Liz recommends these books ...

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan

A holiday charitable opportunity from Liz Tramer

Hello all,

I received this e-mail from my mother, and I felt compelled to pass it along. I feel exceptionally blessed, lucky and grateful this year. After my car accident, I had the love and support of my friends and family and was able to make a full medical recovery.

Not all of us are that fortunate. I know we all have different feelings about the war in Iraq right now, but all of us support the soldiers. I wanted to share this e-mail and the information contained in it.

(From Liz's mother)

As most of you know, I am a volunteer at Brooke Army Medical Center. A few years ago, a fellow volunteer began a holiday goodie bag project for the wounded warriors. The bags are filled with gift certificates, baked goods, personal items, snack food, etc. They will be presented in December to over 300 warriors. The soldiers are always touched that our San Antonio community has remembered them.

If you would like to make it a tax deductible contribution, you can make a check out to the Marine Corps League (MCL) and send it to MCL – Dept. of TX, PO Box 831641, San Antonio, TX, 78283-1641. Please make sure that you mark Goodie Bag Project on the check.

Or you can mail the check to me at 11807 Kellers Point 78230 and I will take care of it.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and help in this project.

Leslie

Liz's Banana-Nut Muffins (from the Comfort Food Breakfast)

Thanks, Liz!

Banana-Nut Muffins
INGREDIENTS:
unsalted butter (about 1 1/2 sticks)
bananas (about 4 large)
pecans (as much or as little as you like)
brown sugar (as much or as little as you like)
the secret ingredient: Pillsbury refrigerated biscuit dough (the fun kind you whack against your counter to open)

Preheat oven to 375
In an ungreased muffin tin, place a bit of butter at the bottom of each hole, followed by sliced nannies, pecans and brown sugar. All amounts are left up to the chef!
Put a biscuit disk on top, and put in the oven for about 10 minutes. VOILA!

The hardest part is getting them out of the tin. I lined a cookie sheet with wax paper, and put the cookie sheet wax paper-side down on top of the muffin tin, grabbed the whole shebang and flipped over. VOILA!

These are also easy to freeze. Just line your tupperware or whatever with wax paper before you freeze. When you want a muffin, just take it out of the freezer and zap in the microwave for about 30 seconds. YUMMMMM!

Sherry's Cheese Grits (from the Comfort Food Breakfast)

Thanks, Sherry!

CHEESE GRITS
(I liked Elaine's idea of (perhaps) adding some chopped up jalapenos to spice
it up a bit!!!)

INGREDIENTS:
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 7 cups water
• 2 cups grits
• 6 ounce roll garlic cheese
• 6 ounce roll jalapeno cheese
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 sticks butter or margarine (8 ounces)
PREPARATION:
Cook grits in water with salt until done, stirring constantly. Cut cheese into pieces; add to grits. Stir until melted. Add beaten eggs, milk, and butter; put in a large buttered baking dish. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
Serves 10 to 12.
Small rolls of garlic cheese and jalapeno cheese are usually found in the cheese section of the supermarket. (I couldn't find those "rolls" - I used these "tubs" of
garlic cheese and jalapeno cheese instead... fyi...)

Breakfast Club Recap (11-10-07)

Dear Breakfast Club:

Well, I know I certainly walked away comforted from the "Comfort Food" breakfast! The food was very creative, and the recipes were requested many times. I've already received a couple of those recipes, and I'll post them on the blog shortly.

Also, the Breakfast Club thanks Donna Clark for opening her lovely home to us. It was warm and welcoming — and the handcrafted tile floor is amazing.

A lot of great stories and ideas were shared when we talked about why we chose our recipes, what comforts us, and what we're thankful for this year. For some of us, 2007 has been a tough one, and we're looking forward to the fresh start of a new year. Others spoke of the blessing of good health and good friends. What I heard us saying is that what really matters is our relationships. No amount of money, no job or career, neither hardships nor successes mean more than we mean to each other. And we recognize that sometimes taking care of ourselves is the very thing that enables us to care for those we love. It's a delicate balance, and I think we experience it richly when we gather for the breakfast.

I am thankful for the loving commitment all of us have shown in keeping our group together and going strong after four years. And I love that new and old faces continue to blend seamlessly, creating unique opportunities to share and learn.

Our next breakfast will be sometime shortly after the first of the year, and we'll have a new hostess. Of course, it's our favorite beat-the-winter-blues theme: Chocolate for Breakfast. Bring your friends! Details to come ...

Also, if you have something you'd like to share on this blog — a book or movie recommendation, a recipe or anything that strikes your fancy — feel free to send it to me, and I'll post it.

One parting thought as we break for the holidays ... as we all know, life brings the unexpected at times. Take every opportunity to make precious memories with your family and friends. Those memories are the comfort that take us through the hard times.

Happy holidays ... see you soon!

Kelli