Chicken spread bagel

A friend and I lunch together almost weekly. It is fun to come up with things when it is my turn to make lunch. Recently, I served her this bagel with chicken spread that I had whipped up that morning. It is so good freshly made and was so simple to do. This makes enough for three to four bagels.

Chicken spread bagel
1 boneless and skinless chicken breast
1 spring onion
1/2 stalk of celery
2 to 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of sharp mustard
drizzle of lemon juice
generous pinch of tarragon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Poach the chicken breast in vegetable bouillon for 20 minutes. Leave the chicken to cool then slice into bite size chunks. Slice a spring onion and dice the celery. In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. Now season to taste with the tarragon, salt and pepper. Mix in the chicken breast, spring onion and celery well. You can add a little extra mayonnaise if needed.

Toast a bagel and place a helping of the chicken spread on a bed of baby Romaine lettuce leaves. Garnish with red pepper rings and serve with slicked cucumber and pear on the side.

Eet smakelijk!
Heidi

Bay of Secrets

I found Bay of Secrets by Rosanna Ley very intriguing. How would it feel to find everything you thought to be true was all a lie. How would it be to be left alone in the world not knowing your true past or knowing you were part of others being denied that knowledge. These two woman faced different dilemmas but found a common bond through their pasts.

** possible spoiler alert ** Two stories that end up entwining. Two stories of women who must be courageous to face the future which has been tainted with the past. One story takes place in Spain during the revolution. In the days of dictatorship, Franco creates a law that children are adopted from single mothers by wanting and deserving parents. The tragedy is how the adoptions talk place...a mother is either coerced into giving up her child or is told her child died during birth. The child is sold to a worthy couple with their name placed on the birth certificate and all documents destroyed of the biological mother. Sister Julia finds herself taking part in one of the many clinics practising this atrocity. But she decides to start secretly recording the names of the mothers and the adoptive parents. 

Ruby Rea has come back to Dorset to go through her family home after her parents die tragically in an accident. She finds a shoebox in her mother's closet that changes her entire life. Tom and Vivien had a secret that sends Ruby on a search for the truth about her birth and for a mother that she never knew. 

In Ruby's search, she meets Sister Julia. It is time for the truth to be told and Sister Julia sees that Ruby is the one to be her voice. 

Happy reading!
Heidi

Roasted carrots

We love roast vegetables! On top of the fact that they look so beautiful when they come out of the oven, they are so good for you too. It is a simple way to prepare vegetables that takes so little time. I simply cleaned and scrapped my carrots leaving a little of the tops on just for show. *grins*  Roll them in olive oil and lay then in a baking pan. Add some sliced wedges of red onion also rubbed with olive oil. Sprinkle on ground sea salt, ground pepper and some mixed Italian herbs. You can also add honey to the olive oil if you want the carrots to be even sweeter. Roast them in a 200C/400F oven for 30 minutes or until carrots are to desired tenderness. This time will vary depending on the size of your carrots.

They taste great and look so pretty on your plate...

Eet smakelijk!

Heidi

204 Rosewood Lane

Another fun visit to the cove! When you get into this series, you want to move to the cove yourself. 204 Rosewood Lane is the house of Grace. She is coming to terms with Dan's disappearance and trying to get a new start in life. But while she is starting to feel something for Cliff, she is struggling to chase away the ghosts of the past. 

In the meantime, new additions are coming to the cove as Grace's daughter Maryellen and Olivia's daughter Justine are both pregnant. 

Life has its ups and downs and some families find it impossible to stay together while others are starting out or hanging on. I enjoyed my latest visit to the cove.....

Happy reading!
Heidi

The Snow Child

How difficult to write a review for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey not because I did not like it but because I did. I would hate to take away any of the movement and anticipation of this novel for anyone else. I cannot tell you how often I put this book in my shopping basket and took it back out debating if it would be for me. I finally did buy it when it went on sale and have loved reading it.

Jack and Mabel lost their son at birth. They move to Alaska to start a new life. One that they dream will be for them together working and living off the land. In winter, a little girl appears on their land. One that looks remarkably like the little snow girl that had built together the day before. Neighbor and friend Ester worries that Mabel is suffering from cabin fever which can be common in the long winter months. But why then does this little girl who says her name is Faina seem so real?

This is as much as I can reveal about this book without possibly ruining the effect for you. Do you think you are too old for fairy tales? This enchanting story might change your mind.....

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Christmas Wish

The Christmas Wish is a book by Lori Evert. What a sweet story! This is the cutest book...wonderful pictures to go along with a magical story about a little girl who sets off to become one of Santa's Elves. I can see this will become one of my traditions at the holidays to read this story as it is a great story for children of all ages.

I read this book aloud tonight to my mother while we were on Skype. When I started it, I kept replacing Anja's name with Heidi...myself. My mother calls me Miss Pickles the Elf so it only seemed logical. It is my story. *grins* And our family nickname for my father was Bear. So I want to share this wonderful photo from the book of Anja (Heidi) sleeping with the polar bear (Bear).....

May you never be too old to believe!

Happy reading!

Heidi

Happy 2014!

Wishing you a very happy 2014! 

I am looking foward to a year filled with new and wonderful books to read, a good glass of wine to drink and delicious food to eat. Life is full of riches in the most simple of things. 

2013 ended with sadness for us as we had to have our precious cat put down. If you would like to see him just click here to see my post on my home and garden blog. 

"I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship."

Louisa May Alcott

Heidi