Winners....

We don't like to boast - but it appears we are a rather marvellous book club.
We have been picked as one of the 12 book clubs who have been asked to review the books short-listed for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. I am not sure how many applied - but I am telling people it was thousands.
Following the 'congratulations' email there has been much excitement here at the Glos Lit Lovers HQ.  Well, we got a bottle of Baileys and bunting. YES - bunting. Our member Sarah is particularly fond of Bunting, and a number of us are fond of Baileys. Happy days.
Oh, and did I mention we get 10 copies of one of the short-listed books to read?
We only have to keep this blog updated and send out tweets about our progress and our views and the job is done.
So keep a look out for the updates. Sorry we can't share the Baileys.

Other social media (get us!)

We are on Twitter @glos_litlovers
We are on Facebook - Gloucestershire Lit Lovers and Yummy Scrummy Pudding Club
We also have a google+ page.


I thank you for following/liking/tweeting and generally enthusing about us.

It has been a while. Okay, I know, it has been AGES!

Don't worry, the Gloucestershire Lit Lovers are still going strong. We are still reading, still meeting and still cooking (and eating) delicious puddings. Due to Nicki having to earn a living the blog has taken the back seat. (Oh to be a book-reading-blogging woman of leisure.)


But we are back. I promise it isn't only because we have entered the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction book club competition. Well not entirely. The return of the Blog is long overdue. We have a lot of books to read and tell you about, even if we don't win that bottle of Baileys.


Talking of Baileys, I am close to perfecting a little pudding for next time. Really simple but delicious. It might not equal Sally 'domestic goddess' Albutt's Baileys cheesecake, but it is rather nice. It is coffee granite served with a splash of Baileys. Watch this space for the full recipe.
Since our last blog things have been busy reading. The following books were consumed in 2014:


Two Brothers, Ben Elton
The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

The Shadow Year, Hannah Richell

The Things we Never Said, Susan Elliot Wright

The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom

The Cuckcoo’s Calling, Robert Galbraith
Americannah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Before We Met, Laura Whitehouse

The One Plus One, JoJo Moyes

Daughter, Jane Shermilt

and last but not least, May Contain Nuts, John O’Farrell

The last book was read the week that our lovely friend and fellow Lit lover Celia Blacklock was due to host. Celia died in August 2014 after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer.


It isn't the same without her.  We miss you Celia

Our April meeting

Here is what Chantel had to say about the meeting at her house back in April 2013. She has been very busy with work, so we all forgive her delay in providing this little treat!


I could give a million excuses for why I have taken so long to write this but I have learnt very quickly that 'excuses' just don't gel in our book club!

Well well well…..lets just say the best part about my evening of hosting and discussing 'The Vintage Teacup Club' by Vanessa Greene was the company, puddings beautifully presented in teacups and the quiet atmosphere (no disturbing from children or a husband who would just not have been able to keep from popping in to check 'we are all ok' on numerous occasions - luckily working away coincided on this occasion!!!)

I selected this book as one of my book choices as it appeared light hearted and something we would all  be able to relate to.  Our previous book was well rated and quite deep - brought up all sorts of emotions for all of us - so I thought we needed a bit of light reading.  Lets just say you didn't need much deep thought to analysis this book.  It was rather bland - 3 women wanting to share a tea set and the friendship they develop around the 3 events they will use the teacups for.  The pace was slow, the story line rather uncreative and altogether a little dull.  The most exciting bit was when every tea cup they had collected for months shattered as a shelf broke…..!  Our ladies prefer a far deeper story perhaps with a twist or two…neither of these present.

For me the highlight of the evening was when Bev and Karen realised the pudding would be served in tea cups!  We enjoyed some South African treats….Koeksusters (really sweet,  sticky doughnut/pastries), Peppermint crisp pudding (a true South African favourite) and a quick and easy lemon cheesecake.

Ingredients for the Peppermint Crisp fridge tart will need to be bought from the nearest South African stockist…..  In our case, the Loads of Lemons delicatessen in Bishops Cleeve!

Peppermint Crisp Pudding

Ingredients:

250ml Double Cream Whipped
2 packets of tennis biscuits (UK equivalent - Nice biscuits)
375g Caramelised Condensed milk (or ready made caramel)
20ml Caster sugar
3 peppermint crisp bars crushed (not sure of a similar UK equivalent perhaps mint Aero?)

Method:

Whip cream and then add caramel and caster sugar.  Beat well an the add 2/3 of the crushed peppermint crisp.
Place a layer of biscuits in a buttered 29x19x5 cm dish.
Spoon 1/3 of the caramel mix over the biscuits and spread evenly.
Continue in layer finishing with a layer of the filling on top.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Decorate by sprinkling the remainder of crushed peppermint crisp on top.
Cut into squares…..eat and enjoy!!!

Road trip to the Chiplit festival 21st April 2013

We had a day trip over the border to Oxfordshire today, to attend the fabulous Chipping Norton Literary Festival.
We had front row tickets for afternoon tea with Jojo Moyes, and we had a great time. 
Jojo talked about her best seller Me Before You, and read an excerpt. it was the part where Lou first meets Will. It made me want to read the book again.
We were also lucky enough to hear Jojo's exclusive first reading from her new book. We can't wait to get our hands on a copy, it sounds like another hit. We were collectively sworn to secrecy, so sadly we can't tell you a thing about it.
We will certainly be back in Chipping Norton next year, and are now waiting for the brochure for the Cheltenham Lit Festival, to see if we can see any of our other favourite authors.

Apologies for the delay in posting this blog - for some reason it sat in 'drafts' for the last 2 months. (Note to self - must do better!)

Our May meeting

Apologies for the delay in letting you know how our April and May meetings went. Time just flies when the sun is shining. Oh no, wait a minute....?!

Clare has kindly written the following to let you know what happened in May, when she hosted our monthly meet.

Another great meeting of the Yummy Scrummy Pudding Club. Thank you  Ladies. Just one member short as Lucy was on her hols. I have to thank my daughter Beth for coming to my rescue and assembling puds at the last minute after I was told earlier in the day that I had to work the late shift until 7pm. Trust me to choose puds that needed last minute assembly!

She came up trumps and we enjoyed mini banoffee pies, hazelnut meringue cake and passionfruit melting moments. Suprisingly no alcohol included in the puds but most of us did enjoy a glass of wine.

So to this months book;

The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

This book was arguably one of our more contentious reads as we were divided into some who really loved it and some who didnt enjoy it and thought it was actually quite a depressing read.

Personally I fell into the category of loving it. Harold comes across as a gentle soul who decides that he must walk to Berwick upon Tweed to deliver a letter to Queenie (an old work colleague) who is dying in a hospice. He believes that as long as he keeps walking she will stay alive.
I found the story funny, touching and very poigniant in places. I thought that the descriptions of the surrounding countryside were beautiful and it was lovely to read about familiar places as his journey took him through the Cotswolds.

Most of us agreed that it was nice to read a book where the characters were of an older generation. We also agreed that it was very well written.

Our next book is Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussman, to be hosted by Susie.


Recipe
Passionfruit Melting Moments

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 cups plainflour
1/3 cup custard powder

Passionfruit Filling
60g butter, softened
1 large passionfruit
1 cup icing sugar, sifted

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, vanilla and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flour and custard powder over butter mixture. Beat on low speed until soft dough forms.
3. Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into small balls. Place on trays. Using a fork lightly flatten each biscuit until 1cm thick. Bake for 15 mins or until firm. Cool on trays for 10 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make passion fruit filling: Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Stir in Passion fruit pulp and icing sugar..
5. Spread flat side of 1 biscuit with 1 teaspoon of filling. Top with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits and filling. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Clare xxx

By popular demand...

We are now able to feature the recipe for Lucy's Chocolate Layer Trifle. It was a big hit at our March meeting, and we highly recommend you give it a try. Lucy tells us it is really easy to make. 
If you try it, please leave a message to let us know what you think.

Chocolate Layer Trifle 

Serves 4 - 6 ( 1 ½ times for 8-10 or 2 times for greedy lit lovers!)

You need a medium or large trifle type bowl.

You can add a tablespoon (ish) of alcohol in with the cream if desired ( I used Kahlua)

4 oz fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs without crusts

3 tbsp drinking chocolate powder
4oz demerara sugar
2 tbsp coffee POWDER ( or grind down granules)
½ pint single cream
½ pint double or whipping cream
Chocolate to sprinkle, either grated or a crumbled Flake.

1)   Mix all the dry ingredients together

2)   Whip the creams until thick but not solid

     3)   In the dish, start with a chocolate mix layer and then cover with a layer of the cream
     4)   Repeat twice, finishing with the cream
     5)   Cover and refrigerate overnight

6)   Just before serving, sprinkle with chocolate

ENJOY x