Leona's Reviews: bread & wine by shauna niequist

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

bread & wine by shauna niequist

bread & wine, a love letter to life around the table, with recipes by shauna niequist

Dedicated: To my boys- Aaron, Haney, and Mac

This is such an emotional book and I had a hard time putting it down.

Shauna Niequist has written a book that goes right to the heart. bread & wine is about family, friendship, God, love, tears, loss and recipes.

I find in this book that God does not make anyone perfect. It is OK to cry and pray and talk to friends about something sad. Keep the tissues handy, because there are lots of happy moments but some sad ones also.

I am writing the first line of each chapter because it tells the story of the chapter.

Use it for a book club or church group. Give it as a gift. I suggest this book for a bridal shower for the bride; she will find that some things are not worth the worry.

The book has some wonderful recipes that are easy to make. Shauna uses a lot of balsamic vinegar, goat cheese and makes good use of her Dutch oven. There is a recipe at most of the end of the chapters. Many are gluten free for Aaron, her husband.

There are four parts in the book for club members to use for a four-week project.

I give bread & wine a five star.

I received a complimentary copy from booksneeze.com to read and review. The opinions are my own.

Shauna, I said the Hail Mary for you.

author's notes (page 9)

I am not a recipe writer, for the most part.

on bread and wine (page 11)

I'm a bread person-crusty, golden baguette; hearty, grainy, seeded loaves; thin, crispy pizza crust-all of it.

Part One (page 19)

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself"

my mom's blueberry crisp (page 21)

My mom's dad is Irish, a storyteller and twinkling-eyed joker, and her mom is German.

what the table is for (page 28)

The light is fading, the sky bleaching from blue to white and then warming to the softest blush pink, like ballet tights, like a rosewater macaroon.

hungry (page 34 )

Years ago, when I worked at a church in Grand Rapids, I drove in early on Sunday mornings, when 28th Street was still silent and gray, as the pale morning sun rose over the pawn shops and used-car dealerships.

start where you are (page 40)

My friend Laura's New Year's resolutions is "start where you are."

go-to-risotto (page 49)

Risotto is my go-to entertaining meal.

enough (page 55)

Something extraordinary happened to me today.

the chopping block (page 60)

Last winter I went to a weeklong culinary boot camp at The Chopping Block, a recreational cooking school on the city.

on tea and pajamas (page 68)

During a three-month period after my last book came out, I traveled to twenty-two cities to speak at forty-four events

run (page 74)

I have long considered that there are two kinds of people in the world: people who can run marathons and people who can't.

hummingbird (page 83)

Aaron and I stopped "trying" to have a baby, because it was making me crazy and breaking my heart.

Part Two (page 91)

You say grace before meals.

delicious everywhere (page 93)

One of the best parts of my childhood was traveling with my dad.

jazz and curry (page 100)

I'm not really a recipe girl.

open the door (page 105)

It seems to me that women typically experience shame about two things: their bodies and their homes.

baking cookies with batman (page 112)

The year after we were married, just after we moved to Grand Rapids, Aaron's body stopped healing itself. slowly at first, and then all at once.

morning, noon, and night (page 118)

Winter turned to spring just when we were sure it never would.

what my mother taught me (page 123)

One of the most important things my mom taught me- or, really, is teaching me over and over even now- is that the best is yet to come.

cupcake in the oven (page 128)

I'm a big fan of breaking the rules, so for Blaine and Margaret's baby shower, we bypassed the traditional route-ladies, fruit salad, passing around little outfits- in favor of a Friday night dinner party for couples.

feasting and fasting (page 133)

A few summers ago, after a season of vacation and celebration, I began a fast.

love and enchiladas (page 139)

One of the best parts about our six years in Grand Rapids was the little band of friends we made, something like a tribe, very much like a family.

meeting mac (page 146)

Last year we spent Easter at the lake with my family, heading over after the holiday services at church were finished.

Part Three (page 151)

God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature.

hail mary (page 153)

Right from the beginning, Mac was a dream- a snuggler, easy sleeper, a good eater.

magical white bean soup (page 161)

I love food that connects us to good memories, that tells us we're safe, that brings us back to sweeter times on hard days.

present over perfect (page 166)

Here we go again, Christmastime.

the bass player's birthday (page 173)

Every band should have a bass player like Nathan, and every person should have a friend like Nathan.

russian dolls (page 178)

There's something about our boys right now, about this split-second moment in time, that I want to hold in my heart forever and ever.

on scrambled eggs and doing hard things (page 184)

After Mac was born, my neighbor Lindsay brought over a pan of enchiladas and Jessie made an amazing pumpkin apple cake.

happy new year (page 190)

I've always had visions of a really great New Year's Eve party-fancy and fun, glamorous and stylish, with flutes of champagne and kisses at midnight.

swimming in silence (page 197)

In mid-February, which in Chicago is about the time you begin despairing that it will never be warm again, Ryan and Emily invited us to join them in Mexico- seven adults and five kids, a swimming pool right at the house.

Part Four (page 205)

Food and cooking are among the richest subjects in the world.

what money cant's buy (page 207)

On a clear, cool Saturday morning, the Cooking Club girls arrived at Cases house.

last-minute lunch party (page 213)

Our old friend Shane came to stay with us this spring, and the next morning after church, we had a last-minute lunch party for him and for the fiends who wanted to see him while he was in town.

city love (page 218)

Aaron and I have been ships in the night all week- a wedding, a trip, a recording project.

better late than never (page 223)

I promise we intended to dedicate Henry as a baby.

swimsuit, ready or not (page 229)

I'm a summer girl

the mayor of the river (page 234)

My brother, Todd, and I are both summer babies-his birthday in July and mine in August-so when I think about our birthdays, I always think about South Haven and about the lake.

pont neuf (page 241)

I started learning French when I was seven, and went to Paris for the first time when I was twelve.

take this bread (page 248)

I haven't baked bread since college, when I went through a brief but intense baguette phase, baking pan after pan of slim loaves, wrapping them in dish towels while they are still hot, cradling them like babies in the crook of my are, arriving in friends' house and neighbors' with still-warm, crusty, golden bread.

come to the table (page 256)

This is what I want you to do: I want you to tell someone you love them, and dinner's at six.

Appendix (page 259)

I love you like a fat kid loves cake.

four-week book club/cooking club discussion guide (page 261)

Bread & Wine is divided into four parts, so you can invite a group of friends (or your small group or book club or supper club) to go through this Four-Week Book Club/Cooking Club Discussion Guide.

four-week book club/cooking club menus (page 264)

(listed are the menus for each part)

on weeknight cooking, with pantry list (page 265)

my best entertaining tips, with sample menus (page 273)