Barbara O'Neal's Blog, page 4

Starred review from Library Journal

This made me very happy indeed!

Library Journal

(Starred review) O'Neal, Barbara. How To Bake a Perfect Life. Bantam. Dec. 2010. 398p. ISBN 9780553386776. pap. $15.

"Forty-year-old bread maker Ramona Gallagher owns a boulangerie in Colorado Springs, though independence from her restaurateur family members has put a crimp in her financial well-being and in their relationships. Pregnant with her first child, Ramona's 24-year-old daughter, Sofia, flies to Germany when her soldier husband, Oscar, is burned in an explosion in Afghanistan. Katie, Oscar's 13-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, comes to live with Ramona after her mother is arrested and forced into rehab for drug use. A surly teen with a dog, Katie adds to the unresolved family issues lying heavily on Ramona's shoulders. She thinks back on that long-ago summer, when she was pregnant and Aunt Poppy had taught her to bake bread—and, oh, that young man at the record store.

"Verdict: Mothers and daughters are at the heart of this beautiful novel by O'Neal (The Lost Recipe for Happiness). Their interactions can be thorny and insuperable, yet there is love at the root, just waiting for the proper nourishment to make it grow—a lot like mother dough, refreshed and fed and folded into so many tantalizing creations. O'Neal offers baking lore and recipes along with her narrative. Readers will be captivated by the baking process as much as they are by these complex and multidimensional women. Highly recommended."—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

How to Shake Up Your Life*

[image error] Three years ago, we lost Leo, the liveliest cat on the planet, to a fox.  He was eleven. He went [...]

Fresh, local food…from my backyard

[image error] Today, I harvested two handfuls of red potatoes from a black potato sack. I've never grown potatoes before, afraid of [...]

THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS WINS GOLD!

Very happy to report that last weekend in Orlando, Florida, the Romance Writers of America awarded THE LOST RECIPE FOR [...:]

THE JOURNEY BEGINS WHERE THE ROAD ENDS

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I have spent the past month walking around England and Spain.  If you would like to read more, go to [...:]

Book club picture

[image error] Almost finished with the new book.  In the meantime, I thought you might like this picture.  The Book Babes book club read The Lost Recipe for Happiness and sent me some pictures of their feast.  Thanks, Diane!   (I love the attention to detail, don't you?)

I'd love to post more.  Send me yours!

Award news for THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS

[image error] Sorry to be absent so much lately.  I'm working hard on the 2011 book.  It's the most ambitious I've undertaken so far, and requires all my writing huevos to get it on the page.  I did write a post on setting for Writer Unboxed yesterday, and it has generated some excellent discussion.  Please join in.
IN OTHER NEWS:   [...:]

The Lost Art of Family Dinners

[image error] When I was a child, we ate dinner together nearly every night. I did not necessarily love the whole ritual, especially when my mother made hamburger pie, covered with mashed potatoes, or when I was in trouble for one thing or another (which was a lot), but I can see from the angle that [...:]

A shy bow from her sweet petals

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In THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING, Tessa is an amateur photographer.  So am I, though in typical writerly fashion, she is far more gifted than I.  Still, I do love getting a good shot.
One of my great desires has always been to have a greenhouse.  In a corner of my dining room is a small conservatory, [...:]

Soup to warm your cold, cold bones

 I had a special request for this recipe, since the weather has been so cold in so many places.  This is from The Lost Recipe for Happiness, and it is Elena's favorite soup:
Abuela Maria Elena's Posole
2 cups dried posole (dried whole hominy)
2 - 3 lb boneless pork shoulder
1/2 cup mild fresh green chiles, roasted, peeled, [...:]