Bound together across time, two women will discover a powerful connection in Kristy Cambron‘s new book, A Sparrow in Terezin. Connecting across a century through one little girl, a Holocaust survivor with a foot in each world, two women will discover a kinship that springs even in the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains and fight to protect all they hold dear—even if it means placing their own futures on the line.
Kristy is celebrating by giving away a basket filled with goodies inspired by her new book!
One grand prize winner will receive:
A set of poppy notecards
A poppy pin
A copy of I Never Saw Another Butterfly
A copy of the Mrs. Miniver DVD
Literary tea bags
Tumbler
A copy of A Sparrow in Terezin
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 28th. Winner will be announced April 29th on Kristy’s blog.
We decided for one of our Easter crafts this year, the boys and I would follow up on some of the Pinterest pins we had been pinning together and create a button Easter egg to place above the television in our living room.
This was one of the few Easter crafts that I had seen that looked not only simple (and it was!) but brightens up the room on a smaller budget. You can pick up all of the items needed at the Dollar Store (except for the glue gun) for all under five dollars! This was the perfect craft for us to do this week in preparation for Easter.
For this craft you will need:
buttons in your desired colour (I wanted to create a two tone egg so I chose pink and cream – definitely not the boy’s first choice in colours but Mom won this one!)
glue gun
white canvas board
Directions:
Design your egg on the canvas. I started by placing the buttons on the board in a design that I wanted. I originally wanted to create an egg that had a linear pattern alternating the pink and white buttons. I realized after putting the buttons on the canvas (or attempting to) that that was not going to work! So instead I decided to create an egg that was pink on one half and cream on the other.
After creating a design that you are happy with, it is time to start gluing! Carefully place some of the glue from the hot glue gun on the back of the button and apply it to the canvas board. Be careful to not get any glue on your fingers (my skill in this area has definitely not improved over time).
I loved how our Easter egg turned out in the end. What I realized after I finished gluing on the buttons was that the cream coloured buttons blended in to the canvas board too much. I wish I had painted the canvas board a dark black prior to gluing on the buttons. It was a lesson well learned though!
What kind of Easter crafts are you up to this week?
During the American Civil War, thousands of women organized to join the war efforts. In Daughter of the Regiment, Maggie Malone is one of those women that leaves the comfort and safety of her home to support those she loves.
About Daughter of the Regiment
Maggie Malone feels the effects of the war firsthand – first when her brothers go off to join the efforts and again when a group of bandits attack her farm. Feeling desperate and alone, Maggie heads off to find her brothers in the Federal Army Camp. There she quickly captures the admiration of Sergeant John “Colt” Coulter who immediately notices her skill and dedication. When circumstances beyond anyone’s control forces Maggie to stay with the brigade, Maggie quickly learns that there is a lot a woman can do to help the brave men she quickly deems “her boys”.
As the hostess of an acclaimed Missouri plantation, Miss Libbie Blair has learned to play her part and remain uninvolved in political affairs of her brother, Walker. When his aspirations lead him to organize the “Wildwood Guards”, Libbie must gracefully manage the house with the officers outside. With the war drawing closer to their home, Libbie must figure out how to protect those that rely on her.
When a battle brings the war to Wildwood Grove, Libbie’s home is transformed into a battle hospital. The two women whose brothers have fought on opposite sides of the battle come face to face.
My Thoughts
This novel was fantastic from start to finish. Historical fiction is always my favourite to read and Daughter of the Regiment delivered perfectly with two strong female leads and a role in history that I was never even aware of.
Maggie is the type of girl I admire – strong, fun and fearless. She doesn’t care what others think of her and sticks by her convictions. When she joins the regiment as a Daughter of the Regiment (a term that was coined by one of her French ‘boys’) she finds a role that suits her perfectly. She can care for those she holds dear and she even finds herself in the middle of battle! She faces all that comes her way with strength and determination.
Libbie on the other hand at first seems your typical aristocrat interested in only herself. As the novel progresses, we are able to see more into her character and witness the transformation she goes through. She actually becomes a character that I admire just as much as Maggie. While she was born into privilege because of the time in history she was stuck in a situation that she could not control nor leave. While both women are so different at first, we find that they are very much alike and would do anything to protect those that they love.
This novel would be great for young women as it features two strong female characters that despite the historical time difference many young women will relate to. Both female characters are strong, confident young women who follow their convictions. I was surprised that this was the first time I had ever heard of this role that women played during the war as ‘Daughters of the Regiment’. History can sometimes tend to minimize the role women played and it was great that this book illustrated the important role these two young women played. Without them who knows where the regiment might have been as they became to rely on the young women and their skills.
Stephanie Grace Whitson is the author of over twenty-seven novels. A frequent ECPA best seller, Stephanie is also a two-time Christy Award finalist. When she isn’t writing, speaking or keeping up with her five grown children and grandchildren, she loves to take rides aboard her motorcycle, Kitty. She received her Master of Arts degree in 2012. Stephanie and her husband reside in Nebraska.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
In the past few weeks, I have been trying to cook and bake more traditional recipes. Recipes that remind me of my childhood and recipes that I want to pass on to my own children to cherish just as much as I do.
Amaretti cookies are one of those recipes that I want my children to know and love just as much as I do. They are a soft cookie which is a must for my children. They are also prepared with ground almonds so no flour! Which is perfect if you are trying to stay away from gluten. With only five ingredients to prepare you can have these delicious cookies ready in under twenty minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of sugar
spare sugar to sprinkle on top of cookies prior to baking
one egg white
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp of ground almonds
1/4 tsp of almond extract
pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 390F (200C).
Beat the egg white until it is almost double in size. Add in the sugar and whisk until it is fully combined.
Add in the ground almonds, almond extract and salt.
Mix the ingredients until the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are mixed together fully.
Line a baking sheet with two layers of parchment paper. Create small balls with the dough and place them in rows on the baking sheet. Lightly cover each ball of cookie dough with sugar.
Bake for ten minutes in the oven or until golden brown. Check the cookies at the seven minute mark to see how they are baking.
Do you have a favourite traditional recipe that reminds you of your childhood?
Have you ever heard of Cannelés? I can honestly say I had never heard of these delicious pastries prior to working on this recipe.
Cannelés are little speciality pastry from the Bordeaux region of France. These little cakes have a crisp, caramelised coating with a slightly chewy and soft inside. They are small enough to eat out of your hand and have a divine taste that will leave you craving for more (we are the whole batch before we realized how many calories were in one but honestly felt no regret at eating so many they were that good!).
Cannelés have a very rich history that spans over the last three hundred years. One of the oldest stories tells of the nuns in a convenant in the Bordeaux region who used to make these special little cakes using leftover egg yolks from the local wine makers. Another tale tells of the residents of Bordeaux using spilled flour from loading docks to make these pastries for poor children. This video from Redpath shows the wonderful history of Cannelés:
I love to bake and when I received the challenge to create these delicious pastries I could not wait to get started!
For this recipe you will need:
two cups of milk
50 gm of butter
one vanilla pod
7/8 cup of flour
1 cup and 1 tbsp of Redpath sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
two eggs and two egg yolks
1/4 cup of dark rum
silicone cannelés mould
Directions:
1. Place the two cups of milk, 50 gm of butter and one vanilla pod in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it has begun to boil, remove the pan and allow to cool.
2. Mix together 7/8 cup of flour, one cup and one tbsp of sugar along with one tsp of salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Place the two eggs and two egg yolks in a small bowl and beat lightly.
4. Combine the warm milk (remove the vanilla pod) along with the eggs into the large mixing bowl. Whisk it together until the batter is smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup of dark rum and place the vanilla pod back into the bowl.
5. Cover the mixture and leave in your fridge for 24-48 hours.
6. Pre-heat oven to 240C or 460F. Prepare your silicone moulds by placing them on a baking sheet and heating them in the oven for four to five minutes.
7. Remove your mixture from the fridge and spoon in the batter into each mould. You want to leave roughly 0.5-1cm room from the top to prevent your cannelés from overflowing.
8. Cook the cannelés at 240C/460F for fifteen minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 190C/375F and bake for another 50-60 minutes or until the cakes have a golden bronze colour. Remove the cakes immediately from the moulds (they shake out so well!) and let them cool on a wire rack. They are best eaten when warm so don’t be shy to eat them within an hour of baking.
Have you ever tried a cannelé before? Do you have a special pastry that you just love to make?
Disclosure: I received some of the above mentioned materials in order to create this recipe. All opinions expressed are my own.
