Potato, Cauliflower & Pea Curry (Aloo Gobi Matar) for Cook the Books August/September Pick: Love & Saffron

It's Cook the Books time again. (OK, it's a bit past but I'm hosting so...). As usual, work is keeping me massively busy and likely will for the next bit as I hit six months in my new company and new role. It's all good, just not much time and energy leftover, which is why I am happy I selected Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food & Love by Kim Fay for our Cook the Books August/September pick. It's a quick and delightful read, full of delicious food and engaging characters. 

From the Publisher's blurb:

"Two strangers. One recipe. A friendship for the ages.

Creamy risotto alla Milanese. Mussels in a hot, buttery broth. Chicken spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Joan Bergstrom and Imogen Fortier understand the key to a savored life—delicious food. Young Joan is just discovering herself as a foodwriter in bustling Los Angeles, while experienced columnist Imogen is settled in her decades-long marriage on Camano Island outside Seattle. When Joan sends a fan letter to Imogen with an enclosed packet of saffron and a recipe, their journey of culinary exploration and soul-deep friendship begins. 

A long-lost flavor surfaces buried memories, and a quest to make carne asada opens the doors of a sheltered life. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of their friendship, and of their belief that food and love can sustain us during our darkest hours."

I loved this book! The letters that chronicled the friendship between Joan and Imogen were wonderful. Set in the 1960s, when "snail mail" was the option for penpals, they moved from strangers to a solid friendship over the years. It made me both smile and brought me to tears as both women faced challenges in their lives and were there for each other during them. I loved that Immy lived in Seattle (my old stomping grounds) and the mentions of Frederick & Nelson department store and Frango Mints as I worked there in the late 80s and the mints are still an occasional treat from Macy's. The fact that an earlier Cook the Books pick, The Unprejudiced Palate was mentioned and its author Angelo Pellegrini was a secondary character was also fun. But mainly I loved watching a friendship forged in delicious food unfold. 

There was so much food packed in the pages from risotto to hamburgers and hot dogs, Hungarian chicken, homemade blackberry jam, omelettes with saffron and herbs de Provence, cottage cheese and salmon mold, tamales, grilled crab, chile rellenos, meatloaf, jerk chicken, pesto, teriyaki and tempura, ceviche, Aplets & Cotlets (another Pacific Northwest tradition), coq au vin, clam chowder, aebleskivers, homemade sausage in Milanese stew, heart of palm salad, muffins, and apple butter--just to name some of it. 

For my book inspired dish, I ended up going with curry. Joan wrote, "At Stanford I was drawn to students from India because they cooked up little pots of curry in their rooms." I too am drawn to the smells of a delicious curry and I love how easy it is to knock one together. I decided on an old favorite, Aloo Gobi Matar which is simple potatoes, cauliflower and peas in a dryish simple tomato curry, served with rice. 

Potato, Cauliflower & Pea Curry (Aloo Gobi Matar)

Slightly Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

(Makes 4-5 servings)

1/4 cup ghee or olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger 
1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic 
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chile powder or to taste
1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped/quartered depending on size
salt to taste

1 bag (12-oz) frozen cauliflower florets, thawed

1 (14-oz) can crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup coconut milk, water or broth
1 cup frozen green sweet peas, thawed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil or ghee over medium heat in a large heavy-bottom pan. Add onion, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and chile powder and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add cauliflower, potatoes, and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk or broth and peas and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Stir in cilantro and season to taste with more salt as needed. Serve with basmati rice. 

Notes/Results: Just a good simple curry--hearty and good. You can change around the spices, add more chile, or liquid if desired. This hit the spot as I was craving curry and I'd happily make it again. 

I'll be rounding up the dishes from this round of Cook the Books shortly on the site. If you missed this round and love food, books and foodie book, join us for our October/November round, hosted by Claudia of Honey From Rock. We'll be reading The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller. 

 

Mushroom Risotto for Cook the Books April/May Selection: Taste: My Life In Food by Stanley Tucci

So, we will get the elephant in the room dealt with right away in this post. I am the host of this round of Cook the Books, our virtual foodie book club where we read a foodie book and cook something inspired from it. I didn't cook a dish, I ordered in. Honestly, I am still healing from a bout with COVID that has me hitting the wall every day about 3:00 PM, and still has my "taster" out of whack--I never know what will taste good to me, or taste at all. Since Stanley Tucci seems to have a healthy respect for restaurants and chefs, I am hoping he won't mind that I celebrate the treasure of him and his book with one of my favorite mushroom risottos. I'll get to that, and a couple of mushroom risotto recipes I did make, after my thoughts about the book.

Taste: My Life in Food by Stanley Tucci will go down as one of my favorite food memoirs and memoirs in general. For me, it's the combination of his passion for food, the glimpse at celebrity life, and how a person who seems like a generally nice guy, has overcome some serious health hardships in his life--his first wife's death from cancer and his own oral cancer in 2018. Tucci is the kind of person one imagines they would like to be friends with--not just to be invited over to dinner for the food, but for the interesting conversation as well. 

I loved his stories of growing up with a mother who could have been a chef, in a big Italian foodie family and how he became the foodie he is. I enjoyed hearing about his experience on movie sets as they related to food. (He did lose a few points from me for eating puffin in Iceland as all I could think about was one of my favorite bird characters, Neil the Puffin from Jenny Colgan's Little Beach Street Bakery series and that made me sad--despite the preponderance of them in that country. I have forgiven him.) The celebrity stories are fun and a bit endearing, making me love Colin Firth and Ryan Reynolds even more than I do for the roles they played when Tucci was going through cancer treatment. And finally, the food--there is so much glorious food and recipes peppered throughout the book that it is impossible not to crave food and Italian food while reading it. Speaking of reading, I went back and forth between my e-book and audiobook and I have to encourage you to listen to the audiobook, even if you have read the printed version. It's like listening to your most interesting and slightly eccentric friend tell stories, and leads one to want to binge favorite Stanley Tucci movies and his series, Searching For Italy. A delightful experience.

OK, so the food. I actually tagged several recipes that I planned to make namely the Spaghetti con Zucchine all Nerano, Spaghetti with Lentils, his mother's Risotto Milanese, Felicity's Roast Potatoes, Salsa Maria Rosa (or any of the other pasta sauces) and finally his Pasta Fagioli (My Way). 

In the end, I was set for the soup, yesterday, but then it just didn't sound good--mainly the beans and kale, and really, I just didn't want to cook. I wanted to be on my couch with a book and the fan blowing on me and so I ordered Mushroom Risotto from a local restaurant where it is made with Hamakua Mushrooms (hon shimeji or brown beech mushrooms), truffle and nori. Not traditional, but delicious. And, friends, I was so lazy that I didn't even replate it, I just ate it out of the container and enjoyed about half of it last night and the rest will be dinner tonight. 

Mushroom risotto is mentioned in the book as the "adult" meal on Tucci's menu in his quarantine "day-in-the-life" chapter and also risotto is mentioned a few other times throughout as something he could eat both with gluten intolerances and then later after his cancer treatment. I will make his mother's Risotto Milanese one of these days.  

Here are links to three Mushroom Risotto Recipes I did make:

A basic one:

Porcini Mushroom Risotto:

Mushroom & Leek "Stuffing" Risotto: 

The deadline for this round is today, and I will be rounding up the entries for Cook the Books on the website in a day or two. If you missed this round and you like books and food and foodie books, join us for our June/July pick, A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain hosted by Claudia of Honey from Rock.

 

Soubise (Onion and Rice Casserole) for Cook the Books Feb/March Pick: "Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews

It's Cook the Books time again, the bi-monthly virtual foodie book club I cohost and of course, per usual, I am right at the deadline. What can I say? February was busy, March was no better and I found myself involved in five "buddy reads" of books with various book groups, not counting this one. This book got put on the back burner and I finished it Tuesday, last night after a long day of work I tossed my dish together and I was way too tired to set up lighting and fuss with the looks, so I apologize for the very bad pictures. 

This round of Cooks the Books was hosted by Simona of briciole and her pick was Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews, a spy novel with recipes. 

From the Publisher:

In contemporary Russia, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova has been drafted to become a “Sparrow”—a spy trained in the art of seduction to elicit information from their marks. She’s been assigned to Nathaniel Nash, a CIA officer who handles the organization’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. 

The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception and, inevitably, a forbidden spiral of physical attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow.

My Thoughts:

I have never been a reader of spy novels. I actually avoided them until the author of one of my favorite series released a new series centered around a former CIA case officer with the first book set in Russia. I gave it a try and enjoyed it enough to load the second and third on my Kindle but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. Anyway, I digress... we are here to talk about Red Sparrow. I was a bit lukewarm  going into this book and wondered at the combination of spies and food, and was not thrilled to be reading about Russia given the current Ukraine situation, but I actually found myself caught up in the story and wanting to find out what happened next. 

It's not a perfect book for me--it's a deeper, grittier dive into the spy trade than I wanted. Some of the violence and misogyny is hard to take, as are the descriptions of "Sparrow School" where Russian women and men train for honey traps and more. The pace is uneven, tension ebbed and flowed and I found myself slogging through some parts and then rushing through others. But I liked Dominika and Nate and some of the other characters and I kept reading. The food descriptions and abbreviated recipes were varied from different countries and cuisines beyond Russia, and I actually marked several I wanted to make or read up on.  

Overall, it diversified my reading with a seldom-picked genre, and that's always a good thing. I don't know if I'll keep going--it's a trilogy I believe, but I am curious to see what happens after somewhat of a cliffhanger ending. I may even try and watch the film version (I tend to avoid spy movies too so it wasn't something I made an effort to see.) 

Food Inspiration:

As I mentioned above, a recipe follows each chapter, based on something one of the characters cooked or ate. I originally thought about making the "Old Lady's Beet Soup" from the first chapter but I wasn't feeling it. Some of the pastas and sauces sounded good, as did the Bristol Hotel Cucumber Salad and Gable's Cheese Fondue and Proper French Omelet. I ended up going with (Station Chief) Forsyth's Soubise, described as "He knew one dish, a soubise, buttery braised rice and caramelized onions." It was what I wanted most. 

I took the recipe sketch in the book and also looked online where I found Julia Child's version. Mine is a combination of the two, cut down t heavily to make a small portion and I cheated by using my favorite frozen glazed onions.(I used a tray which is about 3 onions worth). To save time on a night after a long work day, I cooked my arborio rice about 10 minutes and ended up cooking the dish about 35 minutes instead of Julia's hour. I also added a little dried thyme and stirred it into the mix and besides adding the cheese to the rice mixture, at the last minute, I shaved Gruyere on top of the dish.

 

I promise, it tastes MUCH better than my sad little pictures look! ;-)

"Forsyth's Soubise" From Red Sparrow

"Boil rice in salted water for five minutes. In separate French sauciere, highly caramelize seasoned onions in butter. Stir in rice, cover, and cook gently in medium oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Before serving, stir in heavy cream and grated Gruyere." 

-----

Soubise

Adapted from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," Knopf, 1970 

(Yields 6 Servings)

1/2 cup rice 
4 quarts rapidly boiling water 
1 1/2 Tbsp salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 cup (one-half stick) butter, plus 2 tablespoons softened butter 
2 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced 
1/8 tsp pepper 
1/4 cup heavy cream 
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere)
1 Tbsp minced parsley (I mixed in dried thyme)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. (I cooked it at 325 degrees)

Drop the rice into the boiling water to which has been added the salt. Boil five minutes exactly and drain immediately.

Heat the 1/4 cup of butter in a three-quart flameproof casserole and when it is foaming, stir in the onions. When they are well-coated with butter, stir in the rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cover and cook very slowly in the oven for one hour, stirring occasionally. The rice and onions should become very tender and will usually turn a light golden yellow. Taste and reseason. (The recipe may be prepared to this point several hours in advance. Reheat before proceeding.) 

Just before serving, stir in the cream and cheese and then the softening butter. Taste again for seasonings and turn into a dish. Serve with sprinkled parsley. 

Notes/Results; OK, this is really good--really rich and REALLY good. It's creamy, buttery, decadent, and the sweet, caramelized onions and nutty Gruyere are an excellent match. It's like an oven-baked risotto with less stirring and it probably would even be better without the shortcuts I took. I was both sad and glad that I made 2-3 servings only. Sad because I enjoyed it, glad because health food it is not. I will definitely make it again. 

The deadline for this round is today, and Simona will be rounding up the entries for Cook the Books on the website in a day or two. If you missed this round and you like books and food and foodie books, join us for our April/May pick, Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci, hosted by me. 

 

Easy Weeknight Comfort: Red Beans and Rice for Cook the Books August/September Pick: "Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe"

I am coming in right at the wire with my torso hanging over it for our August/September Cook the Books pick, Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber. I'd tell you what a insane couple of months it has been at work, and that is true but really, my procrastination is a glorious and monumental thing and it stands fine on its own without excuses. ;-) I actually finished the book last week, made my dish earlier in the week, and I still couldn't get my post up until now. And I'm the host of this round of our virtual foodie book club! Oh well...

I picked this book because I had received a copy in a book box a couple of years ago and I couldn't seem to get it off my TBR pile without some effort, but I am glad I did. It's a charming book and a perfect read when you want something sweet and familiar. 

From the Publisher:

Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café. 

It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about. 

As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.

Call it a trope, but books where the main character moves back to a small town full of quirky residents and either finds or reinvents themselves, often through food, are my sweet spot. Toss in a bit of magical realism and you have pulled me in. Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe drew me in from the start and I was quickly caught up with Anna Kate, the mysterious blackbirds, The Blackbird Cafe and the town of Wicklow, Alabama and its endearing citizens. Although there is nothing really new here, it gave me great comfort while reading during the aforementioned work struggles--sometimes you just need something to soothe. In fact, I gave my pretty copy of the book to a friend  who was looking for comfort reading and read it on my Kindle--she needed it more than I did! My only true complaint is that I wanted recipes for some of the delicious-sounding food mentioned--more on that below. Otherwise, I found it an endearing and easy read that made me smile and tear up a few times. I would read more from this author and would love more time in Wicklow with some of the supporting characters. 

So the food--obviously you have the pie, not just the famed Blackbird Pie (blackberry pie with a secret ingredient), but apple, blueberry, peach, cherry, rhubarb, and "endless combinations," an overabundance of zucchini and zucchini bread (and other breads) from the "bread brigade" and a plethora of zucchini dishes (muffins, frittatas, fries), biscuits, a special recipe for blackberry sweet tea, herbs and vegetables, crispy hash browns, pancakes, ham in red-eye gravy, eggs, sweet potato hash, blackberry cobbler, various herbal teas and infusions, tea sandwiches, sweet tea, honey, johnnycakes with brown-butter apples, fries, cucumbers, squash, green beans, tomatoes, corn, bacon, chicken-fried steak, pizza, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and grits, roast chicken, hot chocolate, potato salad, chocolate fudge cake, gin, white wine, steamed carrots, succotash, casseroles, popcorn, and probably a bunch of things that I didn't catch.

For my bookish dish I was going to go with something made from zucchini, the blackberry tea, or the johnnycakes with brown-butter apples, but ultimately it was the plate of red beans and rice that Natalie is trying to get Doc to eat and she reminds him that it's his favorite. Red beans and rice is the perfect easy comfort food which matches the mood of the book for me and it filled a craving. Mine are a weeknight version, not traditional and nothing fancy with beans from a can and a microwave brown rice rice mix from the pantry (mine was brown and red rice with chia seeds and kale) and takes little more than tossing the beans into a pot with onions, broth and spices and letting them cook down for 45 minutes or so--until they are soft and saucy. But, comfort it does deliver.

Easy Weeknight Comfort Red Beans and Rice

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 2 Servings)

1 tbsp butter or olive oil

1 sweet onion sliced, or equivalent frozen sautéed glazed onions

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp Creole seasoning of choice (I use this one)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder, or to taste

1 (15 oz) can low-sodium kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup broth of choice (I used non-chicken broth)

salt and black pepper to taste

2 cups cooked rice of choice. (I used this one)

Heat butter or oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned (about 10 minutes) or use frozen glazed onions to reduce this time. Add garlic and spices and cook another 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the beans and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beans are softened and broth becomes dark and saucy. Taste and add salt and black pepper as needed or desired. (Note: some Creole spice mixes are already salted so taste before adding any.)

Place cooked rice on serving plate(s) and spoon beans on top. Enjoy!

Notes/Results: Easy, tasty and comforting, this makes a great dinner on a night where you aren't in a hurry, but don't want to fuss. Beans and rice are a fantastic pantry dinner--especially for those of us who don't eat a lot of meet and there are endless variations of beans and rice to make. I will happily make this again.

The deadline for this round is today (9/30/21), and I will be rounding up the entries for Cook the Books on the website in a day or two. If you missed this round and you like books and food and foodie books, join us for our October/November pick hosted by Claudia of Honey from Rock, Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown. 

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Ocean in Winter" by Elizabeth de Veer, Served with Two Favorite Dal Recipes

Happy Aloha Friday. Today, I am happy to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for The Ocean in Winter by Elizabeth de Veer. Accompanying my review are two recipes for Indian dals, inspired by my reading. 

Publisher's Blurb:

The lives of the three Emery sisters were changed forever when Alex, eleven at the time, found their mother drowned in the bathtub of their home. After their mother’s suicide, the girls’ father shut down emotionally, leaving Alex responsible for caring for Colleen, then eight, and little Riley, just four. Now the girls are grown and navigating different directions. Alex, a nurse, has been traveling in India and grieving her struggle to have a child; Colleen is the devoted mother of preteens in denial that her marriage is ending; and Riley has been leading what her sisters imagine to be the dream life of a successful model in New York City. Decades may have passed, but the unresolved trauma of their mother’s death still looms over them creating distance between the sisters.

Then on a March night, a storm rages near the coast of northeastern Massachusetts. Alex sits alone in an old farmhouse she inherited from a stranger. The lights are out because of the storm; then, an unexpected knock at the door. When Alex opens it, her beautiful younger sister stands before her. Riley has long been estranged from their family, prompting Colleen to hire the private investigator from whom they’d been awaiting news. Comforted by her unexpected presence, Alex holds back her nagging questions: How had Riley found her? Wouldn’t the dirt roads have been impassable in the storm? Why did Riley insist on disappearing back into the night?

After her mysterious visitation, Alex and Colleen are determined to reconcile with Riley and to face their painful past, but the closer they come to finding their missing sister, the more they fear they’ll only be left with Riley’s secrets. An unforgettable story about grief, love, and what it means to be haunted, The Ocean in Winter marks the debut of a remarkable new voice in fiction.

Publisher : Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged Edition (July 6, 2021) 

Hardcover : 336 pages

My Review:

The Ocean in Winter is a beautiful book, both sad and beautiful. It's a story of three sisters whose lives have never been the same since their mother committed suicide when they were young. So there are definitely some triggers here; suicide, death, grief, abuse, addiction and drug use and it's not at all a light read. But, if you can brave through the difficult parts, there is a story about sisters, family, love and connection. I found myself caught up in the sisters; caretaker Alex, a nurse who wants to have a life of her own and journey to India, Colleen, a mother and perfectionist, whose marriage is crumbling despite her attempts to put it back together, and Riley, the youngest, a well-known model whose childhood trauma combined with a life of excess have her struggling with a drug addiction she can't break away from, and hiding herself and her secrets from her sisters. Although in my own sister line-up, I am the youngest and I did not suffer the trauma they did, I found I could identify with things about each character and was hopeful for them all finding some peace and happiness. 

There are some mystical and supernatural elements and for the most part they work and are not overdone, but add to the story. de Veer's poetic words brought the landscape of Massachusetts  to life from the storm raging to the ocean waves to the creaking noises of an old house. I marked down several quotes that spoke to me, like this one:

"Maybe all that has been happening in this house hasn't been from squirrels or bad wiring, nor spirits of former residents. Maybe these are my memories, hung around me like laundry on a clothesline. Do memories choose us or do we choose our memories? I don't know, but maybe a memory can put itself before you and insist that you reckon with it."

Overall, I found The Ocean in Winter to be a book that drew me in and kept me reading, and caring about the characters. Mixed in with the sadness, there is hope and moments of joy. It's the author's first book, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next. 

 -----

Author Notes: Elizabeth de Veer has a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and has been admitted to writing residencies at the Jentel Artist Residency, the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a member of several writing groups, including Grub Street Writers’ Collective of Boston, the Newburyport Writers’ Group, Sisters in Crime New England, and the New Hampshire Writers’ Project. She lives in a small town in Northeast Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and labradoodle.

Connect with Elizabeth via her website, Facebook or Instagram.

-----

There was a good amount of food in The Ocean in Winter, mentions included mustard, wine, crackers, coffee, pizza, chicken, salad, fresh vegetables and hummus, granola bars, apples, yogurt, rice and curry, cake, idli (soft, warm rice cakes) and a spiced lentil soup to dip them in., bacon and eggs, raw almonds and green juice, milk, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on fluffy white bread, chocolate milk, bagels, a hamburger with fries on the side, a small Milky Way candy bar, Goldfish crackers, pot roast, falafel, cereal, blueberries, mashed potatoes and stuffing, ginger-cinnamon martinis, cheese, crackers and nuts, a box of expensive chocolate, beef Stroganoff, hot caramel macchiato, hot chocolate, doughnuts, a Panera breakfast sandwich, pancakes, Cheetos, Coca-Coal, frozen chocolate cake, tater tots, taquitos, pizza rolls, Pop-Tarts, frozen burritos, pre-sweetened oatmeal in packets and presugared yogurt in cups, lobster rolls, French fries, and chowder, Indian takeout of steaming curries, rice, naan, samosas, dosas, and "an extra greasy order of pakoras", oysters, chicken Caesar salad, a kale and faro salad, ice cream, blueberry jam, griddle cakes, bacon and hash browns, slices of pie--berry and apple, birthday cake, tangerines, saltines paired with crunchy peanut butter and the occasional garnish of M&M's and saltines with spray cheese, Pringles and onion dip, chocolate chip Cookes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fancy lemonade in a pretty bottle, a Starbucks muffin, and mac and cheese--homemade baked with a crunchy topping and packaged Kraft.  

With all of that food, it should have been easy to come up with a dish inspired b y my reading and I was prepared to make a curry and rice or maybe a dal but the week totally got away from me and I found myself too exhausted to even go into the kitchen. So, I am taking the lazy way out--a reoccurring theme lately, and sharing a couple of my favorite dal recipes. Alex wants to return to India, the trip she was pulled away from, and she and Colleen get Indian take-out one night--something I should have considered doing. ;-)

I have a lot of Indian recipes on the blog, loving the flavors and especially the comfort of dal--those soupy lentils and pulses, but here are two dals that I might pair with this book as the sisters are all in need of warming, comfort foods.

Masoor Dal (Split Red Lentils) from 100 Weeknight Curries by Madhur Jaffrey, simple nourishing and delicious. 

A very simple Mung Bean Dal slightly adapted from Surya Spa via Goop 

Both of these are easy to make, easy to adapt to your tastes and delicious. 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post. 

Note: A review copy of The Ocean in Winter 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. 

 

An Easter Day Round Up of Avogolemono Soup (Greek Lemon, Egg and Rice Soup) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Happy Easter! I took the day of from soup-making because it was a long week and I was feeling lazy and wanted to stay out of the kitchen. Still, with over 600 soups on this blog, I think we can always share some favorites. 

Easter makes me think of Greek Avogolemono Soup. Maybe it's the egg, or the lemony rice vibe that smack of spring. Either way, here's a few avegolemono soups I have made over the past 13 years of blogging. I actually thought there would be more than seven--it seems like I eat it more often than I post it, but here are a few for any kind of eater that I think you will enjoy!

Ruth Reichl's Avgolemono is a favorite, so good I made it in March of 2017:

And then again in October of 2018:

Mark Bittman's Avegolemono Soup (With Pearled Couscous) from July 2020

A couple of vegan versions like Greek Creamy Lemon Rice Soup ("No" Govlemono) by Terry Hope Romano from December 2012. 

Another vegan soup is Vegan Avgolemono (Creamy Lemony-Rice Soup) from February 2015 from Shape.com

Here's a twist: Creamy Lemon-Rice Soup with Mini Meatballs from March 2010 from Sunset Magazine. 

Greek Avgolemono Soup from December 2009 from Vegetarian Times Magazine

Let's see who is here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week: 

Simona of briciole took inspiration from our recent round of Cook the Books and made this pretty Roast Beet, Avocado, Blood Orange and Daikon Radish Salad, saying "To me salad bowls are experiment benches: I mix and dress, toss and taste and tend not to repeat twice. For the photo op I kept the ingredients separate, but then everything is tossed and eaten in the purple juice of red beet and blood orange. The citrus (agrumi) offset beets' sweetness and the blue cheese (formaggio erborinato) gives the salad a bit of a tang, while the daikon adds some zest."  

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shared Black Eyes Peas and Tomatoes in Peanut Sauce called Kunde and said, "Kunde is the Swahili word for black eyed peas. It's suggested in the book to eat it with rice, but we just had it as is - like a beany thick soup.  It was lovely; ad to be honest, after eating the Kunde, we were rather full and not in need for more food for the rest of the day."

 

Thank you to Simona and Shaheen for joining me this 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 to Souper Sundays 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 add a 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 this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 Have a healthy, happy week and Happy Easter!