Vegan Dessert: Choco-Chai Coffee Cake

Unbelievably, I've made it to this point in life without ever having had Chai (tea). I bought the box of Tazo Organic Chai for this recipe, and because my daughter had some and said it was, "delicious!" I took the conservative route and used 4 tea bags not knowing how spicy it would be. After having tasted the moist cake and gooey topping, I plan on increasing the number of bags considerably the next time.

The recipe is from my favorite baking book, The 100 Best Vegan Recipes by Kris Holechek.

Tomorrow, my first cup of Chai, to which I've been told to add milk (soy milk) and sugar (organic)!

Vegan Dessert: Orange Pudding Cake

From the recipe book have your cake and vegan too by Kris Holechek. This is baked in a shallow pan/dish and served warm. It was especially moist with an ample amount of "pudding" in the bottom of the pan. The one thing it lacked was a zesty orange flavor. We found it too subtle. Next time: a large orange, instead of medium. More zest just may do it!

Vegan Dessert: Big Debbie's Creme Cake

A confession. I have NEVER had a Little Debbie Creme Pie. That means I have no comparison. That's okay, because I can't imagine it would taste as good as this wonderful (and large) vegan version. Wow, it was delish!

I had to buy raisins especially for this recipe since I always use dried cranberries. I've never been a shortening user, but with Spectrum Naturals Organic Non-Hydrogenated Shortening there is no "yuck factor".

The recipe is from have your cake and vegan too by Kris Holechek. She 'did good'!

Between the Pages - Books I Read in 2011

According to my book database's stats I read 45 books in 2011, yet my Goodreads Reader Challenge total was 54. The discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that I changed the original year read date on 9 rereads to 2011 on Goodreads, but not in my database.

To break down the year by genre, I read: 5 classics, 14 fantasies, 7 mysteries/thrillers, 8 romantic/romantic suspense, 6 general fiction, and 5 non-fiction.  Next year's numbers have got to be better because these numbers are almost embarrassing! :)

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Books I Read in 2011

Author	Title	Publication Year	Reading Date	My Rating
Alcott, Louisa May	Little Women	2012	12/21/2011	8
Allen, Sarah Addison	Garden Spells	2007	3/25/2011	8
Allen, Sarah Addison	The Girl Who Chased the Moon	2009	3/31/2011	6
Allen, Sarah Addison	The Sugar Queen	2008	5/14/2011	4
Austen, Jane	Persuasion	2006	11/18/2011	8
Austen, Jane	Pride and Prejudice	1998	11/3/2011	10
Austen, Jane	Pride and Prejudice (a)	2005	11/3/2011	10
Bowen, Rhys	The Amersham Rubies	2011	5/28/2011	6
Bowen, Rhys	Bless the Bride	2011	3/9/2011	8
Brown, Sandra	Lethal	2011	12/5/2011	8
Brown, Sandra	Tough Customer	2010	2/20/2011	6
Cornwell, Patricia	Port Mortuary	2010	12/24/2011	6
Eagan, Jennifer	A Visit from the Goon Squad	2010	6/17/2011	4
Evanovich, Janet	Sizzling Sixteen	2010	1/30/2011	8
Evanovich, Janet	Smokin' Seventeen	2011	11/27/2011	8
Fairstein, Linda	Silent Mercy	2011	4/29/2011	8
Fowler, Earlene	State Fair	2010	2/11/2011	6
Gabaldon, Diana	The Fiery Cross	2002	6/18/2011	6
Gabaldon, Diana	A Breath of Snow and Ashes	2005	7/1/2011	10
Gabaldon, Diana	An Echo in the Bone	2009	7/13/2011	8
Gabaldon, Diana	The Outlandish Companion	1999	1/14/2011	8
Gerritsen, Tess	The Silent Girl	2011	7/26/2011	10
Hannah, Kristin	Firefly Lane	2008	3/14/2011	10
Hannah, Kristin	Winter Garden	2010	12/31/2011	10
Harris, Charlaine	Shakespeare's Trollop	2000	4/5/2011	6
Harris, Charlaine	Dead In The Family	2010	2/22/2011	4
Harris, Charlaine	Dead Reckoning	2011	8/4/2011	8
Hoag, Tami	Secrets to the Grave	2010	4/18/2011	8
Holechek, Kris	Have Your Cake and Vegan Too	2011	2011	8
Landis, Jill Marie	Mai Tai One On	2011	10/7/2011	4
Mason-Milks, Susan	Mr. Darcy's Proposal	2011	10/14/2011	8
McLaughlin, John Gerard	Irish Chicago	2003	10/13/2011	6
Meyer, Stephenie	The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner	2010	6/19/2011	6
Meyer, Stephenie	The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide	2011	5/15/2011	8
Morgan, George C.	How to do Everything With Your Genealogy	2004	2011	6
Morgenstern, Erin	The Night Circus	2011	12/4/2011	8
Morton, Kate	The Distant Hours	2010	1/24/2011	8
Reichs, Kathy	Spider Bones	2010	1/26/2011	8
Reichs, Kathy	Flash and Bones	2011	11/26/2011	8
Roberts, Nora	Chasing Fire	2011	4/25/2011	10
Roberts, Nora	The Next Always	2011	11/30/2011	8
Roberts, Nora	The Pagan Stone	2008	7/22/2011	4
Stevens, Amanda	The Restorer	2011	7/14/2011	10
Stockett, Kathryn	The Help	2009	2/4/2011	10
Wilde, Oscar	The Picture of Dorian Gray	2003	1/18/2011	6

Exported from BookCollector 01/01/2012 at 12:35:50 PM

Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Title: Winter Garden
Series: Standalone
Author: Kristin Hannah
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Published: 01/28/2010
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre(s): Women's Fiction

DESCRIPTION

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? 

From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

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MY THOUGHTS

Five stars. Five tissues...at least. Those of you who have read Kristin Hannah are already aware of how intensely moving her novels are. Winter Garden is no exception. It is a stirring depiction of two daughters, Meredith and Nina, dealing with the death of their beloved father and his request of them to get to know their secretive and reserved mother. They must get her to continue telling them the fairy tale she had started when they were young but hadn't yet finished.

As the novel (and fairy tale) unfold we learn how their mother's repressed behavior toward her own daughters has affected their lives and relationships. Since I don't do spoilers I will reveal no more specifics. I'll just say when Meredith, Nina, and their mother go to Alaska together more than just the majestic beauty of the area is revealed.

(Note: The story was motivation enough for finishing it in a timely manner, but another inducement was it would be my 52nd book read in 2011. I had challenged myself to read 40, but I could not leave my total at 51 when 52 would make my average for the year perfect!)

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