Book Love

If you need a good book to read, I highly recommend:

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

In Genesis 34, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is only briefly mentioned as a short and tragic detour from the main story of Jacob a Joseph.
This story imagines what else might have been going on in her life before and after this horrific and deadly moment in time. We get a close look at the early Jewish/Christian religion and the pagan beliefs and customs it replaces. I find it both fascinating and breath-taking.

The Red Tent is an epic tale told in a rich, vivid, and sensual manner. While you read; you smell, taste, and feel the dust, oils, yeasts, and wine. You catch glimpses of the red pomegranates, brown figs, and the golden landscape. And, always, you feel the warm arms of mothers, the weight of a child in your womb, and the pain of birth.
It is a taste of ancient womanhood that seems so exotic on one hand, but so familiar on the other.

Some quotes from the novel:

-When Zilpah was pregnant, "She gloried in her new body, and dreamed wonderful dreams of power and flight."

-"I am not certain whether my earliest memories are truly mine, because when I bring them to mind, I feel my mothers' breath on every word. But I do remember the taste of the water from our well, bright and cold on my milk teeth. And I'm sure that I was caught up by strong arms every time I stumbled, for I do not recall a time in my early life when I as alone or afraid. Like every beloved child, I knew that I was the most important person in my mother's world."

-"If you took the time to look, you could see right away that Bilhah was good. She was good the way milk is good, the way rain is good. Bilhah watched the skies and the animals, and she watched her family too."

-upon the birth of her child: "There should be a song for women to sing at this moment, or a prayer to recite. But perhaps there is none because there are no words strong enough to name that moment. Like every mother since the first mother, I was overcome and bereft, exalted and ravaged. I had crossed over from girlhood. I beheld myself as an infant in my mother's arms, and caught a glimpse of my own death. I wept without knowing whether I was rejoiced or mourned. My mothers and their mothers were with me as I held my baby."

Daily Calories- 1200

Workout- none (bad headache)

Book Snob

My name is Rachae and I'm addicted to books. It's true. You can blame it on my parents for reading chapter books by Beverly Cleary to me before I was one. Or maybe it was my grandma - who worked in an elementary school library. Or my aunt who would take me to the book exchange and give me, literally, bags full of books to read at a time. And let's not forget the fact that I'm admittedly A.D.D. and can't stand a single moment without having my brain engaged in some activity or another.
Either way, I've turned in to a book snob. I have to have a book in my purse AT ALL TIMES. You never know when you might get stuck in a traffic jam, or when the Mr. might run into a store to grab something and leave me waiting in the car for (gasp!) 10 whole minutes of boredom. And it can't just be ANY book. It has to be a book that grabs my attention in the first page. If I'm not sucked in by then, I move on. At least I have standards, right?
I know it's nerdy to say, but the books almost end up like friends of mine. If I like a book, I keep it around and read it again..... and again..... and again. I wait just long enough that I forget enough about the book to make it exciting and new again.
I have to have the epic novels for when I'm in the mood for a long, delicious relationship. (think of a long movie) I choose the silly, "laugh out loud" books for busy or dreary days that need a little boost without too much depth. (think cheesy sitcom reruns)
And every now and then a bad "thriller," which usually end up not that thrilling at all, but give me a change of pace.
Recently, my husband bought me a book. It looked suspiciously like a bad romance novel, or one of those lame-o books you buy super cheap at the check out stand that aren't good entertainment or good writing. (He did, as a matter of fact, get it at the super market...)
I was pleasantly surprised when the book, Rococo by Adriana Trigiani ended up to be a flirty, sassy, and downright yummy little book. I would NOT suggest reading this book if you are trying to diet or live in a beige house, however. Every chapter leaves you hungry for something absolutely fattening and inspired to paint your home or reupholster your furniture in jelly bean colors and dashing designs. It's a light-hearted and quirky story about an odd little interior decorator in New Jersey whose family uses food to soothe and celebrate and who's constantly zipping about saving the day for everyone in his parish.
There are little recipes scattered throughout the book. I made this one today:


Our Lady of (Drown Your Sorrows) Cake

3 milky ways (in small pieces)
3 three musketeers (in small pieces)
3 snickers (in small pieces)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan. Melt the candy bars and butter in a sauce pan. Blend. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. Then mix in shortening and eggs. Beat well. Slowly add buttermilk, beating until fluffy. Then add the vanilla and the candy bar mixture from the saucepan. Beat well. Pour into pan and bake 60 minutes.

YUM. There is also a recipe for "Heavenly Frosting" to go on top. This frosting looks delicious, but I was feeling cheap and didn't want to buy the ingredients. I also don't like marshmallows, like the recipe calls for. If you'd like the recipe for this frosting, give me an email, and I'll send it your way. What I DID use for frosting was simply whipped cream and then sprinkled on top a couple bars of crumbled Heath Bar.

Perfect for a rainy September Saturday!