird in them, but he is so creative and confident in his writing, he is definitely worth trying.

If you are one of people who has glanced at me askew when I mention that his book "On Writing"  is one of the best I have ever read, and Carrie is actually not that gruesome, compared to other books in that genre, please try this one.

The only weirdness is the time travel, and come on, everyone is doing that these days. And I bet you've all read at least one vampire novel in the last few years, or at least a wizard one, so don't come with your nonsense. This is way better.

This was a page turner of note. It is a long book, but you won't want to put it down. And, in my opinion, it is brilliant. Even Time magazine says so.

A 5 star read for me.

ISBN: 9781451627282

You may also like Time and Time again by Ben Elton, where history is changed by stopping World War 1.

All my reviews.

Monday Music #5

Do you ever  have those days when all the music, all the positive encouragement in the world is not really working? In fact it has the opposite effect.


It all sounds so horribly cliched, and has you shouting random bad language at it, and the people who dispense it (in your head, of course) just makes you feel like the darkest, meanest soul in the universe. And no matter what you try, getting out of bed feels so damn hard.



If you do, I have the perfect song for your day, and mine, today. 

It's Taylor Swift - Are we out of the woods yet? I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood for any high energy, fist pumping "can you feel it" kind of exercise today. I may just manage a walk. But that's ok, at least I'm moving. And this is what I'll be singing as I go.

Link to last week.

Ten of the Best #35

1. Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s our new president, I mean Finance Minister, President Pravin. This is by far the best news article I read all week. And I love the way this is written. It’s about Pravin Gordhan - a man among the mice. Click the picture for the article. And read Stephen Grootes’ take on it too, from a similar angle.

2. And here’s some more - why Zuma wants Moyane at SARS. The big cover up. 

3. It was the Oscars this week. And the Foo Fighters  decided to make a video clip about their breakup. Because everyone is doing it, apparently. This carries a language warning. 

Friday Book Nap

BookBeginnings is a weekly meme, hosted by Rose City Reader. To participate, share the opening lines and your thoughts about a book you're reading, or about to.


Beginning: 

My mother died with her head in another man's lap. The car collided head-on with a milk tanker, which in turn crashed into an oak tree, sending acorns pinging and bouncing off the bodywork like hailstones. Mr Shearer lost an appendage. I lost my mother. Fate laughs at probabilities.

My thoughts:

A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a remote farmhouse. Joe - the clinical psychologist who doesn't want to do this anymore - reluctantly admits he has to get involved. One of his ex-students is already part of the drama, and seems intent on making matters worse. Realising that he is  risking drawing his ex-wife and two daughters into a threatening situation, the tension mounts from all angles.

Judas Child by Carol O'Connell

Extract from the blurb:

Two young girls disappear just before Christmas. This hasn't happened for fifteen years, since Rouge Kendall's twin sister was murdered. The killer was found, but now Rouge, twenty-five and a policeman, is forced to wonder: was he really the one? Also wondering is a former classmate named Ali Cray, a forensic psychologist with scars of her own. The pattern is the same, she says: a child called out to meet a friend. The friend is the bait, the Judas child, and is quickly killed. But the primary victim lives longer. . .until Christmas day.

This book was published in 1999. Yet it reads like a contemporary thriller. That’s because of the descriptive writing, well drawn characters and a story well ahead of its time.

The plot is full of suspense and lots of action. But where O’Connell really shines is in her portrayal of Gwen and Sadie, the little girls abducted. She nails this. The voices of these girls will stay in your head long after you’ve put this book down. Their courage and tenacity in the face of terrifying events is inspiring to watch unfold.

Look out for this book and this author – I suspect that her other novels are as good. Especially when you are in a second hand book store – this will be a far better option than the usual run of old David Baldaccis and James Pattersons, as good as they are.

A chilling and haunting 4 stars.

ISBN: 9780515125498

You may also enjoy The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer or Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton.

Good Old Favourites #13

It is hard to believe that I've got to number 13 in this series without sharing this recipe. It really is a very good, very old, very easy favourite of ours. I think this is the book club recipe that everyone cooks, off by heart, all the time.

It's perfect for this time of year, especially if you have tomatoes or basil growing in your garden.

It's also fresh and healthy, and has such a delicious flavour. Enjoy.

Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Creme Fraiche

What?

Olive Oil

4 chicken breasts

500g cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons (or more) creme fraiche

2 handfuls fresh basil leaves, torn

Black pepper

How?

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Pour oil into shallow ovenproof dish that can also go on the hob, and add chicken, coating in oil. Place cherry tomatoes around chicken and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until chicken is done. Place on hob and add creme fraiche. Allow to simmer. Stir in basil and pepper.

Serve with couscous, or wraps, or pasta.

Quicker version: Cut chicken into strips and fry in a pan lightly sprayed with nonstick oil, add cherry tomatoes, then continue.

This also works with salmon, instead of chicken.

All recipes.

Last week's favourite.

Before I met You by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell has an engaging writing style.There is nothing contrived, and the words flow from her pen into my mind, creating the world she wants me to see. In this book, Betty moves to Soho in 1995. Her love for the place is infectious - I just wanted to go and stay with her. In parallel, we read of her (sort of ) grandmother, Arlette in the 1920s, Here, London was beautiful - there are gorgeous scenes where I could imagine the Paris writers, poets and artists from the Great Gatsby showing up. It was vivid and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then the characters started to do some strange things. Arlette was so rebellious and different, but then landed up “settling” in so many ways. Betty also let me down in small ways, but then everyone has flaws, I thought.

I started the last third of the book late at night. It really dragged. And the flick-flacking between 1920 and 1995 irritated me more at that point - it had been fine earlier, but the chapters seemed to shorten, so that you had hardly any plot development before the skip, which left me out of the story. I could have handled bigger chunks of information at a time, and the bittinesss was annoying.

Lastly, the “big reveal” was disappointing. Unusual for Lisa Jewell to let me down like this. Maybe I got tired, but I enjoyed her other books far more.

3 stars.

ISBN:9781846059230

You may also enjoy The Girls by the same author, or The Lake House by Kate Morton.