The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Beside Myself" by Ann Morgan, Served with Quick-Pickled (Sugar Snap) Peas in a Pod

Today, I am happy to be a stop on the TLC Book Tour for the psychological thriller Beside Myself by Ann Morgan. It's the tale of identical twins who switch places as children and then one won't switch back, and it is dark, twisty, and compulsively readable. To accompany my review there's a recipe for Quick-Pickled (Sugar Snap) Peas in a Pod (crunchy, slightly spicy, and perfect to nibble on when tension gets high in the story) and you can find a giveaway for a chance to win a copy of the book at the bottom of the post. 

Happy Monday!

Publisher's Blurb: 

Six-year-old Helen and Ellie are identical twins, but Helen is smarter, more popular, and their mother’s favorite. Ellie, on the other hand, requires special instruction at school, is friendless, and is punished at every turn.

Until they decide to swap places–just for fun, and just for one day–and Ellie refuses to switch back. Everything of Helen’s, from her toys to her friends to her identity, now belongs to her sister. With those around her oblivious to her plight, the girl who used to be Helen loses her sense of self and withdraws into a spiral of behavioral problems, delinquency, and mental illness. In time, she’s not even sure of her memory of the switch.

Twenty-five years later, she receives a call that threatens to pull her back into her sister’s dangerous orbit. Will she take this chance to face her past?

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (January 12, 2016)

My Review:

I was drawn to Beside Myself due to the plot description of identical twins changing places, finding twins fascinating and I'll say it, sometimes a bit creepy, especially when they are children. (I blame The Shining... and more recently, last year's The Ice Twins.) I started the book with serious doubt that two six-year-old twins could be misidentified on a long-term basis without being found out, especially when they were so different in personality (and even, it seems at first, in their intelligence), but Ann Morgan pulls it off exceedingly well with her carefully plotted tale. I kept hearing the popular quote by Don Miguel Ruiz in my mind as I read, "We only see what we want to see; we only hear what we want to hear. Our belief system is just like a mirror that only shows us what we believe."  With summer vacation keeping the twins at home and usually left to their own devices, a father who committed suicide, a distracted mother with her own issues, and the few adults and friends around at the beginning of the swap preoccupied with their own lives--there was no one to care or see the differences until the switch was firmly in place and then their beliefs showed them what they wanted to see. The original Ellie was thought to have issues, to be 'lesser-than' Helen and treated so differently and badly by her mother (don't get me started on my hatred of this character) that when Helen starts receiving the same treatment after the switch makes her Ellie, it makes sense that her behavior and personality change and she starts to spiral out of control when some terrible events happen that put her on the road to addiction and much more.

The story is told by Helen (now the new Ellie who refers to herself as Smudge... and yes, that's all a bit hard to explain clearly), alternating from past to present day where Smudge, suffering from mental illness, is living on public assistance, estranged from her family and isolating herself from others. A call from her mother informs her that her sister (now a popular television personality with a husband and daughter) is in a coma she begins to wonder if she can finally get her 'stolen' life back. It's a dark book with many twists and turns, at times depressing and tough to read with everything that happened to Smudge. With her mental health issues, manic personality swings, and often savage manner, she is a character that isn't easy to connect to, but as much as I found myself jarred and frustrated by her, I felt sorry for her and wanted to see her dig herself out.  Beside Myself is tagged as a mystery-thriller and it is, though leaning strongly to the psychological-thriller side of things, with a big dose of family drama. Well written and satisfying, it is intense, complex, and it kept me up at night turning the pages and then thinking about it after I finished--all things I look for in a book. 

(If Beside Myself sounds like your kind of book, enter below to win a copy. Giveaway is open to US/Canada addresses and runs until 2/1/16.)

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Author Notes: Ann Morgan is the author of The World Between Two Covers, based on her year-long journey around the world via books from every country. She continues to blog about her adventures with world literature at ayearofreadingtheworld.com. Morgan’s writing has also appeared in The Independent, The Financial Times, The Scotsman, BBC Culture, and The Guardian, among many others. She lives in London.

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Food Inspiration:

So there are books that are full of food inspiration and Beside Myself is not one of those books. It's too full of dark twists and anguish to be concerned with food. Most of the food mentions are things like tea and stale biscuits, sandwiches and crisps, with a few breakfasts and dinners thrown in. Nothing really stood out until I thought about the twins' elderly neighbor, Mrs. Dunkerley ("...with her cabbage smell that always follows her around.") 

'Well girls,' she says. 'Helen and Eleanor, isn't it? But which one is which? I can never tell - you're like two peas in a pod.' 

So I figured I could do something with 'peas in a pod.' Since I am always craving pickled veggies on my plate (and getting trapped into being your twin would be considerably more than a 'pickle" to end up in), I decided to make some Quick-Pickled (Sugar Snap) Peas in a Pod as my dish inspired by the book. 

I am a fan of the quick pickle for using up veggie leftovers or making the most of what's available in the produce department. Most quick pickles will keep for close to a month in the fridge and they are fast to make and keep much of the crunch of the veggies--something I like. I mix up the flavors for my pickles depending on what I have on hand. In this case I wanted them simple with a kick of spice and ginger and garlic notes. Since I am off of most added sugars for the month, especially processed sugar, I used a small amount of honey to just cut the edge of the sour, relying on the sweetness of the sugar snaps themselves for balance. 

Quick-Pickled Sugar Snap Peas
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

4 cups sugar snap peas
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp honey
pinches of: sea salt, red pepper flakes, pickling spice, to taste
about 1 /12 inches fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Wash and drain peas.  Trim ends and remove any tough strings along the back of the pea as needed. (I am lazy and usually just do this on the larger sugar snap peas I buy.)

In a small sauce pan, heat the rice vinegar, balsamic, water and honey until the honey is dissolved.

Prepare a couple of canning jars or one large jar (16 oz) by putting the ginger and garlic slices at the bottom.  Pack the peas as tightly as possible in the jar. (They will soften with the liquid so if you can't get them all in, set the remaining aside until you pour in the pickling liquid.)

Pour the pickling liquid over the peas. pushing them down and adding any remaining peas as you can. Carefully tap the jar a few times on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Cap jar and allow to cool for about an hour before placing in fridge. 

You can eat them once they are cooled but they are best after a day or so in the fridge. They will keep several weeks in refrigerator, if they last that long. ;-)

Notes/Results: Sweet, sour, and slightly spicy, these sugar snap peas are a crisp tasty little snack, or a nice side to a sandwich or a rich dish. The pickling juice is quite tart but it works so well with the sweetness of the peas and the ginger and garlic notes go well with the rice vinegar, giving them an Asian feel. You can of course flavor them whatever way you like--dill or other herbs like tarragon or mint would be nice. Good when you want a healthy nibble, or to quench a pickle craving. I will make them again.

***GIVEAWAY***

The publisher has generously offered a copy of Beside Myself to one of my readers as part of this TLC Blog Tour. (Open to US/Canada addresses)

To enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, leave a comment please (Because I like to read them!) ;-) telling me why you are interested in reading Beside Myself.

There are a couple of other optional ways to get entries 1) Tweet about this giveaway (you can do this once per day if you like) or 2) follow me on Twitter (@DebinHawaii).

The Giveaway runs until 1/31/16. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: A review copy of "Beside Myself" 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 Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.
 

Jamie Oliver's Sesame Seared Salmon with Tahini Avocado and Shred Salad

We are featuring recipes from the always delightful Jamie Oliver this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs as part of our Monthly Featured Chef theme. I like Jamie's style, humor, and especially his number of easy, tasty, and healthy recipes. 

On his website, I loved the look of the Sesame Seared Salmon with Tahini Avocado & Shred Salad; pretty on the plate with the colorful deconstructed salad of shredded veggies, slices of salmon and an avocado half topped with a tahini dressing--and it's pretty healthy to boot. 

I made a few small changes to the recipe--spiralizing the veggies, swapping in zucchini for the rice noodles and cucumber, omitting the olive oil, adding a little ginger to the tahini dressing, and adding some extra lime juice. My changes are noted in red below. 

Jamie says, “As well as this delicious dish giving us three of our 5-a-day, salmon is full of vitamin D, which our bodies need for absorbing calcium, keeping our bones and teeth healthy.”

Sesame Seared Salmon, Tahini Avocado, and Shred Salad
Very Slightly Adapted from JamieOliver.com
(Serves 2)

150g/5.25oz brown rice noodles (I omitted & used zucchini)
2 limes (I used 2 1/2 limes)
2 (100g/3.5oz) salmon fillets, skin on, scaled & pin-boned, from sustainable sources
4 tsp sesame seeds
1 clove of garlic
(I added 1 tsp fresh ginger, very finely minced)
4 tsp tahini
1/3 of a cucumber (I used zucchini)
2 small carrots
2 raw baby beets
cress or radish sprouts
1 ripe avocado
extra virgin olive oil (I omitted)  
fresh red chilli 
fresh coriander springs (cilantro)
(I added a few lime slices to garnish)

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then drain and toss in a little squeeze of lime juice. (I used my spiralizer to shred zucchini to replace the noodles and squeezed the lime juice on it and the other veggies.)

Carefully slice each of the salmon fillets lengthways into three. Scatter the sesame seeds over a board and press one side of the salmon slices into the seeds to form a crust. Place a large dry non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, and once hot, add the salmon sesame side down. Leave for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, flip over to cook for just 1 more minute, then remove from the heat.

Peel the garlic (and ginger) and pound into a paste with a pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar, then muddle in the tahini, the remaining lime juice and a splash of water to make a wicked dressing. Use a box grater to coarsely grate the cucumber, carrots and beets, keeping them in separate piles and dividing between two plates. Snip and divide up the cress, then divide up the noodles. (I used my spiralizer on the veggies, omitting the cucumber as I used zucchini for the noodles.)

Halve, peel and destone the avocado and add one half to each plate, then pour the dressing into the wells and add a few drips of oil. (I omitted the oil and topped with more sesame seeds.) Lay the salmon alongside, then finely slice the chilli and scatter over with the coriander leaves. Toss everything together at the table and enjoy.

Aren't spiralized vegetables pretty?!

 
Notes/Results: This plate made me happy--looking at it and especially consuming it. It's colorful and has that wonderful balance of healthy but satisfying with the protein and the healthy fat of the salmon, avocado and tahini sauce. One might say, "Do you need to top an a rich avocado with a rich tahini sauce?!" And to that person I would say, "Oh, mind your own business!" Just kidding! But really, if you have never paired avocado with sesame, know that it is amazing. I sometime trickle a bit of sesame oil on top of my avocado toast and top it with sesame seeds. Mmm... Also the tahini sauce (to which I added a little ginger and some extra lime juice), is delicious on the avocado and as you eat your shredded or spiralized veggies, you can drag them through it, giving them extra flavor. I honestly didn't think it needed the extra olive oil dripped on top of the dressed avocado and although I love rice noodles, I found this dish perfectly filling without them (and extra veggies never hurt anyone). The extra lime juice is a nice contrast to the richness, so having a couple of wedges on the plate is nice and the sprouts add a peppery bite. For plating, I like the look of the piles of spiralized veggies and it's faster/easier than grating them on a box grater. I have a small, fairly inexpensive spiralizer I got from Amazon a few years ago (like this one), and although it's not fancy, it gets the job done. All and all, a terrific dish that I will happily make again. 

It's always fun to look back and see favorite recipes from our past IHCC chefs. I have close to 30 recipes from Jamie Oliver posted and while they were pretty universally delicious, below are six of my favorites.

South Indian Rice & Seafood Soup from Jamie's Dinners
 

  
Pukkolla (Muesli) from The Naked Chef Takes Off

 Eggplant and Mint Bruschette from Jamie's Italy

Tuna Ceviche in Baby Romaine Cups from Food Network

Ciabatta Sandwich of Grilled Vegetables with Pesto & Mozzarella from Jamie's Dinners

Chickpea, Leek & Parmesan Soup from Soup Kitchen (Celebrity Chef Cookbook)

 
You can see which Jamie Oliver dishes my fellow IHCC participants made this week by checking out the picture links on the post.

 
Happy Saturday!
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Restaurant Critic's Wife" by Elizabeth LaBan, Served with (Vegan) Stove Top Mac and Cheeze & a Giveaway! {#FoodiesRead #TLCBookTour}

If you have ever read a restaurant critic's review and thought "I could do that!" or dreamed of being paid to eat (a lot) at exclusive or expensive restaruants on someone else's dime, you may want to read The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan on today's TLC Book Tour stop. Being a critic isn't as easy or glamorous as it sounds and it's even less so being the restaurant critic's significant other. At least that's Lila's experience as a mother of two and the wife of Sam, Philadelphia's newest restaurant critic. Sam's obsessive need to remain anonymous is cramping Lila's style and driving her crazy and it's a funny and food-centered ride. Accompanying my review is a bowl of (Vegan) Stove Top Mac & Cheese inspired by one of my favorite parts of the book. And, there's even a chance to win a copy of your own at the end of this post...pretty great for a Monday.
  

Publisher's Blurb:

What could be better than being married to a restaurant critic? All those amazing meals at the best restaurants…pure nirvana, right? Well, Lila Soto, the heroine of Elizabeth LaBan’s charming new novel, The Restaurant Critic’s Wife (Lake Union Publishing; January 5, 2016), might tell you otherwise. Sure the food is heavenly, but the downsides are considerable—especially being married to a man who is obsessed with his job and paranoid to the point of absurdity about being “outed” from his anonymity. Add to the scenario the fact that Lila has given up her own career to follow her husband’s job to a new, unfamiliar city, and that she is now a fulltime stay-at-home mom—a gig she never aspired to, despite loving her kids—and you begin to see why Lila is doubting every life decision she’s ever made.

Though it is not an autobiography by any means, it can’t be overlooked that Elizabeth LaBan is herself married to Philadelphia restaurant critic Craig LaBan. “This book wouldn’t exist without my husband,” she says, “who brings excitement, adventure, love, and great food into our lives every day, and has always been open to my writing a novel about a woman who is married to a wacky restaurant critic. For the record, Craig is not obsessive or controlling like Sam—and Craig did not tell me to say that.” But, even if her main characters are fictitious, there is no denying that Elizabeth draws on aspects of her own life to lend a delicious verisimilitude to the novel.

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife is a charming portrait of the complexities of life that many women face when dealing with their marriages, their children, their friendships, and their careers. All the talk about exquisite food is merely the icing on a one-of-a-kind cake.

Paperback: 313 pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (January 5, 2016)

There's a lot to love about this book--especially if you are a foodie who likes to alternate some tasty food descriptions with snorts of laughter. Sam is so over the top sometimes with his *rules* for keeping his identity a secret that it is a wonder that Lila doesn't kill him! He drove me crazy. From his disguises, to skulking through restaurant garbage cans, to not talking to the neighbors (or anyone who may have any association to anyone even remotely connected to a restaurant), it is easy to understand why Lila feels so isolated. She's in a new city, with a toddler and a new baby, missing her high-powered job managing hotel crises, and her only friend in her new hometown owns a restaurant with her husband that Sam is set to review. Even though I don't have kids or a beyond quirky husband, it was easy to relate to Lila because who doesn't have those moments of questioning your life choices and the path you seem to be on?!

The Restaurant Critic's Wife manages to be both funny and poignant. I had the opportunity to join in a TLC Readers Facebook chat with Elizabeth LaBan and asked her about her own experiences as the spouse of a restaurant critic (it was apparent that we all found it fascinating with the many questions she was getting about her husband's job!) and although she says he isn't nearly as wacky as Sam, there were many little nuggets of truth in there. It keeps the book feeling real and makes it a great read for the January doldrums and for my first TLC Book Tour of the new year. (Don't forget to enter below to win your own copy!) 

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Author Notes: Elizabeth LaBan lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant critic husband and two children. She is also the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages, and The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages. 

 Connect with Elizabeth on her Website, Facebook, or Twitter.

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Food, food, food, there was enough of it in The Restaurant Critic's Wife to make it difficult to choose something to make inspired by my reading. Sam's newspaper had a quirky rating system of swans (instead of forks or stars) to review restaurants and there were some four swan dishes that tempted my palate. In the Facebook chat with Elizabeth on her release day, she mentioned that she prefers simpler fare then her husband does. Since I like to cook and eat simply, those were the dishes I was most drawn too--the duck gumbo that same recommended Lila try when they met in New Orleans (and the Sazerac cocktail and banana pancakes he made for her there), her favorite sour cream coffeecake from a restaurant Sam reviewed, countless pasta and spaghetti dinners (including one hilarious scene where the glue from Sam's beard disguise prevents him from talking clearly, causing the waitress to treat him like he has some special needs), fondue that Sam declares has hidden American cheese (egads!) and a tasty sounding shrimp and chick-pea curry--were all on my "short-list" for this book. 

Ultimately it was macaroni and cheese that won the day. On a spring trip to the Jersey Shore, Sam devises the "Mac and Cheese Test"--bringing boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to the restaurants they dine at to see how/if each restaurant will deal with the request to make it for their daughter Hazel. I thought it was pretty funny and kind of ingenious (since I didn't have to see him do it or eat it like poor Hazel who eventually had, "Too much macaroni.") I forgot to ask Elizabeth if this test really happened but I hope it did. ;-)

My goal was to make a Kraft-like stove top mac and cheese but I am clearing wheat/gluten, dairy, and added sugar out of my system for a few weeks to see if it helps my breathing. No matter, I am a big fan of trying different vegan mac & cheeze recipes and I found one that a blogger created to get her daughter over the boxed variety. With a dairy-free base and gluten-free pasta, I could still get a bowl of simple, creamy comfort. 

Easy, Cheezy Vegan Macaroni 
Slightly Adapted from FatFree Vegan Kitchen
(Serves 6)

1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions (I used gluten free quinoa pasta)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain, non-dairy milk alternative (I used almond milk)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste (I used 2 Tbsp)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
a pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp tahini (optional, but lends creaminess and flavor)
1 tsp mellow white miso
ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta (al dente) according to the package directions. Meanwhile, blend water and remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste sauce and add additional flavor (mustard, onion powder, lemon, salt) as desired.  

Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup or so of the cooking water. Return drained pasta to pan and add the sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens, adding pasta water as needed for additional moistness. Once sauce is thick and creamy to your liking, serve immediately. 

Notes/Results: Not my favorite vegan mac and cheese ever but I liked the list of healthy ingredients and a bowl of cheeze-ish pasta is always welcome. This one makes an ultra-creamy sauce that stayed fairly thick even when I added all of my reserved pasta water. People not used to non-dairy cheeze options or nutritional yeast will argue it doesn't taste like "real" cheese (but does boxed macaroni truly taste of "real cheese" anyway?). I am sure Sam would hate it--hah! But for me, it hit the spot. (BTW: One other thing about vegan mac and cheeze is that you have approximately 3 minutes once it is dished up before it starts to cool and look gloppy so pardon the pictures--it tastes better than it appears.)  You can thin out the leftovers with a little extra non-dairy milk when reheating. 

The Restaurant Critic's Wife is my second entry for the Foodies Read 2016 event. You can check out the January Foodies Read linkup, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story, to see what everyone is reading this month. 

***GIVEAWAY***

The publisher has generously offered a copy of this fun foodie book to one of my readers as part of this TLC Blog Tour. (Open to US/Canada addresses)

To enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, you must leave a comment (Basically because I like to read them!) ;-) based on the subject of the book:

As a food critic, Lila's husband Sam used the newspaper's quirky rating system of swans to evaluate the restaurants. Leave a comment telling me about a restaurant or a particular dish that you loved and would give 4 swans to (the highest rating). (If you don't eat out or can't think of a restaurant dish, you can tell me about one of your own dishes that deserves a 4 swan rating!)

There are a couple of other optional ways to get entries 1) Tweet about this giveaway (you can do this once per day if you like!) or 2) follow me on Twitter (@Debin Hawaii).

The Giveaway runs until 1/25/ 16. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: A review copy of "The Restaurant Critic's Wife" 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 Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

Cherry Berry Smoothie Bowl and A Review of Lizzy and Jane {#foodiesread}

Happy Aloha Friday!  Today I am presenting my first book for the Foodies Read 2016 Challenge, Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay. (See my post about the Foodies Read challenge here.) And, since it's a food blog and a foodie book event, I had to make something inspired by my reading--in this case a Cherry Berry Smoothie Bowl--healthy, nourishing, and down right delectable.

Publishers Blurb:

Lizzy and Jane couldn’t be further from Jane Austen’s famous sisters for whom they are named.

Elizabeth left her family’s home in Seattle fifteen years ago to pursue her lifelong dream—chefing her own restaurant in New York City. Jane stayed behind to raise a family. Estranged since their mother’s death many years ago, the circumstances of their lives are about to bring them together once again.
 
Known for her absolute command of her culinary domain, Elizabeth’s gifts in the kitchen have begun to elude her. And patrons and reviewers are noticing. In need of some rest and an opportunity to recover her passion for cooking, Elizabeth jumps at the excuse to rush to her sister’s bedside when Jane is diagnosed with cancer. After all, Elizabeth did the same for their mother. Perhaps this time, it will make a difference.

As Elizabeth pours her renewed energy into her sister’s care and into her burgeoning interest in Nick, Jane’s handsome coworker, her life begins to evolve from the singular pursuit of her own dream into the beautiful world of family, food, literature, and love that was shattered when she and Jane lost their mother. Will she stay and become Lizzy to her sister’s Jane—and Elizabeth to Nick’s Mr. Darcy—or will she return to the life she has worked so hard to create

Some excerpts from my Goodreads review: here:

Lizzy and Jane is one of those curl-up-and-get-lost-in books, especially if you are a Jane Austen geek or a foodie (I am both). I was impressed with the number of food references that the author pulled from Austen's work (I think I need to go back and reread Emma from a foodie perspective) and she also manages to insert food references from Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, and even Wind in the Willows into the mix. Having lived in Seattle for several years, I also loved how the food scene there was portrayed--from the restaurants to the varied markets and quirky neighborhoods--it made me want to book a visit back to the city and its marvelous food. 

Elizabeth (she hates 'Lizzy') thinks that if she can feed Jane--who has lost her taste and appetite with the chemotherapy and cancer treatment--she will reconnect with both her sister and her love of cooking. During chemo, Jane asks to be read from the books of Jane Austen (their mother's favorites--hence their names) and although Lizzy is reluctant (she put Austen away with her mother's illness and death) she begins to discover how the food in Austen and her talent for coming up with ingredients and tastes that will comfort and appeal to Jane open up her cooking. As someone who loves to cook and to experiment with different spices and flavors, reading some of Lizzy's thought process as she was making food to appeal to Jane, and another cancer patient Tyler was fascinating. It is when she is cooking and feeding others, rather than cooking for herself that Elizabeth finds her spark. I love this quote from Lizzy and Jane: "Great writers and my mom never used food as an object. Instead it was a medium, a catalyst to mend hearts, to break down barriers, to build relationships."
 
There were some triggers for me in the book. Although I didn't lose my mom at the age or in the way that Lizzy and Jane did, it's a recent loss and I think there is a connection between any women who have lost their mothers. Their grief and some of the scenes in the chemo center and hospital weren't always easy to read. The book is labeled as religious/inspirational fiction which is not a genre I normally gravitate too, and although messages of faith are certainly in there, it doesn't beat you over the head with it. The romance is on the lighter side, slow-building and definitely Austen-like.

I grabbed Lizzy & Jane as an e-book (it's on sale at Amazon for $1.99 as a Kindle Monthly Deal right now) but I am tempted to buy a print copy to put with my Austen/Austen-ish books. It's a sweet, poignant, and often funny family drama and a keeper for me.

There was plenty of food in Lizzy and Jane from the dishes at Lizzy's restaurant to the many restaurant meals enjoyed in Seattle. Lizzy made her own garam masala mix and also made a spice mix of cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, salt and black pepper, fresh thyme, cilantro and a bit of mint oil to show Nick what he smelled like to her--something she did when trying to figure someone out--which I thought was fun and unique. Lizzy's cooking for Jane and her family included things like applesauce, oatmeal "gruel,"  soups, beef stew, Shepard's pie, chicken pot pie, cake, chocolate chip cookies, eggs and toast, and bacon ice cream with maple syrup for breakfast. 

A smoothie bowl may not seem like the obvious choice for a book where the Lizzy looks to the works of Jane Austen to create dishes nourish her sister. Lizzy's first dishes for Jane 'crashed and burned' because she failed to partner the Austen-style dishes and childhood comfort food favorites with what Jane liked and how she was currently feeling. Once she began to ask Jane questions and listen, she had success with getting her to eat and gain weight. Smoothies played a role when Lizzy attempted to cook for Tyler, another cancer patient. At first, she tries to feed Tyler what she thinks he will eat and what will help him gain weight, making a variety of smoothies as part of his meals. Unfortunately, most of what she made Tyler on the first go-round didn't work, including those smoothies she made with citrus, which stung his mouth due to sores from the chemo. Once she questions Tyler about what he can eat and learns more about his likes and dislikes, she is able to nourish him and learns a valuable lesson. "...it's never about the food--it's about what the food becomes, in the hands of the giver and the recipient." 
 

I often make a smoothie and run out the door with it. I think there is a great pleasure in sitting down with a smoothie in a bowl, topped with healthy and tasty toppings. In addition to tasting delicious, it is pretty to look at--important when tempting the appetite. With its cherry and banana combination, Ellie Krieger's Cherry Berry Smoothie Bowl has no citrus so it would work for Tyler too, and Jane would appreciate the berry toppings--blueberries were one of the foods that appealed to her. I used coconut milk, making it non-dairy and extra creamy. 

Cherry Berry Smoothie Bowl 
Adapted from EllieKrieger.com
(Serves 4)

1 very ripe banana, frozen
2 cups frozen pitted cherries
1 1/4 cups low-fat milk (1%) (I used coconut milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (see Ellie's Note below)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Combine the banana, cherries, milk and vanilla extract in a blender; puree until smooth. You might need to stop the blender to stir with a spatula a couple of times, depending on the appliance's power.
 
Divide among individual bowls, then arrange the blueberries, raspberries, coconut, almonds and chia seeds on top of each portion. Serve right away.
 
Ellie's Note: Toast the almonds in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat for several minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant, shaking the pan as needed to prevent scorching. Cool completely before using.

Notes/Results: Yum! Served in a bowl, a smoothie is like eating ice cream for breakfast without any guilt or added sugar! ;-) I sometimes forget how much I love frozen cherries until I make something with them (or eat them straight from the bag) and rediscover how good they are. This bowl is nice and satisfying with the coconut milk and the toppings. If you wanted, you could stick a little protein powder or add more chia seeds to the smoothie itself. I also like to put a thin layer of fruit in the bottom of my smoothie bowls before scooping the smoothie on top. Having those extra little 'treasures' as you spoon up the smoothie is nice and the extra berries help build the fiber. I will happily make this again.

Head over to the January Foodies Read linkup, hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story, to see what everyone is reading this month.

This post is also linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's Fresh Starts theme--Ellie Krieger recipes that are healthy ways to start the new year, or start your day. You can see what everyone made by following the picture links on the post.

 

Foodies Read Challenge 2016

If you read this blog regularly and check out my book review/food pairings, join in the bi-monthly Cook the Books foodie virtual book club event I co-host, or stop by my Goodreads page, you know I read A LOT. 

Although I read a variety of genres, food-related books will always be my favorite so I was excited to find out about the Foodies Read 2016 challenge from some of my like-minded blogger friends. 

For this event you can pick your own books--any genre--just as long as food is a big part of the plot. (That's not going to be a problem I think!)

 
There are various challenge levels to choose from:

Short-Order Cook: 1 to 3 books
Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books
Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books
Chef de Cuisine: 14 to 18
Cordon-Bleu Chef: More than 19 

Or, if you don't like to tie yourself to a level, you can just go ala carte and drop in whenever you want. I have always been an overachiever (and I am already on my third foodie book of the 2016) so I am shooting for Cordon-Blue Chef.  

I'll tag any related post as Foodies Read and I'll keep a log of my books--not sure where yet

If you want to join in the fun, the Foodies Read Challenge is led by Heather of Based on a True Story and you can read all about Foodies Read and join in by going to the sign up post.  

 

Toast with Pear and Honey-Walnut (& Pecan) Yogurt Spread

An easy to eat breakfast is nice to have on hand for either running out the door, or to enjoy in one hand with a book in the other. This Toast with Honey-Walnut Spread is a nice combination of warm and cool, crunchy and creamy, tart and sweet.

I made a couple small changes to the recipe, noted in red below--using cranberry-walnut bread instead of the cinnamon raisin called for in the recipe, using a mix of walnuts and pecans, and sprinkling ground cinnamon on top.

Toast with Honey-Walnut Spread
Adapted from So Easy by Ellie Krieger
(Makes 4 Servings)

1/2 cup walnut pieces (I used walnuts & pecans)
1/2 cup plain Greek-style nonfat yogurt
2 tsp honey
8 slices cinnamon raisin bread (I used cranberry-walnut bread)
1 peach, apple, or pear (I used a pear), pitted and/or cored
(I added ground cinnamon on top)

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Allow them to cool slightly, then chop them finely.

In a small bowl, add the chopped walnuts to the yogurt and honey and stir until well combined. The spread will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Just stir well before using.

When ready to serve, toast the bread and cut the fruit into 1/4-inch slices. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the walnut spread onto each piece of the bread. Top each piece with a few slices of fruit. Eat immediately. 

Notes/Results: A quick and simple recipe for a healthy spread for toast. The protein in the Greek yogurt and the nuts make it a satisfying way to start the day, or a slice makes a great afternoon snack with a cup of tea. I liked the extra tang from the dried cranberries in the bread I used--although the cinnamon and raisin Ellie uses would also be delicious. Because I didn't have quite enough walnuts, I mixed in some pecans and I enjoyed the contrast in textures. I will happily make it again.

This week's I Heart Cooking Clubs theme is It's In Your Hands--Ellie Krieger recipes that you can hold/eat with your hands. You can see what handheld creations everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post. 

 

Apricot Marmalade on Baguette & Raspberry Drinking Shrub Sodas for Food 'N Flix December: The Jane Austen Book Club

This month's Food 'N Flix pick is The Jane Austen Book Club, a film based on the book of the same name by Karen Joy Fowler. Being a huge Jane Austen nerd (you'll see more evidence of this later in the post), this film is in my large collection of Austen-inspired films and adaptations and I was excited that Kimberly of Coffee and Casseroles selected it this month. (You can check out her announcement post here.) It inspired me to drag out my copy of The Jane Austen Cookbook (did I mention that whole Jane Austen nerd thing?) and have a little historical fun in the kitchen this weekend, adapting a couple of Georgian/Regency style recipes into more modern book club bites.

If you haven't seen the film or read the book, the title explains it pretty well... it's about a group of six--five women and one man--who form a book club around the six classic Jane Austen novels, reading a novel each month. The group's own lives and their various issues such as loss, infidelity, dissatisfaction, unrequited love, disappointment, etc. mirror many of Austen's own themes. (As one of the characters, Jocelyn, notes--"Reading Jane Austen is a freaking minefield.") As a person with a tendency to dip into Jane Austen (or Austen-inspired) books or movies when I need an escape from the real world, I can relate to finding solace and comfort there. It's good rom-com-dramady fun, light and sweet.

I read The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler several years ago and although I liked it, I actually like the movie more. I attribute that to a combination of the actors--Amy Brenneman, Jimmy Smits, Kathy Baker, and (an adorable) Hugh Dancy to name my favorites--it's a great ensemble. I also like the way that Robin Swicord, the director (and writer of the screenplay) adapted the book--there are differences in some of the characters and plot points from the book to the film that I think improved the story and there is less emphasis on each character's backstory--which in my opinion made the book a little 'draggy" at times. It is fun to match the various movie/book characters to Jane Austen's originals and Swicord gives some great commentary about the various match-ups of the book's characters to Austen's on one of the "extras" included on the DVD.

It had been a while since I had seen the movie and I had never watched it looking for food inspiration, so it was a fun challenge to decide what to make. For the most part, the food is shown in quick glimpses in the background--coffee and pastry at Starbucks, a few restaurant meals, a dozen eggs for a flan... Most of the book club fare is shown quickly--dips and finger foods and plenty of wine and cocktails. I ended up finding my inspiration in a conversation the characters had about setting up the book club at the local Starbucks where the group picks their books to host. Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) says, "Let's not get into the competitive cooking thing" while Bernadette (Kathy Baker) chants "Bake-off!" Jocelyn (Maria Bello) chimes in with "No, we'll do finger foods" and Sylvia says, "We can do takeout." It was Jocelyn's final food/hosting comment that got me thinking the most... "We have to create the Jane Austen mood."  

If I were in an actual Jane Austen book club, you can bet that I would be trying to create the Jane Austen mood, and what better way than taking inspiration from The Jane Austen Cookbook by Maggie Black and Deidre Le Faye? I bought this cookbook at a used book store a few years ago with the intention of someday making White Soup to accompany one of my re-reads of Pride and Prejudice. (Yep--Jane Austen nerdiness...) That plan never quite happened and the cookbook has sat on my shelves, but I knew there had to be a recipe or two in there that would be appropriate for book club noshing.

I didn't really feel like baking and wanted something in the finger food category that was relatively simple. Marmalett of Aprecoks (aka Apricot Marmalade) quickly caught my eye. At the beginning of the movie, Sylvia and her husband are eating at the Marmalade Cafe--which I thought was an adorable name for a restaurant. Of course it is where he tells her he has been unfaithful and wants out of the marriage to be with the other woman so I feel a bit bad in having that as a small part of my inspiration--but oh well! ;-) A couple of pages later, I found a Raspberry 'Vinegar' (Cordial) which was a happy coincidence since I have been wanting to make a fruit 'drinking shrub' ever since enjoying an apple shrub in a cocktail a few months ago. (A shrub is a drinking vinegar, usually infused with fruit or herbs and used in sodas or mixed drinks.) The cordial recipe seemed close to a shrub, although I updated the preparation slightly due to time and served mine with soda instead of stirring it into cold water as the book prescribes. Both recipes--Apricot Marmalade on Baguette & Raspberry Drinking Shrub Sodas--were easy enough, fun to make, and really delicious. 

Below are the recipes from the book, my updates/changes are noted in red.

The Apricot Marmalade is made with 'pipin' water--or apple water made from the peelings and cores of apples (natural pectin) which I thought sounded fun. To update the marmalade and turn it into an appetizer, I served it on grilled baguette with a schmeer of labneh (strained yogurt cheese) to offset the sweet.

The Jane Austen Cookbook notes that "when made before 1740, marmalett might be either a fruit paste or a whole-fruit jellied conserve made with apple-water  and sometimes called a jelly. Preserves like these, including jams. stayed largely unchanged until the nineteenth century."

Mamalett of Aprecoks
Adapted from The Jane Austen Cookbook

12 oz /350 g dried apricots
10 fl oz/275 ml/1 1/4 cups apple water (see method below)
1 1/4 lb/350 g/3 cups preserving sugar (I used 2 cups coarse sugar)

Cut up dried apricots and soak in water for several hours or overnight. While soaking them, make apple water as follows: was, peel, and core cooking apples (I used Gala apples), and put the peelings and cores into a large saucepan. They should just be covered when you add 1 pint / 575 ml water. Simmer, covered, until they are very soft and the water is well flavoured. Measure the water to make sure you have well over 10 fl oz / 275 ml apple water. (Note: I added a cinnamon stick and a tangerine peel to my apple peels before simmering for extra flavor.) 

Drain the apricots and put them in a large sauce pan or a preserving pan with the sugar. Add the apple water and bring slowly to the boil, skimming occasionally. Cook steadily until the syrup sheets a spoon and drips from it slowly in blobs, then skim again and test for setting quality by dropping a few drips on a cold plate. They should 'jelly' on contact with the plate.

Pour the marmalett into hot jars: to avoid making air bubbles, pour it down the side of the jar. Take out any bubbles that do form by prodding with a skewer. Cover the preserve with waxed paper circles and leave to cool. Once cool, cover the jar or jars and label them with the name of the preserve and date made. Do not rely on your memory. Store the marmalett in a cool, dry place. (Note: I poured  into a sterile canning jar, cooled, capped jar and stored in fridge.)

About the raspberry cordial, The Jane Austen Cookbook notes: "This used to be a great treat for country children, but is more often used now as a drink for wise drivers. (Orgeat was a similar cooling drink made from barley or almonds and orange-flower water.)"

Raspberry "Vinegar' (Cordial)
Adapted from The Jane Austen Cookbook
(Makes about 3 pints)

3 lb /1.4kg  fresh or defrosted frozen raspberries
3 pints/1.7 litres/7 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
white sugar

Put the raspberries and vinegar in a bowl and leave. covered for 5-6 days, stirring occasionally. Mash well and strain through a jelly bag without extracting any pressure. Measure the liquid and allow 1 lb /450g sugar to each pint of liquid. Bring to a boil slowly, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 20 minutes. Skim and leave until cold. 

(Note: Due to time constraints, I used a hot-process method and used 12 oz thawed, frozen raspberries. I made a simple syrup with one cup sugar ad one cup water, heating it in a medium saucepan until the sugar dissolved. I then added the raspberries and brought to a simmer, reducing heat to low, and simmering until the fruit melts into the liquid--about 20 minutes. I stirred in 3/4 cup champagne vinegar and 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar and simmered for another 5 minutes or so.I strained the shrub into a jar, discarding the solids and letting it cool before storing, tightly covered in the fridge.)

Pour into sterilized bottles or jars and seal tightly. Use a tablespoon of raspberry vinegar in a glass of cold water as a cooling drink or to soothe a cold or fever. If you want a fuller flavoured drink, use a little more of the mixture. (For sodas, I added 1 Tbsp to a short glass, topped with ice and poured in soda water, garnishing with fresh berries and a rosemary sprig.)

Notes/Results: Both the jam and the shrub were fabulous--great flavor and fun to make, with a little cooking history lesson thrown in too. If I hadn't procrastinated and given myself more time, I would have tried the cold process version of the shrub and plan to remake it that way soon, but I was really pleased with the flavor of the hot processed one. It has a sweet-tart taste that makes for a sophisticated soda and will be a wonderful base for cocktails. I see plenty of shrub experimentation in my future. The sodas made a good pairing with the marmalade-spread baguettes, they and the labneh kept the too-sweet factor down. I did reduce the sugar by about a cup in the jam and worried that it might not set up, but it was not a problem with the natural pectin from the apple water. I liked the extra touch of flavor that the cinnamon and tangerine I added to the simmering apple water gave the marmalade and since I prefer a chunky jam, I didn't break up my apricot pieces too much. I will happily make both recipes again. The only downside was getting the lyrics to Lady Marmalade stuck in my head for hours... Itchi gitchi ya ya da da... ;-) 

The deadline for December's Food 'N Flix is today and Coffee & Casseroles will be rounding up the entries on her blog soon. If you missed out on this month's fun and like food, movies and foodie movies, consider joining us for January's pick: Failure to Launch, hosted by Amy's Cooking Adventures.