author recipes

loving lisa schroeder’s sprinkles and secrets

~ jama ~ 14 Comments
Cover Bear Pauline loves this book!

We’ve been having lots of fun recently in the Alphabet Soup kitchen thanks to Lisa Schroeder’s Sprinkles and Secrets (Aladdin, 2011).

*nibbles on a Monster Cookie*

Not only have I reread this totally scrumptious companion book to It’s Raining Cupcakes (Aladdin, 2010), but I made Monster Cookies — one of two recipes included in the book (the other is Isabel’s prize-winning Chocolate Jam Tarts). Perfect way to get into the holiday spirit AND indulge my neverending cookie cravings.

Just in case you haven’t read Sprinkles and Secrets (please remedy that immediately!), it’s about Isabel’s best friend Sophie, an aspiring actress who gets her big chance to audition for a television commercial. She’s thrilled, of course, until she finds out she’d be advertising for Beatrice’s Brownies, the chief competitor to Isabel’s family’s cupcake shop. She tries to keep the specifics of the commercial under wraps for fear of jeopardizing her friendship with Isabel, but things go from bad to worse when she wins the audition and still can’t bear to tell Izzy. How do you choose between your fondest dream and your BFF?

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♥love♥ = susan branch cookie jar

~ jama ~ 8 Comments

I’ve been a longtime Susan Branch fan, and have a pile of her books and calendars to prove it. Her drawings and watercolors are every bit as gorgeous as her handwritten quotes, musings and commentaries, and her illustrated recipes are the best, so lovingly infused with her special brand of cozy charm.

Recently she included this wonderful Cookie Jar in her Willard Email Newsletter, decorated with the names of some of her favorite holiday recipes. Clicking on the words gets you the recipe –don’t you just love it? Click here to access Susan’s Cookie Jar; you’ll probably want to make something right away!

♥ If you’re not already reading her blog, you really should. Like me, you’ll probably want her to adopt you, so you can live in her beautiful home on Martha’s Vineyard, play with her adorable cats, sip tea and warm cider in front of the fireplace, and cook delicious foods in her vintage kitchen.

♥ For some last minute gift ideas, check out her Shop!

For the month of May in her 2012 Heart of the Home Calendar, there is this quote from Margaret Fuller: “The special genius of women I believe to be electrical in movement, intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency.”

She’s also laid out a Mother’s Day Tea Party! On the menu: Lavendar Tea Cookies, Orange Cake, Cream Scones with Clotted Cream and Coconut Layer Cake with Lemon Filling, among other treats. Yum yum yum! Her calendars are such wonderful keepsakes.

♥ Special thanks to Susan for permission to post the Cookie Jar here ☺!

Sigh. There’s nothing like “homemade.”  Have a lovely day, Everyone!

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Copyright © 2011 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

friday feast: moon-seeking soup by penny harter

~ jama ~ 64 Comments

Today I’m pleased to share a haibun by New Jersey poet Penny Harter, written just two months after she lost her husband Bill to cancer in 2008.

photo via Miss Mae

With tomorrow’s full moon and total lunar eclipse, an event ushering in winter’s cold and days when nights are at their longest and darkest, it seems especially fitting to reflect on how we process grief and loss.

For one who is grieving, the darkness seems interminable. What solace can a Long Night’s Moon, which remains in the sky all night and so high above the horizon, offer? Will the ritual of making a familiar soup bring comfort or revelation?

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chatting with hallie durand about no room for dessert

~ jama ~ 11 Comments

Put on your favorite bibs, Hallie Durand is here!

Those of you familiar with the indescribably delicious early chapter books featuring the irrepressible Dessert Schneider (who is synonymous with fun, surprises, a little mischief, lotsa spunk and –*wait for it* — fondue), are in for a treat.

You may remember when I featured Dessert First, where we first met this enterprising third grader who loves all things sweet and tries to convince her parents (who own a fondue restaurant) that they should eat dessert before dinner. Remember how she scarfed down an entire pan of double decker chocolate bars?  Clearly a book with my name written all over it. In Just Desserts, Dessert forms the Annoying Siblings Club, since as the eldest of four kids, she’s more than qualified to lead the charge against pesky brothers and sisters.

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big friendly grub, or, the great pea soup adventure

~ jama ~ 14 Comments

We’ve had lots more Dahlish excitement here in the alphabet soup kitchen. The other day, the copy of  The BFG  I’d won in Becky Levine’s recent giveaway arrived. WooHoo! I was absolutely thrilled because, love Dahl though I may, I did not own a copy of  his personal favorite. Now I can hardly wait to reread it, that is, if I can get my hands on it long enough.

You see, there’s this little matter of the Paddingtons. Over 30 of them live here, and they all love Becky. That’s because she voted them her favorite bear over Pooh a couple years back (Pooh who?).

A crowd of Becky worshippers gathers.

They cheered when they saw her name on the padded mailer and then, I’m sorry to report, there was a little furry kerfuffle over who should read The BFG first. I wasn’t even in the running, and couldn’t distract them with a freshly made marmalade sandwich. Continue reading →