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