Kristin Harmel's Blog, page 6

Wandering Wednesdays: A Pre-Olympic Trip to England

Did you know that the modern-day Olympic Games actually got their start in a rural hamlet in England? Check out this segment I did for The Daily Buzz to learn more!

A Really Interesting New Interfaith Project

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about religious identity and what divides and connects us. Why? For one thing, much of the plot of my upcoming novel, The Sweetness of Forgetting, centers around the fact that Muslims, Jews and Christians came together in Paris in the darkest days of World War II to help save lives, which surprises many people. So while writing the book, I had to do both a lot of research and a lot of soul-searching. It was a really interesting journey. But now that I’m more tuned in to these types of issues, I’m seeing instances of interfaith cooperation everywhere. It warms my heart.

One such example I’ve come across lately is RavelUnravel, a project from Project Interfaith that aims to get people to talk openly about identity, religion, spirituality and culture. You can go to the site and watch videos from people like you and me talking about what they believe and why. If you’ve never had the chance to ask people in-depth questions about their religions, it’s a fascinating way to be exposed to things you may not have entirely understood before. A young Nebraska-based Muslim man named Khalid, for example, discusses what he believes (“I believe in the same God as Christian and Jewish people.”) and about how he feels it’s his responsibility to banish untrue negative stereotypes about Muslims (“It’s a religion of peace, and that’s where the name Islam came from.”). It’s very enlightening. Or there’s Eric, a reform Jew, who discusses the stereotypes he thinks people have against reform Jews, and the fact that he enjoys learning what other people believe (“I always got energy from learning from other people’s religions and cultures.”). A young Mormon woman named Autumn talks about her beliefs in Jesus, and how she feels very passionate about the freedom to practice religion freely (“We have more in common than we have different.”).

Take a few minutes to click around on the RavelUnravel site. I bet you’ll learn some things you didn’t know before, and you’ll come away with a feeling of pride in our ability to connect as humans when we learn to build on our differences instead of letting them destroy us.

Foodie Fridays: Reduced Fat (but still yummy!) Fettuccine Alfredo

Hi folks! Now that my web site is back up and running again (hallelujah for the wonderful Karen Ramos of Gloss Visual!), I’m reinstating “Foodie Fridays,” wherein I’ll (try) to post a new recipe each Friday. Sometimes — as is the case today — the recipes will be original. Sometimes, I’ll link to something I’ve cooked and loved during the previous week. So join me each Friday for something new and yummy, or click on “Foodie Fridays” anytime for a growing archive of recipes and links.

So, without further ado, here’s the recipe I came up with this week for reduced fat Fettuccine Alfredo. The traditional cream is replaced by fat-free half-and-half (plus a quick flour-based roux to thicken it), and the traditional amount of butter is cut in half and replaced by margarine. Honestly, you won’t even taste the difference.

LOWER FAT FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

Ingredients

16 ounces uncooked fettucine
1/3 cup margarine
3 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
1 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. salt
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation:

Cook fettuccine as directed on package.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Gradually blend in the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon until the margarine and flour begin to froth together. The consistency should be thick. This is called a “white roux,” and it will thicken your sauce.
Add fat-free half-and-half and whisk (using a wire wisk) until everything is incorporated. Turn heat up to medium-low and cook 3 minutes.
Add cheese and stir until melted. The consistency should now be that of a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper. Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat, while fettuccine finishes cooking.
When fettuccine is done cooking, drain pasta, while retaining 1/2 cup of cooking water.
Add drained pasta to the pot of Alfredo sauce, and stir well to combine while sauce is still over medium-low heat. If consistency of pasta/sauce is too thick, gradually add the retained cooking water until you achieve the consistency you desire.
Remove from heat, spoon into bowls and garnish with additional cracked black pepper and chopped parsley, if desired.

Serves 4-6. I like to serve this with crusty French bread and a simple Italian salad of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, olives, croutons and vinaigrette. Great with Italian pinot grigio.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Remember Me” Project

I’ve always been fascinated by stories from the Holocaust, so much so that my upcoming novel, “The Sweetness of Forgetting,” explores the fallout 70 years later in the life of a woman who survived Paris’s massive 1942 roundup, the Vel’ d’Hiv, but lost everyone she loved in the process.

Growing up, I was moved by the story of Anne Frank, and years later, I read the journal of Helene Berr, who lived in Paris and ultimately perished at the hands of the Nazis. There are plenty of other amazing books out there that tackle the dark days of the Holocaust, from The Book Thief to Sarah’s Key, both of which I’d wholeheartedly recommend.

Recently, though, I stumbled across something that’s been occupying far more time than it should in my day (considering that I should in fact, be working on my next novel instead of surfing the internet). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has launched an amazing new project called Remember Me? Displaced Children of the Holocaust, in which they seek to identify 1,100 photos of children who were orphaned or displaced during World War II.

It’s an incredible undertaking; take a moment to view their Updates page, and you’ll be overwhelmed. You’ll read about people such as Marcel Meicler, who was born in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Belgium, and whose father was arrested by the Gestapo in December 1942. Marcel survived the war moving from orphanage to orphanage and was later reunited with his mother, with whom he moved to the United States. After a career that included a stint at NASA, he’s now semi-retired and lives with his wife in Houston, Texas. Or there’s Paris-born Liliane Wajnberg, who was just 2 when her father was arrested, 3 when he was deported to Auschwitz and killed. She was just 5 when her mother suffered the same fate. Liliane was hidden, along with her sister and brother, in a small farming community in eastern Brittany. In all, 19 Jewish children ranging in age from 2 to 14, were hidden by a dozen families in the neighboring communes of Saint-Christophe-des-Bois and Val d’Izé. Today, Liliane and her brother Simon are both retired in the United States.

Told simply and powerfully, the stories on the Remember Me project’s pages will move you to tears. Thousands of photos remain unidentified. Check out the Remember Me project here, even if you just have a few moments to browse.  You’ll never look at the Holocaust in quite the same way again.

And this summer, check out my seventh novel, The Sweetness of Forgetting, coming Aug. 7 from Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. It’s the story of a Cape Cod bakery owner who sets out to discover the secrets of her French-born grandmother’s past, which are buried in the Holocaust in Paris. In a story that takes readers to Paris and back, she uncovers the tale of a long-lost love and learns some important truths about family, faith, memories and the magic of baking.

Come to Paris with me (for three minutes, anyhow)!

Hi friends! Here’s the link to my latest segment for The Daily Buzz: “GalTime in Paris with Kristin Harmel!”

Avoiding Awkward Dates

Click here to see me on the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz talking about how to avoid bad dates!

Books Made into Movies — as seen on TV!

As seen on WESH-NBC’s morning newscast on Friday, April 22….

With “Water for Elephants” and the upcoming “Something Borrowed” making big waves on the big screen, and with movies such as “The Help,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “Twilight: Breaking Dawn,” coming soon, let’s look at a handful of other stories that have started as books – and have made the leap to the big screen. These picks are perfect for book clubs; why not read the book and then get together to watch the film?

Or, with films appropriate for younger viewers, why not encourage your kids and teens to pick up the book first, then discuss it with you before you watch the movie together? It’s a great way to encourage reading – and a little family bonding.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

• Atonement by Ian McEwan

• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

• Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker

• Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

• The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

• The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

• Dracula by Bram Stoker

• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

• Field of Dreams (The name of the book is “Shoeless Joe”) by W.P. Kinsella

• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

• Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

• The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille

• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

• Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook

• A Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

• P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

• Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

• Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

• To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

GREAT FOR KIDS

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

• Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (for teens)

• Stuart Little by E.B. White

• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

For a more comprehensive list from the Oxford County Library in Ontario, Canada, click here.

And to see the segment on the morning news, click here.

Announcing my new novel: “The Blue Hour”

Hi folks! I’m thrilled to announce that I have a new novel coming in spring/summer 2012. Here’s the official writeup from today’s Publishers Marketplace:

Kristin Harmel’s THE BLUE HOUR, in which a bakery owner discovers the truth about her grandmother’s escape from France during WWII, a journey that takes her to a synagogue and a mosque in Paris, uncovers a long-hidden family secret, and leads her to a new love of her own, to Abby Zidle at Gallery , in a pre-empt, by Holly Root at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

Announcing my new novel: THE BLUE HOUR!

Hi folks! I’m thrilled to announce that I have a new novel coming in spring/summer 2012. Here’s the official writeup from today’s Publishers Marketplace:

Kristin Harmel’s THE BLUE HOUR, in which a bakery owner discovers the truth about her grandmother’s escape from France during WWII, a journey that takes her to a synagogue and a mosque in Paris, uncovers a long-hidden family secret, and leads her to a new love of her own, to Abby Zidle at Gallery , in a pre-empt, by Holly Root at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

Foodie Fridays: 60-Second Brown Rice Salad

Earlier this week, I had a serving of brown rice left over in the refrigerator, and I was contemplating what to do with it. It was hot out — this is Florida, after all — and I felt like something cool, so I tossed together the cold rice, a small handful of dried cranberries (left over from cookies I’d made a few weeks ago), a small handful of sunflower seeds (I would have prefered almonds but didn’t have them on hand), some chopped up green onions and celery, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of extra virgin olive oil, and some sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Voila — a perfect, hearty summer salad in less than 60 seconds.

It got me thinking about getting creative with leftovers. What else can you create from the ingredients you have lying around? Pasta and rice are great bases for creative, vinaigrette-based salads, as are the frozen veggies (especially peas and corn) you probably have in your freezer, and cans of beans (especially garbanzo) that you may have in your pantry. I like the combination of a base (rice, pasta or beans) with something sweet (such as dried cranberries, fresh sliced grapes, or diced strawberries), something tangy (balsamic vinegar) and something crunchy (sunflower seeds, cucumbers, almonds, celebry, red onions, etc.). Spinach, Italian parsley and cilantro or basil would make great, flavorful, colorful additions too.

Check out your fridge, freezer and pantry and see what you can throw together. I’d love to hear your ideas!