Tag: bookish

Multiverse Apple Pecan Pancakes with Apple Cinnamon Maple Syrup

Posted in Lit Inspired Recipes, Sweet RecipesFormat Post format: ImageLeave a comment

_DSC0019

When we walk back inside, Charlie is at the stovetop flipping pancakes.

“Smells great,” I say.

He asks, “Will you make your fruit thing?”

“Sure.”

I takes me a moment to locate the cutting board and a knife.

I stand next to my son, peeling the apples and dicing them and adding the pieces to a saucepan filled with simmering maple syrup.

—Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

How do I even sum up the epicness that is Dark Matter? This was such a fun read and  was reminiscent of The Martian. Jason Dessen is a content family man, if not at times dissatisfied with his mediocre career as a physicist. When he’s dropped into an Odyssean adventure through the multiverse, Jason discovers just how far he’s willing to go to get back to hearth and home, middling career included.

… Continue reading

Recipe: Herb-y Bacon Mushroom Quiche

Posted in Lit Inspired Recipes, Savory RecipesFormat Post format: Image1 Comment

_DSC0057.jpg

‘Food isn’t about getting through the day, Sebastian.’ She waved her bread under his nose as if he didn’t already have his own piece just begging to be finished. ‘It’s about stopping and appreciating the moment. It’s about exploring new tastes and textures. It’s about giving yourself a little piece of comfort or joy and sharing that with others.’

The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine, 4/5 stars

… Continue reading

Recipe: Pumpkin-Cranberry Bran Muffins

Posted in Lit Inspired Recipes, Sweet RecipesFormat Post format: Image4 Comments

_dsc0856

Now let me say this: when you’re traveling a good cloak is worth more than all your other possessions put together. If you’ve nowhere to sleep, it can be your bed and blanket. It will keep the rain off your back and then sun from your eyes. You can conceal all manner of interesting weaponry beneath it if you are clever, and a smaller assortment if you are not. 

But beyond all that, two facts remain to recommend a cloak. First, very little is as striking as a well-worn cloak, billowing lightly about you in the breeze. And second, the best cloaks have innumerable little pockets that I have an irrational and overpowering attraction toward.

— The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, 5/5 stars

… Continue reading

Recipe: Lemon-y Fresh Split Pea Soup

Posted in Lit Inspired Recipes, Savory RecipesFormat Post format: Image1 Comment

_dsc0819

“I liked standing near the edge with my shoulders back, my fingers dusted with soil. I would lift my face to the wind and inhale the loamy musk of the Outside as Sivo worked, stabbing at the ground, cursing his undernourished greens, radishes, and beets. Occasionally peas would flourish, and that was a good day when we would actually have pea soup. Perla would make it with bits of rabbit meat and Sivo swore it was nearly as tasty as when his mother made it with ham.” 

Reign of Shadow by Sophie Jordan, 3/5 stars.

Reign of Shadow follows Luna through the kingdom of Relhok, a kingdom enduring a perpetual eclipse. While the novel had a strong fairy tale feel, it was its own story (vs. a re-telling), which I found refreshing. An entertaining read and one that Brice and I both had fun reading.

… Continue reading

Book Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Posted in Book ReviewsFormat Post format: Image3 Comments

“I liked hearing her earnest chatter, I liked the bizarre dishes served alongside our tea–buttered sandwiches, yes, but also a curry-scented bread which drove memories of Aunt Patience’s arrogant tiered refreshments straight from my mind.” For a Jane Steele inspired curry recipe, click here. 4/5 stars

Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Posted in Book ReviewsFormat Post format: Image1 Comment

_DSC0681

“The faint aroma of apples filled the air, and the lingering stain of rot smeared the teeth of those who smiled at Irina.”

The apples in this book never sounded appealing. For a non-apple recipe that Loralei and company could have taken on the road, click here.

3/5 stars

The Story:

A Snow White re-telling with a few twists, though it stays fairly close to the classic. After the Evil Queen overtakes her kingdom, Princess Loralei becomes a fugitive determined to win back her crown.

I liked this book more than I expected to. It was an entertaining, quick read. I did dock it a few stars for gaps in the plot, a deus ex machine, if you will…. …though I suppose anyone being saved from death by true love’s kiss is a deus ex machina? Mostly, I was disappointed with the Evil Queen’s characterization. The effort was there, but no follow through.

… Continue reading

Recipe: Oreo Cupcakes

Posted in Lit Inspired RecipesFormat Post format: Image7 Comments

_DSC0553.jpg

All right – I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re not 100% committed to your Oreo diet. The guidelines are really pretty basic. No excuses. Breakfast is obviously an Oreo granola bar or Oreo Pop-Tart. No, they’re not gross. Shut up. They’re amazing. Lunch should be Oreo pizza with an Oreo milk shake and a couple of those Oreo truffles my mom makes (a.k.a. the most delicious freaking things in the universe). Dinner is deep-fried Oreos served on top of Oreo ice cream, and for a drink, it’s Oreos dissolved in milk. No water. Only Oreo milk. Dessert can be Oreos straight up. Sound reasonable? It’s for your health, Blue.

For my review of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, click here!

… Continue reading

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Posted in Book ReviewsFormat Post format: Image2 Comments
_DSC0433 (1)
I’m off across the frozen Fjerda tundra with six convicts for an impossible heist. Kaz Brekker, here I come!

5/5 stars

For a Nina-inspired cake recipe, click here.

The Story:

Cruel mob boss Kaz Brekker has a new job: break into the most impenetrable prison ever built. Enlisting the help of five other criminals from the Ketterdam slums, the six are staging a heist that will make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. The journey strains Kaz, though, breaking through his armor to reveal a seventeen-year-old vulnerable boy with a haunting past. … Continue reading

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Posted in Book ReviewsFormat Post format: Image3 Comments

_DSC0447

4/5 stars

“I’ll spend the rest of the evening enjoying a potato. And by ‘enjoying’ I mean ‘hating so much I want to kill people.’”

For a baked potato recipe significantly better than anything Mark Watney enjoyed, click here.

The Story: 

Mark Watney has been abandoned on Mars. Accidentally. Now, he must figure out a way to survive for four years until the next NASA mission to Mars. Watney proves to be the McGyver of space, constantly rigging solutions to his increasingly deadly obstacles. … Continue reading

Book Review: Shadow and Bone (Grisha Trilogy, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Posted in Book ReviewsFormat Post format: Image4 Comments

_DSC0230

What’s to love? 

  1. Fresh fantasy world with Russian influences
  2. Tender love story between dynamic characters
  3. A plot to save…or end…the world

Find my review of book two, Siege and Storm, here.

The Story:

Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone tells the story of Alina Starkov, a scrawny orphan girl who’s in love with her devastatingly handsome best friend, Mal. As a soldier serving her war torn country, Ravka, Alina prepares to cross the “Unsea,” an area of land covered in darkness and populated by flying monsters called the Volkra. Trying to protect herself and Mal when their convoy is attacked, Alina discovers a power she didn’t know she had, making her a member of the elite Grisha, the people who practice magic (but don’t call it magic to their faces, they call it the “Small Science”). Now, the Grisha leader, the Darkling (enter tall, dark handsome potential love interest number two) believes Alina’s power is the answer to saving Ravka from the power of the “Unsea.”

Spoilers begin here. You have been warned!  … Continue reading