Miss Benson's Beetle and Spam!

 Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce.  I saw this book mentioned on a few sites and the author wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which I really liked,  so I picked this up. 

I really liked this one though I will admit I thought it started a little slow.  Miss Margery  Benson is a middle aged unmarried teacher who pretty much has a breakdown one day at school and walks away from all of it.  It's the 1950's and an unmarried woman doesn't have a ton of choices at this point.  But she decides to follow a dream from childhood and go in search of an elusive beetle in New Caledonia.  To make this happens, she needs an assistant and ends up with the exact wrong person , Enid Pretty. 

Once they get on their journey, I loved it.  There is some tragic things in both of their lives and they don't immediately bond.  What I loved is that they both come to appreciate the other one.  Margery experiences kindness she has never experienced and Enid experiences friendship that she has never experienced.   There are some super funny scenes but also a few that will rip your heart out.  

New Caledonia.  about 750 miles from Australia

There is this side story that I didn't love with this man who is tracking them because he didn't get the assistent job.  Didn't love that character .   Without spoiling anything, I'll say it didn't end like I wanted but l loved the author notes at the end including the interview she does with the main characters.  Almost made me forgive the ending.   

Overall, I highly recommend this book about friendship, taking a chance and finding love in unlikely people.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

When they are out in the jungles of New Caledonia, they eat a lot of Spam.  Now, I have been trying not to eat any pork products but i LOVE Spam.  So, I made an exception and fixed up some Spam.  My favorite way to eat it is to fry it with potatoes.  Today i cut it up and put it on a cookie sheet with some fresh pineapple.  I covered it with teriyaki sauce, crushed garlic and added a chopped up onion.   I baked it in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes, tossing it several times.  I put it over rice and had a delicious dinner.  I like for spam to get super fried on top which didn't happen in the oven .  So, the next day, i put the leftovers in a pan and fried them up.  It was great.  I think next time i might just do the whole thing on the stove.  

Enjoy and keep reading. 

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop and Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

 I listened to both of these books on audibles.  They fit a few categories for me- books by diverse authors and books about food.  

Vanessa Yu's Magical Tea Shop-  I liked this one the best of the 2.  Vanessa Yu comes from a line of  women who can tell the future but she can't control how she blurts out the future resulting in many tears and heartbreak.  Her Aunt, has the gift and can help but Vanessa must go with her to Paris to help her open her tea shop.  Of course there, she learns important lessons, falls in love and gets a new gift.  Okay so here are my likes and dislikes 

Liked - the magical realism, PARIS, the food and the family cultural  references.  I also liked how the author addressed the racism that her Aunt Evelyn experienced.  

What I didn't like - She fell in love like overnight.  That feels a little too rushed for me.  I wanted her to embrace her talent but instead she threw it away and some of the folks that were told their future, didn't do anything to fix it!  I was like....  Okay now you know so do something!  

The narrator was good and this was good for my afternoon walks.  Didn't take a lot of brain power. 

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2  

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune -Natalie Tan hasn't talked to her mom in 7 years after a falling out and now her mom has died.  She comes home to San Francisco to wrap up her life and decides to reopen the restaurant her grandmother ran.  Chinatown is changing and she hopes bringing back the restaurant will keep some of the culture alive in the city.  She must cook 3 special recipes for 3 families who are struggling for the restaurant to be successful. 

Liked- the magical realism, SF one of my favorite cities in the world, the food references.  

Didn't like - She went on and on about missing her mom but yet they had been estranged all of those years.  That made me frustrated.  If she missed her so much now, why didn't she reach out years ago?  And, everytime something went wrong, she ran.  I got frustrated with the main character. 

At first the narrator bothered me but now i'm not sure if it was her or the book. 

⭐⭐⭐ because there was some fun parts and it was also good for my walks . 

For Natalie Tan's book, I experimented with Ramen noodles.   I saw a woman on Tik Tok take Ramen noodles, throw out the seasoning pack and make her own seasoning.  So, i tried it. 

I boiled the noodles and had them ready.  In a pan i heated butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, onions , chili flakes.  I added some spinach and the noodles.  Then i added an egg.  I cooked it all up and topped it with Everything Bagel seasoning.    So good!  I've made this a few times since this first experiment and tried adding a few additional things to it.   Super easy for lunch and yummy. 

For Vanessa Yu's book,  I decided to make a Croque Madame.  Well, to be fair it isn't an actual croque madame because i'm not eating much pork these days (Don't remind me of the Spam post I just did!)  

I made this one with just the cheese, béchamel sauce and egg on top.   Béchamel is pretty simple to make.  It is butter, flour and a bit of milk .  Whisk it together and add some paprika, salt and pepper.   

I toasted the bread.  Put it in a pan can layer on shredded Gruyere cheese.  Put on the top bread, coat it with bechamel sauce, more cheese and put under the broiler.  Maybe 5 minutes.  Meanwhile I fried an egg.  When the sandwich came out, i put the fried egg right on top.  Delicious!   

Jane Austen #3- The Next Great Jane

 What a fun read!  I heard about this book on one of my favorite podcast, Novel Pairings.   It is a young adult novel with hints of Jane Austen all through it.  A 12 year old girl in Maine wants to be a great writer like her namesake Jane A.   She lives with her single father who studies Plankton.  Her mom comes into town with a new fiance and plans to get closer to Jane.  Also a famous writer moves to town with a son that drives Jane nuts.  So many fun JA references including the Fairfax family and Kitty plus lots of prejudice happening. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read this book over a weekend and it was the perfect feel good, quick read.   The book is set in Maine so I made New England Clam Chowder.  I had actually never made clam chowder before and it was pretty easy and tasty.  

I found a post on Pinterest that I followed  but left  out the Bacon.   Turned out great.  Added a few oyster crackers and it was a full meal.   

https://www.thekitchn.com/clam-chowder-recipe-23079005?newsletter_slot=11&utm_source=k_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10032020

Keep reading!  

Why Peacocks and Blueberry Peach Cobbler

 Why Peacocks by Sean Flynn and Blueberry Peach Cobbler 

Someone referenced this book on a podcast I was listening to and it got me interested.  I picked it up and glad I did.  What would you do if a neighbor asked you to adopt some peacocks?  I think most of us would say, No thank you!  Not Sean Flynn!  He said, sure and next thing you know, he has 3 peacocks which he knows nothing about.   This is the interesting and funny and sometimes sad story of his family in North Carolina and learning to care for peacocks.   The book is part history of the bird and part family saga.  Really good and a fast read.  I knew nothing about Peacocks except that they are beautiful.  We learn about a Peacock serial killer, Peacock conventions and mythology surrounding peacocks.   Overall fun read.  There are several pets who die so be prepared for a bit of sadness. 

Also, glad to add a bit more non-fiction to my reading list.  It nice to shake it up a bit. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

He feeds the birds blueberries throughout the book.  So, I had a dinner to attend and I made a peach blueberry cobbler.  The peaches aren't as ripe yet as i had hoped so i used frozen peaches.  But there are plenty of blueberries in stores.  

this is a basic recipe I use from Great Grub/ Delicious treats .  It's not too fancy, but oh so good especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

Enjoy! 

https://www.greatgrubdelicioustreats.com/peach-blueberry-cobbler/

Ingredients

For The Cobbler Filling

• 5 large peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced-  (I used a bag of frozen peaches. ) 
• 3 cups blueberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

For The Topping

• 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Additional Topping, Optional

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• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° and lightly spray a 3 quart baking dish with a non stick spray. Set aside.

  For The Cobbler Filling

  1. Peel, remove pits and slice peaches about 1/4 inch thick, add to large mixing bowl.

  2. Rinse blueberries and place in bowl.

  3. Sprinkle sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, corn starch and cinnamon over fruit and stir

     

     
     
     
     

     
     

     
     gently. Let sit for 5 minutes then stir again.

  4. Pour fruit into an oval 3 quart baking dish.

  
  
• For The Topping

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together.

  2. Using a pastry blender, mix butter into flour mixture until mixture becomes crumbly. Pour boiling water into flour mixture and stir until combined.

  3. Spoon mixture over peaches and blueberries, spread gently making sure to cover the fruit completely.

  For Additional Topping

  1. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on top of the cobbler.

     

  2. Bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes or until topping is cooked thoroughly and has started to brown.

  3. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes.

  4. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Office of Historical Corrections and sweet coleslaw

 Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans 

I don't usually read short stories.  No reason, I just typically haven't.  But, I saw this book all over bookstagram and it kept getting referenced as just a wonderful collection that explores relationships and race.  Since this year I have commited to reading more diverse authors , this seemed like a good book to pick up.  I'm really glad I did!   A few of the stories, while good, didn't stick with me .  But a couple really stood out and I can't stop thinking about them.  

Boys Go to Jupiter was my favorite.  A white college student poses in a confederate flag bathing suit and then refuses to admit there is anything wrong with it.  The author does some interesting things to try to make us sympathize with the student by giving us her back story which is kind of sad.  I almost fell for it.  I listened to a podcast called the Stacks and they discussed this in detail. The Podcaster mentioned how she is sure white women and black women will feel differently in this story.  She's right.  I had to stop and think, why would I be sympathizing with this young woman?  Why does the fact that she has a black best friend and a tragic backstory make it okay that she did this terrible thing and refuses to apologize for it and makes excuses for it?  So, I didn't.  I didn't sympathize with her.  I reexamined my feelings and thought about how ignorance is not an excuse for bad behavior.  the story is just really well done.  

Anything Could Disappear was also really good.  A young black woman is carrying drugs and ends up with an abandoned baby boy.  I wasn't sure what she was going to do.  Not sure I expected her to keep him or what happens next.  It feels like this could be a movie!  You get invested in her life in this short story and the ending was sad. 

Finally the Novella at the end, Office of Historical Corrections was a nice way to wrap it up.   This story is about a government agency whose job is to correct historical mistakes.  The young woman in the story corrects signs, tourist discussing history, newspaper articles, etc.  Cassie is assigned to find out about a sign that has been changed and without giving away too much, there is controversy with an old friend and a family secret to be exposed about a racist white man.   

I gave the collection 4 Stars even though there were a couple of stories that were forgettable. The ones that stood out made the collection worth reading and highly recommending .  

Since this is Juneteenth weekend, I started thinking about what food to make.  On Instagram, I follow the hashtag, #Juneteenthcookout2021 and there were so many great recipes and food ideas for a cookout.  There was also some good history attached to the food.  Stories about why red food and drink is so important.  I didn't post on the 19th because it kind of felt like it wasn't my day to post.  I read a few articles about Juneteenth and watched a couple of videos.    

I decided to make mom's coleslaw which would be something i might take to a cookout.  Mom loved this coleslaw partly because of how sweet it is.  She liked her food sweet!   Next time I make it, i'm going to cut the sugar back. 

Mom's slaw 

1 bag of slaw mix 

1 carrot or a handful of petite carrots cut into small pieces  or shredded 

1/2 onion-chopped fine or shredded 

1 yellow bell pepper.  Mom used green bell peppers but i don't care for green peppers.  I would go with red or yellow or orange .  Chopped fine 

1/2 cup chopped up parsley 

3/4 cup of mayo 

3/4 cup of sugar (Next time i'm making this 1/2 cup) 

1 tsp celery seed 

1 tsp mustard seed 

black pepper 

Mix all of the slaw together.  Mix the mayo, sugar, seeds and pepper together and pour over.  mix well and chill.  

I also made watermelon margaritas.  Just your basic margaritte but with watermelon juice tossed in there. 

Delicious.   Happy reading! 

Writers and Lovers by Lily King Served with Fish and cucumbers

 I realized that I don't get reviews posted often because i get myself so worked on what to say.  My new goal is short and sweet and no pressure!  

I had seen Writers and Lovers everywhere last year and finally downloaded it on audio.  SO good.  The narrator is excellent , Stacey Glemboski.   

this is a story of a young woman grieving the death of her month, drowning in school debt and trying to figure out her life.  She is a writer but waiting tables.  She is finishing up her first novel but struggling to concentrate.   2 men come into her life at around the same time and she falls for both.  It is just a great character driven novel and I really cared about the main character Casey.   I kind of didn't want to lose her.  We might need a follow up novel. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

There is a scene in the book where she goes over to Oscars house to have dinner with him and his kids. They serve fish sticks and cucumbers.   I made homemade fish sticks in the air fryer.  Just took some tilapia and soaked it in milk and egg.  Then dipped it in a mixture of breadcrumbs, bay seasoning, salt pepper and parmesan cheese.  I put it in the fryer and that was it!  super easy and i think better then those frozen fish sticks.  

Vanishing Half and Polenta with Shrimp

 I know this book was the hot topic over a year ago on all of the book forums but I just got around to it this year.  My book group read Vanishing Half for our April read and it was perfect for a good discussion.   For the one person who doesn’t know, this book is centered on twins in a small town in Louisiana called Mallard.  The population is fair skinned but still considered black.  The story starts with one sister returning home with her daughter who is very black and then jumps backward to tell us what happened previously.  We find out the twins ran away at age 16.  One twin got married and had a daughter and is returning to escape her husband.  The other twin is gone.  She is passing as white and started a new life never to return to this old life.  The book runs from 1968 to the late 80s.   The book takes us to California, to NYC, and back to Louisiana.  I listened to this book on audio which was fabulous but I also own a hard copy so some of it I went back and read again.  

Our book group loved it and our discussion was rich.  Overall I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the settings.  I do think there were some unanswered questions or maybe it is just parts of the plot I wish had been explored.  For example, i wanted to know more about Reese?  I get that Reese was also passing as someone else but I would have liked more.  I also wanted more of Early and Desiree.   

Overall a great discussion for a group and a good read. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I kind of wanted to make Shrimp and Grits to go with it because that always makes me think of Louisiana.  But, I'm not a big grits fan so instead I did Shrimp and Polenta.  I love soft Polenta!  I make it all the time in the winter.  It is the perfect comfort food.  Sometimes with roasted vegetables and sometimes with tomato sauce.  For this recipe, I had some fresh shrimp I grilled up, chopped up some tomatoes, added a few diced tomatoes, garlic, onions and put it all in a pan together for a few minutes.  Poured it over the soft polenta and covered it with shredded parmesan.    

For soft polenta, it is a 4-1 mix of polenta to broth.  I used Vegetable broth for this one and brought it to a boil.  Poured in the polenta and let it cook for about 15 minutes stirring it pretty frequently .    at the end I add some heavy cream.  A little more than a splash but it is up to you and how creamy you want it. 

Delicious! .  

Jane Austen #2 retellings- Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors AND. Recipe for Persuasion

 I do love a JA retelling!  I’ve read so many of them and plan to bore you with so many reviews.  This new series by Sonali Dev forces on the Raje family.  In the first book, Pride , Prejudice and Other Flavors, we meet Dr Trisha Raje who is an acclaimed neurosurgeon.  The immigrant Indian family is descended from royalty and now settled in San Francisco.  We learn that Trisha broke some trust with the family over a scandal with her older brother who is an aspiring politician and her father won’t get past it.  There is an up and coming chef who’s sister needs brain surgery and immediately he clashes with the dr,  She makes assumptions about chefs and is arrogant in her status.  He is full of Pride and won’t let her get away with her prejudice but he also needs her help.   Of course you know where this is going!  I loved the cultural take on the story.  The food descriptions are yummy!  This retelling manages to be original by adding in family subplots, touching on racism and having some new original characters.  An easy 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.  

Dev’s second book in the series is Recipe for Persuasion. I liked this one also but not quite as much as the first book.  Persuasion is not my favorite of the JA novels but this one was an original take on the classic.  Chef Ashna Raje is the cousin of Dr Trisha Raje and is trying to keep her family's Indian restaurant afloat. She joins a reality cooking show where the chefs are teamed up with a celebrity, aka dancing with the stars, to compete for a large payoff that could keep her business alive.  She gets paired with celebrity soccer star Rico Silva .  Of course they have a history and losing Ashna years ago was extremely painful and something he hasn’t moved on from.  This retelling , similar to the first one, did a great job of making it original enough to be super interesting.  There are some heavy topics so it’s not a breezy romance.  We go back and forth from Ashna to her mother who was forced into an arranged marriage, an alcoholic father and child neglect.  I loved the food in the story and getting to learn more about this family.  It was a bit heavier then I expected and  that slowed me down in the first half.   I was expecting a fun romance and I’m not sure I would classify it as such.   But, started to love the characters and even though I knew how this would turn out, I was still anxious to get there.  I give this 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Because of the way she handled the story and because I really cared about these characters people.  

The 3rd book in the series is due out in July and I can’t wait! 

Let's talk food.  I don't eat a lot of Indian food but as i expand my horizons and read more diverse characters, I'd also like to do the same with my food.   So, I found this recipe on the Skinnytaste.com site.  It is Salmond Coconut Curry with Spinach and Chickpeas.  I'm always a little afraid of curry but this was delicious.  https://www.skinnytaste.com/salmon-coconut-curry-with-spinach-and-chickpeas/  

I highly recommend it.  I did omit the Fresno Chili and i couldn't find the curry powder it called for so substituted with what my store had.  Overall delicious and new flavors for me!  I will make this one again! 

For Recipe for Persuasion I felt inspired by some of the fresh fruit she used and i made myself a Mango Blackberry vodka cooler!    Found this one on Pinterest! My mango wasn't super ripe so this was good but could have been better if I found a good mango.    Still, delicious and refreshing.   

More JA to come! 

Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice - reread , podcast and more to come! Part 1 of ?

 I first read Pride and Prejudice back in my college days.  SInce then I've watched every movie multiple times!  My favorite is the 1995 BBC version.  I've seen it multiple times and just love it.   This year i've discovered Podcast and one of those is Novel Pairings.  The Hostesses did a 4 part episode on reading, rereading and retellings/sequels and Pastiche relating to P&P.  (I had never heard the word pastiche but it means to imitate the work or style of the artist) .  I loved all of it.  I ended up downloading the Audible version which was recommended.  It was so good and is free with my subscription.  It's read by Rosamund Pike and was wonderful. I highly recommend it.   I also bought the Annotated version of P&P which is full of notes and drawings and everything you might want to know about the book. 

It was so nice to revisit this classic.  It felt familiar and listening to the podcast helped me listen for different things and learn a few new things. They did a nice job of digging into the meaning of things and the customs of the time period.   Since i'm also a patreon of the podcast, I also got bonus episodes and classes .  I have to admit I haven't had time to explore all of it but I am planning to! 

 I have so much to say about Austen. 
I am planning out a series of posting.  I have JA cookbooks and cocktail books.  I have read multiple retelling and sequels.  I have puzzles and graphic novels.  SO much to say!!   This is post one of several.  I should admit that i posted about JA a few years ago when i started this blog.  At that time i had just read the Jane Austen Project and posted a review and a review of By the Book which is a modern retelling of Persuasion.  

https://veryhungryreader2017.blogspot.com/2018/05/jane-austen-inspired-books.html

I won't post all of the JA together but will spread it out over the year.   I'm super excited to share all the books related. 

For this post I made a cocktail from Gin Austen.  It is the Brandon Old Fashioned.  More Austen coming soon!  Keep reading! 

Hamnet and Honey Brussel Sprouts

 Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.   I saw this book all over Bookstagram last year and added to my list.  Finally got to it in March and oh my!   I loved it.  This is the story of the death of Shakespeare's 11 year old son Hamnet.  At least that is the description on the book but it is really more about his mother and how grief can shatter a family.  This book is beautifully written and I read it in just a few days because it was tough to put down.  The story is told from different viewpoints but Agnes is the main character.  We jump to her first introduction to the bard and then to her family.   Shakespeare, while an important character, is not the focus.  Agnes feels almost mystical.  Her relationship with animals, her
premonitions and her use of plants to heal, all lend a feeling of magic to the story.  This is in  the time of the plague and she cannot heal the plague.   I was so taken by this novel that i needed to know how much was true.  Turns out Shakespeare did have a son that died but very little is known about his wife.  O'Farrell obviously used her wonderful imagination to give us this story. At the end, I realized I had never read or seen Hamlet.  I had no idea how this story might be related to play.  I was visiting my sister and we decided to watch it.    We googled it to find the best version and the critics seemed to pick David Tennant's version from 2009.  So, that's the one we watched.  Ummmmm  it was not very good.  I think we wanted  costumes and a more historically accurate Hamlet.  This one is a modern version and there are limited sets and terrible costumes.  I wish we had gone with the Kenneth Branagh version.  Oh well.  I got the story and not sure I needed to see it after all.   

In the book, Agnes is a beekeeper.  Because of her connection with nature, i thought making something with Honey seemed appropriate so I had 2 ideas.  One turned out great, one not so great.   

1st  was sauteed shredded Brussel Spouts with honey and balsamic glaze.  I bought the shredded sprouts they sell at Trader Joes in the bag.  Almost every recipe I see for shredded brussel sprouts has bacon in it.  I really trying to stop eating all pork products so i had to make my own recipe.  I cut up an onion and an apple and added them to the brussels and sauteed them in a generous helping of butter.  Near the end i drizzled honey over them , sprinkled some salt and pepper and let them sit till nice and soft.  I ended with a nice topping of balsamic glaze.   They were delicious.   Perfect amount of sweetness.   

The dish that didn't turn out so good was the figs.  Figs just feel very shakespearean to me (don't even ask why).  Unfortunately this isn't fig season.  They don't come in until June or July.  So i bought dried ones and stuffed them with cream cheese and covered them with honey.  I put them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350.  They weren't terrible but not great.  Fresh figs would have been perfect but the dried ones don't do much in the oven.   I think i'll have to wait for fig season!  

Pick up the book, make some brussel spouts and skip the figs.  Hamnet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐