Recipes & Wooden Spoons

Tales from Grace Chapel Inn #3

by Judy Baer

While cleaning out the cluttered basement of Grace Chapel Inn, Jane Howard finds an old cookbook brimming with her mother's recipes and handwritten notes. Jane has always been hungry for details about her mother, Madeleine, who died while giving birth to Jane. Through the precious, fragile pages of the recipe book, Jane comes to discover the spirit of the mother she never had the chance to know. And she comes to better understand her relationship with her two older sisters.

But when the inn gets busy and money troubles threaten, Jane wonders if moving back to Acorn Hill was a big mistake. Her crisis of faith leads to new questions and solutions for the inn--and for Jane herself.

This lively and engaging story will have readers excitedly waiting for the next title in the series, so they can learn more about the endearing Howard sisters.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Inspirational, Adult Fiction, Adult, Cozy Mystery

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

aka Judy Kaye

Judy Baer was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota, USA. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people-either those she read about or those she made up in her head. Her most ambitious conjuring did not succeed, however. She kept a clean stall with hay and oats for the horse she imagined would come but unfortunately, it never did. As an adult, however, she managed to make that dream come true and raised foundation quarter horses and buffalo for some years. A voracious reader, Judy learned to read with comic books, anything from Little Lulu and Superman to the Rawhide Kid. She sold her first story for $10.00 to a farm magazine. She still has the $10.00.

She graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota with a major in English and education and a minor in religion. At the time, she was simply studying what interested her, but now realizes that she was educating herself for her future career as an inspirational christian romance writer.

Judy wanted to write for Harlequin even in high school but it wasn't until her youngest child learned to say "No" that she realized that she'd better consider a second career to fall back on when mothering was done. Her first book was written with her little girl on her lap. Judy would type a few words, say "Now, Jennifer," at which time her daughter would hit the space bar before Judy continued typing. It wasn't the fastest way to work, but it offered a lot of mother-daughter time together. An over-achiever, she's written 71 books for various publishers. The mother of two and step-mother of three, she now has lots of family to enjoy.

In 2001, she went back to school and became a certified professional life coach. Currently she is working on her Master's in Human Development in the areas of writing, coaching and spirituality and writing inspirational Chick Lit which, she says, is the most fun she's ever had writing.

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm relatively new to this series, the 1st book having been published in 2006 but I am so enjoying it. This is the 3rd book about 3 sisters who inherit their old family Victorian home when their father/pastor dies and they turn it into a Bed & Breakfast. This book focuses on the youngest sister, Jane, who is also a chef & suffering from a breakup with her husband. The mother of the girls died just after Jane was born and in this book, Jane is seeking any and all info she can gleam about her mother. She finds an old cookbook with her mother's notes throughout, which helps in bringing them closer together. This book also shows Jane as a caring individual who wants to help others get over difficulties in their lives.

I love the values and stories that are a part of this book & the others in the series. No profanity, no sex. Just people living real lives as best they can with the help of their God. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to smile and be uplifted.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fan-cast:
Jane Howard - Gwyneth Paltrow
Louise Howard - Michelle Pfieffer
Alice Howard - Laura Dern
Fred Humbert - Vince Vaughn
Sylvia Songer - Amy Adams
Lloyd Tynan - Jeff Bridges
Ethel Buckley - Meryl Streep
Rev. Kenneth Thompson - Richard Armitage
Craig Tracy - Neil Patrick Harris
Patsy Ley - Octavia Spencer
Vera Humbert - Sarah Silverman
Wilhem Wood - Jeff Goldblum
Jose “Joe” Morales - Oscar Isaac
Justine - Elizabeth Olsen
George Fairchild - Ian McNiece
Muriel Fairchild - Imelda Stauton
Tim McPherson - Peter Scanavino
Theresa McPherson - Alexis Bledel
Naomi Hopper - Jamie Lee Curtis
Ned Arnold - Ben Stiller

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I didn’t read book 2 in the series it was easy to follow the story. Jane the youngest of the three sisters still doesn’t feel like a real part of the town. Her mother died when Jane was born and she really wants to find someone who knew her mother to talk to. She finds an old cookbook of her mother’s with comments written in and it makes her feel close to her mother. As she makes the recipes, starts selling her jewelry and helps a homeless man, it deepens her faith.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in four sittings. It's just those sittings were very far apart. I really loved this sweet story about Jane discovering her mother and older siblings figuring out how to better relate to each other.
These books are a nice way to relax. I love them.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I really like this one! It can be so easy to even be with your family and feel like you don't belong. Then you realize that God is with you no matter where you are. You belong with Him and that is what matters. Very well done!!!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in Tales from Grace Chapel Inn Series. This continues to follow Jane, Alice and Louise as they work on making a success of the B & B. This book focused on Jane and her desire to learn more about the mother she never knew. She discovers an old cookbook of her mother's and brings to life the wonderful memories that her sisters share about their mother. Jane lets God back into her life and the sisters find their Inn can be a healing place for many people, including the 3 of them.

Each book has a different author, but the format and characters remain the same. Easy read, good recipes and touching stories.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was from Jane's point of view and it was pretty annoying. In the beginning, Jane seemed to be having a pity party for herself. In Chap 1 she is upset because Louise only reminisces when Louise wants to reminisce and there is an insinuation there that Jane would like to hear more reminiscing about her mother. Then in Chap 2, Jane has an internal pity party for herself because she can't contribute to the reminiscing. Which is it? What does Jane want? To reminisce and listen without contributing or to not reminisce at all? I hated this part. Jane is a 50 year old woman seemingly reverted back to a childhood in which she doesn't know what she wants.

There was another part i disliked that made it hard for me to understand Jane. She would not talk and/or defend herself with Louise. Why? Jane's solution seemed to be to avoid the situation entirely. What i did like is that Jane made a big effort to see her sister's point of view. Still, the tension did not need to ensue as long as it did. There is a definite need to have better communication between sisters/business partners/housemates. It surprises me that they got as far as they did in their enterprise without communicating.

Once I got through that, the book was better. Jane began to move on and heal and there was some good growth in her spiritually. That was pleasant to read.

But mostly... NOTHING HAPPENED. This was just a woman struggling to get to know her mother through an old recipe book. A touching story at times, but mostly boring.

Some of the recipes looked really good but unfortunately, i can't cook with that much sugar. If you can, you might find a few tasty recipes here.

I felt a disconnect between this book and the first couple in the series. I guess that comes from having different authors in the same series.

I will read the next book in the series because i need some really light, mostly boring, Christian fiction right now so i guess i shouldn't complain about it being boring when that's exactly what i wanted!

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This is a great little town. So picturesque. It's a little pocket of calm tucked away in the trees"

This is book number three in this series of books. I am reading them in order (but you don't have to) so if you would like to see my reviews for the first two books, you can check those out. Anyway, so this book is just as good to me as the first two. The first two had points throughout where I would cry and this one does too, but it's mostly at the end. Like the end of these books always gets me. They wrap up stories nicely and always have such a beautiful message or kind act.

This book is from Jane's POV, the youngest sister. She is a former professional chef who never got to know her mother, so when she finds her mother's old cookbook with little notes in it, she feels a deep connection and through cooking and stories she helps to fill that hole she's had in her heart since she was a kid. Joe and Naomi's stories really touched me as did their journeys and conclusions. Truly heartfelt. And as someone who loves to cook, I LOVED all the recipes throughout the book. Like it tells you the ingredients and the directions to make it yourself. I definitely will be! But it was such a good read with Jane's happy zest for life attitude and her journey to realizing just how much she is like their mother, Madeleine, who was described as being creative, happy go lucky, loving and a literal angel. Not a bad woman to be compared to.

On a side note: No idea if this is a thing or if it will ever happen, but I love Jane and Pastor Ken Thomspon together. Like I feel like there is a spark there since the second book, but it seems like nothing will ever come of it except friendship. But in this book, they just make such a good pairing. He gets her and she gets him. I love friendship and am here for it, but after her failed marriage to Justin, Ken just seems like the anti-Justin, and I would love him to be her romantic interest if she ever felt she wanted somebody else in that way again.

Found: My grandmother's

[Sheryl Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read numerous books from the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn book series. The are refreashing and delightful. Recipes and Wooden Spoons has to be my favorite, so far.

Jane is the youngest of three sisters. Each sister has unique and interesting personalites. Recipes and Wooden Spoons is Jane's story. While cleaning out the basement of the bed and breakfast owned by her and her sisters Jane comes across a treasure amongest the clutter, an old recipe book. Not an ordinary cookbook, but one that belonged to her mother, Madeleine, who had died giving birth to Jane. The notes and clippings inside are a revelantion to Jane about who the mother that she never knew was. This story brings Jane around full circle, an answer to prayer, and her many questions she has harboured in her heart all these years.

This book is a joy to read filled with the warmth and love, tears and laughter that Tales from Grace Chapel Hill is famous for. Read it and you will see why it is my favorite!

[Lavender · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line of this book was good, but my Kobo copy that I purchased from Christianbook.com was terribly edited with many, many spelling and grammatical errors, which I found very distracting. I had read this once before in a library copy and don't recall it being an issue, so I'm unsure how this e-book was such a disaster. It was like it was the first edit by the author. Aside from that, looking back, I enjoyed the story. The added recipes only made me very hungry at bedtime! Lol

[Asmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Its a nice smile while you read lovely recipes. Happy ending for everyone. Ok reality wise it isn't likely to happen but plenty of true stories for that. I read alot of books and sometimes i just want something lighthearted and happy and these fit the bill. Easy to read and nothing too hard for the brain after a long day

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Guidepost series cozy mystery. Easy to read and easy to enjoy. I really liked that Jane, the youngest of the 3 siblings, busy opening their home as a B&B had her recipes included by the author. The relationship between the three sisters grew as they began to understand their new relationships as older adults especially when they put their faith first and themselves second.

[Concetta Kellough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually book 4 of the series, not 3. This one centers on the youngest sister, Jane, and her relationship to her mother (who died right after she was born), her sisters and Acorn Hill. I got a little tired of the author repeatedly pointing out that Jane felt she didn’t fit into the family or town. I mean REPEATEDLY. However, except for that I enjoyed the book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of Jane's search to learn about the mother she never had the chance to know was so special. It was filled with emotion and love along with frequent reminders that the Lord will guide us and will be with us through the good times as well as the difficult times. We just have to be open to and trust in Him.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so calm and refreshing. It's set in my home state of Pennsylvania and is centered around a bed and breakfast. The three sisters that run the B & B are very interesting and I enjoy the pace of the story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little story of how sister Jane mends a broken heart by cooking amazing treats for the family B&B. Naturally everything is delicious and beautiful, everyone is kind and hard-working, and every problem is solved before the last page. Just like real life.

[Joyce Bellamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom purchased most of this series and I became their owner when she went into a nursing home. I keep finding conflicts of the order in which they should be read which is disappointing. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first one I read.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story from Grace Chapel Inn, this one from the voice of a different sister, Jane. Loved it.

[NK · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy going read. The characters are solid. I would read more of these stories about the Inn and town.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this bppk far better than the previous two in the series. Light reading with great characters and even better recipes.

[Cyndy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very light feel good read.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes you look at yourself and remember the little things like God and faith

[Linda Corrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful episode of the Grace Chapel Inn series

[Laura]

I've enjoyed this best out of this series that I've read so far.

[Irene Marston · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book liked the recipes in it very yummy

[Miriam Roush · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book of the series and it was just perfect for this time when I needed a positive, gentle storyline to lift my heart, and then there are the recipes…I can’t wait to try them!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read. Anxious to read more. A place I would like to visit.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is very little excitement in this book but it is a comfortable read interspersed with recipes from the heroine's mother.

[Harvey DeFries · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read.

[Coralee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to like this pleasant, character-driven, inspirational series. This book focused on the third sister.