Lemon Panna Cotta for Cook the Books June/July Pick: "Garlic and Sapphires" by Ruth Reichl

I'm sneaking in right under the wire as usual for this round of Cook the Books, our virtual foodie book club. Our host for this round is my fellow Hawaii food blogger, Claudia of Honey From Rock and she picked a classic, Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise.

I read and enjoyed this book several years ago, but couldn't find it on my shelves so I checked the audio book out from the library. I really enjoyed the narrator (Bernadette Dunne) who sounds enough like Reichl that it felt like she was reading her own story. It was fun to listen to Ruth's stories and while I love all of her books, this one makes me laugh the most, as in 1993, Reichl moves from Los Angeles where she is the the LA Times restaurant critic to New York to take on the same role at the New York Times. Although the book has its poignant moments, her disguises (donned in order to get a more real experience, like the majority of her readers would have in the bastions of New York's restaurant scene) are for the most part really funny with her creating characters or even taking on the personality of her late mother. Reichl's food writing--whether her books, her blog, her work at the now-defunct Gourmet Magazine (Sniff...sniff... has it really been almost a decade since it folded?! So sad...), never fails to make me hungry and happy. The descriptive passages in Garlic and Sapphires make me feel like I am hanging out with her, exploring the nineties New York restaurant scene. A very happy revisit (Mahalo, Claudia!) to a foodie favorite book and author.

There are of course, countless mentions of delicious food in the book and frankly, I stopped writing it down unless it was something I wanted to make. I was fairly set on making a version of the Curried Tuna Tartar from Reichl's review of Le Cirque because I loved her honesty and humor in reporting her very different experiences in and out of disguise there, and I dearly love raw tuna, but ahi tuna wasn't looking particularly good at my local store this week, and I only splurge on it when it looks its best and didn't want to drive into town for better tuna options. Risotto--lobster or asparagus, simple soba noodles, and a veg-friendly version of her "Sort-Of Thai Noodles" were other contenders for my book-inspired dish, but I am trying to avoid pasta and rice right now. I did just lose 11.5 pounds (yay!) and sweets have also been off the table for the past several weeks to do so. I decided to pick a recipe I had tagged to make in her My Kitchen Year cookbook and splurge a bit to celebrate with a half-recipe (I said celebration splurge, not slide back!) ;-) of her three-ingredient Lemon Panna Cotta for my dish. It's not specifically inspired by Garlic and Sapphires, but I like how Ruth appreciates simple dishes that are executed well, like this one.

You can have your cakes, pies, and other more complicated desserts of you give me something lemon and pudding-like. I have several panna cottas, mousses, syllabubs, pots de creme, and other like dishes on this blog--many of them lemon, and one Nigel Slater's Lemon Posset recipe, shares Ruth's three-ingredients of whipping cream, lemons, and sugar, but in different proportions, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. 
 

Lemon Panna Cotta
From My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
(Serves 6)

2 pints Whipping cream
3 lemons
1/2 cup white sugar
whip cream and mint for garnish, optional

Grate the zest from the lemons, being careful not include any of the bitter white pith. Squeeze the lemons, add the juice to the zest, and set aside. 

Pour the cream into a heavy-bottomed pot, stir in the sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and scrapping the spoon across the bottom of the pot, for about two minutes. Remove from the heat, and still stirring, add the lemon juice and jest. Pour into ramekins or small bowls, cool and leave to set in the refrigerator for at least four hours. 

If you want to gild the lily, garnish with whipped cream and a sprig of mint. 

The half-batch of this recipe nicely filled up four of my small ramekins perfectly!

Notes/Results: I think this may be my favorite of the easy lemon panna cotta/posset recipes I've tried as the proportion of lemon to cream and sugar gives this one a lovely burst of lemon flavor and keeps it on the tangy side. Since you are not using gelatin, the panna cotta is more delicate and I recommend at least 6 to 8 hours chilling before serving. The photos were taken at about four and a half hours and it is still delightful, but does get melty and saucy pretty quickly. Not necessarily a bad thing, just depends on how structured you like your puddings. This is good as-is for a light dessert, but the whipped cream and mint, and even a few berries are not unwelcome here. I will definitely make this panna cotta again. 

 
Garlic and Sapphires is my seventh foodie book entry for the Foodies Read 2018 event. You can check out the July 2018 Foodies Read linkup, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story, to see what everyone is reading this month.   

I'm also sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

 
The deadline for this round of CTB is TODAY and Claudia will be rounding up the entries on the Cook the Books site soon after. If you missed this round and like food, books, and foodie books, join us for August/September when we'll be reading the novel Sourdough by Robin Sloan, hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats.

 

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Grilled Shrimp: A Little Barefoot Contessa for Souper (Soup Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Some people are not fans of the cucumber, but I have always loved them--especially when they are crisp and cold from the fridge on a humid summer day. They lend themselves well to cold soups too and paired with cooling yogurt, dill, and lemon, it's perfect for summer. Add some grilled shrimp and it becomes a meal. 

This recipe is from Ina Garten via Food Network and I picked it because it looked tempting and I had extra cucumbers and good shrimp in the freezer. I adapted it a bit, including drastically reducing the salt--whether you use use Ina's 2 Tbsp of kosher salt or the sea salt equivalent of 1 Tbsp--that's a whole lot of unneeded sodium--especially when you have the lemon juice, Greek yogurt, and dill for flavor. Speaking of the lemon juice, I reduced that and the black pepper too and marinated and grilled my shrimp. I forgot to buy half-and-half so I subbed in coconut milk and used the sweet Maui onion I had on hand rather than red onion called for.

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp
Slightly Adapted from Ina Garten via FoodNetwork.com
(Serves 9)

2 (17-oz) containers Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used coconut milk)

3 hothouse cucumbers, unpeeled, seeded and chopped

3/4 cup chopped red onion (I used sweet Maui onion)

9 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

2 Tbsp kosher salt (I used about 1 tsp + another pinch at the end-so maybe 1 1/4 tsp total)

1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper (I used about 1 tsp)

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons) (I used about 2 1/2 lemons worth)

3/4 lb cooked large shrimp, halved (I marinated my shrimp in a little olive oil, a pinch of salt, smoked paprika, dried mint, and Old Bay Seasoning & grilled it on my grill pan)

thin slices of lemon, halved, for garnish

fresh dill, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt, half-and-half, cucumbers, red onion, scallions, salt, and pepper. Transfer the mixture in batches to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the cucumbers are coarsely pureed and then pour into another bowl. Continue processing the soup until all of it is pureed. Fold in the dill, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until very cold.

Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice. Serve chilled, garnished with the shrimp, lemon, and fresh dill.

Notes/Results: I really like this soup--it is extremely cooling and satisfying without being heavy. I didn't miss the extra salt, black pepper, and lemon and felt that the soup would have had way too much of those flavors rather than being nicely balanced with the cucumbers and dill, present and not overpowered. Marinating and grilling the shrimp adds a lot to the flavor and I think the skewers are fun. If you aren't a shrimp person--a chicken kabob for carnivores or a skewer of roasted tomatoes would be a great alternative, as would coconut milk and non-dairy Greek yogurt if you wanted to keep it dairy free. It says to chill at least 2 hours and I would say that even longer is better--so it gets really cold and the flavor meld. This soup made for a great Sunday lunch, I would happily make it again.

Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's Potluck theme. 

 Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen.

My lovely friend Tina of Squirrel Head Manor joins in again this week with her Hybrid Corn, Tomato Seafood Chowder. She says, "When Doug grills we will on occasion have some leftover fish.  I save it, freeze it, until I have enough for chowder. Since I have posted about fish chowder before I wasn't going to link up again with the same-old-same-old. But! Since our corn and tomato soup needed a bump, we decided to combine the two soups. It worked out very well. I still had a bit of baguette left so we just packed that with the two versions of soup for our lunch."

Mahalo, Tina--for joining in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Last Thing I Told You" by Emily Arsenault, Served with a Recipe for Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto & Thyme Mushrooms

It's Wednesday and Hump Day and I'm happy to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for The Last Thing I Told You, a new mystery novel by Emily Arsenault. Accompanying my review is my take on a spaghetti dinner, Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto & Thyme Mushrooms.

Publisher's Blurb:

From the acclaimed author of The Evening Spider and The Broken Teaglass comes this psychological thriller about the murder of a psychologist in a quiet New England town and his former patient whose unreliable thread will keep readers guessing until the shocking end.
 
I hear myself whispering. Not again. Not again.
 
Why did I ever come back here? Surely because of you. Because I thought of something I’d always meant to tell you. Because you were the only one I ever really wanted to tell it to…
 
Therapist Dr. Mark Fabian is dead—bludgeoned in his office.
 
But that doesn’t stop former patient Nadine Raines from talking to him—in her head. Why did she come back to her hometown after so many years away? Everyone here thinks she’s crazy. And she has to admit—they might have good reason to think so. She committed a shockingly violent act when she was sixteen, and has never really been able to explain that dark impulse—even to Fabian. Now that Fabian’s dead, why is she still trying?
 
Meanwhile, as Detective Henry Peacher investigates Fabian’s death, he discovers that shortly before he died, Fabian pulled the files of two former patients. One was of Nadine Raines, one of Henry’s former high school classmates. Henry still remembers the disturbing attack on a teacher that marked Nadine as a deeply troubled teen.
 
More shockingly, the other file was of Johnny Streeter, who is now serving a life sentence for a mass shooting five years ago. The shooting devastated the town and everyone—including Henry, who is uncomfortable with the “hero” status the tragedy afforded him—is ready to move on. But the appearance of his file brings up new questions. Maybe there is a decades-old connection between Nadine and Streeter. And maybe that somehow explains what Nadine is doing in Fabian’s office nearly twenty years after being his patient. Or how Fabian ended up dead two days after her return. Or why Nadine has fled town once again.
 
But as Nadine and Henry head toward a confrontation, both will discover that the secrets of people’s hearts are rarely simple, and—even in the hidden depths of a psychologist’s files—rarely as they appear.

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (July 24, 2018)

My Review:

This is my third book by Emily Arsenault, having read In Search of the Rose Notes and reading and reviewing The Evening Spider for a book tour a couple of years ago. I need to read more of her work as she is an author who creates a good and often creepy vibe with her words. The Last Thing I Told You doesn't have the spooky vibe of the others I've read, but it shares similarities with a dual point-of-view and alternating time frames. Arsenault has crafted a twisty tale in answering the question of who killed Dr. Mark Fabian and how the crime may be related to the past of the two main characters--Henry Peacher, a police detective known for his heroic actions from a shooting at a retirement center five years ago, and Nadine Raines, Henry's former high school classmate who was a patient of Dr. Fabian after a violent incident with a teacher twenty years ago. Henry is trying to piece together who murdered the therapist, partially through two patient files the doctor pulled before his death--with Nadine's name on one of them. Nadine is back in town visiting her mother and stepfather and she's having conversations with the dead doctor in her mind. With her unresolved and troubled past, she is an unreliable narrator with her inner monologue and her suspicious actions after the murder. Both Nadine and Henry are interesting and well-drawn characters, each plagued by their pasts and I enjoyed the way the book unfolded insights into their personalities.

The Last Thing I Told You is not a quick read, or a pulse-pounder of a story--it is a slower moving and character-driven psychological drama rather than a true thriller, but it fascinated me as it unwound and had me guessing and second-guessing who the murderer might be. The tension and pace increase as the story moves along and there were a few good twists--some I saw coming and some I didn't. Overall, an interesting and compelling read that mystery and psychological drama and thriller fans who don't mind a deeper look at characters and a slower build, should enjoy.

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Author Notes: Emily Arsenault is also the author of The Broken Teaglass, In Search of the Rose Notes, Miss Me When I’m Gone, and What Strange Creatures. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter.
 
Find out more about Emily at her website and connect with her on Facebook.




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Food Inspiration:

The Last Thing I Told You is not a foodie book, but there were a few food and drink mentions like coffee, a gin cocktail, pearl onions, pumpkin pie, a picnic basket and macaroni salad (used as a simile for Nadine's anger), spaghetti dinner, bourbon, a Subway sandwich, Dunkin Donuts, mashed potatoes and turkey, carbonara, knishes, tres leches cupcakes, clafouti, sweet bread, cardamom crisps, oatmeal cookies, apple cider and tequila, pizza (mentioned about five times), Shiraz, butter cookies, popcorn, Sprite, omelets, hot chocolate, Fig Newtons, a turkey club, fried chicken, baby artichokes, orange juice, apples and carrots, sausages, KFC, iced guava juice, pasta salad with ham, cherry tomatoes and mayonnaise, and chocolate cake.

So it's been a stressful couple of weeks for a lot of reasons and although all of the baked goods mentioned sounded good, I didn't want to go down that path for my book-inspired dish--fearing I might not stop once a cookie or cupcake hit my taste buds. I am off of wheat and gluten for a while too, so although pizza seemed to be the meal of choice for several of the characters, I didn't want a traditional pizza. I saw a couple of recipes for no crust/cheese crust pizzas online (like this one) and thought that might be fun and it didn't require turning the oven on in this humid weather. I planned to top the mozzarella crust with with thyme mushrooms and pesto. Unfortunately, two tries did not result in a crisp cheese crust but instead a watery, gluey mess. It could have been my mood, it could have been my mozzarella (I did use fresh mozzarella as the recipe author said he did in the comments), or the pan, but regardless of the whys, it just was not the recipe for this day/week. I aborted my pizza plan, picked out my thyme mushrooms and admittedly, ate some of the less watery mozzarella bites, and decided on the spaghetti dinner mentioned the book--only made with zucchini noodles, pesto and the thyme mushrooms. A healthier choice anyway--although someday I will try that crustless pizza again. ;-)

Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto & Thyme Mushrooms
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 2)

2 large zucchini, ends trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
a pinch of sea salt
pesto of choice, store-bought or homemade (I used this leftover basil pistou)
Thyme Mushrooms (recipe below)

Use a spiralizer, julienne peeler or regular vegetable peeler to slice or shave zucchini into noodles. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and zucchini noodles, tossing to distribute the oil. Cook until noodles are slightly softened, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in the pesto--tossing until the zucchini noodles are well-coated. Fold in the thyme mushrooms and serve.

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Thyme Mushrooms
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 2)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms (button or crimini), sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have browned--about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in thyme and cook for another minute or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes/Results: Very simple but very tasty with lots of flavor from the pesto and the thyme mushrooms. Although it was my second choice as a dish, it made a quick, easy and satisfying dinner for a grumpy person on a humid night. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can use a peeler for wider thin noodles, or stack and slice them for a more spaghetti-like experience. The mushrooms are tasty on their own as a side dish too. I used a lighter hand with the pesto--about 2 tablespoons as I didn't want it to overpower the mushrooms and it all worked well together. I would happily make it again.

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

Note: A review copy of "The Last Thing I Told You" was provided to me by the author and the publisher, Harper Collins, via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here. 

 

Provencal Vegetable Soup with Basil Pistou: Summer in A Bowl for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was looking for a veg-friendly recipe this week to make the most of summer's bounty and remembered that I had Eric Ripert's Provencal Vegetable Soup with Basil Pistou tagged to try. From Food & Wine online, it uses ham rind and chicken stock, so I adapted it to be vegan. It's not heavy, but the white beans and the fiber from all of the veggies make it satisfying and the pistou or basil pesto stirred in gives it plenty of summery flavor.  

I really didn't measure my veggie quantities (just going with what I had from the market) and I used my entire package of Great Northern Beans, uping the broth and liquid. To get that smoky, meaty vibe, I used a mix of low sodium no-chicken and no-beef bouillon cubes and added a little smoked paprika.

Food & Wine says, "This vegetable-packed soup from star chef Eric Ripert gets exceptional flavor from pistou, the pesto-style basil puree that’s served with it. To make a vegetarian version, omit the ham and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock."

Provencal Vegetable Soup
Slightly Adapted from Eric Ripert via FoodandWine.com
(Serves 4 to 6)

1/2 cup dried navy beans, soaked overnight and drained (I used and entire bag)

one (2-inch) square of ham rind or meat (I omitted)

2 thyme sprigs, 4 parsley sprigs & 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine (I doubled)

1 qt chicken stock or low-sodium broth (I used 2 qts-a combination of veggie non-chicken and non-beef broth)

1 medium tomato, cored

3 cups lightly packed basil leaves

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

fine sea salt

pepper 

(I added 1 tsp smoked paprika)

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 medium fennel bulb—halved lengthwise, cored & cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

6 oz haricots verts, cut into 1-inch lengths 

In a large saucepan, cover the navy beans, ham rind and herb bundle with the chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a simmer. Using a sharp paring knife, score an X on the bottom of the tomato. Add to the saucepan and blanch just until the skin starts to peel, about 30 seconds. Transfer the tomato to an ice water bath to cool. Peel and seed 
the tomato, then cut it into 1/4-inch dice.

In a blender or food processor, pulse the basil with the garlic until finely chopped. With the machine on, gradually add the olive oil until incorporated. Season the pistou with salt and pepper.

Remove the ham and herb bundle from the beans. Add the tomato, carrot, fennel, zucchini, onion and haricots verts and season with a generous pinch of salt. Simmer over moderately low heat until the 
vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls. Serve with the pistou, stirring it into the soup at the table.

The soup and pistou can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat the soup; serve the pistou at room temperature.
 

Notes/Results: Just a simple, summery vegetable soup on its own, but add the pistou and the flavor goes to another level. I cooked my beans about 40 minutes before adding the vegetables--just to make sure they were tender enough. I like the combination of veggies--especially the fennel and how they stay slightly firm because you only cook them about 12 minutes. I would happily make this soup and the pistou again.
  

This soup is linking up at I Heart Cooking Clubs where this weeks theme is From the Garden-Eric Ripert recipes with ingredients from the garden or grocery store produce aisle.

Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen.

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor joins me this week with a healthy Greek Chicken and Chickpea Salad. She says, "This recipe came from a book I checked out about Power Bowls.  The combo of these ingredients called out as something nice and cool to have during the steamy summer months.  It's actually meant to be combined together, without a carb, but I kept the salad separate from the chicken. And I served with rice and homemade bread so.......I broke the carb rule straight away. That was for a dinner. ... For lunch the next day we both mixed all the ingredients up as the power bowl idea, except we mixed in the rice too. Great lunch. This is fairly quick and easy, transports well if you keep the dressing separate."

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 Have a happy, healthy week!
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "When We Found Home" by Susan Mallery, Served with a Recipe for Macadamia Nut, Chia Seed & Banana Pancakes with Fruit and Coconut Syrup

Happy Aloha Friday! I'm kicking off the weekend as today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for When We Found Home, a new novel by Susan Mallery. Accompanying my review are some easy and health-ish Macadamia Nut, Chia Seed & Banana Pancakes with Fruit & Coconut Syrup. There's also a chance to enter a tour-wide giveaway for a prize pack at the bottom of the post.

Publisher's Blurb:

Life is meant to be savored, but that’s not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you’d rather not talk about. Still, Callie Smith doesn’t know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister–Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Callie doesn’t love being alone, but at least it’s safe. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.

But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. He was clever enough to turn a sleepy Seattle mail-order food catalog into an online gourmet powerhouse, yet he can’t figure out how to help his new sisters feel secure. Becoming a family will take patience, humor, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of love. But love isn’t Malcolm’s strong suit…until a beautiful barista teaches him that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.

In this emotional, funny and heartfelt story, Susan Mallery masterfully explores the definition of a modern family—blended by surprise, not by choice—and how those complicated relationships can add unexpected richness to life.

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (July 10, 2018)

My Review:

I have only read a few of Susan Mallery books (this is the last one I reviewed) and they are generally feel-good books that are perfect for summer reading. Heavier subjects are touched on, but ultimately they are about love, friendship, family, and relationships. When We Found Home follows suit with the story of three half-siblings Malcolm, Callie, and Keira who are brought together by their grandfather--each looking for love and acceptance. The trio grew up differently with Malcolm brought into the fold as a pre-teen and then Callie--who needs a fresh start after a big mistake, and Keira--a twelve-year-old in foster care, are discovered later (after their deadbeat, woman-in-every-port father passes away and Grandfather Alberto learns of their existence). 

The book is set in Seattle, where the family owns Alberto's Alfresco, a successful high-end food distribution company that Malcolm runs, along with his best friend Santiago who is the company's CFO. In the building that houses the company's headquarters is a coffee bar with an attractive part-time barista named Delaney, a former finance executive who is now pursuing a new life by becoming a Naturopath after losing her fiance. Malcolm is attracted, Keira be-friended, and Delaney's story is a big focus of the book, both her own story and her romance with Malcolm. Callie and Santiago are a second potential couple and they, Keira, Grandfather Alberto, and his housekeeper (and perhaps more) Carmen make up the rest of the main and secondary characters. The romances are fine (although Callie and Santiago seemed a bit too insta-love to me), but it is in the family dynamics, the building relationships between the siblings, and the second chances for characters that are seeking and/or hurting that When We Found Home excels. 

There is good humor--especially from Keira and poignant moments (also many from Keira) that made the book enjoyable and made me care about the characters. There are no big surprises here, but a heartwarming and uplifting story that drew me in with the Seattle and somewhat foodie setting. The 400+ pages were enjoyable from start to finish and I think anyone who likes family dynamics, romance, and second chance and start-again books will like this one. 


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Author Notes: #1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives-family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages. Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

Connect with Susan on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration:

Susan Mallery books never seem to have a shortage of food in them and with the family being food purveyors there were plenty of food mentions that included coffee and espresso, pasta--rotini and fusilli, marinara sauce, macrons, biscotti, cinnamon rolls, jelly donuts, and a children's party offering of PB & J sandwiches, carrot, cucumber and celery sticks, organic apple juice, punch, mac-n-cheese, mini hot dogs made into cars with tomato and cucumber wheels, There was oatmeal, poached eggs and fruit, an antipasto plate, cookies, steak, dark chocolate, expensive hot cocoa mix and mixes for minestrone soup and spicy sangria (from the food company's gift baskets), macadamia pancakes with bacon and fresh fruit, sandwiches, brownies, pizza and salad, tea with scones and tea sandwiches, wine, Dr. Pepper, chocolate cake, brandy, stuffed mushrooms, prime rib, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake, puff pastry appetizers, Cosmos, Shrimp & Crab Louie and BLT salads, mini mushroom quiches, salmon, potato casserole, martinis, egg and sausage sandwiches, chocolate croissants, Mexican food, and ice cream with chocolate sauce. 

In determining what to make for my book-inspired dish, I considered the two recipes in the back of the book--Shrimp with Lemon Linguine and Triple Chocolate Biscotti Brownies, but neither really fit my current eating habits and gluten-limiting. I decided to go with the macadamia pancakes that Carmen serves for breakfast with bacon "and a lovely little fruit garnish." I wasn't going to have the bacon and gluten-limiting seems not to fit pancakes, but then I thought of the 2-ingredient, gluten-free banana-egg pancakes I make sometimes (like here, or this peanut butter variation). A new friend (Kamala of KamalaWellness) just posted a pic of egg & banana pancakes with chia seeds on Instagram and I thought they looked delicious, and it would be easy to add chopped macadamia nuts to the banana, egg, and chia seed mix. I was going to use maple syrup with fresh fruit and chopped mac nuts to top my pancakes, but I thought I'd play around with the container of coconut sugar I had in the pantry and make a quick coconut simple syrup instead.
 

Macadamia Nut, Chia Seed & Banana Pancakes with Fruit & Coconut Syrup
Adapted & added to from The Kitchn
(Makes About 6 pancakes)

2 medium-ish ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp chopped macadamia nuts (I used roasted)
dash of vanilla
large pinch of cinnamon
coconut oil for pan
coconut syrup (recipe below) and chopped mac nuts, fresh blueberries and other fruit as desired to serve

Mash the peeled banana with a fork until no large lumps remain and stir in egg until well-combined. Add chia seeds, mac nuts, vanilla and cinnamon and whisk until it forms a slightly loose, liquid-y batter. Let sit for about 10 minutes so chia seeds gel a little which helps hold the pancakes together.

When ready to cook, heat pan or griddle over medium heat and add a small amount of coconut oil to prevent sticking. When pan is hot, drop about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the  pan--if it doesn't sizzle slightly, turn up heat. 

Cook until the bottom of the pancake looks golden brown when you lift a side--about 1 minute or so. The edges should also be looking set but the middle will still be a bit loose. 

Carefully lift the pancake by gently working a thin spatula about halfway underneath the pancake, and carefully turning over to the other side. If any loose batter spills when you turn the pancake, lay the pan cake on top of the spill and move any excess back under the pancake. Cook the pancake for another minute or so until it is golden brown on each side--flipping back and forth as needed to get them evenly browned.

Set pancake aside (keep warm) and cook remaining batter/pancakes. 

Serve immediately while warm with coconut syrup, fresh blueberries or other favorite toppings.

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Coconut Simple Syrup
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes about 1/2 cup)

1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place the coconut sugar and water into a small sauce pan and bring to a light boil, stirring continuously for about 5 minutes--until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture starts to thicken. 

Remove pan from heat and allow to cool and thicken. Use warm, or store in a glass jar in the fridge. 
    

Notes/Results: I was happy with both the pancakes and the syrup. The pancakes have a nice texture with the addition of the chia seeds (which also some extra protein, fiber and Omega 3-s) and the macadamia nuts. The chia seeds give the pancakes a poppy seed-like texture which I like and they, along with keeping the pancakes on the smaller size, hold things together pretty well. I know not everyone likes bananas, but if you do and you are looking for a paleo-friendly or gluten-free pancake option, these are winners. The syrup has a toasty coconut and molasses-like flavor that worked well with the pancakes and fresh fruit--I used blueberries, raspberries and diced pineapple, as well as the dry roasted mac nuts on top. Eat them for breakfast or for a satisfying dinner, as I did. I will happily make both the pancakes and the syrup again.

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

When We Found Home is my Sixth foodie book entry for the Foodies Read 2018 event. You can check out the July 2018 Foodies Read linkup, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story, to see what everyone is reading this month.   

***Giveaway!***

The publisher is doing a fun tour-wide giveaway for this book with a great foodie prize pack:

This Taste of Seattle Gift Bag includes:

• An “I [Heart] Happy Books” tote bag
• Starbucks Pike’s Place ground coffee
• Seattle Chocolates gift set (3 truffle bars)
• Cucina Fresca marinara sauce
• Sahale Snacks (6 packs)
• Maury Island Farms jam (2 jars)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: A review copy of "When We Found Home" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.