"The Circle of Kindness" by Jana Kolpen & Mary Tiegreen

Hello! 
Welcome in once again as The Novel Bakersplay with the third book in Jana Kolpen's and Mary Tiegreen'sTrilogy; "The Circle of Kindness".




Whew ~ Please excuse me as I'm late to the party (computer got cranky...)
Here we go! 

We find that our main character Mlle. J. has been invitedfrom The Villa della Luna in Italy, to Ireland:
This could well be my favorite of the three books. :)

The story is enchanting ~ theother Novel Bakers are such wonderfulstory tellers, so if you have visited them, I'm sureyou've gotten the gist of The Circle of Kindness. 
I love the story and the message of the book,however, I got side-tracked by the food, as well.(what's new??) *grin*
Lots of bits of wisdom in this sweet little book . . .

"Through her experiences she had come to understand the power we hold in our hands and in our hearts."




We learn that Mlle. J is invited to stay with Shannon, in her little thatched-roof cottage, framed with roses.



"It was here in this land of manygreens that Mademoiselle J. would find the generosityof spirit and compassion that turns the world."

~*~*~*~*~

The first morning Mlle. awoke to Shannon baking bread.
Shannon teaches Mlle. J.  how to bake delicious,bread . . . all the while promoting kindness,compassion and friendship . . .

So I made some, too . . .


It's not a yeast bread, it's a soda bread ~ goes together very quickly and it's delicious!If you don't have the book, here is anotherexcellent recipe for brown bread.



I ground red wheat berries very coarsely,the texture was perfect.
(If you don't have a grinder you can probablyfind coarse-ground at your healthy food store.) 

After some good tea and bread,a little later we're off for an outing into town . . .
One of the stops? To visit a shop ~






 And also "The Inn Between" !



Called the "Inn Between", because it is locatedbetween the barber shop and the bakery(and it holds very odd hours.)




Fascinated by the names of the item menu,I had to make a few!



The first one:



Bubble and Squeak Cakes . . .




Traditionally made with mashed potatoes, mixed withsome kind of leftovers; cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts,etc. And made into one large cake, then shallow fried until crispy and brown.





No recipe in the book for this one, so I followedGordon Ramsay's version, with Brussels sprouts.
Very good! Thumbs up at our house.



Such an adorable format!




The next item from the menu that I made wasIrish Toasties.  


There are many, many versionsof Toasties, limited only by your imagination.Basically it's a toasted/baked cheese sandwich, with other things . . .

Again, no recipe in the book ~ but I followed this one, and used the Brown Bread I had made earlier.
It is very good, especially if you like the sweet and savoryflavor play.  You build it on a good, sturdy brown ormulti-grain bread, toasted. Smear with Fig jam, thenpile a mixture of grated white cheddar cheese (mixedwith, minced shallots, whole grain mustard, and beaten egg.)
Another really good recipe.
~*~*~*~*~


Teatime!!

I made Mrs. Monahan's RaggaMuffins.

No recipe in the book, but used this one, for Maple SugarRaggaMuffins, I added some cinnamon to the filling. (You could substitute brown sugar for the Maple Sugar.)Some like to ice them with Maple icing, but we thoughtthey were sweet enough. 




The texture is similar to a biscuit, rather thantraditional cinnamon roll.  Again, because noyeast is involved, they go together quicklyand are really good with a cup of tea or coffee.

I would make them again, but would increase the amountof cinnamon to maybe 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons.
~*~*~*~*~

Happy messages, and words of wisdom aboutkindness are sprinkled throughout the book:




And the good changes that even the smallest kind gesture can make.



~*~*~*~*~

Ice cream really doesn't have anything to do with thebook ~ but it is an act of kindness to share some, yes?


This is real, honest to goodness homemadeMint ice cream, no artificial colors.
I used David Lebovitz's recipe ~ you steep thefresh mint leaves in warm milk, cool, thencombine with the egg custard mixture and chill before freezing.
His recipe goes a step further and he adds chocolateto make Mint Chip ice cream. mmmmm.




It goes really well with a little slice of Shortbread, made with Irish butter, of course. ;-)



(My violets didn't produce many blossoms this yearso I made sugared violas instead, the color is notas vibrant, but they are deliciously in mild flavor.)







If you grow mint, you know how out of control it can become unless you contain it. 
This recipe is a great way to use up quitea bit of mint. The flavor doesn't screammint, it is more delicate.  You could add alittle pure mint extract and food color if you want it to tasteand look more like the commercial product.

Thank you for stopping by today friends!I love when you leave me comments, I cherish each one. 


I'll close with this lovely and touching sentimentfrom "Circle of Kindness" . . .




I'll have the recipe for the gluten-free/fat-free Amaretti cookies(from Wednesday's post) over on my recipe blog a little later today.

~*~*~*~*~
Please stop by to see the magical goodnessmy Novel Baker friends have in store for you!

--  Home is Where the Boat Is
--  A Quiet Life
--  Rattlebridge Farm

Have a good weekend everyone, and spread the kindness.  xoxo

Share this post