I feel like I got a really early start on the Christmas books this year, but that I have done a lot less Christmassy things so far, at least compared to last year. Maybe it's because I wasn't working this time last year so I have more time. Or maybe I am just not in a Christmassy mood yet!
August to November
1. Will You Stay Another Day? by Samantha Tonge (my review)
2. Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop by Jessica Redland (my review)
3. So This is Christmas by Helen Rolfe (my review)
4. Lost Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin
5. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
6. Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin (my review)
7. A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
8. A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen (my review)
9. The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Fiona McArthur
It's a bit strange but we have had a spate of eating in trains recently. And no, I am not counting those sneaky bits of chocolate that might get eaten on the commute home!
Our first train meal is the one that we had when we were in Sri Lanka where we had a 7 course dinner in a train carriage at the hotel we stayed at in the tea plantation area. The old train carriage has been repurposed as an intimate restaurant. There are four booths available in the train so usually they are catering for no more than 8 people and they have thought of everything. You have to present your ticket to enter the carriage, and at the end of the meal your ticket is clipped just like they used to be on trains.
Each course in the menu is named for a train station on the journey between Kandy and Ragala. The carriage is rigged up so that at the beginning of the night it moves around as if the train is going down the tracks. Thankfully they switch it off as you get enough movement as the waiters go in and out of the carriage bring the meals and the drinks. The main waiter is dressed as a conductor and blows whistles and waves flags around at different points in the meal. When the main course comes out it is covered in cloches and the conductor and his assistant come and theatrically removed the cloches crashing them together like cymbals. And the food was really great too! It definitely counts as a memorable meal. I shared more about the food in this meal here.
The second train meal was a place that we had been meaning to go for years but had never visited before. In the inner city Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, there are three train carriages that have been put onto the top of a building. I was surprised to learn that only one of the carriages was full length and that the restaurant is only in that carriage. The other two half carriages house things like an art studio. Easey's is a burger restaurant and it was a bit of fun to sit in the same seats that years before would have been used by commuters. There is a big table in the drivers end where the instruments are still present. I don't know that we will visit regularly but it was fun to go just once. My favourite thing was the Brazilian Cheese Balls (Pao De Queijo) which is at the top of the food picture above. The person in the picture is my friend who we went with. It's the best picture to show the seating!
Last weekend we went on our third train meal, and this one does count as a memorable meal. The Q Train is a moving, fine dining restaurant that runs between two small towns on the Bellarine Peninsula. The starting town, Drysdale, is about an hour and a half away from us. We gave this as a present to my brother in law for his 50th birthday back in April but it took us this long to find a date that worked for them (allowing for things like kids sports commitment) and then to find a date when there was availability
Inside the carriages, there are a number of tables, all packed with people looking forward to having an enjoyable meal while the train travels from Drysdale to Queenscliff and back again, with a couple of stops along the way. I am sure that the last stop is probably so that they can pick up the desserts! Most of the food is prepared on the train in the Kitchen car. Interestingly, the same trains are also used for something called Blues Train which features different musicians in each carriage. I wouldn't mind doing that one day.
The food was actually very impressive. The menu was
Spring Basket - with bread, venison kabana and a delicious smoked trout pate
Bannockburn Chicken - Chicken Lyonnaise with chateau potatoes
Fish Cake
Lamb - slow roasted lamb shoulder
Burnt white chocolate and macadamia brownie with smoked olive oil ice cream
This is a family run business based in the area and it is a very popular outing, with weekends in particular often selling out weeks in advance. The ingredients and wines were all locally sourced and each course included native ingredients ranging from finger lime to saltbush ash and pepperberry. The good thing is that the menu changes seasonally so you could go again and have a completely different meal.
My favourite course was the chicken. It was so delicious and moist. That surprises me a little because normally dessert is my favourite. I did enjoy the dessert, but not as much as the other courses. The course that surprised me the most was the Spring Basket which had honey and walnut loaf along with the venison kabana and the smoked trout pate. The venison kabana was very tasty but the smoked trout pate was amazing. We are going to have to try and find the Bellarine Smokehouse when we go down there another time and see what other goodies they have.
I don't believe we have any plans to eat on a train again any time soon, but never say never!
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome back to Sandpiper Shore. In the first book in the series we met Jo who had just moved to the town as well as her two new friends, Michelle and Emma. The second book in the series is Emma's story!
Emma is a widow who lives on the same property as her friends Jo and Michelle. She is actively involved in the community as an organiser for the Lonely Hearts Club, which helps her fill her days and brings together lonely members of the community for different activities. She has no interest in meeting someone new, although her friends are trying to convince her that she is still young enough.
One day Emma is talking to the local vicar and his wife, and finds herself roped into organising a pantomime to raise funds for the local air ambulance. Back in her youth, she had been rehearsing for a version of Romeo and Juliet where she was Juliet when her heart was broken by her Romeo, a boy called Tom. Unable to face him, Emma became involved in the activities behind the scenes and loved it while someone else took the role of Juliet!
Complicating matters, that same boy has recently moved into the local area and is encouraged by his daughter to join the pantomime company. Tom went on to marry the girl who replaced Emma. Now a widower, he has returned from his life in Australia and is looking to settle into the community. And the chemistry between the two is still there! (Oh, yes it is!)
Emma now has a lot to do in a very short time from writing the script (which is inspired by Cinderalla), finding her cast, organising costumes, the stage sets, ticket sales and so much more. She doesn't have time to be distracted. And when her leading lady makes it clear that she has eyes for Tom, Emma can't face the idea that history might repeat itself. But what if Emma doesn't know the whole story of what happened all those years ago? Would that change things for her now?
This book has a cracking start which made me smile from the opening paragraph:
Two years ago I lost two things. One was my husband. The other was myself. I must be really careless because as if that wasn't enough, while out for lunch one day with my friends, I also lost my dignity.
And the enjoyment continued all the way through the book. I particularly enjoyed getting to know Emma as she started to recognise that she has allowed herself to be shaped by her husband and has tended to ignore her own needs. Now, though, that can change as she realises that she can live life on her own terms, even if that is from the simplest thing like not making sure the cushions on the couch are perfectly lined up.
The pantomime performance is front and centre of the whole story (oh yes it is!) and I loved a couple of the character's performances in particular, but you will have to read the book to find out who they are! The pantomime is very much associated with a British Christmas season. A couple of years ago I went to a pantomime that was put on by a community theatre group in Perth and it was a lot of fun! I was so tempted to put in way more pantomime lines like "It's behind you. Oh no it isn't! Oh, yes it is" in my post. I feel I was very constrained by only including two!
I have read quite a few of Kim Nash's books set in Cornwall, and I think this is her best yet! Bring on the next one.
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. The blog tour for this book is a collaboration between three different tour organisers so thanks to the publisher for the review copy and Rachel's Random Resourced, Random Things Tours and Compulsive Readers Blog Tours for the opportunity to take part in this bumper blog tour! Check out the other stops on the blog tour as well!
Rating 4.5/5
About the book
When life gives you heartbreak , sometimes it also gives you a second chance…
When Tom Sullivan returns to the quiet village of Sandpiper Shore, Emma can hardly believe her eyes. She hasn’t seen him since they played Romeo and Juliet in their school play – a lifetime ago, before real heartbreak, and long before she ever imagined life as a widow.
The last thing she wants is to relive the past, especially with someone who once made her teenage heart flutter. But when Emma agrees to put on a charity pantomime to raise money for the air ambulance service that helped her late husband, she’s thrown firmly back into Tom’s path.
As rehearsals begin and the local community rallies around her, Emma finds unexpected joy in bringing people together – and a surprising connection with Tom that feels far too real to ignore. Maybe it’s time for Emma to become the leading lady in her own life, not just for the show, but for herself.
Full of warmth, humour and heart, this is a story about letting go and discovering that it’s never too late to take a chance on love.
About the author
Kim Nash is the bestselling author of uplifting, heartwarming, romantic, feel-good fiction. She has wanted to write books since she was a little girl. Her other dream, is to live in a home that has a view of a golden sandy beach and the sea sparkling in the sunlight. Until that dream comes true, she’ll continue to write second chance romances about women who live or move to the seaside on her behalf. She is published by Boldwood Books.
One of her greatest writing achievements is to be nominated for the Kindle Storyteller Award in 2020, and she was delighted when Claudia Winkleman had read her book and said it was 'Totally warm and absolutely lovely.'
She lives in Staffordshire with her son Ollie and English Setter rescue dog Roni, is Author Community Director for publisher Bookouture (a division of Hachette UK) and, as an avid reader, started her career in the publishing industry as a book blogger.
When she's not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog at Cannock Chase, reading and binge-watching TV. She's also quite partial to a spa day, lemon drizzle cake and a gin and tonic (not all at the same time!)
Kim also runs a book club in Staffordshire and organises local and national reader/author events.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie. It took me a little while to think of something, but I got there in the end.
I am very lucky and yes, thankful, to live in a city with a very active book scene. There are always events on. Some times they are big named authors who attract a crowd of thousands, and sometimes it is a small event at a local library with just a handful of people. Then there are multiple festivals in various country towns and suburban areas. Sometimes I know lots of people in the room and other times not. One thing you do know when you go to an author event is that if nothing else you can talk about books!
My post this week is the last ten author events I have been too. Usually if I attend an event I will buy the book and get it signed. Sometimes there are goodies, sometimes tasty treats, but the events are always fun!
Holly Brunbauuer - Just last week Bree from All the Books I Can Read went to our local library to hear this author talk about her debut novel, What Did I Miss? It was a very interactive session!
Rachael Johns (twice) - A couple of weeks ago I went to see Rachael Johns talk about The Lucky Sisters (my review) both at my even localler local library and then to a Books in Bars events in a regional city about an hour away from me.
Helen Goh - This was an event in the city where we not only got to listen to the conversation but also got to try some of the recipes from her latest cookbook, Baking and the Meaning of Life.
Steph Vizard - It was standing room only at this event which was the launch of her latest book, A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances.
January Gilchrist - By contrast, this was a very intimate conversation about January Gilchrist's debut novel, The Final Chapter, which was held in what is in effect a sales office at a new residential development. This night was so much fun because it was such a small gathering! I took a friend with me who had never been to an author event before.
Madeleine Cleary and Anne Freeman - This was a fun night where these two authors spoke about their two books which both feature sex workers. One was set in 1850s Melbourne, The Butterfly Women (my review) and the other is a modern story about an online sex worker, Me That You See.
Emma Mugglestone - This launch for In the Long Run was held in a bar around half an hour or so away from me. There was even a delicious cocktail!
Alli Sinclair - This was a drive up the highway for an hour or so to an event in Ballarat to hear Alli Sinclair talk about her new book, A Woman's Voice.
Joanne Miller (The Eights), Chloe Adams (The Occupation) and Michelle See-Toh (Jade and Emerald) - This was an event held in a library about half an hour away from me, and featured three debut authors from Penguin.
Alli Parker - This was a fun launch for Until the Red Leave Fall. It was held in a super cool bar. The mood was set with 1950s music and the crowd was buzzing! And there were these super cute cupcakes
Wow, that has surprised me. That only takes me back to the end of July this year. Oh, and I just realised I missed one too! Sorry Christine Newel! I suspect that there will be only one more event this year which I am going to on Thursday, but bring on next year, when it will start all over again!
I'm readingIt's November and the best of 2025 lists are coming out. It always bemuses me a little bit because there are still 5 weeks of year left and I still might not have read my best book of year yet! The other thing that I am always left wondering at the end of the year is what have I been reading. I have read some really great books this year, and have read more 5 star books this year than I have in the the two previous years combined. However, when I look at all the best of lists, I haven't read any of them!
I finished three books this week. The first was Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda. This is another of the Japanese book which have a number of stories that are really only linked by location and theme. In this case, the location was a stationery shop. I loved all the talk of pens and notebooks and the like, but I am not sure this one worked completely for me.
By contrast, I loved Good Spirits by B K Borison and started telling my friend to read it when I had only read the first chapter. It was so much fun and I am really looking forward to the second book of the series coming out in the second half of next year.
I was trying to get through my library books which I can't extend again, and so I picked up Foster by Claire Keegan. This is such a small book, less than 100 pages, but Keegan definitely knows how to tell a great story, about not a lot, in very few words! I am already looking forward to reading more from her.
I am currently reading Kim Nash's Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage and I am having so much fun with it! The main character is producing a pantomime which is very British Christmas to me. My review for this one will be up in the next few days for the blog tour.
I thought I had gone to my last author event for the year but it turns out I have two more in me. Last week I went to see Holly Brunbauuer talk about her book What Did I Miss? at my old library system. It's funny because the branch we went to is at the major shopping centre in the area but I had never been in the branch before even though it's been open for years! I have another library event this week and then maybe that will be it for the year. Maybe!
I'm watching
We went to the movies on Saturday night to see The Choral which is showing as part of the British Film Festival. The movie stars Ralph Fiennes as a choirmaster who is recruited to lead the choir of a Yorkshire town. He's a controversial choice because he has spent a lot of time in Germany. It also follows the lives of some of the younger people in the village who face the inevitability of being sent to the War and the impact of the conflict on life. It was a really lovely movie! If you've read either of the last two books by Helena Simonson you might enjoy this! Here's the trailer:
Life
We went to a lovely lunch with my sister and brother in law on a moving restaurant called Q Train. It was yet another meal on a train, although as far as I know that is the last one for the year.
We moved into this house 3 years ago. It was built new so there wasn't anything major to be done but there were still projects. This week, my lovely, handy husband finished building a deck by our front door. We upcycled the wood from my sister's old deck and it came up a treat! Now to the next two, much bigger projects.
For 2025 I have decided to have a go at Spell the Month in Books which is hosted at Reviews From the Stacks. The link party opens on the first Saturday of the month, but I won't be posting until after that as I already have other things scheduled every Saturday and for the first two Sundays of the month. I will be sharing this post with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz.
The idea is that you use the titles of books to spell the month name. The theme for November is Nostalgia so I am going to use books that I read more than 10 years ago. Quite a few of them have brought back memories for me. Let's get started!
N - Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - I don't read much fantasy these days, but I adored this book when I first read it! And then I was super eager for the second book which I liked, and super eager for the third book.....which has never arrived and I don't think it ever will.
O - One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - I thought the early books of the Stephanie Plum series were absolutely hilarious. I remember laughing until I cried in the middle of the night at the antics. Then, as the series went on, they were less hilarious and more silly. I finally gave up reading them at book 19.
V - Virgin River by Robyn Carr - I loved the series so much I read the series, which at the time was 18 books long, and then reread half the series again. I can't think of another author I have done that with. Despite that, I still haven't read the last book in the series which came out 8 years later. (My post about the series)
E - Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - I loved this book so much!(My review)
M - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - I used to cry a lot at books, but this is one that I remember ugly, ugly crying at it. It was so good! There's supposed to be a movie coming out of the follow up book soon too! (My joint review)
B - Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - I used to read a lot more Medieval and Renaissance books than I do these days. This was a good one!
E - Emma (Vol 1) by Kaoru Mori - Influenced by other bloggers at the time, I was reading two graphic novels series, although I guess this one is more technically manga. One was the Fables series by Bill Willingham and this was the other series. (My review)
R - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - My review of this book was one of the first I ever wrote.
The current selection for Cook the Books is Maame by Jessica George. I don't recall hearing too much about this book before it was announced and in all probability wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been selected for the group.
Maddie is a young woman in her early 20s living in London. She works in a low paid job she doesn't love, she is responsible for looking after her father who is living with Parkinson's disease while her mother spends a lot of time in Ghana and her brother lives his own life, never having much time or care for his family. Maddie, who is also known as Maame which means Woman, is left to arrange her father's medical affairs, is responsible for all the bills, and is often asked to send her mother money as well.
As a result, Maddie's social life is pretty much limited to work and home, with occasional visits to church. She does have two very good friends, but other than that, she is something of an enforced loner. Despite her responsibilities, her mother is constantly asking her why she hasn't met someone, preferably a nice African man.
When her mother announces she is coming back to London for a year, Maddie is told that she must move out, so she finds a house to share. The only problem is that just as she is moving out, she loses her job and so she needs to find another one and quickly. She finds herself working at a small publishing company.
Soon, Maddie is finally getting the opportunity to do the things that everyone else did in their late teens. She buys new clothes, she goes out drinking, meets a couple of men. Life seems like it is on the up, until it all goes wrong.
On the day before his birthday, Maddie is making her father a birthday cake when her housemates talk her into going out, promising that they will help her decorate the cake the next day. It turns into a big night. When Maddie wakes up very late, it is to the news that her father has passed away. Maddie is devastated. She feels incredibly guilty that she wasn't there, and it soon becomes clear that in addition her mother expects Maddie to make all the funeral arrangements and pay for everything, but everything still needs to be done her way!
This is a book that tackles big topics. Whilst Maddie is British, her family expects her to still be Ghanain so it is looking at the idea of identity. It also tackles race issues, grief, and almost is a coming of age novel, albeit with our main character being in her mid twenties. There are times when it is difficult to read but in the end it was ultimately hopeful, and I enjoyed it very much. I have added the author's next book to my list to read next year. It's out in February and is called Love by the Book.
If I had of just been reading this book I am not sure I would have noticed the food references but because we were reading this for Cook the Books I was looking for them and there were lots of references to food. Some was western food but as soon as I saw the words jollof rice, I knew exactly what we were going to cook. However, first I had to check with Robert to make sure he would be happy to eat it. He spent two years living and working in Lagos in Nigeria and travelling all throughout sub-Saharan Africa and there are definitely some things that he would rather not eat again.
So what is jollof rice and why did I want to make it? Jollof rice is a dish that is prepared in many West African countries, consisting of a spicy tomato based sauce. According to Wikipedia, it originates in Senegal, but there are various theories as to how it spread across the region and there are many variations.
It does seem like jollof rice is a bit like several food items in that different countries claim ownershp and superiority. This is similar to Australians and New Zealanders both claiming ownership to foods like pavlova, lamingtons and Anzac biscuits. In the 2010s there was some lighthearted social media debates known as the jollof wars, mainly between Nigeria and Ghana, and these days there is even a jollof festival.
I probably should have found a Ghanian version but my son's father is half-Nigerian, and he grew up there, so I thought this was an opportunity to revisit the Nigerian version. When we were together, I was responsible for most of the cooking, although on occasion he would cook himself food. It ranged from the very hot and spicy pepper soup (which Robert was absolutely not interested in making), to goat stew, but the one that I liked the most was jollof rice. We often had it with boiled eggs but you can have it with chicken or other meats as well.
I have posted about Jollof rice before for Weekend Cooking, and shared a very enthusiastic video which you can find here but I haven't actually eaten a home made version of it since I split from the ex, which was in 2002.
When I was looking for a recipe I came across this one at Zena's Kitchen, where she explains the reasons why she does the various steps in the recipe that might seem a little unusual to us. We love a one pot rice dish so this is the one that we choose to make, although we adapted it a little bit to use thigh fillets and a few other small changes. The last line of the recipe made me laugh. I can assure you that there was never any salad served when I used to eat this dish. On occasion it used to get made with boiled eggs which was quite nice. We did have fried plantain but I don't recall it being served with this dish. Plantain wasn't my favourite.
We had leftovers of this. I have to say the flavours developed very nicely the next day.
I didn't think I was going to be able to participate in the next selection for Cook the Books which is Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil but I have managed to get a copy so I will be looking forward to reading it and choosing something to cook.
1 large red bell pepper, roughly chopped 2 medium vine tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 red onion, roughly chopped 2 red scotch bonnet chillies, quartered (use less for milder heat) 25g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 100ml water 1 tsp fine sea salt
For the rice:
150ml vegetable oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 150g double concentrated tomato purée 1 tbsp curry powder 2 tsp dried thyme 3 chicken stock pot 2 dried bay leaves 500ml water 600g parboiled long-grain rice
Heat your oven to 180°C / fan 160°C.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the chicken skin-side down until browned, 3 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes, or until browned on the other side. Transfer to a plate, leaving the oil in the pan.
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the double concentrated tomato purée and cook, stirring frequently, until it darkens, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in the blended base, stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by about a third and the oil begins to separate, 12 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder, dried thyme, stock pot, bay leaves and water. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then cover and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well
Add the rice to the sauce, stir in any resting chicken juices, then arrange the browned chicken thighs over the top. As soon as everything comes to a simmer, cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and leave covered for 10 minutes to finish steaming the rice.
Optional but worth it: Heat your grill to high. Transfer the chicken to a baking tray, brushing off any rice. Brush lightly with oil and grill for 5 to 10 minutes, or until browned and crisping at the edges. To serve, spoon the rice onto a large platter and top with the chicken. Fried plantain and salad on the side make it a proper feast.
The next selection for Cook the Books is Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. I am not sure if I am going to be able to join in or not. This book isn't available in our state's library system and it is about $35 to buy on Kindle which is very, very expensive. I will hopefully join in for the selection after that!
Weekly meals
Saturday - Out for dinner Sunday - Jollof Chicken and Rice Monday - Swedish Meatballs and mash potato Tuesday - Scrambled Eggs on toast Wednesday - Beef and Broccoli noodles Thursday - Out for dinner Friday - Honey Pepper Chicken
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
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