Madison's Library

PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Cooking (Page 2 of 3)

Book Review: Hungry Hearts

June 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love – Elsie Chapman (ed.) – Simon Pulse – Published 18 June 2019

♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the confections she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that could cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life.

Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one and the same.

Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home.

My thoughts

Hungry Heart is a collection of short stories that celebrate food, culture, diversity and family. From romance to horror stories, ghosts to superheroes, Hungry Hearts will have something for everyone.

Rain by Sandy Mandanna
Anna and her father are visiting Hungry Hearts Row after the death of their mother and wife. Not sure how to talk about their grief they find an opening when they attempt to make Anna’s mother’s Coorg pandhi curry.

Continue reading

Book Review: Sweet On You

April 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Sweet On You – Becky Wade – Bradford Sisters Romance #3 – Bethany House Publishers – Published 30 April 2019

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

Britt and Zander have been best friends since they met thirteen years ago, but unbeknownst to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long. When Zander’s uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Washington to investigate. As they work together to uncover his uncles tangled past, will the truth of what lies between them also come to light?

My thoughts

Sweet On You is divine. I absolutely loved every page of this amazingly sweet romance. One part art-heist mystery the other part a best-friends to lovers romance, Sweet On You captures everything that is so loveable about the Bradford Sisters Romance series and dials it up to awesome levels.

Continue reading

Book Review: Summer of a Thousand Pies

March 27, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Summer of a Thousand Pies – Margaret Dilloway – Balzer+Bray – Published 16 April 2019

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

When twelve-year-old Cady Bennett is sent to live with the aunt she didn’t even know she had in the quaint mountain town of Julian, she doesn’t know what to expect. Cady isn’t used to stability, or even living inside, after growing up homeless in San Diego with her dad.

Now she’s staying in her mother’s old room, exploring the countryside filled with apple orchards and pie shops, making friends, and working in Aunt Shell’s own pie shop—and soon, Cady starts to feel like she belongs. Then she finds out that Aunt Shell’s pie shop is failing. Saving the business and protecting the first place she’s ever really felt safe will take everything she’s learned and the help of all her new friends. But are there some things even the perfect pie just can’t fix?

My thoughts

Summer of a Thousand Pies is a sweet middle-grade contemporary novel. A story about family and belonging, set amongst the backdrop of food, glorious food, Summer of a Thousand Pies touches on some deep and troubling themes such as homelessness, financial hardship, and the constant fear and struggle to belong faced by illegal immigrants. With diverse characters and a strong -if a little too headstrong at times- lead characters, Summer of a Thousand Pies is sure to delight young readers.

Continue reading

Book Review: Lovely, Dark, and Deep

August 28, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Lovely, Dark, and Deep – Justina Chen – Arthur A. Levine Books – Published 31 July 2018

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

What would you do if the sun became your enemy?

That’s exactly what happens to Viola Li after she returns from a trip abroad and develops a sudden and extreme case of photosensitivity — an inexplicable allergy to sunlight. Thanks to her crisis-manager parents, she doesn’t just have to wear layers of clothes and a hat the size of a spaceship. She has to stay away from all hint of light. Say goodbye to windows and running outdoors. Even her phone becomes a threat when its screen burns her.

Viola is determined to maintain a normal life, particularly after she meets Josh. He’s a funny, talented Thor look-alike who carries his own mysterious grief. But the intensity of their romance makes her take more and more risks, and when a rebellion against her parents backfires dangerously, she must find her way to a life — and love — as deep and lovely as her dreams.

My thoughts

Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Justina Chen is a brilliant novel about chasing life even when what that life might be dramatically different from what you were expecting. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is beautifully written, with a likeable heroine and a nice mix of uplifting messages and humour.

Viola has her life all planned out – first travel overseas with her Aunt, then major in journalism before becoming an international foreign correspondent traveling to war zones and other dangerous places to expose and report the truth. But when Viola develops a reaction to the sun, her whole world shifts – first with sizeable hats and an abundance of sunscreen to blackout curtains and limited screen time. Her diagnosis coincides with meeting Josh – graphic novel writer, Thor-look-alike – who carries his own secrets and grief. Viola is sure that her condition will not limit her, but testing the boundaries brings many risks for which even Viola could never have planned.

Continue reading

Book Review: Where Two Hearts Meet

October 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Where Two Hearts Meet

Where Two Hearts Meet – Liz Johnson – Prince Edward Island Dreams #2 – Revell – Published 18 October 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

In her kitchen at the Red Door Inn, executive chef Caden Holt is calm, collected, and competent. But when her boss asks her to show off their beautiful island to impress a visiting travel writer and save the inn, Caden is forced to face a world much bigger than her kitchen–and a man who makes her wish she was beautiful.
Journalist Adam Jacobs is on a forced sabbatical on Prince Edward Island. He’s also on assignment to uncover a story. Instead he’s falling in love with the island’s red shores and Caden’s sweets.
When Caden discovers Adam isn’t who she thought he was, she realizes that the article he’s writing could do more than ruin the inn’s chances for survival–it might also break her heart. 

My thoughts

The day I started reading this book I made a batch of cinnamon (and apple and coffee) scrolls. It was just a coincidence, but a very nice one, especially when the first line of Where Two Hearts Meet is: “There was only one thing better than the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the morning. The taste of freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the morning.”

This book made me very hungry – for cinnamon rolls, lobster pasta, muffins, eggs Benedict, you name it. I was reading this just after eating dinner thinking about what meal I could eat next. But it also made me hungry for sea air and small towns, rugged coastlines and good friends.

Caden is the executive chef at Rose’s Red Door Inn. She loves her job, but the future of the B&B may be in danger if they don’t find a way to increase their bookings. When Marie discovers that a travel writer will be staying at the Inn, she and Caden are sure it is the handsome Adam Jacobs. Marie asks Caden to make sure Adam sees the best of the Inn and Prince Edward Island, and they forge a strong friendship as they spend time in Caden’s kitchen and exploring the Island.

Continue reading

Book Review: Everything We Keep

July 10, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Everything We Keep

Everything We Keep – Kerry Lonsdale – Lake Union – Published 1 August  2016

♥♥♥/♥

Synopsis

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

My thoughts

I have mixed emotions finishing this book. I loved some sections, disliked others, liked the main characters and then wanted to slap them for being so stupid. I had no trouble slipping into this book. I was captivated by Aimee’s story and then intrigued by the mystery. It was a true rollercoaster of emotions.

Aimee’s life is turned upside down when her fiancé is proclaimed dead after being missing for months. Gone are her dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart, starting a family and maybe even opening a restaurant of her own. But moving on with her life is hard when she has doubts that James is truly dead.

The first two thirds of this book set up the mystery but then focused on the emotion of the story. We get to know Aimee and watch first her heartbreak and then as she slowly begins to recover from James’ death. She opens her cafe. She also wants to start a new relationship but holds herself back as the doubts about James’ disappearance refuse to stay silent. Scattered throughout are chapters from Aimee’s childhood and youth. In these flashbacks, we get to experience her and James’ friendship and their love story. It made the story and Aimee’s loss that much more real.

Continue reading

Book Review: All Summer Long

June 13, 2016 / / 0 Comments

All Summer Long

All Summer Long – Melody Carlson – Revell – Published 7 June 2016

♥♥♥

Synopsis

Though it means giving up the chef’s job at her uncle’s small town Italian restaurant in Washington, Tia D’Amico is thrilled to move to San Francisco to help her aunt with a new business venture: transforming an old luxury yacht into an upscale floating restaurant. The icing on the cake is that Leo Parker, Tia’s crush from a long-ago sailing camp, has been hired as the yacht’s captain. The only problem is that he’s engaged to someone else.
Tia hides her feelings and rolls up her sleeves as she sets out to make her aunt’s dream a reality. But as the tide turns on Leo’s relationship, does Tia dare hope he might set a course for her heart?

My thoughts

This is the first book I have read by Melody Calson, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. This is also the second book in the Follow Your Heart series, but the books can be read as standalones. I enjoyed the setting of this book, most of which takes place in San Francisco aboard a boat that is being renovated. Unfortunately it was the complicated romance plot that I did not enjoy.

When Tia’s aunt decides to turn an old yacht into a restaurant, Tia jumps at the chance to help out and become the head chef. But the day she arrives in town she discovers that the captain of the ship is the guy she met at sailing camp nine years ago. Just when Tia thinks they might be able to start something that never got to develop all those years ago, she learns that Leo is engaged. As they work together and become friends, it is hard for Tia to keep her emotions uninvolved.

Continue reading

Book Review: Cut the Sugar, You’re Sweet Enough: Cookbook

December 15, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Cut the Sugar

Cut the Sugar, You’re Sweet Enough: Cookbook – Ella Leche – Andrews McMeel Publishing – Published 5 January 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Cut the Sugar, You’re Sweet Enough is a practical, real-life approach to reducing sugar the healthy way so you don’t feel deprived. This is not a sugar-detox book but an inspiring cookbook and guide to change your relationship with the foods you love and address your cravings properly. There are over 100 delicious and easy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and yes, even dessert!

Ella Leché, the voice behind the popular food blog Pure Ella, used to consider herself a healthful eater. She ate salads; she drank water. But like so many of us, she also looked forward to her daily sweet treats. It wasn’t until her health fell apart due to a rare illness that she began to make the food-health connection.

My thoughts

A bright and summery cookbook, Cut the Sugar, You’re Sweet Enough offers beautiful pictures and diverse recipes. Cut the Sugar does not set out to promote removing sugar completely from your life. Instead it helps readers find sugar alternatives, creating sweet food that is nutritious and replacing the bad sugary things with healthy and enjoyable sweets.

I have watched the quit-sugar craze arrive and seen how colleagues and friends have cut sugar completely from their diets. Many have stuck with it, others succumb to cravings, while others simply can’t manage the restrictions a sugar-free diet imposes. I, on the hand, have continued to eat my regular, balanced, mainly healthy but defiantly not sugar-free diet. I haven’t read the quit sugar books that sit on our library shelf nor have I watched any sugar-is-killing-us documentaries. I would rather enjoy my sweets in naive bliss. But when I heard about this book, a book about reducing sugar but still enjoying the sweet side of life, I was very intrigued. I was not disappointed. While Ella Leche’s level of diet restriction is well out of my range of dedication, it does offer some practical tips for reducing bad sugar intake and replacing it with healthy and nutritious sugar intake.
Continue reading

Book Review: The Violet Bakery Cookbook

August 17, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Violet Bakery Cookbook

The Violet Bakery Cookbook – Claire Ptak – Square Peg

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Violet is a bijou cake shop and café in Hackney, east London. The baking is done with simple ingredients including wholegrain flours, less refined sugars and the natural sweetness and muted colours of seasonal fruits. Everything is made in an open kitchen for people to see. Famed for its exquisite baked goods, Violet has become a destination.

Owner Claire Ptak uses her Californian sensibility to devise recipes that are both nourishing and indulgent. With real thought about taste and using the purest ingredients, she has created the most flavoursome iterations of classic cakes, as well as new treats for modern palates. Over 100 recipes include nourishing breakfasts, midday snacks,teatime treats, puddings to share, pantry preserves, and stylish celebration cakes.

My thoughts

I found this to be an interesting cookbook. It felt like a mix between healthy and indulgent, artistic and homey and basic.

The recipes are divided into morning, midday, afternoon, evening and party. Each section is then divided again into subgroups, such as cookies and bars, tea and loaf cakes and tart in the afternoon section. Most of the recipes are sweets or baked goods, but there are also a nice collection of quiches in the midday section.

Continue reading

Book Review: Crumb

May 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Crumb

Crumb: The Simple Pleasures of Baking – Ruby Tandoh – Ten Speed Press – Published 28 April 2015

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

A baking cookbook from the young and talented Ruby Tandoh, with a focus on charming, flavorful, and practical dishes that celebrate the pleasure of casual baking.

Crumb’s explanatory and evocative prose promotes everyday baking without sacrificing the joy of the craft, defying the style of both showy, highly decorated baking as well as the dry, informative tone of “serious” baking books. A delight to read as well as to bake from, recipes like Sweet Potato Doughnuts, Pecan and Rosemary Tartlets, Raspberry Whisky Pavlova, and Blood Orange Polenta Cake are interspersed with the virtues of different types of apples, a reminiscence about Belgian buns, and a passage on the need to knead. Covering a range of baking projects from sweet to savory, chapters include cakes, cookies, bread, pastries, pies, tarts, and more.

Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »
Madison's Library

© 2024 Madison's Library

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑