This week…I found a new dip recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten, and hosted our July Mrs. Twist Reads This book club. July’s book was Camino Island by John Grisham. In keeping with the seaside theme in which the book takes place…we enjoyed everyone’s favorite cookie — Milano’s in Key Lime and Sea Salt Caramel. Who can resist the little ruffled paper trays they come in?
And this Herb Dip from Ina Garten. It’s from her cookbook Barefoot Contessa at Home.
Ingredients:
Pulse in a food processor and serve at room temperature. I served it with cucumber spears and parmesan garlic pretzel chips.
After we reviewed Camino Island, everyone got to vote on the book for August. I covered the books with brown craft paper and marked each one A. or B. Without revealing the title, I read the description of each and the majority won.
Lost and Found Sisters by Jill Shalvin. “They say life can change in an instant… After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of L.A.’s hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she’s looking for a missing piece she can’t find?
The answer comes when a lawyer tracks down Quinn and reveals a bombshell secret and a mysterious inheritance that only she can claim. This shocking revelation washes over Quinn like a tidal wave. Her whole life has been a lie.
On impulse, Quinn gives up her job, home, and boyfriend. She heads up the coast to the small hometown of Wildstone, California, which is just a few hours north, but feels worlds apart from Los Angeles. Though she doesn’t quite fit in right away, she can’t help but be drawn to the town’s simple pleasures…and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked.
As Quinn settles into Wildstone, she discovers there’s another surprise in store for her. The inheritance isn’t a house or money, but rather something earthshattering, something that will make her question everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up to Quinn, she must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have—and the one that could finally give her the fulfillment she’s searched so long for.”
Want to read along with us? You can sign up here for free through BookMovement — a terrific site that helps connect people across the world to a community who love to read. Even if you can’t join us, we can be the motivation to help you read more and disconnect from technology. At least that was my reason for forming our book club and so far I’ve read three books this summer. Once you sign up you can find out what book we will be reading, when we will meet, see possible selections for the future, and receive email reminders.
Have a super Saturday!
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
