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September - Cooking the Books
I am definitely in for this one. I love books and I love food, it is a perfect connection! I will start with 5 pairs and see how I go throughout the month.
So, I was spending the first few days of September in a hotel with all-inclusive food, so there was not much choice in terms of selecting what I want to eat. Which is a pity, because I read several books there, on a beach. My choices were largely limited to drinks and also some imagination stretches. This is what I have managed:
1/5: The Huntress by Kate Quinn - this excellent book (which I recommend everybody to read:) takes place in several countries, including Austria, and also and features characters from several countries, including a Russian - therefore it was the (Austrian) Esterhazy champagne for me and a tea with marmalade, by which a Russian character shocked an English one:
"Ian was transfixed by the way she was dropping heaping spoons of strawberry jam into her teacup. He’d never seen anyone do that to an innocent cup of tea in his life. Bloody hell, it was barbaric."
But actually, it tastes better than it sounds.
2/5: When All Is Said by Anne Griffin - the main character (Irish) sits in a bar and recapitulates his life, toasting all the important people by the Irish whiskey. So I also toasted this book by a shot of a Tullamore Dew whiskey.
3/5: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau - the main character was a French-origin Huguenot born in London and the book took us both to England and France. So I had a croissant with butter and marmalade for a breakfast and also a chocolate covered profiterole for a dessert for my dinner.
4/5: The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams - the book takes place on an island, where rich New York Families spend their summer and drink cocktails the whole day. So I had a nice fat Caipirinha at the beach bar too.
5/5: The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain: Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London by Ian Mortimer - accompanied by a cup of green tea (which they just started to import to Britain during that period from China, along with the china) and a very simple apple tart
this is fun! increasing my challenge to 10
6/10: The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook - accompanied by a cup of tea and a strudel (poppy seeds and apple in my case), which the English characters take when they arrive to Germany
7/10: Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene - I took myself and the book to a Scottish pub and had a dram of a very nice 15 years old Scotch in the true aunt fashion
8/10: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I suffered through this long and wordy book, so I decided to reward myself with some nice food. Went to a Russian food store and bought frozen pelmeni (kind of meat filled ravioli), sour cream and a shot of vodka and had a real nice Russian dinner (except for the vodka, which was just horrible).
9/10: Požierači neba (Devourers of the Sky) by the Italian author Paolo Giordano features a group of young people living on a farm in accordance with nature in south of Italy, so I had a simple dinner of scrambled eggs with a bit of sheep cheese and veggies with a drop of olive oil.
10/10: A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie - I read this with the sole purpose of being able to try out the Delicious Death cake. It was delicious. As confirmed also by the members of my bookclub. Thanks Carmen for the tip :)
did not finish, but still enjoyed the pairing:
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone - this is a fictional biography of Michelangelo, taking place in Italy, so I had a nice large pizza to celebrate it.
this was really fun challenge, pity it was just one month!
I am in for threeCOOKING THE BOOKS
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2019
I will also join. I'll start with 5 pairs!5/5-- Challenge Complete!
1. Mortal Stakes-- he ate a muffin, I ate a muffin
2. Rest In Pizza-- pizza of course
3. Alas, She Drowned -- a pot of tea
4. Conspiracy in Death -- ice cream and lots of coffee
5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder-- chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, dried fruit, and coffee
This is such an unusual challenge! Love it - I'm in! I will start with 4 and hope to increase that number.
COOKING THE BOOKSDuration: September 1 - 30, 2019
Wow. What an interesting challenge! Even better because I can read a book and then decide how to pair it with food and/or a beverage. Very cool! I love to read! I love to eat! I love to cook! I love to eat! I love to read! :) What fun!
I'll aim for 10 among these suggestions!
Progress: 11/10 as of September 30
Whoo! Whoo! Finished by reading 11 and my "realistic" goal was 10! Oolala! (As one of my gym friends would say!)
✔1. Flowers for Algernon with a cup of tea. They drank coffee all the time, but I quit coffee 15 years ago, so I drink tea instead. There really was no other mention of food, etc., that caught my attention. Though this was such a poignant read, and I cried so much in the aftermath, I felt I needed some comfort food, so prepared mashed potatoes to go with the pork roast that evening!
✔2. Record of a Spaceborn Few with... I would love to make this "mek," but since it is imaginary, I'll have to rethink this one! :) "Kick" is also imaginary and contains alcohol. Since I don't do alcohol I drank a glass of pineapple-coconut juice which is as close as I could get to a pina colada which I used to drink ages ago. :) Same flavor, just no alcohol/rum!
✔3. Nate the Great and the Stolen Base with...a bowl of cereal. Eating cereal for breakfast was mentioned and most kids love cereal. Though mine was granola with raisins and a sliced banana added to it!
✔4. The Song of Achilles with...meat. Dried/preserved meat was mentioned several times. And I love beef jerky, so I ate some beef jerky!
✔5. The Things She's Seen with...ice cream! This book just didn't work well for me, so I ate something I absolutely LOVE! Just for balance, of course! :) Update: I have a much better appreciation for this book after the campus book club meeting! I love it when that happens!
✔6. What Blooms from Dust with...water! Good old pure water, free from the black dust of Nowhere, Oklahoma! Good clean water was a scarcity for these people living through the dust bowl!
✔7. Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men with...stew. She mentioned cooking for these men she lured to her farm, but I didn't want to cook any of the dishes she mentioned, so I made a hearty one-dish meal that I have made for visitors in the past. This woman was beyond heartless!
✔8. The Handmaid's Tale with...an orange! Offred was a bit obsessed with oranges. Though who could blame her?!?
9. Homegoing with...
10. The Silver Linings Playbook with...
11. Catch-22 with...
12. Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls with...
✔13. A High-End Finish with...apple juice. Although coffee was mentioned often, and I was drinking tea while reading this, I opted for the apple juice. The other beverage mentioned A LOT was wine and since I do not do alcohol, there was a point at which Shannon drank apple juice instead due to recovery from injuries.
✔14. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection with...tea and stew! Tea is a mainstay for these characters! That works for me since I am a tea drinker! I paired this book with Equal Exchange Fair Trade and Organic Mint Green Tea! One of my favorite beverages! And they are always cooking/eating stew!
15. Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals with...
16. The Secret History with...
17. Whistling Past the Graveyard with
18. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon with...tea! This time with Equal Exchange Fair Trade and Organic Darjeeling tea. These characters drink a ton of tea!
19. Ordinary Girls with...
20. The Accomplice with...
21. To Kill a Mockingbird with...
22. The Whale Rider with...
23. My Last Continent with...
I love this challenge! I would like to start with three pairs.
Fun challenge! I'll start with 3.Progress: 1/3
1. Turbulence - Paired with pretzels & Coca-Cola in a clear plastic cup.
2.
3.
2/21. When Life Gives You Demons paired with lemon skittles.
There is a lemon on the cover
2.The Immortalists paired with Milwaukee Pickles.
Hola!This sounds very entertaining and delicious, I'll go for
✔1. Bloodlines, accompanied with a good glass of sangría.
✔2. Segundo Verano En Vaqueros, accompanied by a cup of strawberry ice cream (Häagen-Dazs)
✔3. The Magician's Nephew, accompanied with a Granny Smith apple.
✔4. Hombres de maíz, accompanied with corn tortillas
✔5. The Passage, accompanied with a Vampire's Dream.
✔6. The Friday Night Knitting Club, accompanied with muffins
✔7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, accompanied by an assortment of Turkish Delight
✔8. Mi Planta de Naranja-Lima, accompanied with a caipirinha
✔9. Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali, accompanied with mango sorbet
✔10. Zorba the Greek, accompanied with dakos
✔11. The Moving Finger, acompanied with English tea and scones.
✔12. La tregua, accompanied with an espresso with a dash of milk and some "mediaslunas"
✔13. Faceless Killers, accompanied with a slice of pizza
✔14. A Murder Is Announced, accompanied with "delicious death" cake.
✔15. Ella, Maldita Alma, accompanied with a "tapa of pulpo á feira."
✔16. The Job, accompanied with "chocolate con churros"
✔17. The Scam, accompanied with a Toblerone.
✔18. On the Road, accompanied with a cheeseburger and Coca Cola
✔19. Please Look After Mom, accompanied with a Korean egg sandwich
✔20. Fatal Shadows, accompanied with a shot of Drambuie.
PROGRESS: 20/20
Updated to message #16PROGRESS: 1/10
Zorba the Greek, accompanied with "dakos"I liked the book (🌟🌟🌟), but I liked the dakos better (🌟🌟🌟🌟), yummy!
I’ve got everything I want: bread, cheese, olives, my knife
Yay, Crystal has volunteered to lead this Cooking the Book Challenge.Thank you so much, Crystal! 💖
Welcome everybody! Participants
Amy: 5/5 - Complete
Carmen: 20/20 - Complete
Catka: 10/10 - Complete
Cindy III: 0/3
Crystal: 2/2- Complete
Hidaya: 3/3 - Complete
Jennifer: 0/4
Kelsey: 2/5
Kristin: 1/3
Lynn (m.6): 0/4
Lynn (m.11): 11/10 - Complete
Margie: 1/3
SarahKat: 12/12 - Complete
Satin: 0/3
Susan: 0/2
Suzanne: 0/1+
TerryJane: 10/10 - Complete
Trisha: 4/3 - Complete
Ziggy: 3/3- Complete
Updated through msg 85
Hi Crystal, I’d sign up for 3, though yet to come up with the pairings. Books I’ll be reading -1. Master and Man paired with a (jug of) tea (since the book is set in Russia, on a cold snowy night, when a man sets on a business trip with his servant and gets lost for good. They halt at a peasant’s house in between, where they gulp down mugs after mugs of vodka and tea.) Since I prefer tea over vodka, I’m gonna treat myself to a strong mug of milk tea today.
2. Lord Edgware Dies paired with a good stuffed cheesy Omelette.
3. The Handmaid's Tale paired with baked potatoes, red beans, salad and caramelized pears.
4. Educated paired with a chocolate brownie.
Final Progress: 4/3.
Thanks much!
Updated to message #16Hola Crystal, I'll try for 5 books more, so my goal is 15 now.
PROGRESS: 2/15
The Moving Finger, accompanied with a cup of English tea with sconesThe Dane Calthrops had a guest staying with them, an amiable, elderly lady who was knitting something with white, fleecy wool. We have very good hot scones for tea, the vicar came in, and beamed placidly on us while he pursued his gentle erudite conversation. It was very pleasant.
I will be taking an Alaska cruise with my husband this month, so I expect my food and beverage options to be widely varied. I'll try for at least 10 pairings, TBD as I go. The first one is the only one I've actually got planned.COOKING THE BOOKS - Monthly Challenge
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2019
Progress: 10/10 -- COMPLETE 9/24/19
This challenge combines reading with cooking, baking, sipping, and/or snacking! (I selected beverages, snacks and/or meals mentioned in the book, except for The Crucible for which I selected foods typical of the period and location.)
👩🍳 1. Travels in Alaska paired with... grilled salmon (Skagway, AK excursion)
👩🍳 2. You Think It, I'll Say It paired with... steak (aboard Carnival Legend)
👩🍳 3. Endangered Species paired with... coffee with heavy whipping cream (at home)
👩🍳 4. Charlie Bone and the Beast paired with... minestrone (aboard Carnival Legend)
👩🍳 5. Charlie Bone and the Shadow paired with... bacon and eggs (aboard Carnival Legend)
👩🍳 6. The Crucible paired with... cornbread and beans (Skagway, AK excursion)
👩🍳 7. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight paired with...hot tea and cake (aboard Carnival Legend)
👩🍳 8. The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle paired with... red wine aboard Carnival Legend
👩🍳 9. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal paired with... olives and nuts (afternoon snack at home)
👩🍳 10. Stay with Me paired with... vegetable stew (veggie soup at home) and beer (while exploring Skagway, AK)
Carmen wrote: "Updated to message #16Carmen I have updated your goal.
Welcome Trisha and TerryJane.
I will join for 12 please!
Updated message 9-- 1/5; tons of food descriptions, but I ate a muffin
Hey Crystal, I’m done with two already. 🤫Master and Man paired with Tea - Finished.
Lord Edgware Dies paired with Omelette - Finished.
I’m loving this challenge!
Current progress: 2/3.
Update to message #16PROGRESS: 3/15
A Murder Is Announced, accompanied with a portion (or two!) of "delicious death" cake“So, I make him for you good -good!” she cried, in an ecstasy. “It will be rich, rich, of a melting richness! And on top I will put the icing -chocolate icing-I make him so nice -and write on it Good Wishes. These English people with their cakes that taste of sand, never, never will they have tasted such a cake. Delicious, they will say -delicious-"
Her face clouded again.
“Mr. Patrick. He called it Delicious Death. My cake! I will not have my cake called that!”
“It was a compliment really,” said Miss Blacklock. “He meant it was worth dying to eat such a cake.”
Mitzi looked at her doubtfully.
“Well. I do not like that word -death. They are not dying because they eat my cake, no, they feel much much better.”
“I'm sure we all shall.”
I love this challenge! You guys are so creative when you come up with these ideas! I'm in for 5!2. BecomingBecoming- Cheese Bread
3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely FineEleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine-
5. Cordially InvitedCordially Invited (re-read)-
2/5
Carmen wrote: "Update to message #16PROGRESS: 3/15
A Murder Is Announced, accompanied with a portion (or two!) of "delicious death" cake.."Oh my, the cake sounds delicious! Did you make it?
Update to message #11: 1 completed as of 9-3-19! What an excellent excellent book! Flowers for Algernon
1/12 1. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris paired with... Ice cream sundae! He mentions getting one in first class on an airplane. I just made one at home because I'm not rich.
Catka wrote: "Oh my, the cake sounds delicious! Did you make it? "
But of course...! (LOL)
Scrumptious!
Carmen wrote: "Scrumptious!"I bet it is! Now I want to make it too :)
Update to message #16PROGRESS: 4/15
Ella, Maldita Alma, accompanied with a "tapa" of "pulpo á feira" (maybe the most famous dish from my homeland, sometimes less is more!, by the way, the real thing is sprinkled with coarse sea salt and hot paprika 👩🍳)¡Tengo hambre!
¿Qué?
Que tengo hambre. ¿Me invitas a cenar?
Están en una taberna. Un plato de pulpo a la feria. Ella come y bebe como si fuera la primera vez después de muchos años.
Es horrible. ¿Cómo podéis comer esto?, dice ella, llevándoselo con repugnancia a la boca.
¿A que te gusta?, dice él.
Sí. ¡Qué extraño!
El pulpo es un animal futurista. Viene de otro planeta, ¿sabes?
Yo también, dice ella.
(Roughly translated:)
I'm hungry!
What?
I'm hungry. Do you invite me to dinner?
They are in a tavern. A dish of Galician style octopus. She eats and drinks as if it were the first time in many years.
It is awful. How can you eat this? She says, taking it disgustedly to her mouth.
You do like it, don’t you? He says.
Yes. How odd!
The octopus is a futuristic animal. It comes from another planet, you know?
Me too, she says.
Catka wrote: "Carmen wrote: "Scrumptious!"I bet it is! Now I want to make it too :)"
Enjoy yourself! 🍰☕📚
2019 Reading ChallengeSeptember - Cooking the Books
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2019
Progress: 0 out of 1+
Have you ever read a description of a food, drink, or meal and found yourself looking up recipes? Do you love reading the headnotes to recipes as much as the recipes themselves? Or do you read cookbooks for fun?
This challenge combines reading with cooking, baking, sipping, and/or snacking!
--- To participate, match each book you read with a snack, entree, or beverage.
--- If you are a person who likes to read cookbooks beginning to end, you can count the cookbook for this challenge. However, just skimming a cookbook would not count. All types of books can be used for this challenge, assuming you read the full book.
--- You may prepare the food/beverage pairing yourself but you don't have to. Purchasing it from a store or restaurant, or enjoying the food or beverage prepared by a friend or family member are also acceptable.
--- Let the challenge leader know the total number of books with food/beverage pairings you will try for this month.
--- When updating, please share the book AND the pairing, and let us know how you like each. If you used a recipe, please share the link or the name of the cookbook, too!
Updated message #13. Progress: 1/3I read Turbulence. This book is a series of loosely connected vignettes. In each short story a person is taking an airplane flight, then someone from that story takes a different flight, etc. I paired this with pretzels & Coca-Cola in a clear plastic cup just like they serve on airplanes. It felt weirdly the same as when I read a book on a plane.
Updated message 9-- 2/5-- Rest In Pizza-- I read the end of the book while in a pizza shop waiting for my pizza
Update to message #16PROGRESS: 5/15
Segundo Verano En Vaqueros, accompanied with a good cup of strawberry ice cream (Häagen-Dazs, if possible 😋)
Oooo this sounds fun!I’m in for 3 book/foods!
So far I’ve read:A study in Charlotte
Carry on
The gentleman guide to vice and virtue....
I know this might not be following what’s IN the book, but I might make a milkshake with the colors from the Carry on book.....
I’ll probably also just enjoy a cup of tea since A study in Charlotte has many English characters and it also mentions tea a lot!
Update to message #16PROGRESS: 7/15
The Magician's Nephew, accompanied with a delicious apple (Granny Smith) The brightness of the Apple threw strange lights on the ceiling. Nothing else was worth looking at: you couldn't look at anything else. And the smell of the Apple of Youth was as it there was a window in the room that opened to Heaven.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, accompanied with some Turkish Delight"It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating," said the Queen presently. "What would you like best to eat?"
"Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty," said Edmund.
Updated message 9-- 3/5--Alas, She Drowned-- the main character owns a tea shop so I read it with a nice pot of tea.
Update to message #16PROGRESS: 9/15
The Job, accompanied with "chocolate con churros"A table in the center of the room was piled high with a huge selection of gold-flecked and gold-covered chocolates arranged around bowls of fresh fruit and a burbling chocolate fountain. It was the most amazing display of chocolate Kate had ever seen. She half-expected Oompa Loompas to come dancing out to introduce it.
update msg 7: 4/5: So, I was spending the first few days of September in a hotel with all-inclusive food, so there was not much choice in terms of selecting what I want to eat. Which is a pity, because I read several books there, on a beach. My choices were largely limited to drinks and also some imagination stretches. This is what I have managed:
1/5: The Huntress by Kate Quinn - this excellent book (which I recommend everybody to read:) takes place in several countries, including Austria, and also and features characters from several countries, including a Russian - therefore it was the (Austrian) Esterhazy sect for me and a tea with marmalade, by which the Russian character shocked the English one:
"Ian was transfixed by the way she was dropping heaping spoons of strawberry jam into her teacup. He’d never seen anyone do that to an innocent cup of tea in his life. Bloody hell, it was barbaric."
But actually, it tastes better than it sounds.
2/5: When All Is Said by Anne Griffin - the main character (Irish) sits in a bar and recapitulates his life, toasting all the important people by the Irish whiskey. So I also toasted this book by a shot of a Tullamore Dew whiskey.
3/5: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau - the main character was a French-origin Huguenot born in London and the book took us both to England and France. So I had a croissant with butter and marmalade for a breakfast and also a chocolate covered profiterole for a dessert for my dinner.
4/5: The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams - the book takes place on an island, where rich New York Families spend their summer and drink cocktails the whole day. So I had a nice fat Caipirinha at the beach bar too.
Update to message #16I've changed my goal again: now, 20
PROGRESS: 11/20
La tregua, accompanied with an espresso with a dash of milk and some "mediaslunas" (croissants in Uruguay and Argentina)
On the Road, accompanied with a cheeseburger and Coca-Cola
3/1297 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman paired with... Potatoes (because of the Irish family)
Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean paired with... Caesar salad (because of the title)
I've read more books but haven't gotten around to eating a thing for them yet.
Updated message 9-- 4/5 -- Conspiracy in Death -- Eve and Mavis eat ice cream, so I ate ice cream while reading. Also coffee-- a lot of coffee.
Updated to message #16PROGRESS: 12/20
Mi planta de naranja lima, accompanied with a caipirinha (I needed something strong to wash away the tears I was in, this story is so sad but so beautiful at the same time, and nothing better than the Brazil's national cocktail for the occasion.)
Catka wrote: "1/5: The Huntress by Kate Quinn - this excellent book (which I recommend everybody to read:) ..."Thanks for the recommendation, Catka, and have a really good time!
Updated to message #16PROGRESS: 13/20
Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali, accompanied with a delicious mango sorbet.
I finished The Handmaid's Tale a few days back but wasn’t sure about what to pair the book with. I finally settled on having a meal same as the one provided to the protagonist, i.e. baked potatoes, red beans, salad and caramelised pears (in place of canned pears). There was chicken too but since I’m a vegetarian, I replaced the chicken with more baked potatoes (and I added cheese too, I hope that’s not cheating).Current progress: 3/3.
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2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Friday Night Knitting Club (other topics)Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon (other topics)
Through the Woods (other topics)
The Woman in the Window (other topics)
The Friday Night Knitting Club (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jeff Lemire (other topics)E.M. Carroll (other topics)
A.J. Finn (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
Irving Stone (other topics)
More...
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2019
Have you ever read a description of a food, drink, or meal and found yourself looking up recipes? Do you love reading the headnotes to recipes as much as the recipes themselves? Or do you read cookbooks for fun?
This challenge combines reading with cooking, baking, sipping, and/or snacking!
--- To participate, match each book you read with a snack, entree, or beverage.
--- If you are a person who likes to read cookbooks beginning to end, you can count the cookbook for this challenge. However, just skimming a cookbook would not count. All types of books can be used for this challenge, assuming you read the full book.
--- You may prepare the food/beverage pairing yourself but you don't have to. Purchasing it from a store or restaurant, or enjoying the food or beverage prepared by a friend or family member are also acceptable.
--- Let the challenge leader know the total number of books with food/beverage pairings you will try for this month.
--- When updating, please share the book AND the pairing, and let us know how you like each. If you used a recipe, please share the link or the name of the cookbook, too!
We are looking for a volunteer to lead this challenge