August 2015 Host: Jaci
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Summary
This novel is set in France and Germany during
World War II. The characters include a
young blind girl named Marie Laure, her father who is a locksmith for the
Museum of Nature and Science in Paris, her agoraphobic great-uncle along with
his elderly housekeeper who eventually joins the French resistance, and Werner,
a German orphan who is accepted into a science academy for Hitler Youth because
he is a prodigy in building and fixing radios.
The novel focuses mainly on Marie Laure from France (the author does a
wonderful job of giving the reader the blind girl’s perspective) and Werner
from Germany. Both are intelligent,
sensitive, and have a thirst for knowledge.
As the German army advances closer to Paris, Marie Laure’s father takes
steps to hide some of France’s artistic treasures along with a highly valuable
jewel. Locating these treasures and
especially the valuable jewel (of which four copies were made in order to elude
the Germans) turns into a dangerous game of hide and seek. This book is definitely a page turner and the
author does an amazing job of bringing the characters with their
idiosyncrasies to life. Although there
are numerous novels set during World War II, this novel gave us a sense of what
it was like for children who were living a happy life and then were starving or
those who were brainwashed by Nazi leaders and made horrific choices to survive
that they would not have otherwise made.
This novel is beautifully written and we highly recommend it. This book is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Menu
Fruit and Cheese Plate
Quiche
Pasta and Egg Salad
PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps
(recipe to follow)
Dessert
PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps
Ready in: Under 30 minutes Recipe difficulty ⅗ Difficulty: 3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5) Serves/Makes: 4
INGREDIENTS:
16 Boston, bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 pound ground chicken breast
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian chili pepper sauce (see Note)
1 can (8 ounce size) sliced water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
PREPARATION: Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain. Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often to break up the meat. Add onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili sauce. Cook until the meat is crumbled and brown. Add water chestnuts and green onions. Cook until onions begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center. Allow diners to spoon meat mixture into lettuce leaves and eat like a taco.
COOK'S NOTES: Asian chili pepper sauce can be found in the Asian section of most supermarkets. Some brands contain garlic, which is fine. You can use ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes instead.
NUTRITION: 358 calories, 13 grams fat, 22 grams carbohydrates, 37 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in carbs. Show full nutritional data (including Weight Watcher's Points ®, cholesterol, sodium, vitamins, and diabetic exchanges)
This recipe from CDKitchen for P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps with Chicken serves/makes 4 Recipe ID: 75955 SUBMITTED BY: rec.food.recipes Terry Pogue tpogue
