Sadie on a Plate served with potato and zucchini latke's and homemade applesauce

 Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot and served with Potato and Zucchini

latke's and homemade applesauce. 

I really enjoyed this one!  It was listed as a rom com but I would argue that it isn't.  It is a story of a cooking show that happens to have a little bit of romance.  

Sadie is a chef in Seattle who has just been fired.  Now she has a chance of going on a cooking show (Top chef type) and winning the prize money and opening her own restaurant.    She cooks mainly modern Jewish cuisine.  I loved the behind the scene's look at the cooking show.  I enjoyed all of the other contestants.  Especially another chef from Seattle who Sadie views at her toughest competition and who ends ups being super nice and a big fan of Sadie's.  Now for the romance,  on her flight to NY, she sits next to a chef, Luke.  She assumes he will be in the competition but it turns out he is a judge.   They have to hold back the romance until the competition is done so it takes a back seat. 

I just loved all of the food !  She plan out each meal and my mouth was watering .  This was a fast read and just what i needed.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I ended up making potato and zucchini latke's in my waffle iron!  I just shredded a zucchini and a potato, added bread crumbs, an egg and some seasoning.   What i didn't do...  and should have was drained the zucchini.  It was watery.   I put it in the waffle iron and  I had lovely latke's!   I had 3 apples so i peeled them and cooked them way down on the stove.  Added some brown sugar, butter and a little bit of water.  Turned out perfect!  

Memphis served with Blueberry hand pies

 Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow and served with Blueberry Hand Pies 

This family saga is so good!!   3 generations of black women in Memphis and their loves, struggles and destiny.    The story is told by August, Miriam, Joan and Hazel.  Miriam escapes a violent husband and heads back to Memphis to live with her sister August.   We hear the story of Hazel, their mother.  We see Joan, her oldest daughter struggle to overcome a trauma that happened years before and we see the incredible strength of all of these women.    I felt like Memphis was also a character in the book.  Now I really want to go there!  

The author did a great job of capturing the racism  and also  the impact of significant historical events of the time.   Each woman had their own voice and each story was impactful.   Not sure who my favorite was.  I think I started off with Joan as my favorite but near the end i realized that I just loved August and her sorrow and strength.    I would have liked for Mya, the youngest sister to have a chapter.    I listened to this one on audio and it was great!  the narrators did a wonderful job!   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are Pie's all throughout this book  A blackberry pie, Lemon meringue pie, blueberry pie.  There was actually a good amount of food throughout as Memphis is known for some good southern cooking.  I decided to stick with the pie theme.  I made blueberry hand pies in the air fryer!!     they were pretty yummy but the problem with the air fryer is that they look perfect on the top but the bottoms , not so much.  

I did blueberries on the stove with a little bit of sugar and cornstarch.    I cooked those down for about 10-15 minutes until the blueberries were soft and the filling was slightly thick.   I rolled out store bought pie crust and cut out circles.  was able to get 4 pies from one crust.  Put a dollop of blueberry filling in and pressed them down.    Put a little bit of water on your finger and run it around the edge of the pie crust before pressing it down.  I brushed it with an egg wash and  sprinkled them with decorator sugar and cut 2-3 slits on top.  Spray your air fryer basket so they don't stick!   Heat at 360 for 7-9 minutes.   Try not to burn your fingers eating them!!  

Bloomsbury Girls served with Tikka Masala and Naan

 Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner and served with Tikka Masala with Cauliflower and Peas and Naan. 

I enjoyed this one!   This is the author who wrote The Jane Austen Society and there is one cross over character featured.  But, you don't need to read that first book to read this one. 

It is post war London and Vivien and Grace work at Bloomsbury Books .  The head of Bloomsbury has a list of rules that everyone must follow and unfortunately the women aren't permitted to move up through the ranks.  One day Evie Stones comes in for a job and just happens to save the managers life.  She joins the bookstore and we see change come to this old fashioned institute.   

I just loved how the author had true historical literary figures in the book.  We meet Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim and others.  The 3 main characters have things happening in their personal lives that run over into the bookstore.  Vivian is an inspiring writer who has a tense and sometimes passionate relationship with Alec, the Head of Fiction.  Grace has a husband suffering from PTSD and really challenging to live with.  And Evie is searching for a lost book and builds a relationship with Ash who is from India and coping with racism in Britain.  

If you like historical fiction and you love books, this is for you.  Just an enjoyable read ! 

I thought about doing a classic British dish but to be honest, I just wasn't hungry for it.  They talk about tea a lot in the book.  But instead I went with Indian food.  There is a scene where Ash takes Evie to an Indian restaurant and she has never had Indian food and she finds the flavors so interesting.  

I made Tikka Masala with Cauliflower and Peas in the Instant Pot. 

Here is a link to the recipe. https://www.skinnytaste.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala-with-cauliflower-and-peas/

it turned out pretty good.  I made some Naan to go with it.  Haven't quite perfected the Naan.  Mine seems to always be a little bit heavier then it should be.    

Enjoy! 

Klara and the Sun served with Sundried Tomato Pasta and Sun tea

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro served with Sundried Tomato Pasta and Sun Tea  

Sometimes everyone tells you how much they love a book and then you read it and you just don't get it.  That's how i felt about Klara and the Sun.  It was all over bookstagram and i kept hearing rave reviews.  I listened on audio and it just didn't click for me.  This is the story of Klara an AF (artificial friend). .  we are somewhere in the future and parents buy AF's for their children.  Klara is narrating this story of her hope for a child that she can help and then finally getting chosen by Josie a sick girl looking for a companion. 

 

Here's the thing, because Klara is telling the story, it feels very stiff.  She is a robot so she doesn't have real emotion.  She recognizes emotion and see's everything happening around her but it just felt stiff.  Plus, there are so many unanswered questions.  Some of the kids have been "Lifted" but they never explain what that means.  Josie's sister died and we aren't sure if it is related to the lifted or if it is what is making Josie sick.   Josie's neighbor and friend Rick was not lifted and is an outcast but we aren't sure why. What year is it?  where is the story taking place?   Plus, Klara gets obsessed with a piece of equipment that causes pollution and she believes is hurting the sun.  She thinks the sun can heal Josie.  The whole thing gets a little weird. 

I did like some of it and it was interesting enough that I finished it.   But, not sure it will be on my list of top books.  ⭐⭐⭐

At first I couldn't come up with a food item.  They talk about coffee and they mention eating but never say what they are eating.  I assume Klara doesn't eat.  And then...  I decided to make Sun Tea.  That then inspired me to do my own Sun Dried tomatoes in the air fryer.  and the...  Sundried tomato pasta.    The sun is such an important part of the story, this felt good. 

For the pasta, I kind of made it up after reading a few recipes on line.  

I had a handful of the small cherry tomatoes.  I put them in a baggie with some olive oil and italian seasoning.  I shook them up and dropped them in the air fryer .  Set the airfryer at the lowest temp-300 and checked them every 10 minutes.  It  ended up taking 35 minutes to get them to the right sundried spot.  

For the pasta, I had a small pasta called dilalini which seemed to work well.  I cut up 2 chicken breast and put them in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  Cooked them about 15 minutes until light brown.  Transferred to a plate and added some additional olive oil, and about a quarter cup of chopped up onions.  Cooked for a few minutes till soft.  from here i added 3 cups of chicken broth.  Once it start to boil, I added 1 cup of the pasta.  I let it cook for 10 minutes and then added in 1/3 cup of chopped up Sundried tomatoes, 1/4 cup of chopped up basil and the cooked chicken.  I let all of this cook for about 5 minutes and then served coated with parmesan cheese.  It was delicous!    

 Enjoy!