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rebeccareviews · 4 years
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The Secret Garden Cookbook by Amy Cotler
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Amy Cotler’s The Secret Garden Cookbook is a charming themed cookbook filled with easy and yummy recipes. The book’s lovely layout is great and I love the well-written historical and cultural information about the Victorian era. I like the full-colour pictures but I wish there were more and that they were more relevant to the theme. 
What a fun cookbook! The book is divided into seven chapters: Yorkshire Breakfasts, A Manor Lunch, An English Tea, From the Kitchen Garden, Dickon’s Cottage Food, A Taste of India, and Garden Picnics. I love the variety of dishes! There are recipes for dinner, breakfast, drinks, snacks, condiments, lunch, and teatime. Cotler shows us how to make currant buns and fruit lassi as well as a proper pot of tea. I cannot wait to try making brandy snap lace cookies, bacon and cilantro pancakes, and Yorkshire pudding! The recipes are clearly written and feature familiar and accessible ingredients. I especially like that the dishes seem easy and that they do not feature an extensive ingredient list. 
The cute page designs are fun and colourful. But, I really wish they had featured throughout. I like the beautiful and bright full-colour pictures but they are a little generic. They are also very modern and seem as if they could belong to any contemporary cookbook. I wish the pictures were more interesting and more relevant to the theme. Furthermore, a few more pictures of the dishes would really enhance this book. 
I love the little snippets from The Secret Garden book that are included throughout. I loved reading about the culture and food of Victorian England. It is especially fascinating to learn about the eating habits and daily activities of the rich and poor people of that era. Cotler’s writing is presented in a brief, easy-to-read, and interesting format. Her style is so simple and approachable that I learned a lot of information very quickly and without feeling overwhelmed. 
The Secret Garden Cookbook is a wonderful recipe collection. This is a perfect gift for fans of The Secret Garden, those who love literary cookbooks, or simply anyone who loves food! I love literary cookbooks and I cannot wait to get my own copy of this lovely collection!  
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press for this book in exchange for an honest review.
💮💮💮💮 ½ flowers out of 5!
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donaldmckenzie13 · 5 years
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April 2019 Reading Round Up
Another month has passed, and more books have been read. April 2019 Reading Round Up #bookblogger #TheClqRT @TheBloggerGals @BloggersHut
April was Easter month, and that means that my reading slowed down a bit as I had a busy time through until the end of Holy Weekend. Still, I managed five books this month. This might be the most diverse month I’ve had in a while. I’ve got one thriller, one sport biography, a couple of food biographies and one more on eating behaviour. Without further ado, here’s my April 2019 reading round up.
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For years, women have struggled to gain equality in all areas of life—from the home to the workplace, and especially in positions of leadership. Despite being 50.8 percent of the population, only 14.6 percent of executive officers in companies are women, and overall, women only earn 80 cents for every dollar men make. These discrepancies are even larger among women of color. Yet women of faith have historically played a pivotal role in challenging gender inequality, and they continue to defy stereotypes in politics, the workplace, and houses of worship. Here are five ways in which women of faith are fighting for gender equality at work and in broader society—empowering young women as feminist and womanist theologians, faith community leaders, social justice advocates, and elected officials.
1. Shaping and elevating feminist theology
Feminist and womanist theologians exist in every religion, actively engaging in efforts to achieve gender equality from a perspective of faith and making clear that women’s equality and faith are not inconsistent with one another. Challenging misunderstandings or misinterpretations of religious texts that have justified segregating society along gender lines, feminist theologians have surfaced the issue of gender inequality in religious communities. For example, Native American feminist Renya Ramirez wrote an article proposing that gender equality be part of any conversation about the oppression of Native American communities, and she challenges the gender-discriminatory practices that some indigenous nations have traditionally followed. Zainah Anwar also empowers women of faith as a founding member and director of the organization Sisters in Islam, which seeks to teach gender equality through an Islamic framework. In addition, the Sikh Feminist Research Institute exists to engage the Sikh community in feminist research to understand further the causes of gender-based oppression and how to combat it.
In the early 1970s, several Jewish feminists created the social justice group Ezrat Nashim in an effort to give men and women “equal access” to leadership roles within the Jewish community. María Pilar Aquino, a pioneer in the field of Latina feminist theology as a professor of religious studies, has authored more than 50 works on Latina rights, including Our Cry for Life: Feminist Theology from Latin America. Finally, bell hooks, a Buddhist Christian expert on womanism—a form of feminism centering on black women’s liberation—has written numerous essays and books analyzing the effects of racism, sexism, and spirituality on black women and feminist movements.
2. Holding leadership positions in faith communities
In 2012, only 11 percent of American congregations were led by women, and today, only 1 of the 100 largest churches in the United States is led by a woman, due in large part to institutionalized patriarchal models of leadership present in many houses of worship. More women of faith are redefining leadership in their houses of worship, providing important role models for young congregants and pushing to transform gender inequality from within their religious traditions. Bishop Vashti McKenzie was the first woman head of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a role in which she encouraged and empowered women to grow professionally and attain leadership positions. Sally Jane Priesand was the first woman in the United States to be ordained as a rabbi and has worked in the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Task Force on Women to help more women become ordained in the Reform Jewish movement.
Some of the largest and most historically significant churches today are led by women, such as Amy Butler, the first woman pastor of The Riverside Church. “Any time we can see women in roles of leadership doing good work … we’re changing people’s perception and chipping away at the patriarchy we all live with,” Butler says. She often uses her platform to speak out about women’s issues including abortion and sexual harassment. Rabi’a Keeble and M. Hasna Maznavi—founders of the first two female-run mosques in the country—have created their own communities of faith, where they saw a need for more gender-inclusive houses of worship. It is imperative that women continue to take the helm of faith-based organizations and communities, so that female congregants will feel more comfortable sharing their experiences as religious women.
3. Fighting against sexual harassment in religious communities
Over the past year, there have been numerous complaints of pervasive and persistent sexual harassment to which no industry has been immune, including faith communities. According to a recent survey, 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men experience sexual harassment at some point in their lives. Building on the #MeToo movement, which aims to destigmatize survivors of sexual violence, Hannah Paasch and Emily Joy created the #ChurchToo movement on Twitter. #ChurchToo gives victims a platform to share their stories of sexual abuse in religious spaces. Paasch states, “for those who felt themselves silenced and their experiences erased, this hashtag is meant to be a place where survivors are heard, believed, seen and surrounded,” as well as hold churches accountable for their actions. In response to this campaign, Belinda Bauman and Lisa Sharon Harper started the movement #SilenceIsNotSpiritual to urge evangelical congregations and leaders to elevate and show solidarity with the voices of those affected by sexual assault.
Popular evangelical leader Jen Hatmaker has openly taken a stand against leaders who have committed sexual assault, telling abusers, “You will not be covered by … your clergy robes … your powerful position … Let this filthy, evil system that protects abusers fall to shreds.” As more women of faith share their stories and create platforms for others to do the same, houses of worship will continue to take steps to reform their sexual harassment policies.
4. Serving in public offices from underrepresented religions
Elected officials that practice a religion other than Christianity are grossly underrepresented in local, state, and federal levels of government. For example, 91 percent of Congress identifies as Christian, while Jews make up only 6 percent, Buddhists make up 3 percent, Muslims make up 2 percent, and Hindus make up 3 percent. Today, the number of women running for elected office is increasing at an unprecedented rate, including women from underrepresented religions. Muslim women are filling legislative positions across the country and advocating for policies to help women in their faith community and beyond: Ilhan Omar (D-MN) made history in 2016 as the first Somali American legislator in the country when she was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she successfully advocated for paid parental leave for city employees to increase support for working families.
At the federal level, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) was the first Asian American woman and first Buddhist woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Earlier in her career, she founded the Patsy T. Mink Political Action Committee (PAC) with the goal of helping elect pro-choice women to Hawaii state offices. As an Obama administration appointee, Farah Pandith was the U.S. State Department’s first special representative to Muslim communities, where she led initiatives to help Muslim youth feel more accepted in society in an effort to reduce extremism. She also led the State Department’s Women in Public Service Project, a program to help women become the next academic, foreign policy, and advocacy leaders through learning institutes and mentorship.
5. Leading advocacy for immigrants and refugees
Since early 2017, the Trump administration has launched a slew of attacks on immigrants: removing protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including asylum seekers and long-term U.S. residents; detaining and deporting parents of U.S.-citizen children; and continuously targeting some of the most vulnerable people. In response to increased deportations, women of faith have called for immigrant justice in their local communities and beyond. Social justice activists such as Stosh Cotler— who helped organize a day of action for the Muslim and Jewish communities in solidarity with immigrants—were arrested at the U.S. Capitol while demanding renewed protection for Dreamers. Bishop Minerva Carcaño was not only the first Hispanic woman elected as a bishop to the United Methodist Church, but she has also long advocated for immigrant rights, even testifying before Congress.
Today, approximately 50 percent of refugees worldwide are women and girls seeking safety and economic opportunity in new countries. In their journeys toward refuge, they are often vulnerable to sex trafficking, in which 96 percent of victims are women and girls. Yet faith leaders such as Nadia Murad Basee Taha are fighting to ensure the safety and success of these affected communities. After escaping Islamic State captivity, Taha became a Yazidi human rights advocate and is now the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime Goodwill Ambassador for Human Trafficking. She has testified on the international stage to raise awareness for the disproportionate vulnerability young women face in areas of extreme violence and called on international organizations to help stop the violence against her community. In addition, poet and author Rafeef Ziadah uses her writing to advocate for human rights and women’s rights in areas of war, especially Palestine.
Conclusion
The historical contributions and leadership of women in religious communities are paramount. While the fight for women’s equality has persisted for years, there remains much room for progress. Women faith leaders are defying the limitations that society has historically placed on them in houses of worship, politics, activism, and society more broadly. Moving forward, women will continue to rise in all areas of public life, and in faith communities in particular, as an integral part of the rising tide of women’s leadership and the continuing fight for gender equality.
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candidcover · 3 years
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(via Review: The Secret Garden Cookbook)
The Secret Garden Cookbook by Amy Cotler is such a fun companion to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. There are so many unique and interesting recipe ideas that are all connected to the classic children’s story. The book is so much more than a book of recipes, as it contains historical facts, quotes from the story, and beautiful images.
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macsbooks311 · 4 years
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I have been on a cooking/baking spree since the holidays and now I’m venturing out to recipes and cookbooks that are a bit different or new to me. Thanks to great cookbooks that I’ve been able to download for review, I have had plenty of marvelous new treats to try!
The Botanical Kitchen by Elly McCausland is a stunningly illustrated book full of recipes using natural ingredients. Since I’m trying my best to use locally grown produce and herbs from my own garden, I thought this would be a treasure. Sadly, while the recipes all revolve around healthy, beautiful foods, most of them are imported from all over the world. My point in having a “botanical kitchen” is to avoid excessive transportation costs for my food and to use primarily, if not wholly, locally produced ingredients.  Make no mistake, the recipes are very good, very beautiful and quite healthy but the title is a bit misleading. It does, however, make a gorgeous coffee table book!
Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing another cookbook by Amy Cotler, The Little Women Cookbook. This series of cookbooks is based on recipes and foods that the characters of these books might have eaten or that the book mentioned. The Little Women Cookbook was a finalist in the Goodreads’ Choice Awards for 2019. Now we have The Secret Garden Cookbook full of new and delicious recipes to try – and try them I did!!
I’ve been baking “biscuits” since I was a tiny girl – young, not skinny, I’ve never been skinny. These, however, are far and away the best that I’ve ever made or eaten!! Okay, so their official name is “Savory Muffins Spiked with Cheese,” but I call them AMAZING. If you live in the US and have eaten the Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits then you will love this recipe! I’ve tried every “knock off” recipe on Pinterest and they all failed. We baked these and TADA – the best cheddar cheese biscuit – ever!
There are recipes for a Proper Pot of English Tea, Cucumber Sandwiches for your garden party and so many puddings among them Sticky Toffee Pudding and Yorkshire pudding. Some of you may bake these on a regular basis but just try finding a good recipes for these here in the US. It can’t be done! My favorite, however, was The Best Sticky Gingerbread Parkin! My friends, you have not tasted a proper gingered bread until you have tasted this! It is was to die for and absolutely perfect for cold winter nights!
Isn’t it gorgeous? The parkin, not my son, although he is gorgeous as well! There are simply too many recipes to name them all but I can assure you, as someone who owns a Bed and Breakfast, this is a must own cookbook for those who love to bake as well as anyone who loves The Secret Garden!
Thank you to #QuartoPublishing, @Netgalley and #BloomsburyPublishing for these delicious cookbooks!
Let’s Get Cooking! The Botanical Kitchen The Secret Garden Cookbook I have been on a cooking/baking spree since the holidays and now I'm venturing out to recipes and cookbooks that are a bit different or new to me.
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hollywoodglees · 5 years
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Posted by Larry Gleeson
The 50th Anniversary of the Nashville Film Festival is showing hot films while the temperatures are cooling. Try the Nashville Film Festival App and Plan Your Fest! Find it the App stores.
Fest in style with a VIP Badge! Available here: NashFilm
Check out a few of yesterday’s candid shots!
  Upcoming Hot Tickets
The Sheriff of Mars | Directed by Jason Ressler, Matthew Woolf Mon, Oct 7, 1:30 PM
This is an uplifting tale of the musical redemption of a lovable, complex artist who exudes a magical and unique authenticity. Daniel Antopolsky is a country singer/songwriter who was discovered in France when he was 65. He had with him “he had 500 of the best songs no one had ever heard”. Today, he has released 4 albums with major media attention and toured the world with his music. Watch his rise as a Nashville recording artist and concert musician. TICKETS
Lost Bayou | Directed by Brian C. Miller Richard Mon. Oct 7, 6:30 PM Tues. Oct 8, 12:00 PM
In this hauntingly evocative Southern Gothic mystery, a struggling addict ventures into the Louisiana swampland to reconnect with her faith healer father, only to discover he is hiding a troubling secret aboard his houseboat. TICKETS
The Wall of Mexico| | Directed by Zachary Cotler, Magdalena Zyzak Mon. Oct 7, 7:30 PM
Veteran actors Esai Morales and Mariel Hemingway join with some newcomers to spin a fantasy about rich Mexicans turning the tables on poor white people. Inspired by the Trump Presidency, The Wall of Mexico premiered at SXSW is a role-reversing fantasy about a wealthy Mexican-American family that decides to build a wall to deter the intrusion of poor white people in the vicinity. TICKETS
SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET | Directed by Roman Chimienti, Tuler Jensen Tues. Oct 8, 6:00 PM
Mark Patton travels to horror conventions across the U.S. Each new city unwraps a chapter from his life that is met with equal parts joyful and bittersweet detail, as he attempts to make peace with his past and embrace his legacy as cinema’s first male “scream queen.” TICKETS
Berry Hill | Directed by Buzz Cason and Mark Harper Tues. Oct. 8, 2:30 PM 
Nashville‘s Berry Hill, now home to 40 music studios, took off when Buz Cason opened Creative Workshop there in 1970. He quickly recorded five number one hits by the Gatlin Brothers, and followed up with top artists like Gene Cotton, Kim Carnes, Dottie West, Kenny Rogers, the Doobie Brothers, Olivia Newton-John, Roy Orbison, The Faces, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, Elvis Presley and more. The studio, known now as Blackbird, is owned by John McBride, and is one of Nashville’s premier recording studios, sound engineer schools and equipment rental companies. TICKETS
Bluebird | Directed by Brian Loschiavo Still Tickets Available Tues. Oct. 8, 5:30 PM / 7:00 PM / 7:15 PM / Sat. Oct. 12, 12 PM
It was 1982, and Amy Kurland, a 27-year-old culinary school graduate, was opening a café in the strip mall of an upscale Nashville suburb. She had no idea it would eventually become the most influential listening room in America. Over the next three decades, with Amy’s unwavering passion to showcase and nurture new talent, this unassuming venue would help birth legendary careers of Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Taylor Swift and countless more. The film features unforgettable performances by Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Maren Morris, Vince Gill, Jason Isbell and many more. TICKETS
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS Documentary Shorts 1:Sun, Oct 6, 6:30 PM & Wed, Oct 9, 3:00 PM Documentary Shorts 2: Mon. Oct 7, 12:30 PM & Tues. Oct 8, 6:00 PM
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth* (*but were afraid to ask) is the amazing story of how the Berkeley police department, the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, an Academy Award winner and Mr. Spock are all connected by “Sudden Birth”, one of the most unintentionally hilarious and disturbing educational films ever created.TICKETS
The Lumineers III | Directed by Kevin Phillips Sat., Oct. 12, 4:30 PM
The Lumineers’ III is a visual exploration of the band’s third and latest album. In three chapters corresponding with the album’s ten tracks, we follow three generations of a working-class family in the American Northeast. TICKETS
See you at the movies!
*Featured photo: Emmett Anderson, left, and Talya Klein, finalist for Drama Feature Screenwriting Competition
  More please, Mama! Hot tickets - The 50th Anniversary of the Nashville Film Festival is showing hot films while the temperatures are cooling. Check out the festival app and get you fest on!!! You'll be glad you did! #NashFilm50 Posted by Larry Gleeson The 50th Anniversary of the Nashville Film Festival is showing hot films while the temperatures are cooling.
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Start Up Synagogues: The Future Looks Confident - Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Jewish pundits enjoy to anticipate the eventual death of the synagogue, decrying its scarcity of deep ideas, scarcity of spiritual inspiration, and absence of heat and meaning. They state that Jews and Jewish households are choosing instead for Do It Yourself Judaism, where one can rent-a-rabbi to "do it yourself," or to start their own shuls, unencumbered by the features of standard synagogue sloth.
Real, there are a lot of temples stuck in the 1970's, whose music, approaches and message seem to neglect that fact that the world and its spiritual candidates have altered. Contrary to these doomsday situations or the radical welcome of only newly birthed synagogues-without-walls, synagogue life is alive and well.
Five Insights on Synagogue Next Steps
5 insights over five days at the Union for Reform Judaism's Biennial convention declared this. Many synagogues, like the most robust services, are fearlessly and truthfully taking a step of themselves and are reacting to what they see by experimenting and innovating. Yes, at an interesting rate, synagogues are transforming themselves into flexible, all embracing, relationship-focused engines for a refreshingly amazing and deeply spiritual Judaism.
1. Deep Dedication to Social Justice
When we reach out to others, we wind up raising ourselves up too. At Biennial, as father-son cantors Doug Cotler and Kyle Cotler (Churchgoers Or Ami, Calabasas, CA) led Havdala ( video), singing Eliyahu Hanavi, the prayer asking the prophet Elijah to herald the coming of the Messianic Age. At the Biennial, we reminded ourselves that we Jews do not wait for another person to bring an end of war, poverty, violence, prejudice and more. Rather we roll up our sleeves and do the work tikkun olam, repairing the broken world we inherited. Instantly later, in speeches to the put together, United States Ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein and Vice President Joe Biden each highlighted the centrality of social justice work to being Jewish.
That's why at Biennial, synagogue leaders attended workshops in droves, learning how to efficiently advocate on issues varying from racial justice and transgender equality to combating hardship and working for peace in Israel. We discover a central Jewish fact: synagogues that wed deep learning more about the Jewish foundations of tikkun olam with routine and meaningful social justice work continue to attract vibrant participation.
2. Audacious Hospitality and Radical Inclusion
Stroll in the doors of a lot of synagogues, being in the benches, and see how few individuals will greet you. Try bringing a child with special requirements into lots of synagogues, and see whether the management will alter their program to accept you. So numerous other barriers to participation keep large groups of Jews and Jewish households away. Altering that vibrant holds one key to changing a synagogue into the much-sought-after kehilla kedosha (holy neighborhood) that can sustain itself.
At Biennial, Rabbi Rick Jacobs with the support of the Ruderman Structure designated Congregation Or Ami and 26 other synagogues(out of 850)asExemplar Churchgoers, in acknowledgment of excellence in disability inclusion. They honored "Yes, let's together determine how," as the only appropriate response to the question, "Can my unique needs family member take part in the synagogue?" As Cantor Alicia Stillman and I co-lead an "audacious hospitality"-themed morning service, we patterned it after what we do regularly at our parishes. We welcomed everybody in several, inclusive ways: with name tags, minutes to greet others, opportunities to hold hands, embraceable niggunim, and a daf (written page) that let everybody know what we were doing and where we were going.
What did so many worshippers comment upon thereafter? That in addition to feeling spiritually moved, they felt warmly accepted. Synagogues that thrive in this new age trumpet this essential Jewish worth: " Nobody belongs at here more than you!.?.!! Whether you or your Jewish family includes special requirements, multiethnicity, LGBTQ, interfaith partners, older adults, empty nesters, youths, recovery from addiction, healing from brokenness or more, we accept you always."
3. Deep Knowing and Spiritual Searching
Back to fundamentals. Jews and Jewish households today are seeking something that transcends their everyday pressures and top priorities. As synagogues return Torah to individuals in available methods, we provide an overflowing wellspring of inspiration. The URJ Biennial overruned with standard and creative ways of exploring and confronting our Jewish source-text. Enriching our lives with holiness, these spiritual opportunities pointed us back to our Jewish source text, encouraging us towards holiness and holy living. Synagogues are welcoming wide-open conversations about Israel. Synagogues that prosper are providing their neighborhoods with deep study, typically covering primary text study in elegant packages-- Torah on Tap, Men's Night Out, Rap with the Rabbi, Loving Israel/Learning Why. View individuals keep coming back for more.
4. Development Makes the Difference
Synagogues that accept innovation-- technological, programmatic, financial, and relational-- are reenergizing and restoring. Social network, as soon as seen as the obstacle to real relationships, becomes an effective tool to tell and retell basic common stories that share core Jewish values. With the energy specifically of forward believing clergy and lay teams (and at Congregation Or Ami, also by visionary student interns), the exploring synagogue-- older in years perhaps, however unafraid of occasionally stopping working-- can end up being the brand-newSynagogue Launch, brightening an engagingly new Jewish entre point for Jews and Jewish families.
5. Let the Young Run the Shul
The old adage, "The old shall dream dreams but the youth will see visions," reminds us to engage our youth in real methods. Guide them to mentor more youthful students, teach them to teach classes, partner with them to establish community social justice tasks, and let them frequently lead Shabbat services. Their energy, enthusiasm and technological expertise are transmittable and will lead their parents and grandparents to reconnect themselves.
Launch Synagogues Lead the Way
Where as soon as structures thrilled individuals, we now understand that social justice work, inclusion, discovering and development seems to bring them back for more. Synagogues, like our own Parish Or Ami, are retooling, exploring, stopping working sometimes, and choosing themselves approximately innovate anew. The results are exhilarating!
Jewish Launch Synagogues-- frequently the older shuls that are restoring themselves-- are exciting and exceedingly confident.
That's what I uncovered while investing 5 days with 5000+ individuals at the URJ Biennial Convention. That Hatikvah-- the hope-- is progressing through the welcome of social justice, addition, Torah, development and youth.
Hatikvah! What's more Jewish than that?!?
What did you find out, experience and/or bring house from Biennial?
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candidcover · 4 years
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(via Review: The Secret Garden Cookbook)
The Secret Garden Cookbook by Amy Cotler is such a fun companion to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. There are so many unique and interesting recipe ideas that are all connected to the classic children’s story. The book is so much more than a book of recipes, as it contains historical facts, quotes from the story, and beautiful images.
0 notes