October 2013 Host:  Colleen

 

Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

 

Summary

 

 

This is the story of Louis Zamperini, who became one of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympics track team in 1936.  He was later drafted into the Army Air Force and became a bombardier assigned to the often unreliable and awkward B-24 (the B-24 killed an astonishing number of its own crew).  After surviving a number of bombing missions against Japanese targets, his plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean while searching for another downed plane.  He spent the next 47 days in a disintegrating raft circled by relentless sharks, was scorched by the sun, and endured endless hunger, only to be rescued by Japanese soldiers.  Zamperini became a POW for two years and was ruthlessly beaten by one of the guards, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a.k.a. “The Bird”.  It is stressing for the reader to read about the horrible conditions Zamperini endured, (e.g. the near daily beatings and sadistic torture, the almost nonexistent food) however he did survive and remains unbroken even today at the age of 93.  This is one of the very best books we have ever read and we look forward to the movie release sometime next year. 

 

Menu
 

 

Fruit Salad

 

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

(food.com)

 

Ingredients
 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Directions

 

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl.

In a second bowl, add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk, and butter; beat well.

Gently fold in the flour mixture.

Cook according to your waffle iron directions.

I do these in my belgian waffle iron and it uses about 1 cup batter and takes 4-5 minutes to bake.

They come out a nice deep, golden brown.

These are great with a little bit of syrup, but would also be great with honey butter.

Bacon

 

Breakfast Casserole

(crockingirls.com)

 

Ingredients

 

• 1 Pound Breakfast Sausage
• 8 Ounces Diced ham
• 1/2 Cup Fresh chopped mushrooms
• 1 Cup Chopped onions
• 1 Can Rotel
• 18 Eggs
• 1 Cup Cheese
• 1 (32oz) Package Hash browns
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh baby spinach (a couple of handfuls)

Directions
 

Lightly brown breakfast sausage,
 

Layer half of the hash browns in the bottom of slow cooker, followed by 1/2 of sausage and 1/2 of ham. The next layer will be all of the baby spinach, the mushrooms, and onions.

 

Repeat the first 3 layers (hash browns/sausage/ham), and then top with a can of Rotel tomatoes with mild green chilis.

 

Whisk the 18 eggs in a bowl, then pour over top.

 

Sprinkle cheese over top of casserole and cook on low for about 6 hours