Cook the Books: Mrs Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

 

We are big Bake Off fans in our house. At last count we have watched Australian, Kiwi, Canadian, Kenyan, South African, American, Bake Off The Professionals, celebrity versions and, of course, the original and the best, The Great British Bake Off. 

When this book was announced as the next selection for Cook the Books, I read the blurb and went, I am going to love this book. Whilst the show in the book is called Britain Bakes, it is very definitely a knock off of Bake Off.

When 77 year old Jenny Quinn decides to apply to be on Britain Bakes, she keeps it a secret from everyone around her, including her husband of 59 years Bernie. The main reason she keeps it a secret is because she doesn't expect to get past the application stage let alone make it all the way through to being on the TV. Keeping it a secret, is very unusual for Jenny and Bernie. Throughout their long marriage she has only ever kept one secret from him, albeit a very BIG secret.

Baking has been part of Jenny's whole life, but getting ready for competing on the show takes things to a whole new level. Jenny has the recipes that she has known and loves for years, but she needs to show skills for more than just retro baking!

Jenny makes it onto the show and becomes something of a favourite. She insists on using her trusted balancing scales (no electric scales here) and her warm nature, and in particular her friendship with a young fellow contestant by the name of Azeez, endear her to the public and the crew of the show. 

By taking this step to do things for herself though, Jenny finds herself thinking back to an earlier time in her life, the point where the biggest choices were taken away from her. This book is, in effect a dual time line, where the recipes Jenny is baking now are conduits back to that earlier time in her life. 

The big question is what happens when the show is aired. Will Jenny win? And will all her secrets be revealed? Of course, I can't tell you that! You will just need to read this fun, delicious and delightful read for yourself!

This is Olivia Ford's first and only book so far. I will be looking out for her next book because I really loved this one. 

Because this was a read for Cook the Books, I also needed to choose what to make. There is so much delicious food in this book, both savoury and sweet. I did keep a list, but the reality is that I already knew what I was going to be making as soon as I read the second paragraph of the book! That doesn't mean to say that I didn't contemplate other things. This is one of those choices where there were dozens and dozens of different types of food mentioned!

Here is that paragraph:

Recipe one. It had to be her favourite birthday cake - she had quite a reputation for it in the family. She wrote the heading, Jenny's Black Forest Gateau, twisting her best handwriting into loops and flicks as she divided the page into Ingredients and Method. She could feel the wet cloth of the cream-filled piping bag, the magic of neat rosettes spiralling from its nozzle. She thought of the bitter smell of cocoa powder which clung to the back of your throat if you made the mistake of pouring it too enthusiastically, and how it complemented the tender cherry pie filling.

The reason why this jumped out so much is that Black Forest Cake is my husband's favourite, and I haven't made it for him for a long time! A quick look through my baking cook books gave me a few different options, but in the end I chose a recipe from the cook book that I have been doing a lot of baking from recently which is You Had Me at Cake by Emelia Jackson

In order to make the recipe as written, I did have to sent Robert to go to a specialty place that does all kind of frozen fruits to get frozen sour cherries, and I also had to go and buy kirsch as we didn't have any in the house.

I also had to adapt because I don't have 18cm cake tins. In the end I used 22 cm cake tins and cooked the cakes for 30 minutes which may have been a fraction too long.

It turns out that really this recipe looks more complicated than it really is. None of the three components is difficult, and it looks fine if you put it together somewhat rustically. At least, that is what I am telling myself!

The next Cook the Books selection is The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai and I am the host! I really hope that everyone enjoys it! I am a bit nervous though! If you would like to know more about Cook the Books, click here for more details.

Black Forest Gateau (Emelia Jackson)

Chocolate Cake

6 eggs, room temperature
250g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
90g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
150g unsalted butter, melted

Sour Cherry Compote

800g frozen sour cherries, defrosted
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
100ml kirsch

Chantilly cream

600g thickened cream
300g double cream
100g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
shaved dark chocolate to finish


For the chocolate sponge cakes, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional) and line three 18cm round cake tins with baking paper.

Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and has doubled in volume. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the egg mixture, gently fold together, then mix through the melted butter.

Once combined, divide the batter evenly among three cake tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you only have one or two cake tins, bake each layer separately. The remaining batter is fine to wait as each layer bakes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the cherry compote, put the cherries and their juices in a saucepan with the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow the cherries to cook for 30 minutes, or until the juices have reduced by half. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla paste and kirsch before letting the compote cool completely. This can be made up to a week ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use.

For the chantilly cream, combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate) in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand until firm peaks form. It will take a little elbow grease, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and whisk by hand as the higher fat content means it can easily split. Once the cream has thickened, place it in the fridge until the cakes and compote have cooled and you are ready to assemble the cake.

To assemble, place the first cake layer onto the serving plate and soak it liberally with cherry syrup, before layering over ⅓ of the cream and cherries. Repeat this process until you’ve stacked all layers with the fillings. To finish, liberally spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake and pile it high with cherries. Finish with some curls of dark chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler and set the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is best) to firm up before serving.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Hamburgers
Sunday - Grilled cheese on toast
Monday - Pork and beans stir fry
Tuesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Wednesday - 
Thursday - Out for dinner
Friday - Away for the weekend

Cook the Books: Kitchens of the Great MidWest by J Ryan Stradal

When this book was announced as the current selection for Cook the Books I wasn't really sure what to expect. I hadn't heard of either the book or the author before, but being part of a book club often brings new authors so I searched out the book. Unsurprisingly my library system did not have a copy.

This book has quite an unusual structure. The story is fundamentally the story of Eva Thorvald, an enigmatic figure destined for greatness in the food world. However, Eva isn't really at the centre of the book. The book features a series of vignettes told by people who have the slightest connection to Eva. In one chapter she is the narrator's boyfriend's sister. In another, she is the judge at a bake off, in another a culinary rival. Eva herself only has one chapter where she is the one telling us of her life. The rest of her story is learnt through the interactions with other people.

Eva has a rough start to life. Her chef father wants to introduce her to fancy food at a very young age. Her mother has deserted the family to follow her wine related dreams. Eva is only young when her father dies, leaving her to be raised by her aunt and uncle. They love her, but they don't understand her. As a youngster she wants to grow the hottest chilli's she possibly can. Over the years, we see Eva's passion for food morph into an unrivalled food career, all of which she manages on her own terms. The other thing about Eva is that she is a collector of people, but as reader's we don't really see this all come together until the very end of the book!

There was lots to like about this book. It did make me laugh at times. For example, early on there is a section where Eva and her cousin are putting her forward in hot chilli eating competitions to make money, and there is a church baking competition that made me smile. There were moments when I found myself wishing I could be part of something similar to the Saturday Night Dinner Party where the guests all had to bring a dish that met the theme. Or the character who talks about the fact that they go to McDonalds for a birthday every year. One year it was McDonalds in Paris, another year it was London. That's my kind of trip to Maccas!

I am not sure, however, that the book worked for me as well it might have. It was a good read, rather than a great read. For all that there was humour and an unusual structure, underpinning it there was grief and damaged people, drugs and other struggles. I did like how it all came together though. I have also had a look at the other books that this author has written, and they do all sound like books I might like to read at some point. They certainly all have definite foodie titles and subjects.

This was a great selection for Cook the Books as the food was front and centre! I thought about counting all the different types of food that was mentioned but there was so many! I would have run out of fingers and toes before the end of the first chapter! I was not familiar with all of the food. For example, there were chapters about Lutefisk (a white fish cured in lye) which I have never heard of, and to be honest, I am not sure I would want to try. Another chapter featured Sweet Pepper Jelly, which again was a new taste to me.

So how do you decide what recipe to make when there are so many food mentions in a book. It almost happens by osmosis. I had written down a few notes, one of which was French Onion Soup, which was the subject of one of the chapters. And then I realised that I had this recipe already saved in my blog to share at some point, and that the recipe would definitely count for Paris in July and voila! The decision was made. It's not the first French Onion Soup inspired post I have shared for Paris in July. Back in 2022 I shared this recipe for French Onion casserole which was so delicious. I am trying to convince my husband that we need to have this again while it is still cold here. And every time I do have anything French Onion flavoured, I can't help but think of the soup that we had when we did our foodie walking tour of Le Marais. 

This recipe comes from from Tender by Lucy Tweed, which was a recent selection for Lambs Ear Cookbook Club. We have made several recipes from this book, at least one other of which had French influences. This was a cook book that I originally borrowed from the library but I did end up buying it!

Obviously, this is not an authentic French dish, but we really enjoyed the flavours and will definitely make it again! The cheesy thyme crumb was a highlight! So good! We didn't have gruyere so I used a combination of mozzarella and parmesan

French Onion Rigatoni (Lucy Tweed)

Serves 4 – Cook Time: 45 Mins

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large red onions, quartered
8 baby (pearl) onions, halved
200 ml (7 fl oz) dry white wine
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian if you want the dish to be fully vegetarian)

30 g (1 oz) butter
2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
3 thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves
400 ml (14 fl oz) beef stock (or vegetable)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) rigatoni
11/2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
100 ml thickened (heavy) cream
90 g (2/3 cup) grated smoked gruyère
50 g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan


Cheesy thyme crumb


1/4 sourdough loaf, crusts removed, torn into small pieces
6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
35 g (1/4 cup) grated smoked gruyère


Method



Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced.

For the cheesy thyme crumb, combine the torn sourdough, thyme, olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes, without turning, until golden. Scatter with the grated smoked gruyère and return to the oven for 3–5 minutes. Allow to cool and crisp fully before crumbling into shards. (You can make this a few hours ahead of time or cook this at the same time as the onions, on a lower shelf.)

Heat the olive oil in a large casserole over medium–high heat. Add the onion quarters, cut-sides down first, turning to colour all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up any bits stuck to the base. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, butter and flour until smooth and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Return the onion to the pan along with the thyme and garlic. Pour in the beef stock and sherry vinegar and stir well to combine. Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Switch to the grill (broiler) setting and grill (broil) for 10 minutes until the onion becomes jammy and browned on top.

Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni according to the packet instructions. Reserve a small cup of the pasta water, then drain.

Remove the pan from the oven and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and stir it through, using just enough of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.

Add the cream either now or at the table, stirring it through for desired richness. Scatter with the gruyère and parmesan.

Top the pasta with the cheesy thyme crumb just before serving.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

The next selection for Cook the Books is Mrs Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford, which I am already looking forward to reading! This is the selection for August and September. The one after that it is my turn to host and my selection for October and November is The Kamogawa Food Detectives. If you enjoy reading and cooking, please join in. Cook the Books is a fun blogging event and you would be more than welcome!

Weekly meals

Saturday -  Out for dinner

Sunday - Truffled Chicken with champagne sauce (new)
Monday - French Onion Rigatoni
Tuesday - Zucchini, bacon and tomato risotto
Wednesday - Out for dinner
Thursday - Out for dinner
Friday - Mexican Chicken and Rice

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn

 

One of the beauties of being involved in a book club is that some times you find yourself reading books that would otherwise not have crossed your reading radar. Some times, they don't work for you (Land of Milk and Honey, I am looking at you!) but some times they do. Call of the Camino is not a book that I recall hearing about before it being chosen for the current selection of Cook the Books. The question is did it work for me or not? Read on to find out!

When journalist Reina Watkins' nemesis at work is unable to make the start of a walk along the Camino that he was supposed to be doing for an article, she jumps at the opportunity. Not only is it a chance to get one up on Matt, but walking the Camino is something that she has always been interested in because her parents met on the trail years before. They both died when she was young, so armed with her father's journal, she is hopeful that it will help her understand her parent's story, and her own history. 

Because it is very last minute, she hasn't done any training and she only has her trusty Doc Martin's the first few days are very trying for Reina, but as the trek continues she begins to understand the call of the Camino - why so many people have been taking this pilgrimage for so many years. When she hears that Matt, her rival, is hot on her trail, she is determined that this time she will be the one who writes the better article, especially given her personal connection.

Interspersed with Reina's story, we hear her mother's story. Reina always thought her mother was Portuguese but it turns out that she was from Andorra. Caught up in the middle of a historical family feud, Isabelle chooses to join the Camino to escape from danger. Ill-prepared, she hopes that the mantra of the Camino, the Camino will provide, is true for her. 

The third voice in the story comes in the form of Reina's father's journal, and it is through this, and then a coincidental meeting that Reina learns more about Isabelle.

As readers, we are witness to the trials and tribulations of both women, from injuries to soreness, fatigue and danger. On the plus side there are the characters that they meet along the way, other pilgrims who are sharing in this significant journey, and it is this camaraderie that affected me the most.

I do know several people who have done the Camino. One of my friend's dads has done it three times, and her brother went with him one time and ended up meeting his now partner who lived in a different country. I definitely know that it changes lives, and we saw that with both of our main characters. Can I see myself doing the Camino? Not really. I do more steps when I am on holiday that I do the rest of the time but still, this kind of strenuous walking sounds too far, too far for me! I did, however, enjoy reading about it! And I would be more than happy to go to Spain at some point!

When this book was chosen, I immediately thought that I would be choosing some Spanish recipe. I did hope that something more would have jumped out of the text to help me decide. I thought about tortilla, but to be honest, I thought someone else would have chosen that to make.

Instead, it gave me the opportunity to pull one of my favourite cook books off the shelf. I say favourite, but it's a favourite book to look at. Even though I have owned it for years, and I posted about it for Weekend Cooking back in 2012, I don't believe I ever did get around to cooking from it! That changed this week.

The thing I loved about this book is that it gives you food history, regional specialties, spotlights ingredients and producers. It is an amazing book to look at and I love the dust jacket I have on my copy. The colours just pop! One thing I did find a little interesting was what wasn't in this book. It was originally published back in 2012, before the world went crazy for Basque cheesecake, alternatively known as San Sebastien cheesecake, and there is no recipe in the book for it! Just thought that was interesting!

I was hoping to choose a recipe that had been mentioned in Call of the Camino, or that at least came from the regions that the Camino passes through. In the end I chose this recipe for two reasons. One, there was a mention of roast chicken towards the end of the book, and I liked the fruitiness of this recipe, given that it echoed the part in the book where our characters stumbled across La Casa de los Dioses (The House of the Gods) where the walkers can help themselves to fruit. In the book it mainly talks about the watermelon, but I really, really don't like watermelon so I am going with apples and grapes.

In the intro to this recipe it mentions that in Asturias Reineta apples are used but the Golden Delicious variety is a good substitute. Asturias is one of the places that the Camino passes through so this recipe works as a regional dish. We ended up using a different variety of apples as there were no Golden Delicious at the supermarket.

It was an interesting recipe. I am not sure we would make it again. You can see the grape juice has kind of caught a bit, but the chicken itself was very moist, and it was interesting to have the apples and grapes with chicken. We would normally pair cooked apples with pork. We served it with roast potatoes as I wasn't really sure what else to serve it with.

The next selection for Cook the Book is called Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. Not sure what to expect with this one. I guess I will find out when I read it!

I am sharing this post with Foodies Read, hosted at Based on a True Story.

Roast Chicken with Apples and Grapes (Pollo con manzanas y uvas) - Claudia Roden

Serves 4-6

5 Golden Delicious apples
Juice of ½ a lemon
1kg white seedless grapes, destalked
1 x 1.5kg chicken
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
75g butter


Peel and core the apples. Cut one in half or into quarters, so the pieces will push easily inside the chicken, and the rest of the apples into 8 slices each. Drop the slices into a bowl of water acidulated with the lemon juice to prevent them from discolouring.

Blend half of the grapes in the food processor and collect the juice by pressing the mush through a small-holed sieve with a wooden spoon. Discard the skins left in the sieve. You should get about 250ml of juice. Stuff the chicken with the halved or quartered apple and put it in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Turn the bird breast side down in the baking dish and pour in 125ml of the grape juice. Roast in an oven preheated to 190°C/gas 5 for 45 minutes, then take the chicken out, turn it over, pour the remaining grape juice over it and return to the oven. Cook for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is brown and caramelized and the juices run clear when you cut into the bird between the leg and the body with a pointed knife.

While the chicken is roasting, heat the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Put in the drained apple slices and the remaining grapes and sauté over a medium heat, turning over the fruits and shaking the pan gently until the grapes are soft and golden and the apples tender and caramelized. It can take 20 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish with their juices and reheat in the oven when you are ready to serve.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner
Sunday - Roast Chicken with Apple and Grapes (new)
Monday - Baked Gnocchi (new)
Tuesday - Enchilada
Wednesday - Molten Pumpkin Pasta Bake (new)
Thursday - Out for dinner
Friday - Takeaway

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

Top Ten Tuesdays: 20 Books of Winter list (Part 1)

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is May Flowers (This is a companion to the April Showers topic from last month. Interpret however you’d like: books with flowers on the cover, colorful covers, books set in springtime, books where flowers/plants are a common theme, titles with flower names in them, characters named after flowers, covers that are as pretty as flowers, books featuring gardens, etc.)

However, I have done a flowers on the cover theme for the last couple of years now, so I am turning my thoughts to the 20 Books of Winter which is hosted by AnnaBookBel this year. So here are 10 of the 20 books I am planning on reading for at some point between 1 June and 31 August. I'll be back next week with the next 10 (assuming that I have completed building my list!)

This list is subject to change but at this stage, this is the plan

Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen - I read a lot of Maggie Christensen's books that are part of series, but this one is a blog tour for a standalone novel.

Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse by Sue Moorcroft - I do enjoy Sue Moorcroft's books. It's been a while since I read one of her books set in Italy. This is also for a blog tour

Escape to the Turquoise Seas by Carrie Walker - My final blog tour book is this one which is the fourth book in the Holiday Romance series. I am due to review this in July but it looks like publication has been pushed back to October so that date might change. 

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal- This is the next Cook the Books selection

Three Juliets by Minnie Darke - The next three books are all books that I meant to read last year but I ended up swapping out so they are back on the list for this year. I actually read at least a third of this book but I will have to start again now.

The Kings Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick - It's been so long since I read an Elizabeth Chadwick so I need to prioritise this one. 

The Story Collector by Evie Woods - I have had mixed results with Evie Woods books so far, so I am interested to read this one to see where it lands for me!

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - Last year I was trying to read War and Peace and I was doing pretty well until I started work again in August at which point I stopped. I think I have about 300 paged to go so my plan is to finish it. This will also count for a Goodreads challenge. 

The Maid by Nita Prose - Both this and the next book are for Goodreads challenges

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - This book has been on my TBR pile for a long time now. I plan to read it before the end of June.

Are you planning to participate in the 20 Books of Summer/Winter?

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs

 

When I saw that this book was the selection for February/March for Cook the Books, I wasn't 100% sure if I would read it or not as it would be a reread for me and I don't generally do rereads. However, FOMO is real and so I did end up reading it again, and I am glad I did.

I have a potted history with this book, which is also published under the title Miss Eliza's English Kitchen. Originally I tried to read it on an Easter road trip back in 2022. I struggled to keep interested so I put it down, only picking it up again 6 months later. I had to start reading the book again, and this time I thought it was quite good! However, I think it is a book that grows on you because when I started it again for this post, I struggled to be able to put it down. It's a book that seems to get better each time you read it!

The Language of Food tells the story of Eliza Acton and her assistant Ann Kirby as they developed what is credited as the first cookbook targeted at domestic cooks. She was also the first person to include a precise list of ingredients as part of the recipe, although she had it at the bottom rather than at the top.

It is a shame that Eliza Acton is not more well known, as her story is interesting and she has left a  lasting legacy. Interestingly, she started as a poet but when her poems were rejected she was tasked with writing a cook book. At the time, she couldn't cook at all. However, when her family fortunes are decimated, she and her mother find themselves running a boarding house for respectable people in the town of Tonbridge. Eliza is determined that she can do better than the cookbooks that were available at the time, and so she starts to teach herself to cook and write the recipes, testing the recipes for preciseness and taste.

Ann's story is also interesting, albeit almost opposite to Eliza. She came from a very poor background with a father with a penchant for drinking and a mother who is demented. Her local priest finds her a place with the Actons. She soon shows that she not only is a hard worker but she has a good sense of taste and cooking skill. Soon Eliza is talking about her book as "our book" with Ann, which suggests a closeness but both of them are keeping very big secrets from each other.

When I read a book for Cook the Books, I am always on the look out for what it is that I am going to cook so I take note of all of the mentions of food. I am glad I didn't keep a list for this book because there are SO many mentions of food the list would have been more than a page long. However, as soon as I got to a particular section, I knew that I at least had a direction, partially due to the fact that I have recently visited India.

At one point in the book, Eliza has a suitor named Mr Arnott who is a spice merchant, which seems an ideal match for her. Mr Arnott loves curry, and there is a mention at one point of egg curry, and that was my decision made.

Last year, I wrote about a cook book called Everything is Indian. I previously shared a recipe for delicious Curried Sausage Rolls, but one of the other recipes we have tried from the book was an Egg Curry, and so today, that is the recipe that I am going to share today.

The next selection for Cook the Book is called The Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn. I see some Spanish food in my future!

This book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here and Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.

Rating 4.5/5

Egg Curry (Anda Tarkari) - Justin Narayan

6 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/3 cup (60-80ml) light olive oil
1 large brown onion, thinly sliced
15-20 fresh curry leaves
2 bird's eye chillies, halved lengthways
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1 large ripe tomato, roughly diced or 1/2 x 400g (14oz) can diced tomatoes

Pour some iced water into a bowl. Bring a saucepan of water to a gentle boil, then add the eggs. Boil for 6 minutes, then immediately transfer them to the iced water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the eggs.

Line a plate with paper towel. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Fry the boiled eggs until golden brown al over, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the eggs on the paper-towel lined plate.

In the same pan, add the onion, curry leaves, fresh chilli and whole spices and cook until the onion is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered spices and a pinch of salt and mix. Add the garlic and tomato and cook until the tomato has completely broken down, about 5-6 minutes. Return the eggs to the pan and simmer for 2-5 minutes so all the ingredients get to know each other. 

Taste and adjust with salt. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti and rice. 

Tip: If you don't have fresh tomato, use half a can of tomato and you'll get the same result. Use the whole tin if you want it to be saucier. 

Weekly meals

Saturday - 
Sunday - Chicken and Chorizo Orzo
Monday - Bacon, mushrooms and zucchini pasta
Tuesday - Eggs on Toast
Wednesday - Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Thursday - Egg curry
Friday -

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

Top Ten Tuesday: Cooking the Books

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

Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. - I made Hummingbird cakes with cream cheese frosting. 

Maame by Jessica George - I made Jollof Chicken and Rice

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan - I made Raspberry Clafoutis

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson - I made Chocolate Eclairs

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang - I made Japanese Strawberry Shortcake (which I enjoyed much more than I enjoyed the book!)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - I made Midnight Kimchi Fried Rice

Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - I made Honey Sponge Roll

Family Tree by Susan Wiggs - I made Maple Butter Date Loaf

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge - I made Boeuf Bouguignon

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley - I shared lots of biscuits/cookies I have made over the years. 

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

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

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Maame by Jessica George

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.

I am sharing this review with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.

Rating 4.5/5

Jollof Chicken and Rice

For the chicken:

1kg skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

For the stew base:

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

This week....

 

I'm reading

This week I finished reading Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce, and I am happy to report that I loved it. I have already bought the next book in the series and hope to get to it soon! 

I then read The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama. I read her book What You Are Looking for in the Library last year, and liked it, but there was one particular element of the story which bothered me a bit. No such issue with this one. I am already looking forward to her next book and thankfully there isn't too long to wait as it is out early next year. 

Next I started reading Maame by Jessica George. This is the current Cook the Books selection and I think I already know what I am going to cook. That could change but we will see. 

Finally I started reading The Midwives Christmas Miracle by Fiona McArthur. This is the first in a new trilogy that is set in the same world as a number of other books I have read. Only thing is the main female character is friends with a person who was clearly in another book. I thought I had read all the books set in Wirralong but apparently I only read the first two books in the last series set there! Time to rectify that I think. 

I did go to not one but two Rachael Johns events. I had already bought tickets to the Books in Bar event which is held in a city about an hour away from me and then they announced an event at my local library. I am trying to support anything held at the library so they keep having them so snuck away for a long lunch and went to both events!

I'm watching

We started watching Joanna Lumley's Spice Trails and we are finding it very interesting. In the first three episodes she has visiting Indonesia, India, and Madagascar. 

Life


The day after we got back from holidays was our wedding anniversary but I didn't want to schedule something so close to being away, so last night we went to our anniversary dinner. We did a thing called Le Petit Chef and Friends. Basically it is an animation than uses your table cloth and plate as a screen and tells a story about each course that you are going to eat. It was a lot of fun and the food was surprisingly good as well. 

I mentioned last week that my phone died while we were on holidays. I got it back from the repair shop this week which is good news. The bad news is that they had to replace the motherboard and I lost everything I had on my phones, which is basically thousands of photos. 

Posts from the last week



Top Ten Tuesday: What I am reading and have just read
Blog Tour: Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker
Blog Tour: Saving Starlight Hall by Debbie Viggiano
Blog Tour: A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen
Blog Tour: A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
What We Ate on Holidays: Sri Lanka and The Maldives

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: October statistics

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan

 

When A Bakery in Paris was announced as one of the selection for Cook the Books I was very pleased. Runyan is an author who I have been meaning to read for a long time and I started this book with pretty high expectations. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. I enjoyed this a lot.

This is a dual timeline novel with a difference. Both timelunes are historical. The first timeline tells the story of Lisette Vigneau who lives in an affluent area of Paris at the time that that the Prussians are blockading the city in 1870. The second timeline is set in the immediate aftermath of WWII. It is 1946 and Micheline Chartier is a young girl who is doing her best to look after her younger sisters until her mother returns. 

Lisette is a young woman who has been bought up in a life of privilege. Her parents are wealthy but they are remote, and often Lisette is invisible to them. As a child all her best memories are from the times that she spent in the kitchen with their cook, Nanette. It is 1870 and the Prussians are at the gates of Paris. Many of the other wealthy inhabitants of Paris have previously left the city but her father doesn't believe that the Prussians will be successful and if they are, then he isn't going to give up his house without a fight. 

One day, Lisette borrows the kitchen servants dress to go to the markets in disguise. She meets a young National Guardsman who helps her with an embarrassing situation, and Theo asks her to come and learn how the other half lives in Paris. 

With her parents arranging a marriage to a worth (in their opinion) man, and Lisette's growing feelings for Theo, she leaves behind everything she knows - all the wealth, the food and more. With her skills that she learned in the kitchen, Lisette is able to start a bakery in her local area of Montparnasse, and become an integral part of the local community. It isn't always easy, especially as the siege tightens and ingredients become scarce. Things come to a head as Lisette and Theo become involved in the communard uprising of 1871. 

In the second timeline, Micheline is struggling to care for her sisters following the death of her father early in the war and the subsequent disappearance of their mother. Micheline is determined that her mother must still be alive and does everything in her power to find her, despite the authorities telling her they have no news. Her family has a little income from the rent of the little restaurant below their apartment, but when the tenants leave unexpectedly she knows that life is going to get a lot harder for the little family.

Fortunately, Micheline has something of a fairy godmother in the form of Madame Dupuis who offers to support the family while Micheline completes a course which will enable her to re-open the bakery. At first, Micheline struggles a little with the course, but she prevails, often assisted by another student on the course, Laurent.

Armed with the cookbook that originally belonged to her grandmother and working together with Laurent, Micheline practices many of the recipes that she learnt at her mother's feet, determined to do the best that she can in her mother's absence, and to re-open the bakery.

This was a great selection for Cook the Books. The operation of the bakery in both time lines was integral to the story, and we watched as Micheline, in particular, learned all the skills she needed to be able to be successful. There were also lots of recipes throughout the book including for brioche, croissants, hot chocolate, clafoutis aux fruits and so much more. I am almost a bit sad that I need to return this book to the library. 

I do still like a dual timeline novel, but I did really like that the timelines were both historical. Normally you would see a modern timeline with a WWII timeline. Even the fact that the second timeline was set just after the end of the war was a point of difference too. The war was still very much an influence on every day life in Paris, particularly for families like the Chartiers. 

When it came to choosing a recipe to make I struggled a little bit as there were almost too many options. I did think about making the macaron kit that I have sitting here but eventually decided against it given that I did not recall seeing the word macaron once in the book! I might still make that next weekend and post about it for Paris in July but we'll see if that happens or not.

In the end I decided to try and make a clafoutis which is a traditional dish, originally from the Limousin region of France. The question then was whether to make the most traditional version which is made with cherries or to do a variation like a caramelised apple version (recipe here). In the end I decided to use a Mary Berry recipe which calls for raspberries, but I used the frozen mixed berries that I had in my freezer. 

This is a deceptively easy recipe, and very tasty, with a kind of baked custard texture.

Raspberry Clafoutis (Mary Berry)

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus a bit extra to butter the dish)
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
small pinch of kosher salt
3 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup + 2 tbsp whole milk
1½ pints raspberries (about 3 cups)
icing sugar, for dusting


Set your oven to 350°F (or 175°C). Grease the outsides of a shallow baking dish. Melt the butter and allow to cool a little.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Crack in the eggs,  the melted butter and the lemon zest.

Gradually add the milk, whisking as you go until the batter is smooth and a little bubbly.  

Pour your batter into the buttered dish then scatter the raspberries over the top

Bake for about 30 minutes until the edges are puffed and the centre is just set

Cool for approximately 10 minutes  and then dust with icing sugar just before serving. 

Note: You can use frozen fruit for this but don't thaw them out before adding them to the batter. Also, when you take the clafoutis from the oven the puffed edges will deflate. This is meant to happen. 

Now I just need to decide which book I am going to read by this author next! There are several that are of immediate interest.

The next four selections for Cook the Books have been announced, so if you would like to join us you would be most welcome. A couple of the new selections are a bit tricky for me to get hold of, and one of the others is a book that I already read, but I will be doing my best to join in when I can.

I am sharing this review with Cook the Books, Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story, the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host and with Paris In July hosted by Words and Peace. It was also one of the books that I nominated for 20 Books of Summer and I counted it as a read for the my read on a theme book club where the theme was war.

Rating 4.5/5

Weekly meals

Saturday - Malaysian Chicken Curry with roti
Sunday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Monday - Chicken Stirfry
Tuesday - Out for dinner
Wednesday - Baked potatoes with beef brisket
Thursday - Green Curry Chicken Pie
Friday - Out for dinner

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