The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Yesternight" by Cat Winters, Served with a Recipe for Crispy French Toast Fingers with Blueberry-Maple Sauce {#Yesternight}

Since it's Explorer's Day, let's explore a slightly spooky new October novel. On today's TLC Book Tour stop, I am reviewing Yesternight by Cat Winters and pairing it with a recipe for Ellie Krieger's Crispy French Toast Fingers with Blueberry-Maple Sauce. inspired by my reading.

Publisher's Blurb:

From the author of The Uninvited comes a haunting historical novel with a compelling mystery at its core.  A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 4, 2016)

My Review:

It took me about 10 seconds flat to sign up for the Yesternight book tour, the "haunting historical mystery" description and 1925 small Oregon coastal town setting drawing me right in. And how perfect is the cover? The colors, the picture and the mood it sets make it perfect for a spooky October read. Thankfully, what is inside lived up to the self-hype in my head and it delivered an atmospheric story that kept me absorbed and turning the pages. I was reading it during a particularly warm and humid week here and so I had to turn on the air conditioning, pour a cup of apple-cinnamon tea, and set the right mood. 

Speaking of mood, Yesternight definitely sets a good, creepy paranormal tone from the start when young psychologist Alice Lind steps off the train and is immediately slammed to the ground from raging storm. It's clear that Alice has some issues and baggage, more than the two suitcases she travels with and brought along as she arrives to test the children in the rural community of Gordon Bay, Oregon for their IQ and aptitude. When she learns of young Janie O'Daire and about her mathematical prowess and her strange stories of growing up in Kansas as a young woman named Violet Sunday, she is set to prove them make-believe tales from a intelligent and impressionable seven-year-old mind rather than anything paranormal, but soon she can't deny that something strange is going on and that it may be tied somehow to her own childhood issues.   

The character of Alice is interesting and the book focuses much of the story around her--especially the second half. Finding reincarnation and spooky children to be fascinating, I wanted more time spent with Janie. Staying away from any detail, so as not to spoil the story, I will say that at times it felt as though Janie was a teaser to get into Alice's past. There are plenty of twists in the story--a couple I saw coming but some I did not and while I wouldn't call it scary, it left me me with a good chill. Had I read it in a creepy old hotel in the winter, I would have jumped more, but it definitely had that nice eerie, Gothic feel to it that made it a fun pre-Halloween book. Yesternight is my first book by this author and it is her second adult novel--based on this one, I'll be looking for more of her work. 

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Author Notes: Cat Winters’s debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was released to widespread critical acclaim. The novel has been named a finalist for the 2014 Morris Award, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013, and a Booklist 2013 Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth. Winters lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children.
 
Find out more about Cat at her website, and follow her on tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration: 

There was some food to be found in Yesternight such as lots of ham and ham sandwiches with pretzels, a breakfast of hard-boiled egg, sausage patties, fruit, and coffee, almond drops candies, soft drinks like root beer, Orange Quench and LimeTone, clam chowder with a slice of thick sourdough bread, a dinner of chicken, potatoes, and boiled carrots and peas, gin, a bowl of snap peas, coffee tea and cinnamon rolls, cheese, crackers and roast beef, a hotel restaurant breakfast of grapefruit, French toast,and bacon, apple hot toddies, oyster cocktails and ham and egg balls, a dinner of venison, mutton chops and assorted vegetables that no one would eat.

I don't eat meat and Alice had "an infantile aversion to vegetables" according to her mother. With all manner of vegetables--even pickles, making her feel ill. For example; "Peapods always reminded me of plump green fingers that had wiggled their way out of cold garden dirt." So with meat and vegetables off the table (pun intended), I decided to go with the French toast Alice ate for breakfast. 

Hoping for a healthier option and multi-tasking or multi-posting with my weekly I Heart Cooking Clubs post, I found an Ellie Krieger recipe for Crispy French Toast Fingers that sounded tasty and since the peadpod "fingers" mention stuck with me, I thought French toast fingers would be fun. The Blueberry-Maple Sauce for dipping sounded delicious too. 

Crispy French Toast Fingers
Adapted from Ellie Krieger.com
(Serves 4)

1 cup sliced almonds
3 cups cornflakes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup low-fat (1%) milk (I used coconut milk)
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
nonstick cooking spray
4 large slices firm whole-grain bread, each piece cut crosswise to make 5 fingers each.
1 recipe Blueberry Maple Sauce (recipe follows) or maple syrup for serving, optional

In a food processor, pulse the almonds until coarsely ground. Add the cornflakes, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pulse until the cornflakes resemble the texture of oats. Transfer the cornflakes mixture to a shallow bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla until well combined.  

Spray a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. Working with one piece at a time, dip the bread into the egg mixture until completely moistened and coated but not falling apart, about 30 seconds each. Coat each slice of bread in the cornflakes mixture gently pressing it onto the bread. Place each slice of bread in the skillet and cook over medium-low heat, turning once, until the outside is golden brown and the center is warm, about 6 minutes total.

Serve with Blueberry Maple Sauce or pure maple syrup on the side for dipping, if desired.

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Blueberry-Maple Sauce
Adapted from Ellie Krieger.com
(Serves 4)

2 cups fresh or frozen (unsweetened) blueberries, (10-oz)
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
1 Tbsp orange juice

In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, maple syrup, and orange juice. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until almost smooth. Add more maple syrup to taste depending on the sweetness of the fruit. 

The sauce may be made up to 4 days ahead of using and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Notes/Results: Crispy, nutty on the outside and soft in the center French toast--sweet and cinnamony--there is plenty to like about Ellie Krieger's recipe. The fact that it adds some fiber and protein with the whole-grain bread is a bonus and it is sweet enough to make your favorite kid or big kid happy. You could of course just leave it whole rather than cutting it into fingers, but the whole dipping it into the tangy-sweet blueberry sauce wouldn't be as fun. I don't crave French toast often, but when I do, this is a tasty one that isn't too terrible on the nutrition front. I would happily make it again.

I'm linking this French toast at I Heart Cooking Clubs where the Monthly Featured Chef theme this week is celebrating Ellie Krieger. You can see my roundup of favorite recipes from when we cooked with Ellie at IHCC here and you can see what dishes everyone chose to make by checking out the picture links on the post.
 

  
I'm also linking up this review and recipe to 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 "Yesternight" was provided to me by the publisher, Harper Collins and 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.

 

Heidi Swanson's Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Are there three words better together than curried brown butter? I can't think of many. It was those three words that pulled me to this simple Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter by Heidi Swanson.

We started cooking with Heidi Swanson this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs and she'll be our featured chef for the next six months. This is especially good because I am a long-time reader of her 101 Cookbooks blog and I have all four of her cookbooks but rarely seem to cook from them. Now I have no excuse not to work my way through them over the next few months.

We are saying Hello Heidi! and making a dish to welcome her as our featured chef and I can think of no better welcome than a bowl of delicious soup. The recipe is from her Super Natural Every Day: Well Loved Recipes From My Natural Foods Kitchen cookbook or can be found on her blog here. Heidi says that you can use green lentils or green split peas, although the green split peas give the soup a slightly brighter color--so that's what I used.
 

Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter
From 101 Cookbooks and Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
(Serves 4 to 6) 

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, ghee, or coconut oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

5 1/2 cups good-tasting vegetable broth or water
1 1/2 cups green lentils or green split peas, picked over and rinsed
3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp Indian curry powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

fine-grain sea salt

1 bunch fresh chives, minced
(I added fresh cilantro, chopped)

In a large soup pot, combine 2 Tbsp coconut oil, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onions soften. Add the vegetable broth and lentils and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the lentils are tender. This usually takes about 25 to 30 minutes, but can take as long as 50 minutes depending on your lentils or split peas.



Meanwhile, warm the 3 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. When it starts to smell nutty and fragrant, stir in the curry powder and sauté until the spices are fragrant, less than a minute.



When the lentils are finished cooking, remove from the heat, stir in the coconut milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. You can leave the soup a bit chunky if you like, or puree until it is perfectly smooth. (I pureed half in the blender and stirred it back into the rest.)

Stir in half of the spiced butter, taste, and add more salt, if needed. Serve drizzled with the remaining spice butter and sprinkled with chives (and cilantro).

Notes/Results: This is one of the best lentil (OK, split green pea) soups that I have made--simple, but so much flavor from the curried brown butter. It's nicely spiced with a kiss of heat, but not too much (you can vary the heat by the type of curry powder and amount of red pepper flakes you use). The coconut milk and the butter make it rich and delicious. If you wanted a dairy-free version, you could use a vegan butter substitute but sometimes you just have to say yes to the real butter! ;-) I pureed half of my soup in order to have some whole split peas and onion for the chew factor and the grilled mini naan bread was perfect for dunking into the thick broth. I would definitely make this one again. 

You can see the dishes that everyone at IHCC made to welcome Heidi by checking out the picture links on the post.

We have some good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some delicious dishes last week--let's have a look!

Melynda of Our Sunday Cafe stopped by with Celery Root and Asian Pear Waldorf Salad and said, "This is a wonderful salad, perfect alongside any meal. We enjoyed it with grilled chicken, but it would be equally at home during the holidays as part of a larger meal served to family and guests. It can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to an hour before serving to allow those last minute tasks to take place. And your family will love it."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared two dishes this week. First up is The Ultimate Black Bean Burger. Tina said, "There is a little food co-op in Tallahassee we like to frequent. It's called New Leaf Market and they have some great local fruits and vegetables, loose stocked grains and flours and so many healthy food items. They also have a kitchen and food bar and let me tell you, they make one of the best black burgers I have ever had. They are handmade rather than the frozen textured vegetable protein type burgers. Very lush and filling. Soon I want to make my own and have found several good recipes in the Linda McCartney cook book and also one by Heidi Swanson. Stay tuned for those experiments."

Tina's second dish was this soup-ish Vegetarian Cassoulet. Tina says, "This recipe for cassoulet may seem unusual as it doesn't have any meat. That's right, a recipe considered a meat-fest and prepared all sorts of ways in France has been adapted for vegetarians. I guarantee you, everyone will love this rich stew. It's become one of our favorites. I'll post the recipe at the end, it's super simple to put together and the slow cooker does all the work. Winner!!"

Debbie of The Friday Friends made Mexican Potato Soup and said, "Mexican Potato Soup. Mmmm. I would serve this one at my fictional soup restaurant "Ahh-some Soups." The Handyman co-signed that. He said "if you were going to make this again, and I know you're not, but if  you were, just know that I like it a lot." This one tho?  I just might make it again....it was creamy, cheesy, potato-y, spicy goodness.

Mahalo to everyone who joined in this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches 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 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.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 
Have a happy, healthy week!
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Finding Libbie" by Deanna Lynn Sletten, Served with Simple Spiced Apple Cider and Cinnamon Toast

On today's TLC Book Tour I am reviewing the novel, Finding Libbie by Deanna Lynn Sletten and although it's 80 degrees F. and 74% humidity, I am channeling fall and pairing my book review with the perfect autumn comfort snack--Simple Spiced Apple Cider and Cinnamon Toast.

Publisher's Blurb:

Poring over a dusty hatbox of photographs in her grandmother’s closet, Emily Prentice is shocked to discover her father was married to his high school sweetheart before meeting her mother.

In the summer of 1968, Jack and Libbie fall in love under the spell of their small town, untouched by the chaos of the late sixties. Though Libbie’s well-to-do parents disapprove of Jack’s humble family and his aspiration to become a mechanic, she marries Jack a year after they graduate high school. But soon their happiness crumbles as Libbie’s mental state unravels and she is drawn to alcohol and drugs. 

Despite his efforts to help her, Jack loses the woman he loves and is forced to move on with his life.

Now that Emily’s mother has passed away, Jack is alone again, and Emily grows obsessed with the beautiful woman who had given her father such joy. Determined to find Libbie, Emily pieces together the couple’s fragmented past. But is it too late for happy endings?

Paperback: 331 pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (September 6, 2016)

My Review:

Finding Libbie was tougher to read than I thought it would be--very good, but just hard to read emotionally. From the description, I thought more time would be spent with Emily looking for Libbie, her father's first wife--a big surprise to Emily who learns about it when helping her grandmother pack up her house. The bulk of the book is set in the mid-1960s-70s, and tells the love story of Libbie and Jack, how it all began and how it went terribly wrong when Libbie's mental health issues lead to alcoholism and prescription drug use and ultimately rip the couple apart. If addiction is a trigger for you, the book may be difficult to get through, but the journey is ultimately worth it. I found myself turning the pages--both wanting to know what exactly happened between the couple and hoping for some kind of positive outcome for Libbie--who although at times frustrating as an addict can be, is such a good soul that I wanted the best for her. 

Wanting to make sure Libbie is OK and found happiness in her life is Emily's motivation for searching for her and since her father is lonely and still struggling after her mother's death, she thinks that it might be helpful for him as well. This generosity of spirit makes Emily a likable character. In fact the book is full of likable characters, with the exception of Libbie's family who went well beyond just trying to hide Libbie's issues--granted mental health issues were looked at very differently and misunderstood in that era, but they were just plain awful. The chapters with Emily's search for Libbie bracket the love story and I wished there was a bit more of the present day story and more to the epilogue. Still, it's a small criticism for a well-written book that takes a deeper and more heartrending look at love than your average romance. Finding Libbie is my first book by this author but based on this book, I will definitely be picking up more of her novels.
 
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Author Notes:  Deanna Lynn Sletten grew up on the sunny coast of Southern California before moving to northern Minnesota as a teenager. Her interest in writing novels was sparked in a college English class, and she has been writing in some form or another ever since. In 2011, Deanna self-published her first novel and has since published several more, both on her own and with Lake Union Publishing.
 
Deanna enjoys writing heartwarming women’s fiction and romance novels with unforgettable characters. She has also written one middle-grade novel that takes readers on the adventure of a lifetime. She believes in fate, destiny, love at first sight, soul mates, second chances, magic, and happily ever after—all of which are reflected in her novels. Deanna is married and has two grown children. When not writing, she enjoys walking the wooded trails around her home with her beautiful Australian shepherd or relaxing on her boat in the summer. Connect with Deanna on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration:

There is food in Finding Libbie and sadly a whole lot of alcohol (gin and tonics, wine, wine and 7 Up, vodka and 7Up, bourbon whiskey, and champagne). Most of the food is baked goods cooked by Emily's grandmother Jan and by Libbie, who learned to cook and bake from Jan. Food mentions include homemade sweet rolls with coffee, bread, cakes, brownies and cookies, Dairy Queen burgers, fries, Cokes and ice cream and sundaes, A&W drive-in burgers, popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy from the fair, lots of roast beef and roasted chicken and potato dinners, green beans, glazed carrots, a steak and shrimp dinner with cheesecake for dessert, chocolate cake, toast, orange juice and coffee, sandwiches, cereal, casserole, holiday cookies, roasted duck with orange-ginger glaze, wild rice and asparagus, blueberry muffins, and lasagna.

I don't eat meat, don't bake much (or need baked goods sitting around), and just couldn't bring myself to make a cocktail for this book, so I decided to go another direction. Since I felt like I wanted to comfort both Libbie and Jack through most of the book, I decided to go for the ultimate comfort food of buttery cinnamon toast and I paired it with hot spiced apple cider because I have been craving it (and the fall weather I associate with it).

Here's a secret. I intensely dislike pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie-flavored anything, so when most people's thoughts of fall include pumpkin-spiced EVERYTHING (It's way out of control people!), my thoughts turn to hot, lightly-spiced apple cider. I don't mind a shot of caramel for a treat and if you aren't pairing it with a book that features alcoholism, a shot of apple brandy or rum is welcome too. I like to use a combination of cinnamon, a few cloves, and some star anise--but just a kiss of spice flavor, as I want to taste the apple cider. 

Paired with a couple of slices of buttered toast with cinnamon and a sprinkle of coconut sugar, it makes a wonderful fall afternoon snack.  

Simple Spiced Cider
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 2-4)

4 cups good apple juice or cider
spices of choice (I used 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, 4 cloves)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
sliced apples to garnish
(rum or apple brandy if desired)

Place apple juice and spices into a medium sauce pan and heat over medium-low for 15-20 minutes, until spices have had a chance to infuse their flavor. Revove from heat, add vanilla if using and strain into mugs. (Add a shot of rum, spiced run, or apple brandy if desired.) Garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks and serve.
 

Notes/Results: If it wasn't so blasted warm and humid today, I would have totally conjured fall with this delicious afternoon snack. The sweet apple cider and the cinnamon toast (crispy on the outside, soft within and a slightly crunchy, buttery top) went perfectly together and I made enough cider to heat up later--when it is a respectable drinking hour--and add a glug of calvados (apple brandy). What I like to do with my cinnamon toast is to let some good butter soften and mix the cinnamon and coconut sugar into the butter, then spread it on the toast fresh out of the toaster. It melts into the bread and is pretty much perfect!

 I'm linking up this review and recipe to 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 "Finding Libbie" was provided to me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. 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.

 

Quick Curry Noodle Soup (and 5 More Favorite Curtis Stone Recipes) for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

This week ends our six months cooking with Curtis Stone as our featured chef at I Heart Cooking Clubs. (Next week we start cooking with blogger and cookbook author, Heidi Swanson.) So this week we are saying Hooroo Curtis! (Goodbye Curtis!) and I am saying goodbye with a recipe I have been wanting to make from the beginning, his Quick Curry Noodle Soup. 

The recipe calls for shrimp and snapper but I couldn't find local snapper that looked good so I replaced it with some locally-made organic tofu, pressed in my tofu press and cut into cubes. I also added very thinly sliced carrots and some baby bok choy. My changes are noted in red below.

Curtis says: "This brothy soup is heavy on aromatic Thai flavors like lemongrass, ginger, cilantro, and coconut milk. The Kaffir lime leaves are not essential, but if you can get your hands on a bunch, they will take the dish to the next level. Freeze leftover leaves and pull them out again for your next curry."

Quick Curry Noodle Soup
Adapted from Good Food, Good Life by Curtis Stone
(Serves 4)

1 shallot, coarsely chopped
2 Fresno chiles, seeded to lessen heat if preferred, and coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped peeled fresh ginger
10 fresh cilantro sprigs, leaves removed from stems and stems and leaves reserved
2 Tbsp canola or olive oil
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups water or light broth (I used light veggie stock)
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb skinless snapper fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used pressed firm tofu, cubed)
3 oz thin rice noodles, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced, optional
1 Tbsp fish sauce
Grated zest and juice of two limes
kosher salt, to taste

In a food processor or blender, process the shallot, chiles, garlic, lemongrass, ginger and cilantro stems with the oil until pureed as smoothly as possible, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally as needed.

Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the chile paste and saute for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant. Add the coconut milk and water or broth, cover, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until flavors have blended.

Add the shrimp, snapper (or tofu), noodles, lime leaves, and fish sauce to the coconut broth and simmer for 3 minutes--until the seafood and noodles are just cooked through. Stir in the lime zest and juice and season to taste with salt.

Divide between bowls, sprinkle the cilantro on top and serve immediately. 

Make Ahead Note: Curtis says that the recipe can be made through step 2, up to 1-day ahead. Keep the coconut broth separate and refrigerated and bring to a simmer before proceeding to the next step.  

Notes/Results: I love how quickly and easily this curry noodle soup comes together and how good it tastes. I made the curry paste in my Vita Mix blender, poured it into the pan and prepped the shrimp, tofu and veggies while the coconut curry broth simmered and flavors blended. You can adapt this one to your preferences with little effort--subbing in different proteins and veggies and increasing or decreasing the heat and changing up the noodles, or using veggie noodles. I did remove the seeds from the chiles so it had a mild kick--which is the way I like it. It really hit the spot for a rainy, carb-craving day.

I always like to end my cooking time with our featured chef by sharing my favorite recipes that I cooked during our time with them. Here's five of my Curtis Stone picks although I really enjoyed all of his recipes that I made. Interestingly enough, my favorite five recipes--the ones  were either fish, soup, or fish soup!

This Tomato Consommé with Cucumber and Watermelon Balls was visually stunning, delicious, and perfect for a humid summer. It was also a perfect balance of the sweet melon and the savory tomato broth.

 

His Braised Mahi Mahi Opah Puttanesca is an easy one-pan fish dinner that was delicious with the spice and the tangy flavor and  the briny olives and capers. I served it with zucchini noodles for a healthy dinner.

Speaking of fish, Curtis's Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos with Pico De Gallo were delicious with their flavorful cilantro and garlic marinade and a chunky fresh pico de gallo. One of my favorite fish taco recipes ever.  

What's with all the fruit soup? ;-) The Watermelon and Summer Berry Soup also needs a mention because it's like a watermelon agua fresca meets a fruit salad. It was terrific on its own, and even more amazing with a scoop of yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Perfect for summer and especially lovely on the table for Memorial Day or July 4th. 

 

Finally, the first dish I cooked with Curtis was this Thai Soup with Mahi Mahi and Shrimp Dumplings. The flavors and the notes of sweet, salty, spicy, savory and tangy were so well balanced in this soup and who doesn't love tender little meatballs--these were of fish and shrimp and rich coconut milk broth?!

Seriously, it's hard to go wrong with a Curtis Stone recipe, but these are ones I think about long after I finished enjoying them! I'll definitely be back cooking with Curtis during our monthly Potluck weeks.

You can see how everyone said Hooroo Curtis! by checking out the picture links on the post.

We have some good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some delicious dishes last week--let's have a look!
 

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shared her Berbere Split Pea, Sweetcorn and Yellow Courgette Soup and said, "In recent years I have been exploring and enjoying more and more Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. The last recipe I made was during Refugee Week.  I have to admit this Berbere Soup is not authentic, but it is inspired as I was given a little jar of homemade Berbere spice blend by one of the volunteers in my workplace."   

Debbie of The Friday Friends shared a salad and a soup this week. Her salad is this pretty Frida Kahlo-inspired Fruity Slaw and she says, "I've had this recipe for a while, but

To be honest---the sound of cantaloupe and strawberries and cabbage didn't sound that appealing to me, but make it I did and... it Was SO GOOD!!  I loved it.  Just the right amount of sweet from the fruit and crunch from the cabbage. While this might not seem "Mexican" inspired, think of this---artists always use fruit in their paintings. It's common. Still Life paintings--lots of fruit."

Debbie also made soup and said, "This is what I made for my Sunday Soup---Chicken and Kielbasa Soup--- and it was so, SO good. The description in the magazine says that there is something satisfying about that snap that comes when you bite into a chuck of Kielbasa, and that its smoky flavor begs to be added to cold-weather dishes. AGREED!"
  

 
Here at Kahakai Kitchen, I made a Black Bean, Radish and Cheese Salad to go with fish tacos for a Frida Kahlo-inspired dinner for a Food 'n Flix and Cook the Books crossover event. It's a very simple and easy salad but it gets lots of flavor from the peppery radish, the crumbly cheese, cilantro and tangy vinaigrette.  

 
A big thank you to Shaheen and Debbie for joining in this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches 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 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.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Food 'n Flix Announcement for October's Film: Beetlejuice (Hosted Here at Kahakai Kitchen!)

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! 

Yes, I am summoning up Beetlejuice as our October Food 'n Flix movie pick!

 
Chances are you have seen this 1988 Tim Burton-directed comedy-fantasy film, but if not, Beetlejuice is the story of a Connecticut couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Gina Davis) who get in an accident and wake up back in their home. It isn't long before they realize that they didn't survive. ('The Handbook for the Recently Deceased' that they find is a pretty big clue!) They also find that they can't leave their house-making it difficult when a new family from the city moves in. When the Deetz family and their designer Ortho take over and redecorate the house, Barbara and Adam try to scare them out and when that doesn't work they summon Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice and played by Michael Keaton), a "bio-exorcist" ghost for help--only Beetlejuice's kind of help wreaks complete havoc.

It's a fun movie with Tim Burton's usual quirky gothic style and a great cast. In addition to Baldwin, Davis and Keaton (Bonus that it's young, thin, plaid flannel-wearing, hot 80s Alec Baldwin too!), there is Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz) Catherine O'Hara (Delia Deetz) and Jeffrey Jones (Charles Deetz) rounding out the main characters. 

I'll be the first to admit that it is not the foodiest of films, but based on the creative Halloween fun we had with Hocus Pocus last October, it seemed liked the perfect pick. I just watched it again for the food and while not plentiful, it can be found--on the kitchen counters, Chinese (Cantonese) food in boxes, coffee, tea, and alcohol, the prepping of produce for the famous dinner party with a gnarly shrimp cocktail for starters. Plus, knowing the creativity of this group, I have no doubt you will find inspiration in the colorful set, crazy sculptures and monsters, and even the Calypso music.  

I look forward to seeing what you come up with! 

How to Participate in Food 'n Flix:

• Watch the chosen film Beetlejuice and taking inspiration from the film, head into the kitchen and cook or bake or make something.

• Post about it on your blog with a link back to THIS post and a link to Food 'n Flix.  (Use of the Food 'n Flix logo is optional)

• If you don't have a blog but you want to join in, you can post a photo of the dish you made on Instagram (public accounts only). You must include the following in your caption: short intro, recipe, #FoodnFlix, and tag me (your host) @DebinHawaii.

• Your post must be current (during the month of film). And of course we don't mind if your post is linked to other events... the more the merrier!

• Have fun with it!
  

• Email your entries - both blog (and Instagram if using) - to me at debinhawaii@gmail.com and please cc "heather@foodnflixclub.com" and include:

                     -your name
                     -the name of your blog as you want it written (or Instagram account)
                     -the name of the dish/drink you created AND a direct link to your post
                     -attach a photo or give permission for me to pull one from your post
                     -indicate "Food 'n Flix Submission" in the subject line.  

Deadline for submission is Monday, October 31st (by the end of the day wherever you are.)

Happy watching and cooking!