From FIREFLY SUMMER by Nan Rossiter
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter’s touching new novel, Firefly Summer, is an uplifting story of the resilience of sisterhood and the bright glimpses of joy and solace that, like fireflies after rain, can follow even the deepest heartaches. www.NanRossiter.com
Rhubarb Pie Filling
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange rind (zest)
¼ teaspoons (or less) salt
2 ½ tablespoons quick tapioca
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups fresh rhubarb, washed and cut into 1” pieces
Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Fold in rhubarb and mix well. Spoon into 9” prepared pie shell. Dot fruit with pieces of butter. Lay on lattice top – I cut the rolled out dough into strips with a pizza cutter and carefully weave the strips; fold under and make a decorative edge. With finger, lightly wipe a little milk onto the strips – will give it a shiny golden glaze.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, 400 for ½ hour and check; cover the outer crust with a ring of foil if it’s getting too brown and continue baking for another 20 – 30 minutes. I also put a sheet of foil on the rack below to catch the overflow of juice.
Note: 1 cup sliced strawberries can also be folded in with the rhubarb.
Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 t salt
¾ cup shortening (12 tablespoons)
5-6 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
In medium size bowl, combine flour and salt. With pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle with cold water, a couple tablespoons at a time. Continue blending with a fork until pastry starts to hold together. Shape pastry into two balls and roll out into circle on floured surface. Roll onto rolling pin and lay over 9” pie plate. Press down and shape to dish.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter’s touching new novel reunites four sisters at their childhood vacation spot on Cape Cod—where they uncover the truth about a past tragedy to find their future as a family…
The close-knit Quinn siblings enjoyed the kind of idyllic childhood that seems made for greeting cards, spending each summer at Whit’s End, the family’s home on Cape Cod. Then comes the summer of 1964, warm and lush after a rainy spring—perfect firefly weather. Sisters Birdie, Remy, Sailor, Piper, and their brother, Easton, delight in catching the insects in mason jars to make blinking lanterns. Until, one terrible night, tragedy strikes.
Decades later, the sisters have carved out separate lives on the Cape. Through love and heartbreak, health issues, raising children, and caring for their aging parents, they have supported each other, rarely mentioning their deep childhood loss. But one evening, as they sit together at Whit’s End to watch the sun set, the gathering fireflies elicit memories of that long-ago night, and a tumult of regrets, guilt, and secrets tumble out.
Poignant yet hopeful, Firefly Summer is an uplifting story of the resilience of sisterhood and the bright glimpses of joy and solace that, like fireflies after rain, can follow even the deepest heartaches.
Praise for the novels of Nan Rossiter
“Nan Rossiter is at the peak of her storytelling abilities with Under a Summer Sky, which is told with the kind of compassion, grace, and wisdom that is nearly unrivaled in contemporary fiction.” —Examiner.com
“Eloquent and surprising…I love this story of faith, love, and the lasting bonds of family.” —Ann Leary, author of Outtakes from a Marriage on The Gin & Chowder Club
“A gripping story of three sisters, of love lost and found and a family’s journey from grief to triumph. A sure winner.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on More Than You Know