Author Focus: M.M. Kaye

Mary Margaret Kaye was born in 1908 in India, and lived there much of her childhood and early married life.  She also spent time in Kenya, Zanzibar, Egypt, Cyprus and Germany, because of her husband's military career.


M.M. Kaye has written more books than the ones I will mention here, but these are the ones with which I'm familiar.  


Historical Novels
The Far Pavilions - my favorite novel and one I re-read about every 4-5 years.  It takes place in India about twenty or thirty years after the Indian Mutiny.  It's a long book, but rich in detail and tells a wonderful story of an English boy who spends the first eleven years of his life growing up Indian, and the impact that had on his adulthood (and that description doesn't begin to do justice to the story but I'm afraid if I go into any more detail than that, I won't be able to stop!)


Shadow of the Moon - also takes place in India but during the years leading up to, and during the Mutiny.  


Trade Wind's locale is the island of Zanzibar.  It tells the story of a naive, idealistic  English girl who goes there to visit family and the growing experiences she has there as she sees what life is really like.




All three of these novels give you a good idea of what was happening historically, while at the same time telling a gripping story.  I highly recommend them!




Suspense novels
Death in Berlin
Death in Zanzibar
Death in the Andamans
Death in Cyprus
Death in Kashmir
Death in Kenya


These are all shorter than the historical novels, and far less involved but no less entertaining.  If you enjoy mysteries, try them!


M.M.Kaye has also written a wonderful autobiography in three volumes.  I've only read the first one but it's one of my goals to find the other two and read them as well.
The Sun in the Morning
Golden Afternoon
Enchanted Evening


Happy Reading!

Well, That Was Convicting

In his Sunday morning message, our pastor talked about the importance of knowing what is in the Word and mentioned that the average reader can read through the whole Bible in a year by spending only fourteen minutes a day reading.


In the evening, we heard about people in Uganda WALKING for two hours to get to a Bible Study and putting on their best clothes because it is such a major, important event to them.  If someone there buys a Bible, it means he will not have money to eat the next day.  Many people can only hear the Word by hearing it read out loud.  


Meanwhile, here in North America, we wonder how to fit in five or fifteen or thirty minutes of Bible reading/study, when we waste countless minutes and hours in far less worthy pursuits, and often have multiple Bibles in our homes or easy access to them in stores or on-line.


I am happy that I live in a trouble-free country, but there are times when I can really see why the Church grows more and is stronger in less privileged areas.  I've grown to love the Word dearly, over the years, and treasure my time reading and studying it each day, but I was still struck by the images of people willing to make such a priority of something I pretty much take for granted.

New Year's Eve, 2009

About a week ago, in my study of Deuteronomy, I came across chapter 25, verses 5-10, which contain instructions regarding the marriage duties of a surviving brother (with regard to his now-widowed sister-in-law).  The widow, it says, is allowed to remove his sandal and spit in his face if he does not carry out his duty to her.  A sidebar note in my Bible mentions that sandals were, at that time, symbolically dirty, which is why Moses was commanded to remove his sandals at the burning bush, and Joshua to remove his when the Commander of the Lord's Army visited him.


Then yesterday, New Year's Eve, I read in Matthew 3 how John declared that One greater than he was coming; One Whose sandals he, John, was not worthy to untie.  I could be stretching here, but having just read what I did about the symbolism of the dirty shoe, I thought John's statement had even more punch in telling his audience just how much greater the One to come was!  I love it when one portion of the Bible sheds light or amplifies something I read in another part of it...it always feels like a little present from God!






We had a very quiet New Year's Eve here, but I have to say, it was wonderful. I made two particularly delicious treats and they are both from my Dutch heritage.  The first, oliebollen, I have made pretty much every year since we got married.  Literally translated, oliebollen means oil balls and they are basically a version of fried dough.   The batter is slightly thick and is spooned into the hot oil with two soup spoons, and can have additions like chopped apples or raisins.  They are best when liberally dipped/rolled/coated with powdered sugar.  When Jessica and Steve arrived, I had just started frying them, and Jessica said, "I've been waiting for this for 365 days!"

The second popular item I made is called Saucijzenbroodje.  I can't really tell you what the translation is, but it's sort of a Dutch version of Pigs in a Blanket, although that doesn't really do it justice. Here is what I did:


Saucijzenbroodjes


Dough:
3 c flour
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 c butter
1/2-2/3 c ice water


Combine flour and salt.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in ice water, 1 T at a time, till dough forms a ball.  Knead very slightly and let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.


Meat mixture:
1 pound ground beef or pork
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t maggi aroma (this is a liquid that comes in a bottle; leave it out if it is not available in your area or substitute Worcestershire sauce.  It's nothing like the same thing but it will give a nice flavor to your meat).
1 t nutmet
1 egg
1/2 c Dutch rusk crumbs; if you don't have access to Dutch rusks (beschuit), use very fine bread crumbs.


Combine all ingredients in  bowl, using your hands to get it well mixed.


Cut off a piece of dough, say about one sixth of it (I'm guessing) and make a roll about ten inches long.  Then use a rolling pin to flatten it.  You want it to be considerably longer than wide - as long as your longest cookie sheet and about 4 1/2" wide, and a little more than an 1/8" thick - about like a pie crust. Then shape some meat into a roll and place on the dough (you can do this in sections, it doesn't have to be one long piece of meat!)  


Wrap the dough around the meat  - it should overlap a bit - and pinch the edges together.  Place the roll, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet.  You can also shape the log into a letter - your initial, say - this is very traditional in the Netherlands and it would make a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list!  Brush with an egg that has been whisked with about a teaspoon of water and bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, till golden brown.  Cut into 2" segments and serve either hot or cold.  It's delicious both ways!


You will most likely have more dough than meat - I put two recipes from two different books together here.  If you have dough left over, it will make a really good pie!  And if you have meat left over, you could use it as the base for a great spaghetti sauce.  Or make more dough!

Happy New Year!

Abigail did not make it to midnight.

Bialy, Anyone?

In 1984, I became a full-time stay-at-home mom, and we moved to New York State when the baby was ten weeks old.  I decided this was a good time to start baking bread, and it was such a positive experience that I have baked virtually all our bread ever since.  I've taken time off for such Important Events as childbirth and vacations, but other than that, we eat homemade bread.


Terry and I went to see Julie and Julia when it came out, and I knew I had to take a look at Julia Child's cookbooks.  The one that appealed to me most is called Baking with Julia, and my very own copy is now lying on the desk next to my computer (Christmas gift!).  I tried my first recipe yesterday, called Onion Bialys.  I had never heard of a bialy till Melanie B. mentioned them to me some time in the last year, so the recipe rang a bell and I decided to make them.


Well.  Talk about delicious!  I think I like them better than bagels.  So in case you are inspired by the photograph to try them too, here is Julia's delicious recipe:


Onion Bialys


2 1/4 c warm water
2 1/4 t active dry yeast
2 t sugar
2 T solid veg. shortening
1/3 c minced yellow onion
1 t black pepper (optional)
3 c flour


Combine water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and let sit for five minutes.  Melt shortening in a small skillet and saute onions till they are tender, about 3-5 min.  Scrape into a mixing bowl, add the yeast mixture and pepper, and beat in the flour.  Beat at medium about 3 minutes and let stand for 1 1/4 hours (this is called a sponge).


Meanwhile, do this:
2 T oil
1 c minced yellow onion (I think this is a lot, I used about 1/2)
2 t poppy seeds
pepper to taste
Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions with poppy seeds and pepper till tender.  Let cool.


Preheat oven to 500.  Put a metal pie plate or cake pan on the bottom shelf; place the baking shelf just above it (all this should be in the bottom 2/3 of the oven).


Back to the dough:
1 T salt
3 more cups flour


Add salt to the sponge and then gradually add flour, beating well.  If you have a dough hook, knead with the mixer for about 3-5 minutes. If you are doing it by hand, add flour till the dough is too stiff to stir, turn out onto floured counter and knead 3-5 minutes, adding flour to keep it from sticking.
Let this dough rise for about 1 1/2 hours or till doubled.


Punch down and turn onto counter.  Cut into 12 pieces.  Shape each into a circle and flatten in the center to create a thick 1/2" wide rim.  Prick the center with the tines of a fork and spoon some onion filling into the depression.  Prick again to keep it flattened.  Place bialys on a greased baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between them.


Put four ice cubes and 1/4 c cold water in a cup.
Place baking sheet with six bialys in the oven, and toss the cubes and water into the metal pan you put on the bottom shelf.  Shut the oven door and bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 450 and bake another five.  The water/ice creates steam in the oven which makes a wonderful crust on the bialys.


Remove bialys to a rack to cool, set oven temp at 500 again and repeat with the remaining six pieces of dough.  


We had leftover Christmas ham on these and it was delicious!

As you can see, I left a few of them plain, for the non-onion fans in the family.  
I am a little baffled by the difference between my bialys and Julia's.  Hers are flattened in the center even when baked, while mine, in spite of furious activity with a fork, are pretty rounded on top.  However, as they taste fabulous and are not likely to be abandoned in the breadbox, I will not fret about this.


By the way, bialys originate from Bialystok, Poland.  Julia told me so.

Winnie the Pooh

I have always loved books.  I don't really know if my parents read me a lot of books when I was very young, but I do remember being in about the fourth grade, and browsing my classroom bookcase - while waiting in line to leave - for something to read on the hour-long bus ride home.  I read constantly and I loved re-reading books.  I still do!


I am also a bit of a purist.  I was devastated when I discovered that Heidi Grows Up and Heidi's Children were not written by the same person who wrote Heidi - somehow, it didn't feel right and those books didn't have the same charm they had for me previously.  


In a similar vein, I really wish that Disney would have left Winnie the Pooh alone.  His pictures aren't as good as the originals, neither are the stories, and what is up with those Heffalumps, anyway?  Hello, they are supposed to exist only in Piglet's imagination!!!!  


So when I learned that a new Winnie the Pooh book, obviously NOT written by A.A. Milne, was being published, I experienced emotions ranging from horror to extreme skepticism.  However, I happened to see a copy in a store one day and took a gander at it, and immediately went home and added it to my Christmas Wish List.  My generous granddaughter (via her generous parents - she is less than a year old, after all) gave it to me, and I have been reading it for the past two days.  It is called Return to the Hundred-Acre Wood and was written by David Benedictus.


It could almost make you think A.A. Milne has come back to life, it's that good.  The illustrations are just like Ernest Shepard's, the animals talk and think like they did 80 years ago, and even the addition of Lottie the Otter feels like it belongs in the story.


For once, I was wrong - and I'm happy I was! (thanks, Abigail!)


http://www.amazon.com/Return-Hundred-Winnie-Pooh-Collection/dp/0525421602/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262117935&sr=8-1-catcorr

Christmas 2009

This has been a highly satisfying Christmas season for me.  I've been pondering why this is so, and although I'm not totally sure, there are a few things which have made it special.


* I started playing Christmas music in early November.  You might think this would mean I'd be seriously tired of it by now, but this is not so because I don't have music on all the time.  I only play a cd every now and then...and so I feel that I've heard just enough Christmas music to feel satisfied.


* A wonderful new Christmas CD: Peace on Earth by Casting Crowns.  I actually gave this to Jacob for his birthday (Nov. 28) but Terry and I love it so much that we bought our own copy of it.  The title song is hauntingly beautiful.


* Terry, Jessica and I went to downtown Kalamazoo and wandered through Bronson Park and some nearby streets.  The decorations were beautiful; snow was falling; the Nativity was inspiring and the evening satisfied my Christmas spirit!

* A beautiful Christmas Eve service at church.


* Family visits during November!  My parents, Terry's sister, and my aunt and uncle all visited in the space of about 12 days.  It was busy but fun and just sort of became a part of the holiday season (which technically lasts from Thanksgiving through New Year's!)


* It was our first Christmas with a grandchild. I love giving gifts to my kids, but let's face it, shopping for small children is so much more fun!

I told my kids on Christmas Day how much it means to me that they are all believers, following Christ and making (mostly) wise choices in their lives.  The older I become, the more I value and love the words in the Bible and it blesses my socks off to know that each of our four are 'in the fold'!  I feel deeply blessed to know that God chose me...and that makes this Christmas, and every Christmas, special.  I hope it has been a special one for you, too.