home cook – Peaceful Reader

I can’t believe October begins tomorrow. Summer is my favorite weather season because I like the heat of the sun, the warm days on a boat or patio, and easy summer foods and beverages. Many people love all that about Fall; the pumpkin spiced everything, the sweaters, the leaves falling. We’ve had amazing weather throughout September and I hope October brings more of the same. Truthfully all the seasons provide something to love but when we veer towards winter I dread feeling chilled all the time. As with every month I’ve done a fair amount of cooking and reading this last week. Right now I’m enjoying Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the 2nd in the series.

Last weekend I cleaned up an area of my living room and went through a stack of books. Weird right, that I would have a stack of books sitting right on the floor in any of the rooms in my house? As I sorted this particular stack of books I found a note from a friend inside the front cover that said “I’m going to want this one back” which is code for “this was very good!” so I promptly started to read it.

The Plot was amazingly good and written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, an author I was completely unaware of until now. I read the book in 4 days and while it has some creepy moments it isn’t over the top because I can’t handle scary. It has great plot twists and interesting characters. Now I want to read other stories by this author. She is a playwright and started an online book group, Book the Writer, that pairs authors with readers. Check out the EventBrite page to see upcoming authors. I would love to sit in on one of these sessions even though technical they all take place in NYC apartments. (After browsing the list I signed up for the online group with Jhumpa Lahiri and her new book Wherabouts. I’ll have to check if the library has a copy as I made a promise to myself about book buying after I moved that stack of books from one spot to another.

{Half-Baked Harvest image}

Sometimes my brain works overtime and I try to prepare something for book club that relates to the book we read. This is not always easy but reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman the food question was very clear. The characters all eat pizza together in the apartment with the bank robber/kidnapper and so I made Roasted Mushroom Kale Pizza from Half-Baked Harvest and it was delicious. There were no leftovers. Last night I made Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna and it is amazing. We had it for dinner tonight with a salad and we had to force ourselves to stop picking at what remained in the pan. Two pieces is plenty…but oh, so good! I do want to make her Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew soon as well…I mean tomorrow is October after all.

Now I’m off to do a little bedtime yoga with Adriene and get myself mentally prepared for Friday.

Recently I wrote posts on the love I have for my three children and my passion for politics; now I have food on my mind. This might be my life trifecta: children, food, and politics and intersecting through that is working with students as a librarian. I love my work, enjoy helping students find books, information, and fresh ideas.

And at the end of most days I love coming home and cooking in my kitchen. My kitchen is too small for a lot of cooks in the kitchen and in fact it is only enough room for Groovy Girl and I to cook together. And we have to do a well-executed dance to not bump into each other. Having music on helps. Usually I just play my own jams but if she steps into the kitchen to help then she she plays her own music. Just like with anything good in life it is most perfect when you have all your ingredients right there and ready. I like a well-stocked pantry and when I have the space and time to put things together, relaxed with a glass of wine. More often though it’s rushed after school but even quick I can pull something together that is unique and delicious.

{Curried Lentils}

Last week I made Maharajah’s Rice from Meera Sodha’s Fresh India cookbook and it was very easy to make right after school. I loved the flavors of the basmati rice mixed with the soft apricot, almonds and aromatic cinnamon. It’s quite similar to this basmati rice recipe from Analida’s Ethnic Spoon. And while browsing her site I found this chickpea and lentil recipe that I’ll have to try soon. A few weeks ago Groovy Girl said she needed some comfort food when she came home the next time; something like lentils she said. That’s like a special invitation connecting your children with food. I searched for the perfect lentil recipe and found a curry that we all loved and will make again. She said “this is the perfect comfort food, mama” while holding the bowl up and breathing in the smells and heat. I found that easy recipe, Creamy One-Pot Curried Lentils and Quinoa on Yup..It’s Vegan! That same weekend I also whipped up blueberry lemon muffins for her to take back to school.

My second favorite place to be in the kitchen is at my brother’s house where I can just be the sous to his chef. He has a beautiful kitchen and makes a wide variety of foods. It’s nice to relax there and not be in charge of the meal. I can watch him cook or help along the way.

Now why is Prince gracing this post about food? Because I often listen to music while I write and today I thought he deserved to be on top. Let’s go crazy.

Each and everyone of us are multidimensional and hopefully you’ve found things in your life to feed your soul. Enjoy!

Tag: home cook

Farewell to September

What really matters…