Book Club

I hosted book club last night. This month, we read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I loved this book. It's about the German Occupation in the Channel Islands. The main character, Juliet, is spirited, defiant, compassionate, witty, and I just love her. The book is written in the form of letters exchanged between characters (Juliet being the center role, surrounded by a handful of main characters and about a dozen other characters introduced throught the book). It was a little confusing for me, at the beginning, to keep everyone straight, and I wish I had kept a pen handy to write down my thoughts about each person at the beginning, so that when another letter from one of them came up later in the book, I didn't have to search back through the story to be reminded who they were. But the initial confusion is worth it. I recommend this book to anyone. Reading it was like taking a vacation back in time to a little island full of eccentric people that are brought together under unique circumstances and strengthened by literature.



I love book club. Aside from a few regulars, a slightly different batch of ladies shows up each month and we always have a great time.


One of the treats I made were these fruit puffs. The recipe was discovered by my friend, Meg Beckstead (aka Meg #2, or Meg squared, as I call her :P)

Lemon Berry Fruit Puffs

1 box puff pastry (pepperidge farm, it's in the freezer section near the filo dough and cool whip)

2 eggs

1 box cream cheese

powdered sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

lemon zest (optional)

fresh berries

thaw pastry in fridge.

unfold and roll out pastry sheets (lightly dust surface with flour) with rolling pin. Use a pizza cutter to slice pastry into 3x3inch squares. You'll get about 24 puffs from a box.

press squares into regular sized muffin tins and brush the edges with beaten eggs.

bake about 10 minutes at 375*

remove and cool on wire racks

mix softened cream cheese with lemon juice with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar (1/3 to 1/2 cup? I didn't measure) to desired sweetness.

Spoon cheese into cooled puffs and top with fresh berries. I added a mint leaf to each for garnish and added yumminess. Chill until serving.

Lookout! They're addicting!