Garlic Parmesan Wings | Meet Me On Love Lane

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am happy to be hosting today's TLC Book Tours stop for the newest book in the Hopeless Romantics series by Nina Bocci, Meet Me On Love Lane. I hadn't read the first book in the series, but fortunately I was offered a copy of that one, called On the Corner of Love and Hate, as well. I'm not here to review Book 1 today, but I will tell you that I devoured it from start to finish. I was sucked in to the small town of Hope Lake and its residents.

While Book 1 focused on Emma and Cooper, Book 2 introduces us to Charlotte, and brings some of On the Corner of Love and Hate's supporting characters to the front lines. While reading the first book isn't essential to enjoying the second, I highly recommend you start from the beginning to add more depth to your experience.

Polvorones de Naranja | Frida #FoodnFlix meets #CooktheBooks

This month, Food 'n Flix meets Cook the Books once again. Both the movie and book selection are stories based on the life of Frida Kahlo, and seeing how Mexican Independence Day falls this month (September 16), it's the perfect time to bring some Mexican and Frida-inspired recipes to the table.

If by some very slim chance you're not familiar with Frida Kahlo, she was a Mexican painter known for her 143 bold and surreal paintings, 55 of which were self-portraits—and also for her unibrow. She was a communist sympathizer, a (bisexual) feminist, and a fiery personality who was married twice—to the same man, fellow Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Although they were separated by more than 20 years in age, and had an infamously tumultuous relationship, both admitted to the fact that they were soul mates.

Indian-Spiced Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

If you like going behind the scenes and joining in the kitchen nitty-gritty, you'll want to check out the new online "cook along" called Cook the Book with Denise and Jenni. If you've been hanging around here for any number of years, you may think this sounds familiar. That's because the name is similar to the club I've been participating in (and hosted for a couple of years) since 2009 called Cook the Books (there's an "s" on the end of that one). But they are different.

Cook the Books is a bi-monthly book club in which we read a "foodie book" and then head into our kitchens to cook something inspired by it, then the food is all rounded up on the website for everybody to enjoy together. Cook the Book is a monthly meet-up in which the recipe (or maybe more than one recipe) is featured and cooked together while streaming online. So, similar names, but each unique unto itself.

Three Cheese Mac and Cheese w/ Prosciutto & Leeks inspired by The Big Chili

One of my favorite types of books to read are cozy mysteries (or cozies). Although I've enjoyed almost every cozy I've read, I tend to gravitate towards the foodcentric ones. Weird, huh?  I credit Diane Mott Davidson and her Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery series for introducing me to the genre. A few more of my favorite culinary cozy series are the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, the Coffeehouse Mysteries by Cleo Coyle, the Wine Country Mysteries by Ellen Crosby, the Savannah Reid Mysteries by G.A. McKevett, and the Gourmet Girl Mysteries by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant. I also enjoy the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries by Jane Cleland, but they are't culinary centered.

Obviously I love the foodie-type ones. I mean, have you read the title of my site? Anything that combines two of my favorite things (food and books) is a-ok in my book...did you catch my post about joining the Foodies Read Challenge this year? Well, as a part of that, I'm hoping to introduce you to even more reads for you or the foodie in your life over the course of 2016.

Roasted Delicata Squash and Tuscan Kale Pasta {Cook the Books + 12 Weeks of Winter Squash}

I first read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, 5 or 6 years ago.  I think it only took a couple of pages to kick-start the longing for my own parcel of useful land.  An area where I could plant not only row after row of vegetables to sustain us throughout the growing season (and beyond), but also an orchard with fruit trees, a few rows of grape vines tucked behind the house, and plenty of room for free-roaming hens, roosters, and turkeys that would produce not only eggs, but meat.

I can still picture an open room with exposed beams dripping with braids of garlic and onions, bunches of herbs and flowers; heavy sunflower heads with bags tied around the end to grab the seeds.  Shelves lined with random mason jars and re-purposed tins.  A root cellar stocked with potatoes and tubers that still have earth clinging to their skins.  Bejeweled jars of jams and preserves lining the shelves of the pantry, alongside tomatoes, purees, and pickles to carry us through the winter.

Half of me is drawn to a "simpler" (yet infinitely more satisfying, I imagine) way of life.  A life where all the food we need comes from our own hands, or the hands of those nearby.  A life where we give up the things that aren't a necessity.  A actual necessity, not a perceived one.

Sonnenblumenkernbrot (Sunflower Seed Rolls) inspired by The Baker's Daughter {cook the books}

I'm excited to be sharing another round of bread inspired by one of my favorite foodie reads, The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy.  A year and a half ago (holy cow, I can't believe it's been that long), I baked up a batch of Brötchen, or simply - rolls, in honor of The Baker's Daughter.  They are chewy, crusty rolls...and the most typical, best-received variety in my house.  And with a roll still warm from the oven, you can make one of the best treats on earth, a Matschbrötchen.

Well, since I am still so fond of this book, and its author, I decided that I needed to make it my choice for a round of Cook the Books.

The Baker's Daughter is set during WWII, in 1945 Nazi Germany.  It's the story of young Elsie Schmidt, the Nazi soldier who wanted to marry her, and a young Jewish boy, Tobias.  Elsie's young life would change forever when Tobias showed up on her doorstep on Christmas Eve, after escaping imprisonment.

Spaghetti w/ Almonds in Cinnamon Honey Butter {cook the books: How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher}

"...since we must eat to live, we might as well do it with both grace and gusto."  ~MFK Fisher

Our latest Cook the Books selection, How To Cook A Wolf, was originally published in 1942, and concerned eating in a time of war and the food and money shortages that inevitably accompany it.  Author MFK Fisher (some say the first of the food writers) revisited and revised it in 1951, adding notes and additional recipes.

You can tell from chapter titles like "How to Be Cheerful Through Starving", "How to Be Content with a Vegetable Love", and "How Not to Be an Earthworm", that humor is as much a part of Fisher's writing, as is practical advice.   Both simple recipes and techniques for frugality run rampant through the pages, but nary a recipe for braised wolf or wolf's head stew, as the wolf is simply a metaphor for hunger.

When deciding what dish I wanted to make to represent this book, I flipped back through all of the recipes and marked a few.  Ones that had ingredients which I had readily available.  I thought it would defeat the purpose of cooking the wolf if I had to go out and spend money to make something.  I've made Fisher's Tomato Soup Cake several times, and (oddly enough) it is always a hit - plus I get to play "guess that secret ingredient".

But instead of using one of the recipes in the book, I decided to pull a passage that I'd made a note of from the chapter on "How to Distribute Your Virtue".  This chapter has to do with making things stretch...be it by adding half the sugar as you normally would to the pot when making a jam, baking things in the oven for future meals at the same time that you're baking tonight's dinner (saves energy), or by cooking double the amount of rice, potatoes, or pasta that you normally would since you already have the water boiling.

So, when I made Spaghetti with Pesto the other night, I decided to use a larger pot and cook double the noodles.  I separated them after I drained them, and rinsed the "extra" in cold water so that they wouldn't stick together.  I then tucked them away for the following day.

In some of the [notes added in 1951], Fisher mentions the things that you can do with those extra starches that you've cooked and saved on heat consumption...

"Ah, rice pudding, rich with raisins!  Ah, spaghetti baked with honey and shaved almonds in a buttery dish!  Ah, potatoes any way at all but perhaps especially mixed with egg and cheese and fried!  Ah."

Hmmmm.  Spaghetti with honey and almonds and butter. YES!  I kept tossing that idea around in my head, and decided that I would not be satisfied until I tried it.  Now, I didn't skimp on the butter, so this dish seemed almost decadent.  Naughty, even.  But lawdy, was it a delightful little splurge!  But a splurge that I didn't have to hit up the market for, everything was either in my pantry, fridge, or freezer.

"I believe that one of the most dignified ways we are capable of, to assert and then reassert our dignity in the face of poverty and war's fears and pains, is to nourish ourselves with all the possible skill, delicacy, and ever-increasing enjoyment.  And with our gastronomical growth will come, inevitably, knowledge and perception of a hundred other things, but mainly of ourselves."   ~MFK Fisher

Spaghetti w/ Almonds in Cinnamon Honey Butter

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5 minutes (using pre-cooked sp

Cook Time: 8-12 minutes

Keywords: breakfast entree pasta almonds

Ingredients (serves 2-4)

for the Cinnamon Honey Butter:

• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon honey
• ~1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

for the spaghetti:

• 2-3 ounces Cinnamon Honey Butter
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 12 ounces cooked spaghetti

Instructions

making the Cinnamon Honey Butter:

Stir all of the ingredients together until well combined. Plop the butter mixture onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper and roll into a small log. Refrigerate until ready to use.

making the Spaghetti:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add about 2 ounces of the cinnamon honey butter to the pan. As soon as the butter melts, add the almonds. Toss and stir until the almonds are coated in the butter, and they have started to turn golden, 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and toss in the cooked spaghetti noodles.

If you like, place another small pat of the cinnamon honey butter into the bottom of a baking dish (just large enough to hold the noodles). Dump the entire buttery noodle and almond mixture into the dish. Slide into preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until hot all the way through, with a few golden bits here and there.

Enjoy warm!

notes:

You will have extra Cinnamon Honey butter left over. Use it to spread on warm biscuits, or something along those lines.

If you like, fish out a spoonful of the toasty almonds before tossing in the pasta. Reserve and sprinkle over the top before serving. This is purely for aesthetic purposes.

I'm utterly enamored with and utterly confused by this dish all at the same time. When I read the line "Ah, spaghetti baked with honey and shaved almonds in a buttery dish!" in How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher, I knew that I'd never eaten sweet-ish pasta...and that I needed to remedy that immediately.

The scent reminds me of those stands at the fair that sell warm, freshly sugared nuts in cones. I can't resist those, either. Therein lies the confusion. Spaghetti is dinner (or lunch). Sweets are dessert (or a snack). But I couldn't stop eating it. So, I don't know how to classify it, but I look forward to inviting the chaos into many more meals...

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Our selection for this round of Cook the Books, How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher, was chosen by Simona.  Submissions are due today for this round (due Monday, July 29th), so if you're fast...you can still get in on the fun!

And if you want to join us, but haven't read the book or don't have time to post this time, we'd love to have join us in our next round, which I'll be hosting, with one of my favorite novels, The Baker's Daughter by the beautiful, kind, funny, amazing writer Sarah McCoy.  Seriously, I adore this woman as much as I adore the book!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Asparagus Tart inspired by The Color of Tea {cook the books}

Let me preface this by saying that I don't remember a singular mention of asparagus in this book.

And let me next apologize for not making dainty, colored shells filled with creams, jellies, and ganache in an array of alluring flavors.  Because way-back-when (a couple of months ago), I basically vowed that I would be making macarons in honor of our current Cook the Books selection, The Color of Tea.  You see, I'd already enjoyed this book once before.  And I mentioned that the heading of each chapter sets the mood with a particularly delicious sounding macaron flavor like Coconut with Passion Fruit-Spiked Buttercream, Vanilla with Raspberry Markings and Raspberry Gel insertion, and Honeycomb with Milk Chocolate Ganache.  You know, just to name a few.

Our main character, Grace, actually opens up her own shop that serves macarons in the city of Macau, China.  I mean, in this novel, macarons are basically a metaphor for the delicacy, fragility, and beauty of life.  And yet, I didn't make any the first time I shared The Color of Tea with you.  And now, I'm not sharing them with you this time, either.

I'll admit that it does have a teensy little bit to do with my week-long macaron making (or rather, attempting to make) marathon.  I've sort of put the task of mastering the macaron on the backburner.  I mean, I'll happily eat them with gusto should they appear in front of me - I just haven't been in the mood to try baking any myself again.

But amidst the array of enticing macarons sits the most delectable...the most sensuous...the most unforgettable tomato tart.  It lurks in the underbelly, in the background, if you will.  But I think the tomato tart that Grace associates with her mother, and with her husband, is the epitome of love in the novel.

I almost made a different version of a tomato tart than I did last time.  I wanted to make a tomato tart.  I yearned for a tomato tart.  (As a matter of fact, since I didn't actually wind up making one, these feelings all still apply.)  But, I just couldn't find any worthy tomatoes at this time of year.  Worthy like this...

Next to the peaches were boxes filled with tomatoes still clinging to their vines.  The ripe tomato smell was almost sexual.  It filled my nostrils as I lifted up a box.

So, since it is full-on Spring, I turned to a veg that is in season right now to make my tart, Asparagus.  Half of the slender spears standing at attention, the other half slightly bent to one side, as if swaying to the music...green and dusky purple.  I also found a block of Monterey Jack cheese with brilliant red flecks of roasted red peppers inside that I knew needed a place in the tart.  Add a little garlic oil...a smattering of black pepper and the smoked sea salt I'm so obsessed with, and it makes Spring seem almost as sensual as Summer.

Asparagus Tart

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Keywords: bake entree breakfast vegetarian sugar-free soy-free nut-free asparagus cheese spring

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (half of a 17.3 ounce box)
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese w/ Roasted Red Peppers, shredded
• ~1 pound asparagus spears
• 1-2 tablespoons garlic oil
• smoked sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Flip a baking sheet upside down (or use a rimless baking sheet), and set a piece of parchment paper on it.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll the sheet of puff pastry dough out into a rectangle that measures approximately 16" x 10". Lightly score a 1-inch border all the way around the dough, without cutting all the way through. Dock the dough, inside of that border, all over with a fork.

Slide into preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

Remove from oven and scatter cheese as evenly as you can over the puff pastry, inside of the border. Trim the ends of the asparagus so that they fit neatly inside of that border, as well. Line the asparagus up on top of the cheese, alternating every spear, tip to tail. Drizzle the garlic oil all over the asparagus, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Slide back into oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the asparagus is just tender.

notes:

Feel free to use any type of cheese you like; swiss, gruyere, or fontina would be nice, as would goat cheese. You could substitute olive oil for the garlic oil, if you wish. And speaking of garlic, scattering a handful of roasted garlic cloves under the asparagus would be nice, too.

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The Color of Tea was chosen by one of my Cook the Books co-hosts, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen, as our foodie-read for this round.  Submissions are due by the end of the day on Monday, May 27.

Also, join us for our next book, chosen by Simona of Briciole - How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher.



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Càlia e Simenza inspired by The Shape of Water | Cook the Books

"'What are you doing?' I asked him.  And he answered me with a question in turn.

"'What shape is water?'

"'Water doesn't have any shape!' I said, laughing.  'It takes the shape you give it.'"

For this round of Cook the Books, we're reading something that I probably would have never picked up myself, The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, as picked by Rachel.  This is the first novel in a series of Inspector Montalbano mysteries.  Now, it has all the makings of something I would gravitate towards.  The tagline on the cover reads "a novel of food, wine and homicide in small town Sicily".  That in itself got me excited to start turning the pages.

roundup: The Hunger Games {food 'n flix meets cook the books}

At the beginning of this month, I announced that I would be hosting my two favorite foodie clubs, Cook the Books and Food 'n Flix, this month in a special double-feature of The Hunger Games.  We read the book.  We watched the film adaptation of the book.  We headed into the kitchen to cook/bake up something inspired by the story.  I always look forward to seeing everybody's interpretations and what it was that inspired their chosen dish - and this month was no exception.

We hunted, we foraged, we borrowed, and we bought our ingredients to bring together a feast of comfort food - from the humble food of the Districts to the richer, fancier food of the Capitol - every last dish is beautifully inspired.  Please join me in this virtual feast.

We begin with this Warm Katniss Salad and Roasted Pork Tenderloin from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  Armed with her son's bow and arrow, she envisioned that roasted pig on the gamemaker's table - complete with apple (but in the end decided to forgo the whole pig and go for just the loin, instead).  Add a nice side of "katniss" salad with goat cheese, that could have been made by Prim, and you have Camilla's contribution this month.

Speaking of goat cheese, next up is Alicia of Foodycat's Goat Cheese and Persimmon Toast , inspired by Peeta.  The life of a baker (and family) may seem ideal, but in actuality often consists of living on stale bread.  What better meal to make of that bread than toast with something delicious slathered on top?

I do not think that any Hunger Games-inspired feast would be complete without the contribution of Katniss's favorite dish, Lamb Stew with Dried Plums .  No need to worry though, because Sarah at WELLDINED brought a pot full, with some goat cheese rolled in herbs and rustic seed bread on the side.

Drawing inspiration from the hunting and foraging prowess of Gale and Katniss, Claudia at Honey From Rock made a local meal using foraged dandelion greens, cassava root and lemons from her own land, and duck resulting from a trade with a friend to make a meal of Roast Duck with Cassava and Dandelion Greens .

Reading, watching, and cooking along with both Cook the Books and Food 'n Flix for the first time, Caroline from Caroline Makes decided to recreate the first meal which Katniss and Cinna share when they meet in the Capitol, Chicken in Orange Sauce & a pudding the colour of honey. Rolls shaped like flowers, chicken and chunks of oranges in a creamy sauce, and tempting pudding... need I say more?

Overwhelmed with all of the mouthwatering descriptions of food in the book and what it actually meant to the starving people of the districts, Tina from Squirrel Head Manor made not only this Rabbit Stew w/ a K to mark Katniss's first catch in a snare, but a line-up of other inspired dishes like Sauteed Rabbit, Gale's Marrow Bone Beefy Soup, and an Apple Tart.

Also joining us for the first time is Anne Marie from This Mama Cooks!  Inspired by a dish mentioned a few times, usually when Katniss was under a bit of stress (wait, wasn't that pretty much the whole story!?), "hot grain smothered in beef stew", this Slow Cooker Meat Stew w/ Brown Rice is packed with veggies and served over brown rice (plus it's gluten free).  Comfort, indeed.

With many of her favorite foodie moments coming from Greasy Sae, it's no surprise that Danielle of The Growing Foodie was inspired to make a dish of Wild Dog Soup (Beef Udon Noodle Soup) after dining out with a friend and being served from a huge pot with Udon Noodle soup being ladled out into waiting bowls. I can almost close my eyes and picture the black market!

Peeta's Gift of Bread (Hearty Bread filled w/ Raisins & Nuts) to Katniss on that rainy day when she was weak from starvation is our contribution from Debra at Eliot's Eats.  She was inspired by food from District 12 - "simple food, comfort food, food of love".

From the beginning, my CTB co-host, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen knew that she wanted to make something "comforting, simple and nourishing - a warm bowl of soup".  Drawing inspiration from Katniss's freshly caught fish and foraged greens, as well as the meal that Katniss made for Peeta by foraging and using little bits of leftover groosling, she brings us this beautiful bowl of Locavore Fish & Greens Soup (and some dark bread slathered with goat cheese on the side).

Inspired by a scene in which Katniss pulls bits of pine bark from the trees to chew on the pith beneath, one of my other co-hosts, Rachel of The Crispy Cook came up with these lovely Pignoli Cookies.  With the combination of two deliciously "piney" ingredients, pine nuts and rosemary, I cannot get the thought of these cookies from my mind.

Ana from Sweet Almond Tree also had a tough time deciding on just one dish to make for The Hunger Games.  But lucky us, because she devised a feast for Katniss, which included Whole Wheat Raisin & Walnut Bread (spread w/ plum jam & goat cheese), Lamb Stew w/ Dried Plums, and an Apple & Goat Cheese Tart.

I will close out this virtual feast with my (Heather at girlichef) frothy, Mexican Hot Chocolate w/ Brötchen for dipping inspired by the passage in the book in which Katniss tries hot chocolate for the first time in her life.  Taking a cue from Peeta and dipping pieces ripped from a freshly baked roll, Katniss gets lost in this bit of comfort and decadence.

Pretty amazing assortment of dishes, ay?  What about you - have you read The Hunger Games?  Or watched the movie?  If you're a foodie and have not read the book, I highly recommend it (the food aspect of the books doesn't really get carried over into the movie very much)!  Have you made anything inspired by The Hunger Games?  If so, feel free to leave a link in the comments, I'd love to check it out.  Or let me know what you would make...or want to make after reading (or seeing) it.

(There is another version of this roundup at Cook The Books - our selections are rounded up on the actual site there, whereas Food 'n Flix is rounded up at the individual hosting site.)

I hope you'll join us while we cook up tasty food from our next selections at Cook the Books (The Shape of Water) which will be hosted by one of my CTB fellow hostesses, Rachel and Food 'n Flix (Today's Special) hosted by another of my fellow CTB hostesses, Deb!

Hot Chocolate & Brötchen | The Hunger Games

It's hard for me to describe the precise pull that The Hunger Games has on me.  The fact that is is so far-fetched that I can't (or hope not to) ever see our world resembling it, or the fact that it's actually not so hard to imagine our world falling into a state of dystopia.  Something grabbed a hold of me when I started reading this book.

But let's back track a few years.  My son was probably around 11 or 12 when he read The Hunger Games.  I remember his face buried in the book on the way to a doctor's appointment, on a road trip, or cozied up in bed.  He described to me this post-apocalyptic world where children between the ages of 12 and 18 were forced to fight to the death for the survival of their families and their district.  The crazy costume-like dress of the people from the Capitol.  The poverty and near-starving state of the outlying districts.  This child who was left standing earns a "life of ease" once they get back home.  Grain, oil, and delicacies like sugar will be bestowed upon their district.  This is all punishment for an uprising of the districts against the Capitol in the past.

The Hunger Games: Food 'n Flix + Cook the Books {event announcement}

A few years ago, I remember my son reading through the three books in The Hunger Games series.  He described the premise as a sort of post-apocalyptic story in which poor districts outlying a rich and extravagant capitol have to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 & 18 each year to fight to the death in a live television broadcast.  This is their punishment...their retribution...for an uprise against the capitol that happened many years ago.  I thought it sounded pretty intense, but seeing as it was written for teens...and I'm not a fan of censoring books...I waited to hear his updates.

And then my son told me that the film adaptation was coming to theaters.  I saw the previews...and teared up a bit...and knew I'd be the one going with him to see it.  I fell hard for the film.  And I immediately came home and dug out his books.  And plowed through all three in a manner of days.  I was officially hooked.  I'm happy that I saw the film adaptation before I read the books. Why? Well, because it's almost guaranteed that if I read the book first, I will loathe the movie.  But seeing the movie first allows me to separate the two and look at them as individual projects.  The thing is, this film was extremely well done.  Probably because the filmmakers included the author, Suzanne Collins, in the process of making the film.

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the book(s) are fairly foodcentric.  From the humble hunting, fishing, foraging, baking, cheese making, and cooking of the poor outlying districts to the richness and extravagance of the meals provided in and by the Capitol, food played an integral part of the book.  Sadly, I thought it was sort of grazed over (if you will) in the film.  Left on the backburner.

For this reason, I chose The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins as a selection for Cook the Books Club AND Food 'n Flix.  That's right.  It's a special edition of both Cook the Books and Food 'n Flix.  We're joining forces over December and January to bring you The Hunger Games.  Of course, you are under no obligation to do both, we just thought that it would be a fun collaboration.  Read the book first and then watch the film.  Create a post for Cook the Books Club inspired by the book.  Create a post for Food 'n Flix inspired by the film, but use the book as reference and background for the food.  You can combine your two posts, if you're playing along with both.  But please don't let it scare you off if you don't want to watch the film - that part is optional for Cook the Books.

So, without further ado...

  "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor."

How to join in:

Please link back to Food 'n Flix and Cook the Books and to this post. Once you've posted, please leave your links in the linky tool. Submissions are due no later than Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at noon (EST).

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1. Warm Katniss Salad and Roasted Pork Tenderloin

2. Goats cheese and persimmon toast

3. Lamb Stew with Dried Plums - Well Dined

4. Roast Duck with Cassava and Dandeloin Greens

5. Katniss lunch with Cinna - chicken in orange sauce and a pudding the colour of honey

6. Rabbit Stew with a K @ Squirrel Head Manor

7. Slow Cooker Meat Stew with Brown Rice

8. Wild Dog Soup

9. Peeta’s Gift of Bread

10. Locavore Fish & Greens Soup--Deb in Hawaii

11. Pignoli Cookies for Katniss and the Hunger Games

12. Sweet Almond Tree

13. Hot Chocolate & Brotchen (Heather @ girlichef)

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Bacon Hash inspired by Nora Ephron's Heartburn

I loved to cook, so I cooked. And then cooking became a way of saying I love you. And then cooking became the easy way of saying I love you. And then cooking became the only way of saying I love you. I was so busy perfecting the peach pie that I wasn't paying attention. p.135

I get Nora Ephron.  The way she uses food as an expression of love.  The way she can get lost in it without even realizing that that is what she's doing.  Until she does.  Until it hits her in the gut and causes her to send clumsily chopped onions all over her television audience.

Creamy Earl Grey, Cardamom, & Pistachio Popsicles ...inspired by Death by Darjeeling {cook the books}

I don't think I've mentioned that I recently started spending time at a quaint little tea shop situated in a beautiful area in town perfect for walking and catching the cool breeze from the nearby river.  Indigo Tea Shop is the sort of place that beckons you to walk through its propped open front door with the  promise of comfort snaking through the air in the form of heady, enticing scent of tea leaves, spices, and freshly baked goods.

The staff of the shop are welcoming and very knowledgeable, as I'm not very adept in my knowledge of tea.  Sure, I've known the comforts of Chamomile, the curative properties of Lemon-Ginger, the uplifting and energizing effects of Green tea, and the scent alone of a good Earl Grey can lift my spirits and bring me a sense of peace all at the same time.  But there is so much more to blending...and enjoying...a fantastic cup of tea.  The Indigo's owner, Theodosia, along with her distinguished colleague Drayton have never seemed put-out at my ignorance.  In fact, they seem as excited to share their knowledge as they do their tea.

And you know I couldn't spend so much time in a place if it didn't offer some tasty food, as well now don't you?  Well, they have a couple of sweet college girls working in the shop, Haley and Bethany, the first of which can bake up a mean blackberry scone.  And her caramel-nut shortbread!?  Not to mention the best Irish Soda Bread I've ever tried...or perhaps it was just the Hot Crab Dip that went alongside it.  Either way.

But in the midst of all of this comfort and beauty, a sad and mysterious thing happened.  Okay, not actually "in the midst", more "in the area surrounding".  The yearly guided tour of the district that the Indigo occupies was happening.  And unfortunately, at the end of the tour, somebody was found dead.  With only a tea cup in front of them.  So suspicion fell directly upon these lovely people from the tea shop.  I sat on the edge of my seat on pins and needles waiting for these good people's names to be cleared.  I heard that someone even threatened Theo's sweet dog...a stray that she rescued and nurtured and named Earl Grey...in the course of the investigation.  Apparently she was trying to clear her name and getting too close to the actual killer.

Well, I'm just happy to report that they found the real killer and that the Indigo seems to be back to normal.  And Earl Grey is safe and sound.  Since I can only imagine that going through such an ordeal would be completely draining on both your body and your spirit, I decided to make some treats to bring to these people at the Indigo.  These people that were so kind and welcoming to me.  Something that would hopefully bring a smile to their faces and make them forget...if only for a moment...what they just went through.  Popsicles are enough to make anybody smile, right?  Especially when it's still hot enough outside to break a sweat.  So, in honor of Earl Grey (the Dalbrador) being safe and as a nod to their business and passion, I infused some of that tea by the same name that always seems to lift my spirits and bring me peace all at the same time, Earl Grey.  Because I think that's just what they all need right now.

Creamy Earl Grey, Cardamom, & Pistachio Popsicles

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: snack dessert vegetarian nuts milk popsicles summer spring

Ingredients (10-12 popsicles)

• 12 oz. evaporated milk
• 4 Earl Grey tea bags
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• ¼ c. pistachios, roasted & salted

Instructions

In a small saucepan, heat the evaporated milk until small bubble form around the edges. Snip the tea bags open and pour into heated milk; stir. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.

Whisk in cardamom, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream.

Put the pistachios in a mini-food processor (or chop by hand) and pulse until you have roughly chopped the nuts. It's nice to leave some larger chunks along with the finely chopped bits.

Divide the pistachios among your popsicle molds. Pour in the milk mixture. Freeze until solid, adding sticks at the right time for the molds you're using. Enjoy!

inspired by Death By Darjeeling and adapted from Aarti Sequeira

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And I can't wait to see what the next mystery that my new friends from the Indigo Tea Shop get tangled up in is in book number two of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Gunpowder Green.  That's right, I discovered the Indigo Tea Shop in the current Cook the Books pick, Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs.  And none too soon.  Since mysteries are my favorite reads...especially when paired with food, wine, tea, coffee, cooking...I'm excited to find this new (to me) series to read through this summer.  I'm all caught up on my current favorite series, so it was perfect timing.  Thanks to Rachel for this fun pick.  If you want to join in this round of Cook the Books, it's not too late...submissions aren't due until the end of July.  Now...I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of said book number two that is currently on its way from somebody at paperback swap.

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