The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society By Augusta Trobaugh

The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society By Augusta Trobaugh.

Three and a half egg rating, I would recommend this to a friend

 Who knew that this book was a spin on a blast from my past? Anyone else remember arsenic & Old Lace?

A group of women in a small town, in this case, The South, plan to kill he husband of one of the birdwatching society members.

 I could stop there; except I didn’t want to stop reading the book, or listening to it , which is what i do.

 I’m a bit of a sucker for ladies of the south books. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Steel Magnolias, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood just some on my list of classics that I like to go back to when I need a little bit of comfort reading

 That’s what I thought this book was, a little bit of comfort in a time when I think we could all do with that. Picked quite randomly I might add.

 That description sounds as though I was bored with it, not so. I loved the characters and as I read more, I fell even more in love with a couple of them. Belulah and Zion, maybe the two main characters in the murder plot, or elimination plot as they call it.

These two southern ladies grew in strength as the story line progressed, showing their tough and venerable sides in equal measure.

 Trying first a poisoned turtle stew, (could it get any more ladies of the south than a turtle stew?) and then a raging bull let loose to do the job, both with no luck, it looked like their attempts at killing their friend, Sweet, abusive new husband , retired judge L. Hyson Breed wasn’t going to work.

This is when the plot takes a turn, which I’m not going to spoil for you, only to say, it has that feel of the old black and white movies of fun that I used to watch with my Mum on a Saturday afternoon , while at the same time focusing on what is a serious subject, abuse in a marriage.

Bit of a random thought here, but I was wondering , would this book have been any different if it was full of male characters? I think that for me, it would. I’m not sure I would have felt so empathic towards the characters if they were men, and I don’t think I would have found the humour in the character writing.

This may be a little gender bias on my part, don’t shoot me yet, but with men trying t kill women, as the reverse plot would have been, it sort of adds a little more of an aggressive edge to it.

Would I recommend this book? I would. I give it a 3 1/2 egg rating, so fairly high up on my recommend to a friend scale.

Read it while you’re locked up in isolation, with a cup of hot cocoa or a glass of wine curled up in front of a log fire. Now that sounds blissful. might try that with the next book.

Forget that the book is about trying to murder someone, it’s much more than that. If you’re a fan of ladies from the south, tea, coconut cake and a. bit of a light read, give this book a look

What is the recipe I made to share with the members of my Foodie Book Club ,although it’s a virtual meeting right now?

I went for focaccia with artichokes, fresh rosemary, red onion and of course some olives, black, with lots of extra virgin olive oil.

Let me know what you cooked for your Foodie Book Club?

And the Foodie Book Club read for April?

Last Call At The Nightshade Lounge by Paul Kruger

Enjoy Your Sweet Life 

Focaccia with Artichokes, Fresh Rosemary, Red Onion & Olives.

Fresh from the oven. Loving the way those red onions and fresh rosemary have charred just a little.

 What You Need

The Dough

• 500g Strong white flour

• 2tsp salt

• 1 sachet dried yeast

• 2 tablespoon olive oil

• 400ml cold water

 The Topping

• 5 tablespoons -Olive oil

• Salt enough to sprinkle on the top

• 280g Jar of artichokes – Sliced thinly

• 200g Black or green olives – sliced thinly

• 3/4 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary – leaves removed

• 1 Red Onion – peeled and sliced thinly

Chopped ingredients for the topping. Dont’ be restricted by these , what else have you got?

 How It’s Done

• Add all of the dough ingredients into your mixer bowl with a dough hook attached -See Tip Box

• Mix on medium speed for 10 minutes – See Tip Box

• Pour a little olive oil onto a baking tray, making sure that it’s spread all over including edges.

• Put the dough onto the tray and stretch it out to cover the whole of the tray

• Cover with a clean T -towel and set aside in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

• Heat oven to 200c – See Tip Box

• Add all of the topping ingredients to the top of the risen dough

• Place in the hot oven and bake for approximately 20 mins, or until the bread in golden brown and risen.

• While still hot, drizzle over more olive oil and sprinkle in ore salt.

• Serve hot or cold.

Wouldn’t be without a Kitchen Aid in my kitchen

 Tip Box

• Dough – Dough should be quite wet and soft, if it’s not add more water a little at a time.

• Mixing – If mixing by hand, knead all of the ingredients until smooth about 10 minutes.

• Oven – All ovens vary so adjust the cooking time accordingly.

• Toppings - Don’t be limited to those i’ve used. What do you have in your pantry or fridge? Use your imagination.

All ready for the oven. It smelt so good when it was baking.