Firekeeper's Daughter served with Berry infused Vodka

 Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I heard about this one through Bookstagram and it kept showing up as a favorite from readers.   I picked it up and it was my first book to finish in the month of Oct which feels appropriate because i said i was going to read some mysteries for Halloween.   Not sure this a truly a mystery maybe more of a thriller but there is a murder and an investigation on who did it.    I really enjoyed this story.  I have not read much about the native american culture so it super interesting to learn about the language, rituals and issues facing them. 

Daunis is preparing for her first year of college.  She has had a tough year with the loss of her uncle and the stroke of her grandmother.  Early on in the book she witnesses a murder and from there she is tossed into an investigation with the FBI.  There is meth being sold and her community is greatly impacted.  Daunis falls for Jamie, a new guy on the scene but isn't sure she can trust him  and must try to figure out what role her half brother Levi  plays in the situation.   There are some pretty intense topics here- Murder, drug use, rape, bigotry.  

Really well written.  Just enough suspense that i had to know what was going on.  Daunis is a strong character who I cared about .  Boulley  did a nice job of educating us on the indigenous communities and incorporating it into the story.  Super glad I believed the hype around this book.  And I hear it going to be a Netflix movie! 

I would give this ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars.   Highly recommend!  

I knew i wanted to pair it with some type of berries.  She talks about the ritual in her culture that when a young woman gets her first period, they must go a year without eating berries.  At the end of the year, a feast is held and berries are eaten.  I did a little research on this and it is still a custom with the Ojibwe tribe and they believe that during menstruation women are spiritually powerful.    Unfortunately with summer ending, berries aren't in season right now so i went around and around about what type of berries to use.   I ended up doing infused vodka.  I infuse vodka all the time.  It's kind of fun to try different types.  For this book I did Strawberry Basil and Cranberry Orange vodka.  I fill a mason jar with the chosen infusion and then pour vodka over it.  I typically leave it for at least a week shaking it daily.  At the end of the week, i strain it through a cheese cloth and it is ready to go.  The flavor is light but nice.  IF you want it to be a more intense flavor, let is sit for longer.  I have let it sit up to a month but the berries do start to fall apart.  Perfect for making a vodka mule or a martini.  Enjoy 

Dial A for Aunties and Shrimp Fried Rice

 Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto served with Shrimp Fried Rice 

This book was fun and a little bit silly.  It is a total farce and far fetched but it's so fun that you are willing to overlook it.   The plot in a nutshell, Meddelin Chan kills her blind date accidentally and runs to her mom and aunties to help get rid of the body.  Of course they are in the middle of running the largest Chinese socialite wedding of the year (the family runs a wedding planning business).  And of course there is an old love that Meddelin walked away from years ago who shows up.  The aunties are a crack up and of course the dead body ends up in all the wrong places in the wedding.  There is also a terrible groom, a sad bride and a maid of honor who doesn't have a lot of honor.  Fun read.  Totally unrealistic but you just need to let go of that.     You know how sometimes you read a book and you can just picture the movie the entire time, this is one of those.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I made Shrimp fried rice.  I love making fried rice because I use up whatever I have in the fridge.  I had left over rice from a dish earlier in the week that I needed to use so that was my inspiration.   I sauteed

some onions, peppers, peas, mushroom in a bit of olive oil.  I added frozen shrimp and 2 eggs.  Once the eggs were scrambled, I added the rice , soy sauce and little bit of fish sauce.  Put the lid on and let the whole thing steam for about 10 minutes.   Delicious!  

Broken Horses served with biscuits and coffee

 Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile served with biscuits and coffee 

True confession time.....   I didn't really know Brandi's music.  I knew who she was because if you live in Seattle, you know.  Seattle LOVES Brandi and is super proud of her.  I just hadn't taken the time to really explore her.  But I did know the Highwomen and was a big fan of the first album.   

My dear friend Sandy gave me an autographed copy of Brandi's book and told me that I HAD to read it.  I started it and then heard that she narrates is on audio and sings the songs at the end of each chapter.  I flipped to audio and went back and forth so I could see the photos' and hear the songs. Here's the thing....  it is like getting a lovely story of faith, love and success and a great album all in one.   I really enjoyed it.  The songs are lovely.  I enjoyed her struggles as a young person, the family drama,  her thoughts on religion, her love for Elton John and Dolly Parton, all of it.   Even without me knowing anything about her, I found the story easy to listen to and enjoyable.  If you can do both, the book and the audio, do it.  You don't get the photos in the audio so that's why the book was nice and handy. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

At first I couldn't think of what to make with this book.  But in the end, I settled on biscuits.  The book just has a homey southern feel.  And yes, I know she grew up in the PNW.   When I think of country and the south, I think of my Nana's biscuits.  I wish I had spent time next to her making those biscuits but I didn't.  I was too busy eating them.  Over the years i've made a dozen different biscuit recipes.  Some were difficult and some were easy.  Most were just okay.  I moved to Pillsbury frozen biscuits a few years ago because they are just so darn easy and delicious.  I realized half of what I made wasn't as good as that.  But, for this book, I went back to a recipe that is pretty easy and tasty and probably my go to recipe since I always have all of the ingredients in my house.  (I'm always stunned when people tell me they don't keep flour or baking powder in the cabinet! how is that possible?) 

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

4 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

2 teaspoons sugar 

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter 

3/4 cup of milk. 

Oven 450 

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cut butter in with pastry blender or your hands till it is blended and small pieces.   Pour in the milk and stir until the dough sticks together and pulls away from the bowl. 

Put on a lightly floured surface and knead 5-6 times.  Don't overdue it. Pat into a square approx 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  You can use a biscuit cutter here if you want round biscuits but I use my pastry cutter and cut it into 16 small biscuits.  IF you want larger biscuits, cut into 9-12 pieces.   Place on an ungreased pan not touching but close enough. Bake 10-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Try not to eat all of them at one time! 

Lizzie & Dante served with Lasagna Soup

 Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly served with Lasagna soup. 

I enjoyed this one.  I would call it a good beach read.  Romantic, beautiful setting, great food and some good characters.  I didn't love it but beach reads are quick and enjoyable and not usually earth shattering. 

Basic plot , and i'm not spoiling anything because this is all in the book overview, Lizzie has a serious illness and goes off on a vacation with her ex boyfriend to an island off of Italy's coast.  There she meets a chef who has a daughter and cooks crazy good food.  There is some romance, some BFF hard talk, joy from the 12 yr old daughter and heartbreak.   That is all.  Totally enjoyable.  This is probably more of a 3.5 star book but since goodreads doesn't do 1/2 stars, I rounded up to 4.  Read it in a weekend. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I made Lasagna soup in the Ninja Instant pot.  I would call this deconstructed Lasagna.  Super easy recipe and delicious.  I used the recipe on the Skinnytaste website. 

https://www.skinnytaste.com/lasagna-soup/

I used ground turkey instead of sausage and I cooked the entire thing in the instant pot. Next time i will break up the noodles into smaller pieces.  that was the only bad thing.  They were too big. 

but a 5 star soup! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐