Betty Crocker is supporting the ISPCC 'Holly Bake' which will be held in November and December - keep an eye out on ispcc.ie for more info. The Betty Crocker recipe page is actually very nice and deserves a peep http://www.bettycrocker.ie/Recipes .
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Betty Crocker does Christmas!
This year Betty Crocker Cakes are putting their packet mixes forward as easy alternatives to the good old fashioned fruit Christmas cake. Not usually a fan of packet mixes, I will admit to having used Betty Crocker mixes in the past with great success. The pictures of Christmas versions of the cakes you can make using the packet mix are very enticing and I'm thinking it will make its way into my shopping basket sometime soon (but I don't need to tell anyone eh?!)
This is the Christmas version of the classic Brownie. Double layered brownies-I guess they used a round cutter and stuck it with icing. The strawberry with a dob of cream cheese icing as Santa's hat going down the chimney is adorable!
This is Carrot Cake pops-cute! Not a mix I would have thought of making for Christmas but it is one of my favourite cakes so why not? A bit fiddly for me to approach - but the idea of little bite size sticks of carrot cake just might tempt me to make the extra effort! Not sure what I'd stick them in tho' - the cake in the photo is just part of the decoration.
Now this one is the business; a chocolate fudge cake with vanilla filling and choc fudge topping made into fab looking Chocolate Christmas cake- you'll have the family drooling over it. I'm not sure what the red blobs are- glacé cherries? (or glacier cherries as one of my acquaintances innocently calls them not knowing her mistake- ah sweet!) or they could be strawberries, but it looks great.
Inside this, believe it or not is a lemon drizzle cake using a lemon cake mix. This also goes down as one of my favourite cakes (okay, I admit it, I love all cake) coated in vanilla buttercream and sprinkled with coconut flakes. Lemon cake is an inspired choice at Christmas with its lovely citrusy taste to cut through all that rich food.
And who doesn't love red velvet cakes. Making the mix into fairy cakes (buns to you guys, cupcake to the Americans) is a lovely idea. The amount of icing looks a bit overwhelming but a tin of these would go down a treat in my house over Christmas.
Betty Crocker is supporting the ISPCC 'Holly Bake' which will be held in November and December - keep an eye out on ispcc.ie for more info. The Betty Crocker recipe page is actually very nice and deserves a peep http://www.bettycrocker.ie/Recipes .
Betty Crocker is supporting the ISPCC 'Holly Bake' which will be held in November and December - keep an eye out on ispcc.ie for more info. The Betty Crocker recipe page is actually very nice and deserves a peep http://www.bettycrocker.ie/Recipes .
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
New Books Round-Up
The autumn nights are closing in and before we have even had Halloween work colleagues are confessing to have bought "one or two" Christmas presents. Book sales surge at Christmas, and even with the dreaded Kindle competition people still like to buy a book as a gift.
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly, the D4 rugby head created by journalist Paul Howard is widely popular. His newly released Downturn Abbey has gone straight to the top of the bestsellers list and will be in many stockings this Christmas. I'm not a fan of the character myself but there is no doubting Howard's ability to perfectly conjure up the extremes of accent heard on the North and South side of the city and the satirical look at the changes seen during the decline and fall of Ireland after the millennium.
Downturn Abbey is published by Penguin.
Bishop's Move is the first novel by Irish Times public affairs correspondent Colm Keena. He brings to this most excellent story his knowledge of current affairs in relation to the church in modern day Ireland. It is almost unexpected that the tale of a cleric should become so absorbing. Keena's writing is precise and sure without losing out on emotion or essential detail. The main character is somewhat enigmatic in his unpredictable actions in relation to events that unfurl. At just 192 pages the novel wraps up the tale in a satisfying way but still leaves you wanting more. A thoughtful and intelligent read which is highly recommended.
Bishop's Move is published by Somerville Press.
Another excellent read is Catherine Dunne's new novel The Things We Know Now. To describe it as heartbreaking is not overstating the power of this tragic story. Opening with a shocking event, we learn of the ways in which a family can be pulled to its extremes by both internal and external events. At the story's heart is Patrick, the older parent who has been given a second chance at happiness. The events that are revealed are both upsetting and disturbing but the reader is drawn forward by Dunne's excellent writing which never turns to set phrases or easy escapes from the harsh reality of the story she tells.
The Things We Know Now is published by PanMacMillan.
For the younger teen readers, John Boyne's Stay Where You Are and Then Leave ticks all the right boxes. A well known name after the global success of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Boyne again turns to history to explore the story of a young boy during the First World War. With a father who went to fight 'on a special, secret mission' but has not been heard from now for years, an unexpected sighting of his father's name while in a London station leads his son Alfie to investigate. That his father is actually near by and in a hospital brings about a most unusual father and son story which involves a secret.
Published by Doubleday.
Finally, one of the Booker nominated novels The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Writing this article on the evening when the winner will be announced I look forward to the big reveal. If readers are put off by a book's length then they will run a mile from this one. At 832 pages in the hardback version it is a tad intimidating. I will be honest and admit that I have not yet finished it. It needs long sessions of uninterrupted focus to really absorb yourself in the tale of nineteenth century New Zealand and the newly emerging communities as man arrive to make their fortune in the goldfields. We follow Walter Moody as he arrives in the midst of a secret gathering where unsolved crimes are being discussed- the disappearance of a wealthy man, the attempted suicide of a whore and the discovery of a very large sum of money in the home of a down-and-out drunk. Drawn into this mystery we follow Moody through Catton's interconnected storytelling. A hefty book to hold but worth the effort of the read.
The Luminaries is published by Granta.
Happy reading!
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly, the D4 rugby head created by journalist Paul Howard is widely popular. His newly released Downturn Abbey has gone straight to the top of the bestsellers list and will be in many stockings this Christmas. I'm not a fan of the character myself but there is no doubting Howard's ability to perfectly conjure up the extremes of accent heard on the North and South side of the city and the satirical look at the changes seen during the decline and fall of Ireland after the millennium.
Downturn Abbey is published by Penguin.
Bishop's Move is the first novel by Irish Times public affairs correspondent Colm Keena. He brings to this most excellent story his knowledge of current affairs in relation to the church in modern day Ireland. It is almost unexpected that the tale of a cleric should become so absorbing. Keena's writing is precise and sure without losing out on emotion or essential detail. The main character is somewhat enigmatic in his unpredictable actions in relation to events that unfurl. At just 192 pages the novel wraps up the tale in a satisfying way but still leaves you wanting more. A thoughtful and intelligent read which is highly recommended.
Bishop's Move is published by Somerville Press.
Another excellent read is Catherine Dunne's new novel The Things We Know Now. To describe it as heartbreaking is not overstating the power of this tragic story. Opening with a shocking event, we learn of the ways in which a family can be pulled to its extremes by both internal and external events. At the story's heart is Patrick, the older parent who has been given a second chance at happiness. The events that are revealed are both upsetting and disturbing but the reader is drawn forward by Dunne's excellent writing which never turns to set phrases or easy escapes from the harsh reality of the story she tells.
The Things We Know Now is published by PanMacMillan.
For the younger teen readers, John Boyne's Stay Where You Are and Then Leave ticks all the right boxes. A well known name after the global success of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Boyne again turns to history to explore the story of a young boy during the First World War. With a father who went to fight 'on a special, secret mission' but has not been heard from now for years, an unexpected sighting of his father's name while in a London station leads his son Alfie to investigate. That his father is actually near by and in a hospital brings about a most unusual father and son story which involves a secret.
Published by Doubleday.
Finally, one of the Booker nominated novels The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Writing this article on the evening when the winner will be announced I look forward to the big reveal. If readers are put off by a book's length then they will run a mile from this one. At 832 pages in the hardback version it is a tad intimidating. I will be honest and admit that I have not yet finished it. It needs long sessions of uninterrupted focus to really absorb yourself in the tale of nineteenth century New Zealand and the newly emerging communities as man arrive to make their fortune in the goldfields. We follow Walter Moody as he arrives in the midst of a secret gathering where unsolved crimes are being discussed- the disappearance of a wealthy man, the attempted suicide of a whore and the discovery of a very large sum of money in the home of a down-and-out drunk. Drawn into this mystery we follow Moody through Catton's interconnected storytelling. A hefty book to hold but worth the effort of the read.
The Luminaries is published by Granta.
Happy reading!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Willy Vlautin- New Book Due and Movie
I'm a great Willy Vlautin fan. His three novels, The Motel Life, Northline and Lean on Pete are all great books and worth reading if you haven't already done so. They are all rather tragic tales but Vlautin is a great story teller and his characters really draw the reader in.
His first novel The Motel Life has been made into a movie with Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson and is due for release in the US on November 8th. A great cast and a great story so I have high hopes for the movie.
Vlautin's new novel The Free is to be published in February by Harper books. The book description reads:
"The life he knew before the bomb no longer existed. That Leroy Kervin was gone.
His first novel The Motel Life has been made into a movie with Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson and is due for release in the US on November 8th. A great cast and a great story so I have high hopes for the movie.
Vlautin's new novel The Free is to be published in February by Harper books. The book description reads:
"The life he knew before the bomb no longer existed. That Leroy Kervin was gone.
Willy Vlautin's stunning fourth novel opens with Leroy, a young, wounded, Iraq veteran, waking to a rare moment of clarity, his senses flooded with the beauty of remembering who he is but the pain of realising it won't last. When his attempt to end his half-life fails, he is taken to the local hospital where he is looked after by a nurse called Pauline, and visited by Freddie, the night-watchman from his group home for disabled men.
As the stories of these three wounded characters circle and cross each other, we come to learn more of their lives. The father who caused her mother to abandon them both, and who Pauline loves and loathes in equal measure, the daughters Freddie yearns to be re-united with and, in a mysterious and frightening adventure story, the girlfriend Leroy dreams of protecting.
Evoking a world which is still trying to come to terms with the legacy of a forgotten war, populated by those who struggle to pay for basic health care, Vlautin also captures how it is the small acts of kindness which can make a difference between life and death, between imprisonment and liberty. Haunting and essential, The Free is an unforgettable read."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)