Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.This week the theme is Green Book Covers (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today!)
To be sure, to be sure, to be sure! Green book covers. Maybe not as easy to find as some other colours but I found enough!
Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This is the fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by this Japanese author!
A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan - A dual timeline set in 1890s and just after WWII Paris! (my review)
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley - I have read this a couple of times, most recently for Cook the Books. (my review)
Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nexhukumatathil - This was another Cook the Books selection (my review)
The Bellbird River Country Choir by Sophie Green - the cover is green but so is the author name!
Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe - This book is set in WWII Indonesia and talks about the struggle for independence (my review)
The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer - a sliding doors book set in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic and during WWI. (my review)
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - I had to have at least one Irish author in my list!
The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn - This cover is so pretty! It had to make the list. (my review)
A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont - I have enjoyed both the Sophie Beaumont books I have read which are set in Paris! (my review)
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it. You could do historical fiction featuring strong female leads, contemporary romance set in foreign countries, mysteries starring unreliable narrators, lyrical fiction books in verse, historical romance featuring pirates, Gothic novels with birds on the cover, etc. There are so many options!)
Recently I was honoured to be asked to co-host one of the Cook the Books selections later in the year. Cook the Books is an online book club where you read the chosen selection, but you also cook something inspired by the book. When I was looking through the books that have been chosen over the last few years I was surprised to see that I have been doing this for a while now so today I am sharing the last ten books I read for Cook the Books, as well as what I was inspired to make!
Before that, you might be curious about what book I chose? I couldn't see many Japanese books on the list, so I have chosen The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. My selection will be up in October/November. You can see all the upcoming selections in this post
When this book was announced as the Cook the Books selection for December/January, I wasn't sure that I would be able to join in as both the paper book and the e-books were pretty expensive. I tried a few different places and then realised that the book was available as an audiobook and I had credits available!
Bite By Bite is a collection of short food essays from essayist and poet Aimee Nexhukumatathil. It is a really interesting mix of nostalgia, the author's personal memories, culture and food history.
The audiobook is narrated by the author herself. Some times that can work and other times not so much, but I do think it worked here, mainly because it is her memories, her heritage, her favourite foods etc. It also worked as an audiobook for me because it isn't a straight line narrative, by which I mean because all the essays are short and about particular subjects so if you don't listen for a week it doesn't matter. You can just pick up the next story and go from there. Some of the essays are 3 or 4 minutes long and others are about 15 minutes long.
The author is of both Indian and Phillipino heritage which brings an interesting mix of ingredients, and a little bit of competition to the mix such as when her parents disagree about whether the best mangoes grow in India or The Phillipines. There are also a number a traditional Phillipino dishes that are included such as Lumpia and Kaong. There is also an influence from her travels, such as the essays about Shave Ice and associated social history in Hawaii and Gyro from Greece.
I did learn quite a lot from many of these essays, and it did get me thinking. For example, there are numerous chapters about different types of bananas. In our supermarkets, you might be lucky to find two varieties of bananas. Who decided that those are the only two varieties that we should have? I was particularly intrigued by a variety called Saba Banana that is less sweet but is used as part of a bananacue in the Philippines. Barbecued banana with a caramel sauce sounds amazing! There were also other fruits that also have some different banana asssociated names, such as Pawpaw which can be known as names like Poor Mans Bananas or Hoosier Bananas. Here in Australia, we tend to call them Papaya.
I was surprised to see the suggestion that you can make your own homemade vanilla extract by using vanilla beans and vodka. I have never even thought that such a thing could be possible! And this chapter was also interesting due to the history of the cultivation of vanilla.
Some of the essays are more a collection of sentences, for example in the chapter about onion, but others are personal stories which flow a lot better.
I am so glad that I was able to participate this time. I don't read a lot of non fiction, so I am not sure I would have come across this book if not for Cook the Books.
I decided pretty early on what I was going to make, although I did have a few other ideas, but in the end I decided to make something that is kind of inspired by the essay on pineapple.
I really had two reasons for making Hummingbird cakes. The first was because in the essay, it talks about the fact that hummingbirds are banned in Hawaii as they pollinate pineapples and change the internal structure of the pineapple making them less marketable. So yes, I have made hummingbird cake because hummingbirds are banned in Hawaii
The second reason is because my auntie had given me this recipe ages ago. Every now and again I come across the piece of paper and so today I am putting it on the blog so that I can find it again when I want to find it, not just when I happen to find it. Oh, and and a bonus reason....I have been thinking about finding something to make with cream cheese frosting for weeks!
I have made Hummingbird Cake before, but that time it was a large cake, and it also had the addition of coconut in it.
When I was making the cakes I just used normal oil as we only had extra virgin olive oil in the pantry, and I made 1.5x the frosting because that just didn't feel like enough with the measurements. It actually could have done with double the frosting. I started trying to pipe the icing but quickly ran short so ended up just using a knife to spread it on the top, which is why they look a bit messy! Although to be fair, my baking always looks messy. It does taste good though! I served these up as dessert when my sister and her family came for dinner and they got a big thumbs up.
The Cook the Books selection for February and March is Annabel Abbs' book Miss Eliza's English Kitchen, which is also published under the name The Language of Food. This will be a reread for me so it will be interesting to see if it works for me the second time round. Here is my original review.
Hummingbird Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
3/4 cup plain flour 3/4 cup self raising flour 2 tspns ground cinnamon 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 440g can crushed pineapple in juice, well drained 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3/4 cup mashed banana 2/3 cup light olive oil Frosting 75g cream cheese, at room temperature 25g unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
Line a 12-hole muffin pan (1/3 cup capacity) with paper cases
Sift flours, cinnamon and soda into a large bowl. Stir in sugar.
Combine pineapple, eggs, banana and oil in a large jug. Whisk well. Stir into flour mixture until just combined. Divide mixture evenly among paper cases.
Cook in a moderate oven (180C) for 20 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make frosting, beat cream cheese and butter in a small bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar. Beat until combined.
Spread frosting over top of cold cakes.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Steak, baked potato, salad Sunday - Crispy lemon and garlic roast chicken (new) Monday - Beef and broccoli noodles Tuesday - Chicken and onion wraps Wednesday - Honey pepper chicken and rice Thursday - Pork chops, mash, beans and mushroom sauce Friday - Takeout
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
This week I finished reading Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hye (translated by Shanna Tan). This was a really cute Korean read, which is about a woman who starts a book kitchen and it tells the story of her guests and the people who end up around her. It is a book about books and about food, which is right in my wheelhouse, and there were some really nice quotes, including this one about why the owner named it a book kitchen
Even landing on the name 'Soyangri Book Kitchen' had taken Yoojin two whole weeks. She wanted a name befitting a place filled with books. Drawing inspiration from the idea that every book has a unique flavour that would appeal differently to its readers, she hoped that by naming the shop a book kitchen, it would become a space where people could enjoy some reading time and rest their weary hearts. Like how food comforts the soul, she hoped, too, that the delicious smell of paper and books would make her guests feel comfortable enough to shed the burden of bottled-up feelings, and to embrace some moments of solace and warmth.
I read The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn on the plane to Perth, and I am planning to finish The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James on the plane home. I am due to post reviews of both of those on Wednesday so the pressure is on!
I finished listening to Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathi which is the current selection for Cook the Books. What an enjoyable listening experience this was. My review for this one will be up in a couple of weeks.
I then started listening to The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts, which is the third book in The Lost Brides series.
I was meant to do my 2025 stats last week but I didn't get it done, so that will have to be next week. I normally try to at least be working on my big posts the week before but I ran out of time this week, and this week looks like it is going to be pretty busy too!
I'm watching
Not much this week!
Life
We did a quick trip to Perth this week to watch the first SailGP race of the season and the first one to be run is Perth! The weather was perfect, the racing was amazing and it was an all round good weekend!
On the first day we sat in the Beach club which was very relaxed. The second day we sat in the grandstands. The view was amazing but it was so windy that I ended up not being able to wear my hat for very long in case it flew off! There are at least 3 more years for the race to be held in Perth and we will definitely be back for at least one of those, or maybe all of them. We'll see.
We stayed with my auntie, so we got to see family, eat some great food and catch up!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List. Of course, I live in a land Down Under my to-read list is for summer!
Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil - This is the current Cook the Books selection and I am listening to this on audio.
The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn - This will be my first blog tour for next year
Flashlight by Helen Choi - Currently buddy reading this one with Bree from All the Things I Can Read.
The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas - I started this a while ago but I had to take it back to the library before I finished it.
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - This has been on my TBR list for a long time.
In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont - I really enjoyed Sophie Beaumont's previous Paris books so I am looking forward to this one.
Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce - I loved the first book in the Emmy Lake series so I have high hopes for this one.
My Big Greek Island Ex-Scape by Sandy Barker - This book comes out early next year and it sounds like a lot of fun1
The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd - I saw these books on someone's blog last week! This is the only one I can get in Australia
Jean Plaidy - My read on a theme book club theme for January is a childhood favourite. I think I have decided to revisit my high school reading days when I obsessively read every Jean Plaidy book my library had! Big decision is which one! I am leaning towards The Goldsmith's Wife, mainly because I have two copies of that one!
Big news this week!! I have launched the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge for 2026! If you love reading historical fiction, reading challenges and want to connect with other historical fiction lovers....join us! Here is the sign up post
Given the above I probably should be reading some historical fiction but it feels like I am reading everything but that genre at the moment!
I finished reading Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai, which is the third book in the Kamogawa Food Detectives series. As usual I enjoyed the stories in this book, and I will read the next book when it comes out in English.
I also finished listening to The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan. This was connected to a short story she put out last year called The Christmas Book Hunt. This time, Mirren and Theo head to the Scottish Highlands to help a cash poor laird search his book rich castle for a book following a series of clues left for him by his grandfather. It was a fun story, but the audio wasn't fantastic. There were lots of weird gaps so I had to listen to it sped up otherwise it annoyed me!
From here it is all the books I started!
I am supposed to be buddy reading Flashlight by Helen Choi. I have read the first chapter, which was very interesting, but I hadn't gotten to it yet! Will make more in roads this week.
Last year I read A Christmas Carol and The Chimes by Charles Dickens and posted about it here. I decided that I was going to read Dickens' other Christmas stories and so this week I started reading The Cricket and the Hearth. I must confess that I was a bit perplexed by the first part of the book which was all about the cricket, but the story is moving along now!
I also started reading Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh. I need to finish this one first as I am on a blog tour for the book this week!
I normally try to listen to Hogfather by Terry Pratchett every Christmas and I will still try to but I thought I better start Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil first. This is the current Cook the Books selection. I would prefer to be reading it, but this book isn't available in any of the libraries in my state, and the ebook was completely unreasonable priced so I have used one of my Audible credits to get it. I wasn't sure how it work as an audiobook but so far it is good.
I'm watching
I am starting to get my Christmas on, mostly through watching things on TV, but that's a start. This week I watched A Merry Little Ex-mas, which stars Oliver Hudson and Alicia Silverstone as a newly, amicably divorced couple who are trying to look like what Christmas looks like for this first year as a separated family. It was a fun watch.
I did also watch The Chocolate Queen - a Very Chocolatey Christmas. The Chocolate Queen is Australian pastry chef queen Kirsten Tibballs, and she shared a number of relatively simple recipes, along with a couple of guest chefs. I might watch it again to see if I can get motivated to make some of what she shared. Maybe.
We have watched quite a bit of the cricket this week, which is very out of character for us! It's not something we have really done together since we met, but apparently this year we are interested! Australia is playing England, in a test series called The Ashes which has been happening every couple of years since 1882. It helps that Australia is performing pretty well!
On Sunday I went and watched Hamnet which is showing here as part of the British Film Festival. This is the movie adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's book of the same name. It isn't a happy movie, but it was definitely good, and very moving. Definitely worth seeing if you enjoyed the book!
Life
Speaking of getting our Christmas on, we did take a quick trip into the city to check out the Myer windows. Every year they have a specially themed Christmas story. This year it was all Lego and it was a lot of fun. I did try to convince Robert to go and do some other Christmassy stuff in the city but it was the end of a long day, so that will have to be on another day!
We had our book club Christmas lunch yesterday and we did a book gifting! We all ikced a number and then we got to unwrap the corresponding book. I ended up with a book I had already read but someone else had a book they already owned so we did a sneaky swap. The book I bought home with me was Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz. It was a lovely lunch and I got to have my first mince pie and christmas pudding of the season as well as a delicious burrata and tomato salad and some roast turkey!
Finally, a quick shout out to anyone who is visiting as part of Comfy, Cozy Christmas, hosted by Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. I look forward to seeing what Christmassy adventures other people are having! I should warn you though, I am in Australia and our Christmas is less comfy and cozy than hot and sweaty, weather depending! Melbourne does tend to have variable weather so it could be 15C/59F or 38C/100F, or anywhere in between!
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