This book was one I never would have chosen for myself, and if you follow me at all you know I don’t really go for any kind of love story lit, but I have become surprised at how often I tend to read it (and like it). Regardless, The Rosie Project was one of those novels that I wasn’t planning to read but I did and I enjoyed it.

The Rosie Project is about Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has organized his life down to its smallest details. Due to Don’s belief that life is a series of systems and routines he has trouble fitting in and even more difficulty dating. He decides to start the Wife Project, a screening test to find a compatible mate for himself. Enter Rosie, an unpredictable woman that Don dismisses at first but then find himself drawn to as he helps her track down her biological father.

Through their adventures collecting DNA samples from possible father candidates, Don and Rosie fall in love, though they both refuse to acknowledge the fact. Don fails to recognize how he feels about Rosie because she doesn’t fit the profile of a perfect mate. At the same time Rosie denies her feelings for Don. Eventually the two acknowledge their feelings for one another just as their search for Rosie’s father combusts.

The dish that I made makes it appearance on Don’s first date with Rosie; which doesn’t go as originally planned and they end up at his apartment for dinner. At this point Don has abandoned the date and begins preparing his normal Tuesday night dinner from his standardized meal system: Lobster, mango and avocado salad with wasabi coated flying fish roe and crispy seaweed and deep fried leek garnish. The title of this dish sounded  intimidating and, for a salad, very complex; I decided to give it a shot.

The significance of the salad in this scene is pretty obvious. It gives the reader insight into Don and Rosie and their very different perspectives on everyday tasks and items. Don sees making the salad as part of a routine, looking at it in regard to nutritional value, a part of a system, and a task that can be completed without contemplation. Rosie’s attitude in regards to the salad demonstrates how she also has rules but with different sorts of sub-rules and exceptions; which is how she lives her life. She gives regard to the way the food makes her feel for example, the killing of the lobster, and the sustainability of the seafood whereas Don looks at the dish in terms its merits as a part of his overall meal system.

I will be honest, I was terrified to make this salad. I know that sounds crazy but it had so many components to it whenever I started planning to make it or even purchase the ingredients, I got panicky. I forced myself forward with this though because I liked the fact that it was healthy and outside of my normal cooking comfort zone. Again, if you have read some of my past posts you know that seafood is a thing that intimidates me. Regardless, I searched all over creation to find these ingredients and was mostly successful while the assembly of the salad was considerably easier.

For the base of the salad I used a combination of green leaf lettuce, romain lettuce, artisan lettuces that came prepackaged in the grocery store and arugala. I did this for a couple reasons, first because those lettuces are said to be more nutritionally superior than other lettuces. I thought that since Don bases his cooking method partially off nutrition, that this would be a nice choice. I also chose this because it just seems fancier than iceberg lettuce and a better foundation for lobster. The other salad ingredients were pretty basic, the avocado and mango are easily found in grocery stores.

The next step to this salad was preparing the lobster. I used the information from the novel and interpreted as best I could.

“I put the herb and vegetable mixture in the large saucepan with the water, salt, rice wine vinegar, mirin, orange peel, and coriander seeds”.

I prepared boiling water with  all of the above mentioned ingredients plus a little bit of dill. I can’t kill a lobster, I didn’t even want to put it in the freezer to put it to sleep and then kil it so I used two lobster tails for this. The logic may be flawed with this idea but I felt a little better about the whole thing using the tails. You can do whatever you prefer. I put the lobster (tails)into my prepared water.

For the dressing, I used what I could get out of the context clues in the novel. The rest I put together through a lot of random Google searching and then good old fashioned taste testing.

Finally the garnish, I thought this was pretty straight forward but I looked up how to do it chef style because I thought it would fit in with this dish better than a lump of fried leek. So I washed and dried my leeks, cut them into very thin strips and paced in the oil until golden. My suggestion for this is to dry the leeks! I got splashed several times wit hot oil because the leeks were still a bit wet. I would also suggest using a neutral flavored oil. I also took the nori sheets and cut into thin strips and mixed with the leeks for the garnish.

The result was a very aesthetically pleasing salad. I really liked the color of everything and the way it sat on the plate. Upon tasting it I was… a little dismayed, only because with the amount of effort required for this salad I expected more. I actually think the dressing could be the problem but I am not sure. Overall, the salad was nice to look at and tasted fine but I felt that it just wasn’t worth the effort. If any readers have suggestions on how to make improve this recipe I would love to see them in the comments!

Lobster, Mango and Avocado Salad with Wasabi Coated Flying Fish Roe and Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish

Lobster
1 medium Lobster or two lobster tails
Peel of 1 orange, roughly sliced
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 bunch dill
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mirin

Dressing
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Japanese rice wine
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup of macadamia nut oil
Juice of ½ lemon

Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish
Oil-a neutral type (for frying)
2 leeks (white part only)
1 sheet nori seaweed

mango

avocado

mixed lettuces (green leaf, romaine, spring greens, arugula)

3 teaspoons tobiko (wasabi flying fish roe)

Lobster
To kill the lobster, place it in the freezer for one hour, where it will go to sleep. Place the orange, coriander, dill, vinegar, and mirin to salted water and bring to the boil. Plunge the lobster into the rapidly boiling stock, then cover with a lid and turn off the flame. Let the lobster sit in the hot stock for 25 minutes, then drain and allow it to cool. Once the lobster reaches room temperature, refrigerate it until completely chilled.
When cold, clean the lobster of meat from tail, legs and claws. Cover and refrigerate both tail and leg meat until ready to assemble the final dish.

Mango and Avocado Salad
Wash chop and assemble lettuces and arugula.
Slice off each mango cheek and use a large spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh. Dice into bite-size pieces and reserve. Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, remove the stone and carefully scoop out the flesh. Dice into bite-size pieces, toss in a little lemon juice to stop it browning and reserve. Add it to salad right before serving.

For dressing combine all ingredients and mix well.

Crispy Seaweed and Deep Fried Leek Garnish
In a medium pot or a small deep fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 180 degrees. Cut the leek in half, lengthwise, then shred it finely into hair-like strands. Fry in the hot oil until it turns golden brown (10-15 seconds), then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper. Allow to cool, then season with salt and store in a dry place until needed. Cut the nori sheet in half and shred it finely into hair-like strands. Reserve until needed.

To serve: plate up the lettuces, top with mango, avocado, lobster meat and add dressing. Place the leeks and seaweed on the side and top with flying fish roe.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes is another installment of the (mis)adventures in the life of the heroine from the best seller Me Before You, Louisa Clark. This time we find Louisa newly arrived in New York City, ready to start a new chapter but confident that she will be able to keep her long distance romance with Ambulance Sam intact. From the beginning she is thrown into the world of an extremely wealthy couple; Louisa is employed by Leonard Gopnik as an assistant to his new wife Agnes. Louisa, determined to get the most out of the experience, immerses herself into her job and New York life within this privileged world. Things begin to get shaken up when Louisa must start keeping secrets-not all her own-while she is trying to navigate her new life and hold on to her old one.

This was a delightful story that I picked up for my book club. I enjoyed it; it was a nice light read. The writing in it is really manageable and the characters are quirky and cute, Louisa reminds of the lovely Bridget Jones at times and the story is light hearted and fun.

The food in this book is mostly what you would expect of the modern upper class, chicken in wine sauce, health food,and smoothies, but there was a mention of a dish that didn’t fall into this category. In the novel when Louisa goes to the library protest she mentions an Indian woman that was passing around pakoras to the protesters.

An Indian woman and her son walked across the road with large foil trays of hot pakoras and we dived on them, thanking her profusely. “You are doing important work,” she said. “We thank you.” My pakora was full of peas and potato, spicy enough to make me gasp and absolutely delicious. “They bring those out to us every week, God bless them,” said the old lady, brushing pastry crumbs from her scarf. -Still Me, Jojo Moyes

The pakoras represent the cultures of the city coming together, cooking for and feeding others as being part of a community and how wealth does not equate with doing the right thing.  This food marks a moment in the novel when Louisa is stepping outside the privelaged world that she is surrounded by with Agnes. It marks the first time in New York that she is with the real people of NYC ,the people that are all coming together, the people that care about others and the common good. The wealthy people in the novel are so far removed from the humanity of the city and the importance of the library which is why Louisa only experiences this when she is without Agnes.

It is also interesting to note that this is the only time in the novel that someone mentions Louisa, (or any of the building’s employees) doing “important work” and thanking them. It is interesting that it comes from a woman who is giving food to others and not from the actual employers of Louisa and Ashok. It is also interesting that this compliment comes when they are not actually doing their paid jobs. I think this is a great allusion to the characters of Agnes and Leonard, as well as the overall culture in the building.

After reading the lines about the pakoras I was intrigued; I had to eat one…as soon as I figured out what it was.  I did my research and discovered that pakoras are a type of fritter that is popular across the Indian subcontinent as well as other parts of the world.  They are made when one or two ingredients are dipped into a batter made from besan, a chickpea flour, and deep fried. Yum.

One of the most common types of pakora is made from onions or potatoes. They both sounded lovely to me so while I kept true to the novel with some potato/pea pakoras, I  also made a few onion ones to try. I used a plain yellow onion cut into half moons for those with the batter from the recipe below. For the potato/pea ones I used russets and frozen peas that I thawed out.

After boiling and mashing the potatoes, I mixed them with the peas, sliced chili pepper, cumin and coriander and rolled the mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball or walnut. I stuck them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm them up and make them easier to handle.

I made the batter with the besan, red pepper flakes, salt and baking powder. I added the water slowly and mixed it with my hands. Don’t judge me, my hands were clean and it just felt right but you can use a wooden spoon if that sort of thing turns you off. Anyway the batter will be very thick. Upon firming up take the balls from the fridge, coat in the batter and fry until golden brown.

What I had come to find out is that besan is the most important ingredient in this otherwise simple dish. It really makes the flavor of the dish unique and delicious. However, it was difficult for me to find. You can probably get it online or at an international market. Besan is sometimes labeled as chickpea flour or as gram flour. I really liked these and snacked on them for the entire afternoon, I did not really enjoy them as much after they had cooled too long. Regardless, if you’re feeling a little brave like Louisa and looking for something different to try, I highly suggest these!

Pakoras

• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 green chili pepper, sliced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1teaspoon coriander
• 2 cups Besan
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup luke-warm water
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

1. Heat enough oil in an 8 inch cast-iron skillet or other pot deep enough for frying.Mix the potatoes, peas, chili pepper, cumin, and coriander. Shape into walnut-sized balls, and chill for at least 30 minutes, until firm.

2.In a large bowl, mix together the besan, red chili flakes, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add in the water, while mixing with a wooden spoon or your hands. Vigorously mix for a couple of seconds. The batter should be thick.

3. Once the oil is heated, carefully place in heaping spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Try not to overcrowd the oil. Fry until the pakoras are a golden brown. Drain on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Pomegranate Soup came recommended to me by an online book group and I am glad that this suggestion was sent my way because I doubt I would have found this one on my own. FYI: you can always send me post suggestions either in the comments, my email or our social media sites!

For anyone else that hasn’t had the treat of discovering this novel yet it is about the small, sheltered village of Ballinacroagh. To the three Aminpour sisters, this small Irish village looks like a much-needed safe haven. Marjan Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters, Bahar and Layla, and she hopes that now they might finally find a home. The sisters get to work and soon the scent of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets announcing the opening of the Babylon Café, and enrages the town’s top public figure Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the empty shop for years and failing, Thomas is angry to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less.

But soon the food charms the people in the village and Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her exotic Persian dishes–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even skittish Bahar seems to be less nervous. The sisters find supporters against the less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. However,  the past threatens the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran haunts them as they try to navigate their new home.

Novels that present food as magic have a special place in my heart. I use my kitchen as a refuge, a place to create, a place to experiment, to be myself and I adore when this idea is translated into any kind of fiction. This book does just that. As the townsfolk start to try the food at The Babylon Café  they are transformed into better versions of themselves. The idea of food as magic also applies here as the sisters are able to cast off their past by cooking certain dishes and embrace their future. This novel contains recipes within the text which I loved and couldn’t wait to try.

I chose elephant ears for this post rather than the book’s namesake for a couple of reasons. The ears sounded exotic, delicious and outside of my comfort zone; I mean seriously, rose water infused pastries!

I feel that the elephant ears are featured in the novel as a representation of the gossip that travels around the small town. The ears are introduced in the chapter that opens with Layla and her school mates gossiping about the boys in school. The chapter then transitions into the buzz about the Babylon Café and how the local pastor has spread the word about the wonderful food there.  The chapter also includes Dervla and how she has been spying on the café and it’s patrons at the request of Thomas McGuire. Mehran has clearly integrated the ears into this part of the story as a signifier of the way that news travels around the village. Using the elephant ears pastries as representation for the towns gossip network is a clever way to introduce that idea into the novel via food.

I have never cooked any kind of food like this before but I didn’t have to do much research. The recipes for this and many of the dishes featured in the novel are inside the novel. However, I did have to research where to buy the rosewater which I procured from an international market nearby but you may have to order it from the internet. I highly suggest you do the extra effort this takes to make these pastries because they would not be the same without this flavor. Once I started this recipe and opened the rosewater I could not believe how fragrant and sweet smelling it was. This stuff is powerful! the fragrance and taste definitely comes through in the process and the final product but not in a bad way; it made the pastries seem that much more delicate and special.

I also feel like it’s important to note that I did not use all the flour called for in this recipe. I suggest adding one cup to begin and then half cups until the dough is formed. I ended up using only about 2.5 cups before a good solid dough was formed. I should also point out that the dough was kind of tough to work with. I broke it up into small chunks and rolled them out one at a time to get the proper consistency. It was much more manageable this way especially if you have limited counter space.

It took me a while to figure out the proper shaping technique, once I got in the groove with them though they looked great. My first few were a bit ugly but they tasted just fine with tea.

After frying and dusting with cinnamon/ sugar these treats were amazing. They are delicate in texture and in taste. I really enjoyed them with afternoon tea and morning coffee.  The elephant ears are infused with complex flavor while remaining plain on the outside; that is what kitchen magic is all about!

Elephant  Ears from Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

1 egg

1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of rose water

1/2 teaspoon of cardamom

3 3/4 cups of flour

vegetable oil for frying

Garnish:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Beat eggs in a bowl. Add milk, sugar, rosewater, and cardamom. Slowly mix in flour, kneading into a dough. Roll out on a clean surface with a floured pin until it is paper thin. Using the rim of a wide mouth glass or cup, trace and cut out a circle. Pinch the center of the circle with your thumb and forefinger to form a bow. Set aside. Repeat until all circles (approximately 15) are done. Heat oil in a deep pan. Fry each ear for one minute. Lay pastries on paper towels to cool. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture.

House of Daughters is the third novel by Sarah Kate Lynch, and follows the story of three sisters who must come together and save the family’s champagne business after their father passes away. Olivier Peine dies leaving behind large debts, a cellar of his once famous champagne, and a legacy of bitterness. His lonely daughter Clementine can now use her knowledge to rebuild the family’s reputation as first class champagne makers. However, it is upon Olivier’s death that his second daughter Mathilde and a previously unmentioned third daughter, Sophie, show up for their share of what’s left behind.  The three ladies must overcome their differences, let go of their secrets, and heal some very deep wounds in order to fix the mess they were left with from a father they believed never loved them.

I have previously written about one of Lynch’s other novels, Blessed are the Cheesemakers (you can find that post here), and I enjoyed her writing and the use of food in her novels so much I decided to do another post on her work. I really liked this novel and was actually moved to tears at one point so I definitely recommend checking it out.

In a novel centered around champagne I was a little unsure if there would be any food for me to work with. Thankfully, with good champagne there comes good French breads and pastries and there were several different ones to choose from in the novel. I chose one that is mentioned quietly and only once but I felt it had great significance to the happenings of the Peine sisters and after checking it out decided it would be perfect for a winter treat: pain d’epice.

To put the pain d’epice in context; it is wintertime in the vineyard and Clementine has been tending to the vines. Mathilde is recovering from some emotional truths and sets her sights on recovering the Peine finances. It is at this time that Sophie and the aging house guest La Petite make the bread.

“Sophie, meanwhile, was busy perfecting a recipe for pain d’epice to La Petite’s exact specifications and spent much of her time with the old woman whose breaths grew shorter with every winter day.”

The significance of this goes beyond just making bread. The first important thing here is that Sophie baking the bread is symbolic of her having a home. Before coming to the house after her father died, Sophie was living on the streets of the city with no family and no home. The fact that she is baking in the kitchen of what was her father’s house alludes to the fact that Sophie has found home and family.

Second is the idea that she is “perfecting a recipe”, meaning making it over and over again until it is right. This seems symbolic of what the Peine sisters are attempting to do with each other and the business. There are many instances in the novel where they attempt to start anew after their issues with the past and with each other have gotten in the way of their goals.

Finally, the idea that Sophie is working to La Petite’s specifications is symbolic of the role that La Petite is playing in the rebuilding of the family and the champagne house. In the novel, it is La Petite who guides the girls into becoming a family and doesn’t stop until her job is complete. Guiding Sophie in how to properly make pain d’epice is representative of her other guidance duties in the novel.

Pain d’epice has been around for a long time and is traditionally known as a honey sweetened spice bread that often gets misinterpreted as gingerbread. A distinction of pain d’epices is that it is not a dessert type bread but is used as a backdrop for more savory spreadables like foie gras or a strong blue cheese. Yum.

To start, I got some honey from my local beekeeper friends; I feel like local, raw honey has a much better flavor than anything in the store. Finding the proper flour was the biggest challenge I ran into, for some reason the stores here do not stock any kind of rye flour. Since it is traditionally used in the bread I still included it in the ingredient list but I had to use whole wheat flour for this. Everything else was stuff I had in my spice cabinet. I was upraised at the use of coriander but honestly, when I smelled it and thought about it in context of the other spices in the bread it made sense.

This bread came together like a standard quick bread. I served it alongside a creamy goat cheese and ate it for breakfast, it was delicious. Overall, I was really happy with the dense texture and the warm homey spices. I can definitely understand the motivation for Sophie to make this in the novel and I definitely understand why La Petite would want her to experience it. It’s taste exudes feelings of home and family which is what House of Daughters is all about.

House of Daughers: Pain D’epices

• 1½ cups milk
• 1 cup honey
• 1 Tb Orange Zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat, rye or buckwheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon whole anise seeds
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.

2. Pour the milk and honey into a small saucepan and stir over gentle heat until the honey has dissolved. Add the zest and set aside.

3. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a bowl. Mix in the honey, milk and zest. The batter will be quite liquid and a little foamy.

4. Bake until the top of the cake is deeply golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

5. Cool, slice and serve.