Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for June 2011

Is Francine Rivers reading my mind?

“Wait! That can’t be the end!”

It was 10 p.m., the kids were in bed and my husband was finishing up his online class for the night. Had any of those factors been different, I might have actually screamed those words out loud instead of keeping them captive in my head when I read the last sentence of “Her Mother’s Hope” by Francine Rivers.

Good thing for me, and anyone else who reads it, “Her Mother’s Hope” is only half the story.

And what a story it is!

In it, we meet Marta when she’s a young girl living in Switzerland, torn between her family (an ailing mother, a timid sister, an abusive father she’d rather forget) and her dreams (learning languages, owning an inn, living her own life). Rivers covers a lot of ground in this tale, sometimes skipping years of life or acknowledging the passage of time with only a paragraph.

But she’s done this a time or two (“Redeeming Love,” “And the Shofar Blew,” “The Atonement Child” … just a few of my favorites) and no word is wasted.

To call “Her Mother’s Hope” a page-turner doesn’t do it justice. Rivers has a way of writing captivating, memorable stories, and this one fits that bill. I’ve read almost every published work she’s written and her stories have stuck with me. At times, I feel like she must know my struggles because her stories mirror issues in my life. In the author notes, she reveals that her writing stems from personal struggles of faith. I think that’s why it’s so good.

Although it takes place in the early to mid-20th century, its themes — love, sacrifice, expectations, roles in marriage, injustice, bitterness, forgiveness, service, hatred, misunderstanding — are relevant to life today. I sometimes forgot the story wasn’t set in contemporary times.

Reading “Her Mother’s Hope” left me wanting more. Thankfully, Rivers wrote more! The saga concludes with “Her Daughter’s Dream.” I, for one, will be picking up the sequel as soon as I can.

Check out Rivers’ Web site to read an excerpt of the book. It will whet your appetite for this delicious read.

And if you’re a book lover with opinions about what you read, consider reading and blogging for the Tyndale Summer Reading Program for a chance to earn free books and win prizes. This one, and the sequel, are both on the list, as is “Freedom’s Stand” by Jeanette Windle, which I previously reviewed. Happy summer reading!

Dinner: A dish best served cold

It was 95 today. Supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. I grew up in Illinois in a home without air conditioning. I can handle heat, to a certain extent. But I didn’t do the cooking in those days. Or chase kiddos. If I wanted to sit in front of a fan and read all day, I did.

That’s not an option now. The two children in our house demand regular feedings (go figure!) and my husband usually works during the dinner hour, so I am left to slave over a hot stove by myself. (I can hear your pity. Or is that condescension? I never can tell.)

Last summer, in the midst of a heat wave, my husband and I made an executive chef decision and stocked up on mostly prepared cold foods, mainly for lunches. Eating hot foods on hot days, and even worse, preparing hot foods on hot days, held no appeal for either of us, so we wandered the grocery store aisles for ideas.

I’m re-establishing the plan this summer. Here’s my working list:

  • Hummus. A can of chickpeas, some tahini (you can make it or buy it; I prefer to buy it), garlic cloves, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and you’re basically set. My kids will eat this, although not always with the carrot and celery sticks I provide.

    A few of the pantry ingredients for our summer suppers

  • Salsa. With tortilla chips or the aforementioned veggie sticks. Can you tell we like dippy things in this house?
  • Pasta salad. One of our favorite variations uses pesto, olives, roasted red peppers, and shredded parmesan cheese. But I also like a traditional cucumber-tomato-Italian dressing option.
  • We tend to eat a lot of sandwiches. To add variety to the ham, roast beef, and turkey selection, I’m going to make some chicken salad, and maybe some tuna salad. Our favorite chicken salad recipe contains cucumber and green onions. It’s in the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook. Ours is falling apart from overuse. I highly recommend it.
  • Also egg salad. Our stand-by is an Alton Brown recipe served on pumpernickel bread.
  • BLTs. Toasted bread. Mayo. Bacon. Lettuce. Bacon. Tomato. Did I mention bacon? And my husband’s family adds a slice of cheese, something I’d never considered doing to a BLT before I met him. This sandwich and the previous two involve some cooking, but a little pre-planning is all it takes.
  • Tapenade. Another dippy/spread sort of dish made from olives. We’ve tried to make our own in the past but had some not so great results. Might be time to give it a whirl again. We like this on hearty crackers like Triscuits.
  • Speaking of olives, any salad or raw veggie plate in our kitchen has to have olives on it. The kids love ’em.

Do you have any summer food traditions or favorite cold dinners? Share them here and maybe none of us will have to run our ovens all summer!