The Book Tour Stops Here: "The Way Life Should Be" by Christina Baker Kline Served with a Simple Fennel & Parmesan Salad with Lemon (Recipe From the Book)

"You have il regalo," Nonna told me one steamy August evening before I left for college. The gift. A light touch, an instinctive to substitute and improvise. I knew I had it--it was one of the few things I was certain I did well. Though hopeless at chemistry in the classroom, I intuitively understood the alchemy of cooking."  

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

Publisher's Blurb:

Angela can feel the clock ticking. She is single in New York City, stuck in a job she doesn’t want and a life that seems to have, somehow, just happened. She inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, but she never seems to have the time for it—these days, her oven holds only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a photo from a magazine of a tidy cottage on the coast of Maine—a charming reminder of a life that could be hers, if she could only muster the courage to go after it.

On a hope and a chance, Angela decides to pack it all up and move to Maine, finding the nudge she needs in the dating profile of a handsome sailor who loves dogs and Italian food. But her new home isn’t quite matching up with the fantasy. Far from everything familiar, Angela begins to rebuild her life from the ground up. Working at a local coffeehouse, she begins to discover the pleasures and secrets of her new small-town community and, in the process, realizes there’s really no such thing as the way life should be.

Paperback: 320 pages  
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 16, 2014)

Angela envisions a very different life for herself, out of the city's hustle and bustle, in a small cottage in Maine. Life, the way it should be--filled with satisfaction and a great love. Inspired by her friend's Internet dating success she signs up herself and finds a likely candidate living in a small coastal Maine town. Distracted by being in love with love, she makes a colossal mistake at work that leaves her jobless and Angela packs up her life and drives up to Mount Desert Island to be with 'her man' and find a better life. Her experiences don't come close to to her fantasies but she begins to find friends in the small community and she dives into her passion for cooking by creating pastries and soups for the coffee shop she works at and teaching cooking classes. 

This is my third Christina Baker Kline reprint review and my favorite of her books so far, mostly because of all of the food. Angela cooks like I do with il regalo as her grandmother or Nonna calls it, loving to take the bones of a recipe and instinctively making changes that make it your own. I devoured the food she made from both from her own recipes and ideas, and those of her Nonna. I love a good start-life-over-and-change-your-destiny story and this book delivers. Angela is likable and Nonna is the Italian grandmother everyone wants. I became very fond of the quirky group of fellow transplants that Angela befriended in Mount Desert Island and I would have liked even more of their stories. The Way Life Should Be is foodie chick-lit, not at all deep, but warm, fun, and a quick read to curl up with over a big bowl of pasta or maybe a plate of fennel salad. 

Author Notes: Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. The author of five novels, including the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, Kline has taught literature and creative writing at Yale, New York University, and Fordham. She lives outside of New York City.
 
Find out more about Kline at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

There is of course no shortage of food inspiration in this book--baked goods, many soups, and classic Italian dishes handed down from Angela's Nonna. There are recipe 'sketches' throughout the book and listed in the back, and close to a dozen actual recipes. Although I was tempted by Nonna's Potato-Crusted Sole and Pasta e Fagioli, it was the simple fennel salad that reeled me in. Part of Angela's cooking class/group's 'White Christmas' dinner (the salad plus Tuscan White Bean Puree and a White Bolognese), I enjoyed it on its own as a perfect dish for a warm and humid night.   

Fennel Salad
Adapted from The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

"The fennel salad is simple, I slice the bulbs into thin sheets and add a generous amount of Parmigiano-Reggiano shaved to slivers. Lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil whisked into a vinaigrette , along with freshly ground pepper, complete the dish."

Deb notes: I like to add the extra fennel fronds for a spot of color and I also zested the lemon and added the zest to the salad.

Notes/Results: I love fennel and I especially enjoy it with Parmesan and lemon. There is something about that cooling licorice/anise flavor of the fennel that is a heavenly match for the rich and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano and the tangy, freshness of the lemon. This salad is perfect as a starter, a side for fish or if you are me--just gobbled up from the mixing bowl as dinner. I will definitely make it again. 

Note: A review copy of "The Way Life Should Be" was provided 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 the TLC Book Tours and Reviews here.

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "A Piece of the World" by Christina Baker Kline, Served with Fried Apple Stove-Top Skillet Cake

Today's TLC Book Tour stop looks behind a classic twentieth century American painting for the story of its intriguing subject. I'm reviewing A Piece of the World, a novel by Christina Baker Kline and accompanying my review is a recipe for Fried Apple Stove-Top Skillet Cake, inspired by the book.
 

Publisher's Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s mysterious and iconic painting Christina’s World.

“Later he told me that he’d been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn’t like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won’t stay hidden.”

To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.

As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.
Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.

This edition includes a four-color reproduction of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World.

Hardcover: 320 pages  

Publisher: William Morrow (February 21, 2017)

My Review:  

This book caught me by surprise with how absorbing it was and just how much I liked it. I have read and enjoyed Christina Baker Kline's previous books with the big exception of her most well-known, The Orphan Train (don't ask me why--I have a copy that never seems to quite make it to the top of my TBR pile), so I expected to find a well-told story, but it was so much more. I remember first learning about the painter Andrew Wyeth in an art history class and was intrigued by his realist style and his moody and evocative paintings--arguably the most famous being Christina's World--so I had an interest in slipping into the story behind the artwork. As a child, Baker Kline was given a woodblock print by her father that was inspired by the painting and in A Piece of the World, she imagines what the life of the model was like.  

"Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth, 

reprinted from an article by Hannah Kim, Inside/Out.com and The Museum of Modern Art
 

The book is set in Maine from the early 1900s through the late 1940s and tells both of the life of Christina Olson, the subject behind the painting--as well as her relationship with Andrew Wyeth, who spent several years visiting the Olson farm and painting the scenery, Christina and her brother, and forming a relationship and a friendship with them. The story is told from Christina's point of view and goes back and forth in time from her childhood and the illness (thought to be Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease) that left her with deteriorating bones and joints to her adult life and the visits from Wyeth. Christina's world is small and for the most part contained in the family home and farm and she is bitter and not always easy to like--although it is easy to understand why when you consider how some of her choices were made for her by her parents and of course her health. She is a strong and independent character and the way that the author tells her stories--the bright moments, the sadness, and all of the small details is beautiful and engaging and had me wanting the best for her. The Maine setting, details about Wyeth's painting and Christina's family history (connected to the Salem witch Trials) are interesting and Baker Kline's words bring it to life in vivid detail. I thought it might be a slow, too-languorous read but I found it hard to put down and I was sorry when I finished this remarkable tale. Highly recommended. 

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Author Notes: Christina Baker Kline is the author of five novels. She lives outside of New York City and on the coast of Maine.
 
Find out more about Kline at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

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Food Inspiration:

There is food aplenty in A Piece of the World--mostly homey food that fits the time periods in the story. There are clambakes, eggs from the family chickens, a picnic lunch of egg sandwich on thick-sliced bread, a cucumber, and two pieces of fried apple cake, bread, porridge, dry oatcakes, chicken pie, pot roast, fish stew and chowder, potatoes-boiled and mashed, peas or carrots, casserole or stews, tea and fresh-squeezed lemonade, split pea soup with ham and chicken soup, Swedish bread called svartbröd, with salmon and sour cream and a fried potato cake called raggamunk, and lingonberries, a meatloaf sandwich, sliced thin on bread with butter, sandwiches of butter and molasses on thick sourdough bread, cottage cheese, bread, cheese and hard boiled eggs, butterscotch candies, drop biscuits, canned and pickled vegetables, jam and preserves, suckling pig roasted in a pit in the yard, stewed apples and dried-blueberry cake, chicken stew with squash dumplings, a New Year's drink called a Whaler's Toddy of rum, molasses and cloves in a mug with boiling water, blended with a cinnamon stick, oranges from Florida, chipped beef and noodles, sliced turkey and ham, pickled beans and beets, gingerbread cookies, strawberry, blueberry and wild rhubarb pies, fried chicken, and appetizers of red radishes, deviled eggs and green olives with pimento.

For my book-inspired book, I knew it had to be a version (at least of of sorts) of the fried apple cake that Christina is 'famous' for as it is mentioned several times throughout the book. 

"She wants to know my famous fried apple cake recipe and I explain it step by step: how you peel and thinly slice the apples, fry the slices over a low flame in a heavy black skillet, adding a stream of molasses until the apples are soft in the middle and crispy on the edges, then turn the skillet over onto a platter. (I don't tell her that I can no longer turn the skillet on my own and have to ask one of my brothers to do it.)" 

-A Piece of the World 

 
From the description, Christina's cake sounds more like a scalloped sort of apple dish that ends up in a cake-like form as there is no mention of anything beyond thinly-sliced peeled apples and molasses. I looked online for fried apple cake but couldn't find anything that sounded like that. What did pop up were a few stack and skillet cakes--most of them started on the stove and then finished in the oven--but a couple I found were cooked entirely on the store in a skillet and that's what I decided to make. I am sure it isn't the cake that the author intended but it intrigued me. Since I was craving cake, I don't love the flavor of molasses, and I wanted to see how well it would turn out--I decided to give it a try.

I picked this Apple Skillet Cake recipe from Christy Jordan at SouthernPlate.com and I made just a few small changes. I also reduced the amount to fit into my small frying pan--not needing a big cake sitting about. My changes and the amounts I used for the smaller pan are below--you can follow the above link to the site for the original recipe and steps.

Fried Apple Stove-Top Skillet Cake
Adapted slightly from SouthernPlate.com

Apple Topping:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
3 apples of choice, peeled and thinly sliced (I used 2 Honeycrisp + 1 Granny Smith)

Cake:
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup apple juice or water
1 egg

To make apple topping: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and stir in cinnamon and sugar. When mixture liquefies, layer in apple slices. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes--until apple slices have softened. 

Meanwhile, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl until well mixed. In a separate bowl combine melted butter, evaporated milk, apple juice (or water) and the egg and mix until the egg is well-beaten. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and mix just until just moistened and combined. 

Reduce heat on apples to low. Carefully spoon batter over the apple slices in the skillet as evenly as possible. Cover pan and cook on low for 20 minutes, until cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Remove cake from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Carefully turn over onto a serving plate and serve warm. Enjoy! 

Notes/Results: I was really happy with how this cake turned out--perfectly moist and full of sweet cinnamon and apple flavor. I wasn't sure if it would have the texture of a more pudding-like steamed cake or an oven-baked cake and was happy it was the latter. Mine puffed up quite a bit--you can see in the collage photo above and you can see that it has a nice moist crumb to it. Things would have been perfect if I had not lost confidence in turning it over onto the small plate I wanted to use. I thought it would be easier to transfer it to a dinner plate and then carefully move it to a serving plate and that ended up being my undoing as because as careful as I was, using two large spatulas/pancake flippers, my cake broke and I lost the side. I had no problem eating the edge that came off and the rest sliced up just fine. Next time, I'll flip directly onto the plate I plan to serve it on. ;-) And there will be a next time. I am a fan of anything apple and this cake was delicious. I will definitely make it again.  

I'm linking this post up 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 the "A Piece of the World" 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.

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of 'Sweet Water' by Christina Baker Kline with a Summer-Perfect Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade

Packing up her unsatisfying life in New York City, Cassie moves to Sweetwater, Tennessee after she is left a house and land from her grandfather. Cassie doesn't know this part of her family, having been taken away by her father after her mother's death when she was a small child. Looking for both a chance to start over, and to learn more about her mother, the circumstances of her death, and her grandfather's role in it, Cassie is soon embroiled in family drama and dark secrets in today's TLC Book Tour stop, Sweet Water, a novel by Christina Baker Kline.

Publisher's Blurb:

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train comes a novel about buried secrets and the redemptive power of forgiveness

Cassie Simon is a struggling artist living in New York City. When she receives a call from a magistrate telling her she has inherited sixty acres of land in Sweetwater, Tennessee, from her grandfather, whom she never knew, she takes it as a sign: it’s time for a change. She moves to the small Southern town where her mother, Ellen, grew up—and where she died tragically when Cassie was three.

From the moment she arrives in Sweetwater, Cassie is overwhelmed by the indelible mark her mother’s memory left behind. As she delves into the thicket of mystery that surrounds her mother’s death, Cassie begins to discover the desperate measures of which the human heart is capable."

Paperback: 320 pages  
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint Edition (July 1, 2014)

I was not very familiar with Christina Baker Kline although I had heard good things about her novel Orphan Train. I signed up to be on the TLC Blog Tours for her first four books (being reissued after the success of Orphan Train), based on the descriptions alone--a bit of a risk if I ended up not liking her writing style I suppose. Sweet Water is her first novel, originally published 1993. The story alternates between Cassie and her grandmother Clyde with Clyde's sections going between present day and glimpses from the past. I found Clyde difficult to like--she definitely isn't what comes to mind when you think of a grandmother. As her story unfolds you begin to understand the reasons behind her brittleness and feel some sympathy for her, but her actions make it difficult. I did find that her parts of the storytelling were the most absorbing however, as it is where the secrets are unraveled bit by bit. Cassie is likeable, although at times lacking in maturity and making some questionable decisions--particularly when it comes to her romantic life. I don't want to go into the details of the romance too much--for me it felt out of place, and the family dynamics and drama were interesting enough without the added complication. There is plenty of family drama to be found--with Cassie, Clyde, and the rest of the family--her aunt, uncle, their spouses and children. There is suspicion and some resentment of Cassie for being favored by the inheritance, and past resentments of her mother's favored place in the family. 

Baker Kline writes beautifully, painting pictures with her words. "Later what I remembered most was the sky, the way yellow and violet overlapped like layers of frosting on a slice of birthday cake, the way the sun slipped behind and in front of clouds, gold-tipping them like illuminated manuscripts as the violet turned to purple and the yellow deepened. By the time I went inside, the sky resembled a ripe bruise, the blood beneath it drawn up close to the surface." I could picture the details in my mind--the house, Cassie's sculptures, the town and countryside, and that is what I liked best about this novel. Least liked--I found the ending somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying. Although the major secrets come out and things seem on track to being resolved, it felt like it was missing something. Still, overall, Sweet Water kept me interested and would be a good read for fans of women's fiction, family dramas and secrets, and self-discovery. 

Author Notes: Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. The author of five novels, including the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, Kline has taught literature and creative writing at Yale, New York University, and Fordham. She lives outside of New York City. Find out more about Kline at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Being a family drama set in the south, there is food in the novel--casseroles, turkey, coleslaw, creamed corn, cornbread, green beans, home-canned veggies, pound cake, and plenty of iced tea and lemonade to wash it all down. I love homemade lemonade, particularly lemonades infused with herbs. I am particularly attached to tarragon lately so I was set on making a tarragon-infused lemonade. Then I came across a recipe for Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade from Bon Appetit. Cassie mentions drinking gin and tonics--made up mostly of gin, in college, saying that "The gin helped me see everything with incredible clarity..." Having all of the ingredients needed to make the cocktail and loving any excuse to "muddle"--I knew this drink was what I wanted to make to represent the book. (Plus it goes so beautifully with the cover!) ;-)

Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade
Recipe from Alison Roman, via Bon Appetit, June 2013
(Makes 6 Servings)

10 large sprigs tarragon
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup gin
3/4 cup St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (12 oz) can club soda

Muddle tarragon sprigs, lemon slices, and sugar in a large pitcher. Add gin, St-Germain, lemon juice, and club soda. Add ice and stir to combine. Serve over ice.   

Notes/Results: A delightful summertime sipper--crisp, slightly sweet, refreshing with the tangy lemon, the anise notes of the tarragon. A little sophisticated with the slightly floral elderflower liqueur and the piney notes of the gin. Definitely easy to drink and perfect for a humid afternoon or evening outside. I will make this again.

Note: A review copy of "Sweet Water" was provided 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 the TLC Book Tours and Reviews here. 

Happy Aloha Friday! Keep your fingers crossed for the State of Hawaii as we are facing 2 hurricanes/tropical storms in the next few days. This post is scheduled to go just in case I end up without power this weekend. Here's hoping everyone gets through it intact. I'll keep you posted as I am able. ;-)
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of 'Bird in Hand' by Christina Baker Kline Served with Pasta with Watercress Pesto & Fried Egg

The decisions we make, even the ones that seem small, can change our lives in an instant. The decision to attend a party for her semi-estranged friend's book launch, going alone while her husband watches the children, accepting more than one 'blue' martini, driving on a rainy night, and not stopping or turning around when she finds herself lost, contribute to a tragic accident that changes Alison's life forever. As Alison reevaluates her marriage and the life she leads, the fallout of the accident illuminates her decisions and the choices of her husband and their longtime friends and effects them all in Bird in Hand: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline.

 

Publisher's Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train comes a novel about the choices we make, how they shape our lives, and how they can change them forever.

Four people, two marriages, one lifelong friendship: Everything is about to change.

It was dark. It was raining.  It was just an accident.  On the drive home from a rare evening out, Alison collides with another car running a stop sign, and—just like that—her life turns upside down.

When she calls her husband from the police station, his accusatory tone reveals cracks in their relationship she’d never noticed were there. Now she notices everything. And she begins to realize that the life she carefully constructed for herself is as tenuous as a house of cards. Exquisitely written, powerful, and thrilling, Bird in Hand is a novel about love and friendship and betrayal, and about the secrets we tell ourselves and each other.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (October 14, 2014)

Bird in Hand: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline is the fourth and final book in the reissued titles of the author's books on TLC Book Tour this fall. (You can read my reviews and see the recipes inspired by her other books; Sweet Water, Desire Lines, and The Way Life Should Be by following the title links.) Bird in Hand is about the relationships between two couples--Alison and Charlie, and Claire and her husband Ben. Alison and Claire are childhood friends who have had a recent falling out. Ben and Claire befriend Charlie in graduate school and introduce him to Alison. The foursome are close, at least on the surface, until cracks in the relationships occur and deepen from the strain of keeping the affair Charlie and Claire are engaging in a secret. The story goes back and forth from present day to scenes of the 10-years of history the two couples have and shift with the perspectives of each of the four characters.

Alison seemed like she could be anyone I know, a few wrong choices that in a brief moment of time lead to such terrible consequences--the death of a child. Although judged to not be at fault for the accident (the choice of the parents in the other car to hold a fussy child up front instead of safely buckled in their car seat in the back, and for the father to run through a stop sign on a residential street caused the death), Alison's actions did make her a contributing factor and the guilt is overwhelming. I had mixed emotions about the characters--immediately drawn to and sympathetic towards Alison and Ben and strongly disliking Charlie and Claire--for the cheating and their selfish choices. But, as the story unfolded, I felt a bit more understanding for Charlie and Claire--do you remain with someone you care for but the relationship isn't satisfying, or do you reach out for something you truly want at the risk of hurting others? (I didn't end up liking them any better but I felt some understanding). ;-) 

Although I am usually not that interested in novels about marital drama and infidelity, Bird in Hand managed to draw me into the story. I wanted to see what the future held for the characters and the almost 300 pages went quickly. Out of the four re-issue novels, The Way Life Should Be was my favorite--probably due to the foodie aspects, but they were all enjoyable reads and one of these days I will pick up Christina Baker Kline's bestselling Orphan Train. ;-)  Readers of contemporary women's fiction, domestic life and relationships should like this one.

Author Notes: Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. The author of five novels, including the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, Kline has taught literature and creative writing at Yale, New York University, and Fordham. She lives outside of New York City.
 
Find out more about Kline at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.


There was not a lot of inspiration coming from food in the book. I could have made the infamous blue martinis on the cover of Claire's book that proved to be Alison's downfall but that didn't seem right with the consequences of the accident. There is mention of food here and there--banana bread baked by a concerned neighbor, a meal of salad, snails and pan-fried trout in a cornmeal crust in the early days of relationships, a stir-fry of organic veggies, a trip through the gourmet section of the grocery store, Chinese food for a family meal including chow fun and sesame noodles, pancakes in the shape of hearts and dinosaurs, and fish sticks from the toaster oven and microwaved frozen peas--none of it really captured the book for me.  

Instead I chose a dish consisting of a nest of peppery watercress pesto-covered pasta with a fried egg nestled gently on top--in a reference to the book's title. The author notes that she chose Bird in Hand because of the quote; "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"--thinking of the choices her characters had to make--sticking with what you have and playing it safe, or reaching for something more that may escape you. I suppose there should have been two eggs on top of the pasta, but you get the idea. The recipe is a variation of a kale pesto in Change of Appetite by Diana Henry. Henry had a poached egg on top in her recipe but I find fried eggs quicker and less fuss to make.

Watercress Pesto with Whole Wheat Linguine & Fried Egg
Adapted from Change of Appetite by Diana Henry
(Serves 4)

1 lb whole wheat linguine or pasta of choice
sea salt
2 cups watercress 
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley or basil leaves
1/4 cup grated pecorino
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (or sweeter cashews)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (optional) to taste
4 eggs

Cook pasta according to package instructions--until cooked but still al dente. (Reserve some of the cooking water.)

Wash watercress well and remove larger stems. Place watercress in food processor with other ingredients and pulse blend until pureed but still slightly chunky. Taste for seasoning.

Poach (or fry) 4 eggs so whites are set and yolks are runny.

Place drain, still warm pasta back in pan with a little of its cooking water. Mix in pesto.

Place in individual pasta bowls or on plates and serve immediately with an egg on top.

Notes/Results: A very simple dish that is full of flavor. I am a fan of the slightly bitter, peppery bite of watercress which is still present, although mellowed by the pine nuts and cheese in the pesto. The whole grain fettuccine stands up well to the strongly-flavored pesto sauce, and the egg with its runny yolk gives it all a sweet creaminess. If you aren't a watercress fan or it is hard to get where you live, I imagine any dark green would work in this recipe. A bowl of this for dinner made me happy and satisfied and I will happily made it again. 

This pasta and egg dish is linking up to "What Came First? ... The Chicken or the Egg?" --this week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs. You can see the chicken or egg dishes everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post.

Note: A review copy of "Bird in Hand" was provided 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 the TLC Book Tours and Reviews here.

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Desire Lines" by Christina Baker Kline and Sesame Bagels with Homemade Blueberry Cream Cheese Spread

Desire lines--"Strictly speaking, it's a landscape-architecture term for the paths people create when they cut across the grass instead of taking a prescribed route--people who follow their desires, if you want to be literal."  In Desire Lines, a novel by Christina Baker Kline, they represent the paths we take in life, or the paths we find ourselves on. In Kathryn's case, she finds herself lost and aimless in her failed marriage and unsatisfying career. She heads back to Bangor, Maine, where she grew up and where her life stalled with the disappearance of her best friend Jennifer on graduation night back in 1986. Tasked with writing an article for the local paper to coincide with the 10-year class reunion and Jennifer's disappearance, Kathryn looks for answers and tries to find herself along the way. 

Publisher's Blurb:

On the night of her high school graduation, Kathryn Campbell sits around a bonfire with her four closest friends, including the beautiful but erratic Jennifer. “I’ll be fine,” Jennifer says, as she walks away from the dying embers and towards the darkness of the woods. She never comes back.

Ten years later, Kathryn has tried to build a life for herself, with a marriage and a career as a journalist, but she still feels the conspicuous void of Jennifer’s disappearance. When her divorce sends her reeling back to the Maine town where she grew up, she finds herself plunged into a sea of memories. With nothing left to lose, she is determined to answer one simple question: What happened to Jennifer Pelletier?

Paperback: 384 pages 

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (August 12, 2014)

This is my second Christina Baker Kline book, (you can read my Book Tour review of Sweet Water here--along with the recipe some tasty Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade.) I liked the characters, especially Kathryn (although at times I wanted to shake her), and her high school friend and currently developing romantic interest Jack. The family dynamics between Kathryn, her divorced parents, grandmother, and dad's second wife seemed realistic. I related to the high school in the 80's flashbacks--the music, the times, and the author's description of the reunion reminded me of my own 10-year. "Age and experience are recorded differently on each face--some are fleshier, some fit, some shockingly older, some virtually unchanged." The book has enough of a mystery to have me change my mind several times on who was responsible for Jennifer's disappearance while wondering who knew what, and what actually happened to her. In the end the mystery isn't completely wrapped up but it was satisfying enough.There were a few suspenseful moments but the story unfurls itself slowly, in small bits and is more on the relationships--friends and family, Kathryn's self discovery, and her realization that she  doesn't know her friends as well as she thought she did--everyone has some secrets that they hide. Overall an easy and enjoyable read for a summer weekend.

Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised in Maine. The author of five novels, including the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, Kline has taught literature and creative writing at Yale, New York University, and Fordham. She lives outside of New York City.
 
Find out more about Kline at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

There is food mentioned in the book--vegetable lasagna, mussels and salad, curried chicken salad and cold artichokes, pizza, banana-walnut pancakes with maple syrup, cold cereal and frozen pot pies, dinner at an Italian restaurant with 'meatballs the size of tennis balls' and a bagel shop with bialys and an oddly appealing matzoh-ball pea soup. Blueberries, a popular Maine fruit, were mentioned a few times--trains 'carrying potatoes from Fort Kent and blueberries from Cherryfield,' Blueberry lager, and a blueberry-filled jelly doughnut. While trying to come up with an angle to start the story, Kathryn finds herself at the Bagel Shop with a cup of coffee and a sesame bagel with blueberry cream cheese, and that's what I decided to make as my dish inspired by the book. A big puffy toasted sesame seed bagel slathered with homemade Blueberry Cream Cheese Spread is a great way to start a summer morning. I like the combination of lemon and blueberry so I added lemon juice and zest and a touch of good maple syrup to sweeten things up.  

Blueberry Cream Cheese Spread
by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes about 1 1/4 Cups)

1/2  cup fresh blueberries + extra to garnish
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 Tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener (optional)
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Rinse and drain blueberries, making sure to remove any stems/dried leaves. Place blueberries into a small saucepan and add the maple syrup, lemon zest and juice. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until berries have softened. Remove from the heat and cool completely. (You can also put them into the fridge to cool faster.)

Place the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer for a minute or two. Using a slotted spoon, slowly add in the berries a bit at a time until thoroughly mixed into cream cheese--scraping down the bowl to make sure it is all mixed in. Add as much of the berry liquid as needed to maintain a good creamy, spreadable consistency. I like to have it slightly 'chunky' with bits of berry but you can process it until it is the consistency you like. Leftover berries and liquid are good on ice cream or on top of yogurt.

Place in serving dish and refrigerate, covered, until firm or until needed. Garnish with extra blueberries. Spread on toasted bagels and enjoy. 

Notes/Results: Gorgeously purple and studded with little chunks of blueberries, this is a creamy and indulgent bagel spread. If you want a smoother spread and/or don't have fresh blueberries, you could sub in a good blueberry jam. The lemon brightens things up a bit and depending on how sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your spreads, you can omit the maple syrup or adjust it to your taste. Simple to throw together and more flavor than the store-bought variety, it's worth the small amount of time and effort. I would make it again.   

Note: A review copy of "Desire Lines" was provided 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 the TLC Book Tours and Reviews here.