A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, served with Flan and Guava pastries

 I could not let Latinx Heritage Month go by without posting something!  I read this cute book last month after seeing it all over bookstagram.  A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is all the things I enjoy in a book.  Fun engaging characters, a little bit of romance, a great setting and FOOD.  

Lila Reyes' family ships her off to England for the summer to stay with her cousin after she goes through several large set backs.  Her abuela dies, her best friend moves away and her boyfriend decides he needs a break.  She is planning to take over the families Cuban bakery but first she needs to get her life back together.  Of course she meets someone, learns some new baking skills and gets to use her already great skills, makes friends and starts to think about other ideas for her future.  

I really enjoyed Orion, the love interest and was so interested in some of the food discussed.  This is a quick read and maybe just a little predictable but still fun.  I enjoyed it! Probably 3.5 stars but I rounded up because Goodreads doesn't do halves!  They should. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was inspired to try Cuban Flan and guava pastries.  I love flan and thought this can't be too hard. 

I'll be honest, my food turned out okay but i think with a little alterations, it could be great. 

Here is the flan recipe I used. https://www.baconismagic.ca/cuba/cuban-flan/   It was super east but....  I  burned the caramel .  It moves so quickly to the dark caramel color and i didn't remove it from the heat fast enough.  I went ahead and used it but it had a bit of a burned taste to it.  The flan itself was really good.  Next time, remove it from the heat!   

The guava pastries were super easy.  I order guava paste on line.  I had never bought guava paste and couldn't find it in the grocery store.  I used Puff Pastry and cut up the guava paste, topped with some cream cheese and baked. The guava paste was not easy to work with.  it is thick and sticky!  But these tasted good.  Next time i think i'll cut up the puff pastry into squares in advance because cutting it after i had it stuffed was tough.  The guava kept sticking to the knife.  AND I use more cream cheese.  I was skimpy with the cream cheese and I recognize now that i needed much, much more.  but, overall super simple and tasty.  

Young Jane Young and Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

 I saw a reference to this book on a book blog I follow and I checked it out.  So glad I did! This is Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin.  I read one of her other books, the Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and really liked it so I had a feeling this one would be good.  

The story is told from the view point of 5 women.  Aviva Grossman had an affair with a prominent congressman and she was branded a slut by the internet.  This is the story of what happened.  I loved all 5 of the viewpoints.  At first my favorite was Ruby who is just a firecracker of a kid.  Later i realized my favorite might have been the congressman's wife story.  Now I'm not sure.  I really liked all of them.  Why do we shame the woman but the man goes untarnished and has a great career?  it is totally shades of Monica Lewinsky in this story .  A fun, fast read which also made me think about how we treat women in society.  I highly recommend it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I decided to make Chicken Matzo Ball soup for this one.  This seemed right for a few reasons; 

   1) Rachel Grossman is a good Jewish mother 

   2) it was Rosh Hashanah this week. 

  3)  i have a terrible cold and everyone calls this Jewish Penicillin! 

I even made my own chicken broth!  Here is what i'd say...   it was just okay.  It was a lot of work making my own chicken broth.  I think the broth i use is just as good if not better.  Next time i will just use that. 

But , here is the recipe if you have the time and patience for it! 

• 4 lb whole chicken (use a whole chicken, or a mixture of white and dark meat chicken pieces - must be bone in, skin on)
• 2 lb celery stalks, cleaned
• 1 lb carrots, peeled
• 1 yellow onion, skin on, rinsed clean
• 2 ounces fresh parsley (one large handful), rinsed clean
• 1.5 ounces fresh dill (one handful), rinsed clean
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp saffron threads (optional-- adds a rich yellow color and depth of flavor to the broth; only use high quality expensive saffron, the other kind has no flavor)

I did not use saffron.  I couldn't find it.  I cleaned the chicken and covered it with water.  Cooked it in a giant pot with the onion, 3/4 of the celery, parsley, 2/3 of the dill, peppercorn, bay leaves and salt.  Bring the water to a boil and let boil for 15 minutes.  Scrap off the white foam from the pot.  Then turn down to simmer and let simmer with a lid on for 90 minutes.  Remove the chicken and drain the broth.  Throw out the onion, celery and other stuff and just keep the broth.  pick the chicken .  Add broth back to the pot and add the remaining celery and carrots.  add more salt and let cook for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are tender.  Add chicken and the remaining dill.  cook maybe 10 minutes more.   spoon over Matzo balls.  I used the Matzo ball mix which worked just fine.   

Enjoy! 

Guncle , Plum Cake and Ice cream

 Guncle by Steven Rowley served with Plum Cake and Plum Ice Cream 

This book has been all over Bookstagram.  It has been the book of the summer and for good reason.  I won't spend a lot of time on this but it is a delight to read.  GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) takes in his niece and nephew for the summer after their mom dies and their dad needs help kicking an addiction.  Patrick lives in Palm Springs and gave up acting years ago when he had his own tragedy .   He finds himself trying to help a 6 & 9 year old deal with a parents death and also help himself move forward in life.  There is a lot of joy in this book as they get to know each other and have fun.  Patrick let's them have treats and teaches them Guncle rules but there is also some sweetness as they all move through their pain.   It was just what I needed at the time. 

It just so happened that my nephew John was visiting this past weekend.  I had been thinking about what to make for this book when a friend brought me so plums.  Patrick gives the kids cake and ice cream so it  felt like the perfect weekend for plum upside cake with a nephew AND I had enough for plum ice-cream also! 

This upside cake is a favorite of mine.  it is super easy and can be thrown together in a minute.  I love a cake like that!   For the Ice cream, I just made a basic ice cream base and added some plum puree to it. 

 

Here is the cake recipe.  Enjoy!  

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 6-8 plums.  Pitted and thinly sliced 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch cake pan.  I actually used a copper deep skillet.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the prepared pan, combine 3 tablespoons margarine and brown sugar. Place pan inside the preheated oven until the margarine melts and begins to bubble. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the 1/3 cup margarine and 1 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.

Arrange plums around the edges of the prepared pan, overlapping slightly.  Pour batter into prepared pan, covering fruit completely. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

Beth and Amy - Squash Casserole

 Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra 

I read this first book sometime ago and really enjoyed it. (link to first book) I'm a true sucker for all things Little Women . This is the 2nd book in the series and focused on Beth and Amy.  It's a modern retelling and the chapters flip back and forth between the two sisters.  I really enjoyed this one as Beth was my favorite character and Amy my least but....  after the most recent movie version of Little Women, I started to appreciate Amy and view her in a whole new light.   Amy is building a business in NYC and has comes home for Jo's wedding.

  She is hiding a secret from her sisters about Laurie.  I think we all know how that's going to end but I had fun getting there.  Beth's story was a bit different and I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  She is a country music star and suffering tremendous anxiety about life on tour but wants to stay with her famous boyfriend who, by the way, she made famous with her song writing.   Beth also has a secret from her sisters that I won't share here.  

Just like the original story, this story is about family and sisterhood but also about these women finding their way in the world.  Really enjoyed the two stories and how the story went back and forth.  Marmie is very different in this modern version and I like her.    You could read this book with very little knowledge f the classic and still really enjoy it.   I hope she continues the series!  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I struggled a bit with the food.  To be honest no food stood out for me and sometimes i get into the story and forget to listen for it.  But, I have two Little Women Cookbooks so I decided to prepare one of the recipes listed.  I choose the squash casserole A) because I love Butternut Squash  B) it was a Beth recipe . 

This was super easy and pretty tasty.  BUT i'm not a big fan of nutmeg and next time I would leave that out.  I also felt like it could use a little pick me up so i'm wondering if saute onions might be a good addition.  I'm going to need to think about this and maybe play around with the recipe.  It's a good base to start with!    I used the Little Women Cookbook by Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada.  Below is a photo of the recipe.   

Enjoy

Henna Artist served with Butter Chicken and Naan

I had seen this book for a while on Bookstagram and finally got around to checking it out.  So glad I did!  Not only do I not know a ton about India but even less the India of the 1950's.

 

 This is the story of Lakshmi who escaped an abusive marriage and recreated herself in Jaipur as a Henna Artist and health advisor for the wealthy women.  She has a sister who she never met who comes to live with her. Her life changes drastically when this happens.  The story is about how a woman must survive on her own in India, how she must now provide for her sister, how gossip and status and can bring someone down and finally how love can save you.    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed all of the characters, even the one's that you weren't supposed to like were well developed and you felt for them.   Just a wonderful story and I'm excited to see there is a 2nd novel!   I'm adding it to my library list! 

I decided to make Butter Chicken and Naan. I found a recipe on Pinterest by Little Sunny Kitchen. 

It turned out great!  I made a couple of small changes listed below with the recipe. 

https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/

The Naan I made just turned out okay.  Not going to share the recipe yet because i think I might need to make this one more time to try to get it right.    

The easiest ever Instant Pot butter chicken! This super creamy, and fragrant Indian dish is so comforting, healthy and delicious.

–+Servings

Ingredients

• ▢3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢5 cloves garlic about 5 teaspoons, minced or crushed
• ▢2 inch (5 cm) fresh ginger root grated (about 2 tablespoons) I didn't have fresh ginger so used pre ground.  I put in a teaspoon. 
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• ▢1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ▢½ teaspoon chili powder optional
• ▢1 teaspoon salt add more if needed
• ▢2 pounds (900g) chicken thighs skinless, boneless, diced into bite-size pieces
• ▢17 oz (500g) tomato sauce or passata
• 1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream or coconut milk, or half and half*  I did heavy cream 
• ▢2 tablespoons fresh parsley, mint, or cilantro for garnish

Instructions

• On the Instant Pot press on SAUTE and melt the butter. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
• Add all of the spices, and the salt, stir, and cook for a minute. You might want to deglaze the pot at this point if the mixture is stuck to the bottom of the pot, just add a splash of water and scrape off any stuck bits with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato sauce (passata) and a ¼ cup of water. Switch off the saute setting.
• Add the chicken thighs, give everything a mix.
• Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
• Carefully remove the lid, and press on SAUTE. Stir in the cream, and allow the sauce to reduce a little (season with more salt if necessary). Taste the sauce and see if you need to add a little bit more salt. Serve warm over rice with chopped parsley or cilantro.
•  

Jane Austen #4 Retellings - Incense and Sensibility and Mango overnight oats

 Incense and Sensibility with Mango Overnight Oats-  I was so excited to read the 3rd book in the Raje series and it met all of my expectations!   This one is a retelling of Sense and Sensibility and just like her other two books, it holds it own as a great story with just hints of the classic mixed it.  I really enjoy this family.  This one is focused primarily on Yash Raje who is running for California Governor and India Dashwood an old family friend.  Similar to the classic, there is a passionate younger sister who falls in love fast and hard and gets her heartbroken.  India is a yoga instructor and very much in control of her emotions.  She is trying to support her family and help Yash who has come to her for help even though years ago he broke her heart.    

Just as with the other books, the characters are complex and interesting.  Sonali Dev's books are listed as romance novels but I'm not sure that is accurate.  Yes, there is romance and heartbreak but I think they are more family saga.   I didn't love the friend pretending to be the girlfriend storyline but understood why it was necessary.  Just found her irritating.  

Overall a really great read.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the book, she makes overnight Mango oats.  Yash thinks he hates overnight oats but once he tries them , he can't stop eating them!   I also had made overnight oats a while back and didn't really love them.  It just felt like oats should be hot and not cold.  But, i'm willing to sacrifice for literature and tried it again.   Boy was I glad I did. 

I cut up a Mango and made puree.  Put the mango in a blender with a couple of tablespoons of water and blended it up.  Put that in the bottom of the jar.  In a bowl I mixed up old fashion oats with Oat milk, couple of tablespoons of maple syrup and some honey yogurt.  Spooned that over the mango puree and topped it with some cut up mango.   Refrigerated it for a day.  next morning....  It was delicious.  The cold oats didn't bother me and it was so yummy that I kind of wanted to eat both jars at one time.  I managed to save the 2nd jar for the next morning.   I will make this again. 

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

Sponsored by Advertising Partner
Sponsored Video
Watch to learn more
• 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!