Friday Fancies

This week I came across a simple recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin frozen yogurt. The mixture of 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie seasoning seemed like the perfect way to start enjoying pumpkin flavored desserts that was still appropriate for relatively mild weather. I worried that the easy recipe might be too good to be true, but it actually worked out perfectly. I might even prefer it unfrozen, when it tastes more like a creamy pumpkin mousse. I definitely recommend trying this one.

(image via here)

I'd also recommend checking out:

These chocolate swirl meringues look divine.

Pretty iPhone cases.

Wouldn't these be a pretty little gift to give to a flower girl in a wedding?

And a really interesting interview with Jeffrey Eugenides where he discusses the first sentences and last words in his novels, plus the screenplay for the film version of The Marriage Plot.

Less Than Angels

I read my first Barbara Pym novel, and I didn’t love it. I liked it, I just didn’t love it, and that was a bit disappointing. I’ve heard so many great things about her work that I was ready to have my socks knocked off, but they were still firmly in place on my feet when I reached the last page. I think my reaction had very little to do with Pym’s writing and more to do with the book I picked to start out with- not Jane and Prudence or No Fond Return of Love, both of which have been sitting on my To Read list for a while, but Less Than Angels, a novel that I knew nothing about but that happened to be the only Pym book my library had in stock.

Less Than Angels centers around a group of anthropologists and anthropology students, as well as their families and significant others, in 1950’s England. We watch the foibles of various characters as they navigate the events, small and large, that occupy siginificant portions of their lives: jockeying for grant money for anthropological field work; breaking off one romantic relationship in favor of another; keeping tabs on eccentric neighbors. The spotlight of the book focuses on a triangle composed of Tom, the dashing, seemingly brilliant anthropologist who is slogging through his thesis after returning from Africa, Catherine, the slightly older, passionately literary woman he lives with, and Deirdre, the nineteen-year-old anthropology student who pulls him away from Catherine. These three are only slightly in the leading roles, though. Pym constantly shifts around among a huge cast of supporting characters, offering a microscopic look at a segment of society that spends their time placing other societies under a microscope. I think it was ultimately this focus on such a large group of characters that hindered my connection with the novel. It felt clear to me that Pym appreciates and likes her characters, flaws and all, and some in particular, like Catherine, came across as especially sympathetic and affecting. However, the constant motion among all of their viewpoints left me feeling a little more detached than I would have liked, and actually made parts of the novel feel like a slow read to get through.

One aspect of the novel that I did really enjoy was Pym's wit and sense of humor. I've read some descriptions of Pym that liken her to a Jane Austen of her time and I can absolutely see where that's coming from. She uses just the right touch in infusing the novel with subtle humor and seems to have a keen eye for the funny aspects of relatable, everyday people and situations. It's a very different type of humor than something like the madcap, wacky situations of a Wodehouse novel, for instance. This, along with the high praise I've heard for some of her other books, that has me excited to give more of Pym's work a try.

Back to School Bars

Certain flavors are naturally associated with certain holidays. Pumpkin for Thanksgiving, gingerbread or peppermint for Christmas....maybe cherries for President's Day. The baking I did over the weekend made me realize that there's also a flavor that's perfect for the unofficial holiday that is Back to School, and that's peanut butter and jelly. The PB&J Bars  I made from a recipe from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook were an unexpectedly light (in texture, not in calories) treat that blended subtle peanut butter flavor with strawberry jelly and a vanilla glaze. They'd be a perfect dessert to celebrate someone's first day of school, or to just mark the start of the fall.

It looks like someone posted the recipe here, if you're interested. There are just a few days left in September to make them before pumpkin seasons hits.

You, Fascinating You

After I wrote this post, in which I raved about the nonfiction book Apollo's Angels, I was contacted by a small publisher, Pale Fire Press, regarding one of their current releases, You, Fascinating You. Since an historical fiction novel that touches on the world of ballet holds an obvious appeal for me, I eagerly accepted their gracious offer to send me a copy.

At the core of this novel is the true story of Hungarian ballerina Margit Wolf. Frustrated by the limited opportunities for her in Hungary, she and a few fellow dancers cast their lot in with an Italian man named Buffarino, an "impresario" who claims to have connections that will get them positions as ballerinas at La Scala opera house in Milan. Buffarino is more huckster than anything else, and Margit finds herself performing in a circuit of touring variety shows instead of pursuing the classical ballet career of her dreams. On these tours, she encounters Maestro Pasquale Frustaci, the womanizing composer for several Italian pop standards of the day, including one called "Tu, Solamente Tu" (which translated into "You, Fascinating You and was recorded by Glenn Miller in the U.S.). Margit and Pasquale end up marrying and having a son together, but are soon split up when an escalation in Italy's involvement in WWII traps Margit and her son in Hungary with her Jewish family while Pasquale remains in Italy. The novel wasn't quite as ballet-centric as I thought it would be. There were certainly a few references to things that I had a little extra insight into thanks to Apollo's Angels, but I actually found myself reminded more of another recent read, The Balkan Trilogy. Like Manning's novels, You, Fascinating You is filled with a sense of tension that results from characters being forced to wait for the course of the war to determine their fate. This is especially true during the middle part of the novel, when Margit's observance of the war is similar to that of someone watching events unfold on a stage without fully accepting that she herself will be pulled into the action. She ultimately must face this in a harsh way when she returns to her family in Hungary and is swept up in the many atrocities the Germans committed against the Jews there.

If there's one thing I wish the novel had done better, it would be to have more fully explored and exposed the inner workings of the relationship between Margit and Pasquale. We're told that she loves him and is drawn to him in spite of the many misgivings of her friends, but didn't see enough to explain why this is. I never warmed up to Pasquale as a character and and found myself firmly in camp with the friends who warned Margit against him. I would have liked to have seen some more moments that showed Pasquale through Margit's eyes. By seeing more of the good that she saw in him, I probably would have been more invested in rooting for their reunion in the latter half of the novel. On the other hand, if I had to name one thing that I think the novel did really well, it would be the ending. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a surprise ending, but Margit's circumstances at the end are revealed in such a way as to give the preceding story a frame that I hadn't expected and that was unexpectedly touching.

Friday Fancies

Now that fall is officially arriving and temperatures are starting to creep towards chilly, I'm excited to get back into a routine of cooking and baking that the summer heat had put a damper on. This weekend I'm hoping to make these savory hand pies and some PB&J bars from Back in the Day Bakery. Are there any fall recipes that you're looking forward to making?

(image via here)


If your answer to that question was anything from either of Sophie Dahl's cookbooks, then here's a little Q&A you might enjoy.

And another bookish Q & A with Emma Thompson.

A pretty hair tutorial.

A fashion blogger doing a series on literary inspired outfits (in three installments so far)

The book that I'm now most looking forward to reading despite having never heard of it before this week.

And for the first Christmas gift hint of the season- Penguin Drop Caps are going to be a new series of twenty-six classics with typography inspired designs. The first six are coming out this fall. I think if would be a fun game to try to guess the titles for letters G-Z.