Cold, dark winter nights create the perfect atmosphere for reading really imaginative and fantastic books.  You know, books that bring you into another world.  This month, our book club read two otherworldly books.  The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar began with two Scottish fairies that got drunk, follow a moonbeam, land in the East Village (NY) and throw up on some guy’s floor.  Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury was a bone-chilling horror novel that brought pure evil to life for a small and desolate Ohio town.  

We met today to discuss both books.  I am really enjoying the mix of people we have gathered for our monthly meetings.  We each bring a different perspective to the books, yet we share enough common ground to really enjoy each other’s company.  Fortunately, we all liked them.  The good Fairies is lighthearted fun.  I read it in an evening and laughed all the way through it.  I first read Something Wicked when I was in High School for an English class.  I remember really enjoying the story.  However, re-reading it as an adult, I really appreciated Bradbury’s use of language as much as I enjoyed the story. He turned the most mundane actions into bone-chilling terror.  Sue felt that Bradbury must have been a major influence for Stephen King.  Michele thought that King got his inspiration for Needful Things from this book.

Today, I prepared a high tea (for the most part).  I began by making egg salad sandwiches.  I made a homemade mayonnaise, seasoned it with salt, pepper and paprika, and then added a small dice of celery and a chiffonade of baby spinach.  I spread the egg salad in between organic whole wheat sourdough bread that I picked up at Whole Foods.



Side Bar:  I almost never go to Whole Foods.  I normally do most of my grocery shopping at local farms or a really cool store in Newburg, NY called Adams, which sources most of its stuff from the Hudson Valley.  I had a really busy week last week and stopped off in the Whole Foods in White Plains during my lunch hour.  I was appalled to see many of the same items/brands that I buy at Adams for two-three times the price.  They branded and packaged the hell out of everything with an air of pretension that reeked of hypocrisy.  We pulled into a parking lot filled with Mercedes, Lexus, and Audis, whose drivers all clamored to park as close to the store entrance as possible, and they had the nerve to make me pay three dollars to park.  It was not an experience I hope to repeat anytime soon.

For my next sandwich, I used pear and blue cheese (Gorgonzola Crema to be exact) drizzled with a touch of honey.



For good measure, I served a wedge of brie and crackers.



What would a “tea” be without scones?  This afternoon I made buttermilk raisin scones.  To add a little magic to gathering, I cut them into star shapes and sprinkled them with sugar before baking.


Sue brought a mix of different biscotti, which I will continue to enjoy throughout the week with my evening tea.  I also served a tray of truffles that I picked up from Whole PayCheck as well.  


Michele had asked me to make Chai from scratch, which is something I have never done before.  So, I looked up a few Chai recipes online, and basically put a bunch of spices in a pot: nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, freshly grated ginger, black pepper, sugar, cloves, bay leaves…  there may have been things thrown in, but I can’t remember, and tea.  I simmered the spices with milk.  Only, I made the mistake of walking away from it for a minute and it bubbled over, all over my stove making a colossal mess.  We salvaged as much of it as we could.  I think it was okay.  I’ll improve upon it for next time. I also made a pot of mulled cider and another pot of regular tea.

After tea, we opened a bottle of dessert wine from Cascade Winery, a Hudson Valley winery in Millbrook, NY that the family of one of my colleagues owns and we toasted to the holidays.



Our next book is a graphic novel, The Watchman.  For our January meeting, we may go up to a local winery for a tasting and book talk.