FOR PILOT MOM:

VENUE: How about arranging a tour of your local airport? A lot of the smaller ones have coffee shops in them with great home cooking. Why not meet there, watch the planes take off and have a bite to eat? (And I bet a local pilot will be willing to show you his plane!) You can also visit the Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City (if you live close enough.) And if neither of these is an option, create your own “world of dreams”. Ask each child to bring a poster to display what they dream of doing when they are older.

FOOD: As Jenny’s mom had an emergency while flying in Saudi Arabia, why not try some of the foods they eat there while discussing the benefits of being a woman in the US? Start the meeting off with a homemade hummus and toasted pita bread. For dinner, Kapsa (Chicken with rice) would be a great main meal! (I’ve listed the recipe for you below) and finish with some purchased sesame candy.

Kapsa (Chicken and Rice)
Ingredients:

* 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
* 1 small to medium onion, chopped
* 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
* 1 can (about 2 cups) chicken broth
* 1½ cups water
* 1 tomato, chopped
* 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon lemon rind
* 1 cinnamon stick
* Salt to taste
* 1 small snack box of raisins
* 1 package of skinless, boneless chicken (4 breast halves)
* 1 package of skinless, boneless thighs (4 to 6 thighs)
* 1½ cups white Basmati rice

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Wash chicken thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Put chicken in a baking dish and bake in preheated oven until fully cooked (about 30 minutes).
4. While the chicken is baking, heat oil (medium-high) in a large pot. Add chopped onions and 1 teaspoon of cardamom, stirring constantly until browned.
5. Add chicken broth and 1½ cups water to pot. Add remaining 2 teaspoons of cardamom, tomato, tomato paste, garlic powder, lemon rind, cinnamon stick, salt, and raisins to the browned onions and water.
6. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 2–3 minutes. Add the rice.
7. Bring to a boil then immediately turn the heat down to low. Cover the pot tightly and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. After 10 minutes, check the rice to see if it has absorbed all of the liquid.
9. If the rice is dry but not soft yet, add a little more water and continue to simmer. Do not stir the rice! The rice is done when all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.
10. When both the rice and the chicken are cooked, place the rice on a platter and put the chicken on top in the middle.

Serves 6 to 8.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aviationpilots/Women_Pilots_Women_in_Aviation.htm

SPECIAL GUESTS: Most women in the military are willing to visit and talk about their jobs with students who are interested. Try and find a local woman pilot to come and speak with you about the difficulties and rewards of this career choice.

FOR THE SACRIFICE:

VENUE: Have you ever been to Salem, Ma? It makes for a great trip! There is so much to do! Visit the Witch Dungeon Museum and see the re-enactment of the witch trials before heading down to the recreated prison cells. Then head up to Gallows Hill. For those of you who are too far from Salem, why not turn your home into a house from 1692? Turn off the lights. Turn down the heat. Light candles. And if you have one, make a fire. Have each reader bring the one thing they would take with him or her if they had been sent to jail and share why that thing would be important to them.

FOOD: Stews were a mainstay of life in the 1600’s. They were quick to make, hearty and could be kept warm to be eaten when you had the time. Why not start your meeting with a plate of fresh vegetables: carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes? All these would have grown in the garden outside Abby’s house. Then serve up a warm stew and crusty bread for the main course. Finish it all off with a nice warm apple puff. I’ve included the recipe from the 1600’s below. And if you are brave enough, you can try it. Or simply make up an apple crisp of your own.

To make Apple pufs:

Take a Pomewater or any other Apple that is not hard, or harsh in taste: mince it small with a dozen or twenty Razins of the Sunne: wet the Apples in two Egges, beat them all together with the backe of a Knife, or a Spoone. Season them with Nutmeg, Rosewater, Sugar, and Ginger: drop them into a Frying-pan with a Spoone, frye them like Egges, wring on the iuyce of an Orenge, or Lemmon, and serue them in.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://www.witchdungeon.com/ec.html

SPECIAL GUESTS: Many people pursue the passion of digging into the past to discover their ancestors. My own father discovered Abby’s story when he began genealogical research on our family. Invite a local genealogist to your meeting and have him or her describe what is involved in tracing your family’s past.

FOR HEARTS OF IRON :

VENUE: If you live near Boston, check out the Saugus Iron Works and see how iron was produced. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have an iron works near you, visit a site such as Sturbridge Village, which portrays life in the 1800’s. Take a trip to a farm and do some berry picking or apple picking to experience the farm work Lucy might have done. Don’t have a farm or historical site nearby? Create your own! Dress up in period costumes, skirts, aprons, and hats. Cook your meal over a fire and see just how difficult that can be!

FOOD: Start with a spitted and roasted beef. Be sure to make gravy and Yorkshire Pudding to accompany your beef. (I’ve included my Grandmother’s recipe for you) Green beans would make a nice addition and finish it off with a pumpkin pudding. (That old recipe is below, too.)

Yorkshire Pudding:

1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2tsp. shortening – Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place shortening in a pie pan. Melt until shortening is very, very hot. Mix other ingredients together. Pour into hot pie pan and bake 20-30 minutes until brown and crisp.

Pompkin Pudding:

One quart of milk, 1 pint pompkin, 4 eggs, molasses, allspice and ginger in a crust, bake 1 hour.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/turns/theme.jsp?x=2&y=1

SPECIAL GUESTS: Because iron making is no longer being done the way it was in HEARTS OF IRON nor is the navy the same, finding a special guest is a bit of a challenge. Do you have a computer? I’d be happy to be your special guest for a book club meeting. Email me and we can figure out a way to skype during your get together!

FOR QUEST :

VENUE: A picnic trip to the shore or a nearby lake or river would be a great way to begin a discussion of QUEST. But if the weather is bad or you don’t have a body of water nearby, create your own QUEST at home. Have your book clubbers bring in a shoe box top showing a map of their lives. What things have they discovered about others along the way? What have others discovered about them? What things would they store in their sea trunk if they were to leave for several months.

FOOD: If you are truly adventurous, you could serve frog’s legs, as this is what the crew ate when stranded in the ice (Really, it does taste like chicken!) But as this would take a strong stomach for some, check out what crews really ate while onboard ship: salted fish, salted pork and beef, olives, chickpeas, beans, rice, lentils, olive oil, almonds, cheese and salted sardines and cod in addition to fresh fish caught along the way. So what can you do with this? Why not serve a meal of olives, cheeses, almonds, small bites of fish or meat. And eat it all with your hands at a plank of wood! That’s the way they would have eaten! (Maybe that’s what’s meant by all hands on deck – just kidding!) Hardtack biscuits would be good to be served with the meal, as they were a staple of ship’s kitchens. Because they were so tough, they were dipped in beer or rum but root beer would work just as well! Hardtack biscuits can actually be ordered from the following website:

http://www.bentscookiefactory.com/store.html#hardtack

Or you can try making your own with the following recipe:

Hardtack Recipe

6 parts flour
1 part water

Knead dough until thoroughly mixed. Roll out on a floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick (or thereabouts). Cut into squares--there is an actual size piece of hardtack pictured in Hard Tack & Coffee by Billings - seems to be about 2 3/4 by 3 1/2 inches.

Pierce the hard tack 13 times with the tip of a knife, making sure the holes go all the way through the dough.

Bake at 325ºF for at least an hour, turning over the hard tack once. Check to see that it is cooked through completely. Take out & let cool overnight to get that real hard & dry feeling. Some people bake at 300 for a couple of hours, just to get it real dry. The finished hard tack will still look pale.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/great_explorers.htm

SPECIAL GUESTS: There are people who sail in every town across the United States. Why not invite someone who loves sailing to your book club. Have them discuss how they navigate today and compare the new techniques used to what was available to Henry and his crew in 1610. Or is there someone in your community who builds ship replicas? Perhaps they have a model they have completed of an old sailing vessel. Compare it to today’s models and discuss the differences in living conditions aboard modern vessels compared to those of the past.

FOR THE STORY OF THE SAMSON :

VENUE: Why not outfit your own home into a scrapbooking wonderland? Like Grandpa had done, have your book clubbers bring in a scrapbook and materials to create a memory map of their own lives. What would they put in it? What would be important to them?

FOOD: The Samson visited the Caribbean many times as it made its voyage to haul molasses back to Nova Scotia. So why not serve food from the islands? Here are some recipes you might like to try.

Caribbean Lime Chicken
Ingredients:

* 2-2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and drumsticks)
* 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
* 1/4 cup limejuice
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon basil, crushed
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 450°F.
2. Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry.
3. Place chicken pieces on broiler pan.
4. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, stir remaining ingredients together.
6. Brush chicken with mixture on both sides.
7. Broil for another 5 - 15 minutes, until no longer pink.
8. Brush with mixture often during last 5 minutes of cooking.
9. Note: Watch carefully after brushing mixture on chicken!

Simple Caribbean Jerk Chicken
Ingredients:

* 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces

Procedure:

1. Mix all ingredients except chicken in bowl.
2. Pour over chicken.
3. Cover and marinate 1 hour or over night in fridge.
4. GRILL it!
5. Enjoy!

Caribbean Onion Rings with Spicy Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

* 1 large sweet onion
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1/4 cup cornmeal
* 1 teaspoon lime zest
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 cup buttermilk
* oil (for frying)

Lime Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

* 2/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 1 teaspoon horseradish

Procedure:

1. Peel onion and cut into 1/4-inch slices, separating rings.
2. In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, lime zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the egg and buttermilk and stir. Add the flour mixture, and whisk until blended.
4. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a heavy fry pan until temperature reaches 375°F.
5. Dip onion rings into batter and carefully put into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning after one minute. Remove with fork and place on paper towels to absorb oil. Serve with Lime Dipping Sauce.
6. Lime Dipping Sauce: Blend ingredients well. Make at least 30 minutes before serving.

Coconut Flan

Flan is a favorite treat throughout the islands and there are many versions. Here is a simple recipe for coconut flan.
Prep Time: 00:20
Cook Time: 01:00
Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar (divided into 1/2 cup portions)
* 2 tablespoons water
* 5 eggs
* 1 14-oz can coconut milk
* 1 cup milk
* shredded coconut or pineapple chunks for garnish

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 350 Fahrenheit and get the baking pans ready. You will need an 8-inch square baking pan and a large roasting pan.
2. Put 1/2 cup of sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, swirling pan until sugar melts. Boil for approximately 3 minutes or until syrup turns an amber color.
3. Immediately pour into square baking pan. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom completely. It is all right if the syrup hardens.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and coconut milk until well blended.
5. Beat in remaining sugar and the milk then pour the mix into baking pan.
6. Place the square baking pan inside the roasting pan.
7. Add hot water to roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of smaller pan.
8. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.
9. Remove the square pan from the water and let cool completely.
10. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
11. When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges of custard.
12. Place an inverted rimmed serving plate over pan. Holding plate and pan together, carefully turn both over.
13. Lift the pan and let they syrup run onto plate.
14. Garnish with coconut and/or pineapple.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/beginners.html

SPECIAL GUESTS: There are many modern day explorers out there today. One of them is Benedict Allen. Here is his website: http://www.benedictallen.com/questions-answers.htm. He answers a lot of cool questions about being an explorer today. He also makes public appearances. Why not contact one of these modern day explorers and see if they would be willing to skype with your book club for 10-15 minutes in a question and answer format. Make sure to have great questions ready for them.