Book Thirty: The Goldfinch

Theo Decker is thirteen when a cruel twist of fate places him and his mother in the Metropolitan museum of art on the day that terrorists set off a series of bombs in the gallery. The two become separated and in the disorientation that follows the explosion, Theo meets Welty, an elderly gentlemen who gives him his ring and a cryptic message about an address in downtown New York and his mother’s favourite painting, The Goldfinch, which in his disorientated state, Theo takes from the museum. Theo makes it home safely only to discover that his mother has not survived the attack on the museum. Abandoned by his father a few years before, Theo is alone in New York and taken in by his wealthy friend’s family. He keeps the painting a secret, always meaning to return it to the authorities but somehow never able to part with the work of art that his mother so dearly loved. When the fog of the explosion has cleared, Theo remembers his conversation with Welty and the ring and ventures to the address he was given – here he meets the kind antique dealer Hobie and Pippa, Welty’s surrogate daughter who was also in the museum when the bomb exploded. Over the years, Theo becomes heavily dependent on prescription drugs to help him block out the loss of his dear mother and covets the painting, which he has kept secret all these years. Unable to part with the painting and addicted to drugs, Theo is drawn into a criminal underworld of shady antiques dealings, drugs and art theft. To use a cliche, he is drawn to the painting like a moth to a flame…

The Goldfinch is an amazing book – it is so incredibly well written, and although pretty hefty at over 850 pages, utterly absorbing. Donna Tartt has clearly crafted every chapter with meticulous detail and the sheer cleverness of the plot and the writing left me in awe. There are some amazingly likable characters, despite some of the unsavoury doings that they get caught up in and although the plot is quite measured in pace, I was pretty much hooked immediately. I think that is quite rare in a book that isn’t a fast action thriller – the writing is just mesmerising. Don’t be put off by the size of this book – it’s one that you will read and love and then finish and realise that it’s just genius! I guess much like the masterpieces of art that feature in the novel, this story is stunning as a whole but it’s when you look at the brushstrokes that make up it’s composition you realise just what a craft it is to construct this kind of novel. 

 

It was pretty hard to find a food to cook that would represent this book or even vaguely tie into it – given the themes and the subject matter – so it’s a very tenuous link with my recipe this week…

As the novel is predominantly set in New York, I decided to make something ‘New York’ themed and so I went for:

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies 

Recipe taken from The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days

Ingredients:

For the base:

250g unsalted butter

420g caster sugar

2 eggs

380g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the cheesecake topping:

80g white chocolate buttons

300g full fat cream cheese

60g icing sugar

1 egg

Method:

• Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly.
• Add the remaining dry ingredients, in two batches and mix thoroughly until all incorporated and it forms a dough
• Cut off approx a quarter of the dough and wrap this in clingfilm and chill in the fridge. Line a baking tray (9x12in) with baking paper and then spread out the remaining dough on the tray, pressing it down evenly. Chill this in the fridge for approx 30 mins. While mixture is chilling, preheat the over to 170C/gas mark 3.
• Remove the base from the fridge and bake for 20-25mins. Once baked, this needs to cool completely! Once cooled, prepare the cheesecake topping…
• Melt the chocolate (I used microwave or you could do the old fashioned bain marie method). In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese and icing sugar together until smooth – add the egg and mix and then add the chocolate. RESIST TEMPTATION TO EAT ALL THIS MIXTURE! Just lick the bowl.
• Spread the cheesecake mixture over the brownie base and then remember the bit of dough that’s still in the fridge? Grab this and crumble in chunks over the top of the cheescake. Bake for a further 25mins and then leave to cool completely. 

Completely different in tone to The Goldfinch, but utterly delicious!

Book Twenty-Nine: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

One day, Harold Fry receives a letter out of the blue with some rather unsettling news. It’s from his ex-colleague Queenie, who he has not spoken to in twenty years. She is dying of cancer in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed. She was kind to him once and so Harold quickly writes her a letter sending his condolences. As he walks to the postbox to post it, he can’t help but think that his letter offers nothing. So he keeps walking. And walking. Somewhere along the way, he decides that he must walk all the way from Devon to Scotland to visit Queenie in person, for no letter he could ever write will say what he wants to say. And so begins the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry – an adventure, a pilgrimage, a walk of redemption and solace. He believes that his walk will save Queenie and so leaving behind his wife, he sets out to repay her for her kindness and save her life. 

This book is a must read – it’s one of those books that is charmingly heart warming, funny, touching, sad and deeply moving all at once. One of those rare books that I so love! I don’t want to give away too much, but it had me laughing and crying and also gripped from the beginning! The plot doesn’t sound all that engaging at first glance but it is in fact extremely absorbing as we learn all about Harold and Maureen’s relationship and the highs and lows of their marriage. The ending is extremely bittersweet but also extremely moving – if you liked The Fault in their Stars then you will like this, in fact I would say you will love this because the writing is much better! I was expecting this book to be a bit run of the mill, but it exceeded all my expectations and I’m keen to read Rachel Joyce’s second novel Perfect to see what else she has up her pen wielding sleeves! 

Book Twenty-Eight: Sea of Poppies

 

My second Amitav Ghosh book of the year, this week I read Sea of Poppies. I saw this week, but actually it took me a bit longer than a week – and I am a little behind on my challenge, but I do hope to catch up and meet my target of 52 books this year, do not worry!

Sea of Poppies is set in 1830’s north India and Calcutta – a time when the British were about to wage war on China in order to control the world’s supply of opium. A crew of motley characters from across the world find themselves aboard the Ibis, a slaving schooner that has been brought by the wealthy British merchant Benjamin Burnham. Ghosh brings together a cast from all walks of life: Deeti and Kalua, who have eloped and fled the opium fields of north India; Zachary, an American with parents of mixed heritage, who finds himself second mate of the Ibis; Paulette, a French woman brought up by her botanist father and an Indian wet nurse, who does not understand the social etiquette of being a memsahib; Baboo Nob Kissin, a Bengali ‘fixer’ who is convinced that Zachary is the reincarnation of Shiva and believes himself to be possessed by a holy woman and Raja Neel Rattan, a wealthy landowner who unable to pay his debts to Benjamin Burnham, has been convicted of fraud. These colourful characters and more, all find themselves on board the Ibis travelling to Mauritius – some as coolies destined for work, some as prisoners, one as a stowaway and the rest as crew. This is the story of the voyage and the back stories of a cast of characters from all walks of life. Every story is fascinating, every character engaging. Ghosh has succeeding in bringing a multitude of lives and stories together – a fascinating read that is all absorbing and rich with intrigue. 

I really enjoyed this book, particularly for it’s scope. It’s not just one story but many. I’m pleased to discover that it’s the first book of a trilogy – and the cliff hanger ending is temptingly inviting me to read more Amitav Ghosh when I can get my hands on it! I really recommend this author if you ever get the chance to read some of his work.

 

As for cooking – well I knew that I would have to cook something poppy seed related! However, rather than going for the easy and tasty poppy seed cake option, I tried to find an Indian recipe and stumbled across this:

Mixed Vegetable Curry – by Madhur Jaffrey

You will need:

• ½ an aubergine

• 2 small carrots

• 100g green beans

• 1 medium-sized potato

• 50g desiccated unsweetened coconut 

• 4 green chillies

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp white poppy seeds (I found these in the local cornershop)

• 3 medium-sized tomatoes

• 1 tbsp plain yoghurt

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 2 tbsp coriander leaves

To make:

1. Firstly you need to reconstitute your coconut – do this by pouring boiling water over it and leaving it to soak for around an hour.

2. Peel and chop all the veg and then place the aubergine, carrots, potato and beans in a pan and cover with 250ml water. Cook until tender.

3. Meanwhile place the coconut (it should have fluffed up by now), the chillies, the poppy seeds and 150ml water in a food processor and then whiz into a paste.

4. Once veg are lightly cooked, add the coconut paste and cook for a few mins. 

5. Add the tomatoes, the yogurt and the garam masala and then simmer and reduce the sauce.

6. Once all the veg are cooked through, serve and scatter with the coriander leaves.

This curry was tasty and light – but be careful not to add too much water as I did or you’ll end up cooking it for ages to get the sauce to reduce! I also recommend grinding the poppy seeds first if possible because it was a little bit grainy. Worth a go though!

Book Twenty-Seven: How To Build a Girl

 Caitlin Moran – I would put her in the category of someone you either love or hate. I love her and think her writing is brilliant. She’s clever, hilarious and fearless – you can guarantee that she will have the guts to say what everyone else is thinking and say it in a way that most probably involves a swear word or two. I guess though, if you are going to write about topics like feminism, or indeed just being a woman in the 21st century, you need to be bold and brash. And for that I will always be a fan.

How to Build a Girl, is the fictionalised follow up to her absolutely hilarious book How to Be a Woman, which explored what it is like to be a woman in this day and age. It’s basically The Female Eunuch for a modern woman and had me pretty much wetting myself with laughter throughout. So glad that a woman can write about things like childbirth and periods in such a matter of fact, down to earth way.

Anyway, back to HTBAG! As I mentioned, this book is a novel, so I was very intrigued to see how Moran’s fiction writing stands up. I love her columns and as mentioned I loved HTBAW, but I did wonder if her writing would translate to fiction. Well, for a start, although it is fiction, it’s quite clear that there are many parallels between the book’s protagonist and Moran’s own life. But knowing what I know about her – that she left home at about 15 to become a journalist, I knew whatever story lay ahead of me wouldn’t be boring!

How To Build a Girl, tells the story of Johanna Morrigan – an overweight, friendless teenager living in a Wolverhampton council estate in the 90’s. After humiliating herself on TV, Johanna decides to totally reinvent herself as Dolly Wilde – a hedonistic, chain smoking, rockstar shagging femme fatale. She leaves school at 15 to become a music journalist and embarks on many adventures (mainly sexual or booze fuelled) – before eventually realising that she doesn’t actually like the girl she’s built.

While the moral of the story is perhaps a little predictable, the writing is as you would expect, razor sharp and extremely funny. Moran creates a cast of hilarious, yet real characters that you can’t help but love – Johanna’s family for example are completely loony yet loving and clearly struggling to provide for the family they love. Class plays a big part in the book, with the Morrigan family really struggling to make ends meet. At one stage they have their benefits cut which has drastic implications for the family – yet none of this comes across like a sob story, it’s just reality. This is a brilliant book guaranteed to make you laugh…and it might make you think a little too… before you laugh again. Well worth a read.

Book Twenty-six: And the Mountains Echoed

And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan author Khaled Hosseni. After reading and loving both The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns, I knew I was in for a treat.

And the Mountains Echoed begins in 1950s Afghanistan as a father prepares to walk with his two small children from their small village to Kabul. He tells them a story about a monster who steals children from the village as a sacrifice – tearing them away from their families but unbeknown to the villagers, giving them a happy life they wouldn’t otherwise have. As the monster explains ‘cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same colour’.

In the next chapter it becomes clear that the father is taking his children to Kabul because he has sold his daughter to a wealthy couple out of desperation, so that she may have a happier life and the family will not starve.

And so begins a story told from many perspectives of family struggles, of the changing Afghanistan, of secrets and lies. This is a very different novel to Hosseni’s previous two – it is not as traumatic for one, but also Afghanistan takes a back a seat as the action moves beyond Afghanistan to Paris, Greece and the US. There are lots of stories and sub-plots to the main narrative which makes for an interesting and varied read.

I was gripped from the beginning. Hosseni weaves an intricate tale of love, family, betrayal and secrets that is highly enjoyable. There are some sections that dragged a little for me, but it’s another brilliant read from a brilliant writer. This is most definitely not The Kite Runner – but if you are a fan, you’ll be glad of something different!

To accompany this brilliant read, I made burani bonjon – an aubergine and yogurt dish which originates in Afghanistan. I took the recipe from the rather brilliant Veggiestan by Sally Butcher.

To make you will need:

3 aubergines (sliced into 5mm rounds)
One onion (chopped)
3 green chillies
4 tomatoes
1tsp turmeric
Bunch of coriander

For the yogurt:
450ml thick strained yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
5 cloves garlic(!!) (crushed)
Juice of half a lemon
A few sprigs of fresh mint

Method:

– salt the aubergines and leave to drain for around 30 mins. Wash and pat dry.
– fry the onion and chillies until soft, then remove from the pan.
– fry the aubergine until lightly browned. You may need to do this in batches.
– sprinkle the aubergine with turmeric, then add the tomatoes, onion and chilli mix, plus 3/4 of the coriander. Add a little water then turn heat down and cover the pan (I covered with foil as don’t have a frying pan with a lid). Cook for around 30 mins.
– meanwhile make the yogurt sauce by mixing the yogurt with lemon juice, garlic and mint. Chill until the aubergine mix is ready.
– once you are ready assemble the dish! Take a serving platter and spoon about half the yogurt on the bottom. Cover this with the aubergine mix and layer with the remaining yogurt. Garnish with the remaining coriander and a sprig of mint.

Enjoy!

Here’s a photo of the one I made earlier:

This is a very tasty dish, the aubergine mix was slightly sweet and very flavoursome but in my opinion it was a little too creamy! Too much yogurt so I’d recommend using about half the yogurt if like me, you struggle with a lot of dairy. I’ve ended up spooning as much of the yogurt mix as I could separate into the bin! Bit of a shame but apart from the yogurt, it’s a great dish!

Book Twenty-Five: The Buddha in the Attic

The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of a group of Japanese ‘mail order brides’ who emigrate to the States from Japan to be married to Japanese ex-pats living there. They travel unsure of what to expect, relying on photos and letters they’d been sent, only to arrive to men who look 10 years older than their photo. Over time they settle in the US and become accustomed to the foreign ways. Some make their living as maids, others as farm hands doing crippling work. Some are happy, some sad, but they build an existence in the States – until the war comes and the attack on Pearl Harbour means that the US is no longer a safe place for these Japanese families to be.

This is a highly unusual book in that there is no central narrative and no attention paid to individual characters – it’s a shared narrative of many women – and indeed it is written as ‘we’ throughout. This has a rather distancing effect, but also allows an extremely broad, shared experience to come through. It’s a short book that could easily be read in one sitting and often reads like a list – a device that can be quite alienating and repetitive. I expect this is a book you will either love or hate and I feel really that it’s best to read it quickly to get the full effect. I struggled with it a little as I was still shell shocked from reading A Fine Balance and this just didn’t grab me. Having said that, it’s an interesting account of Japanese life in the US between the wars and the shared narrative does convey a strong female voice. Despite feeling quite detached from the narrative throughout, it’s still a powerful story which touches on some very interesting themes. Worth a read – this would easily fill a long train/plane journey so maybe one to save for when you have time and concentration to finish it one go.

 

To accompany this book, it was obvious to me that I should make sushi and I stumbled upon a recipe for vegetarian sushi that I was eager to try from Deliciously Ella. A very simple recipe to make, all you need is:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• Nori sheets
• Raw veggies: I used carrot, red pepper and lightly steamed asparagus
• 1 avocado
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• wasabi paste (optional)

Firstly cook the quinoa in boiling water. Once cooked, allow to cool slightly (I rinsed with cold water).

Cut the veg into strips.

Blend the avocado, oil, vinegar and wasabi paste if using in a blender until it forms a creamy dip.

Once you have all the elements prepared it’s time to assemble!! This bit is a little tricky as quinoa is not sticky like sushi rice. Take a sheet of nori, spread some avocado mix in a strip down one edge then top with quinoa and then the veg, then roll. Once you have a roll, cut into slices and hey presto, you have fake sushi!

Here’s a pic of my messy sushi rolls – despite appearances they tasted pretty good and were good fun to make!

Book Twenty-Four: A Fine Balance

I’ve had A Fine Balance on my bookshelf for a while now, but I’d forgotten about it and only just got around to reading it. Why did I wait for so long?! This is by far the best book I have read in a very long time, it’s simply stunning from start to finish.

 

I knew from the first sentence that I was in for a good read – Rohinton Mistry’s writing is just so lyrical, it’s like that first burst on sunshine on an otherwise cold day – it wraps you up in it’s spell right away. It’s one of those books that you want to greedily devour yet savour at the same time. I simply didn’t want it to end. Luckily at over 600 pages it’s no quick read, but I am still mourning the fact that it’s over a few days after finishing.

 

A Fine Balance is set in 1970’s Bombay just after Prime Minister Indira Ghandi had implemented ‘the Emergency’ – a stringent set of measures to prevent civil uprising after accusations of corruption and cheating in the election. The story brings together four characters from extremely different backgrounds, who have each suffered their share of difficulty in very different ways.

 

There is Dina, widowed on her third wedding anniversary but desperate to maintain independence from her brother. In an attempt to make a living and keep her apartment, she starts a tailoring business and hires Ishvar and Om as tailors and takes on a paying guest, Maneck – and so begins the existence of an unlikely family unit.

 

Ishvar and Om have come to Bombay from their village, fleeing from the caste based violence that killed the other members of their family with the hope that they will make a decent living and someday return. They are from a caste of leather makers who have become (slightly) more prosperous by learning the trade of a tailor, much to the chagrin of the wealthy village members who see this as acting above their caste.

 

Maneck is the son of overbearing parents who have refused his wishes to join the family business and sent him to Bombay to study refrigeration and air-conditioning. Traumatised by bullies in his university hostel, he arrives at Dina’s desperate for refuge.

 

The story is essentially about the fine balance of suffering and happiness, wealth and poverty and cruelty and kindness that exists in life. Given the setting of political and economic turmoil, this balance is felt even more acutely. I guess if there were a moral to this story it would be that life is deeply unfair – those who suffer in the novel suffer deeply and those who cause suffering seem to prosper. At times this is a difficult read, a sad read, a painful read but it’s still a story not to be forgotten, words to be savoured and read again and again. The ending left me shivering and in shock, it’s such a powerful book, one that sends shockwaves and makes you feel like life will never be the same. Oddly that’s how I felt when I came back from a trip to India – truly changed on some level. I’d love to read it again… and again, it’s definitely on my list of favourites, possibly of all time. Read it and weep, but also fall in love.

 

No food this week unfortunately – I had in mind that I would cook the classic Bombay street food dish of bhel puri but it’s proving difficult to find all the ingredients! Someday I will track everything down and make it to add to this blog because it’s a very tasty dish indeed (although perhaps left to the professionals?)

Book Twenty-Three: The Fault in Our Stars

 

So basically, I chose to read this book, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, off the back of seeing a trailer for the film, which I think is coming out soon. Got to say, I didn’t really have high hopes for this tale of teenage love between two cancer patients – I was expecting something schmaltzy in the vein of a Jodi Picoult or Nicholas Sparks novel. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Fault in Our Stars is the story of two young cancer patients and how they fall in love. I admit it sounds soppy. Hazel is 16 and has terminal lung cancer. She relies on an oxygen tank and her life is very fragile – she and her parents know that she could be gone at any moment really. Keen for her to live her life, her mum sends her to a cancer support group which takes place in the ‘literal heart of Jesus’ – it’s there that she meets Augustus, whose cancer took one of his legs, but thanks to that amputation, has an 80% chance of full recovery. He’s smitten with her right away, but she’s reluctant to get involved, knowing that her life is like a ‘grenade’ and she could blow up at any time. Of course they do end up falling in love eventually (it’s inevitable) – but I think that’s as much as I will share about their story.

The thing that made this book for me was the humour – Hazel and Augustus are such sharp, brilliant, deliciously quirky characters and whilst there are lots of poignant moments, there are probably double the amount that will make you smile and feel warm inside. It’s a very real and human look at child cancer, but a very uplifting one. I loved it. And I am not a soppy person really – so for a book like this to win me over, you know it’s got to be good. Of course there were hysterical tears by the end – again that’s pretty inevitable! But I’d say all in all, this was an unexpectedly brilliant book. Definitely worth reading and probably, knowing Hollywood, avoiding the film which will no doubt turn it into one of those schmaltzy, Picoult/Sparks type affairs that I detest!

On for the cooking! Well one thing really stood out from this book food wise and that was a scene where Hazel gets in a big strop over why scrambled eggs are considered a breakfast food and can’t be eaten at another meal time. Well, I for one eat scrambled eggs quite frequently for dinner – it’s probably one of my staple meals that can be whipped up in minutes. The best thing about scrambled eggs in my opinion are all the ways you can pimp them up – I add all kinds of things to mine (to varying success). I’ve had some very grey looking scrambled eggs – but I’ve had plenty of yummy successes. One of my favourites is Mexican scrambled eggs – basically you add lots of Mexican inspired foods to the eggs – chilli, tomatoes, coriander always a must, some cheese and whatever else you have kicking about in the fridge. Serve on a tortilla with some avocado and hey presto, you have delicious food that could not be simpler to make. Some disasters I’ve made have included adding pesto to the eggs – doesn’t work – and adding any kind of cream cheese to the eggs – yuck! Stick with Mexican eggs and you can’t go wrong. Here’s a pic of the eggs I made today for lunch. Other people eat roast dinners for Sunday lunch, I eat scrambled eggs!

I cunningly added a pot of M&S Bean & Feta salad to this – result = total yumminess! 

Book Twenty, Twenty-One and Twenty-Two (!!): The Divergent Trilogy

Not one but three books this week! Is that cheating? It just makes no sense to review a trilogy of books individually… I originally read Divergent and the follow-up Insurgent last year. So I just intended to read the final book, Allegiant, this week. But then I started reading it and couldn’t remember anything that had happened in the first two books! So I read them all…

 

So if you haven’t read these books, I suggest you read them NOW! And read them all in one go, they are so compulsive and really need to be read in one go to keep up the momentum. The basic premise is:

Tris lives in a city that is inhabited by five factions, each with a different trait. They are like tribes so to speak. There is Abnegation, a faction that is very austere and selfless. They do lots of charity for the poor and believe in putting others before themselves. Dauntless is a faction that values bravery above all else. They are the ‘muscle’ of the city, manning the security. Erudite is the faction which values knowledge above all else, they develop all the technology and are responsible for all scientific advancement. Candor value truth above all else and Amity are the peaceful, loving faction. Everyone is born into a faction but when they reach the age of 16, they have the opportunity to choose a different faction. Once they choose, they must remain with that faction for the rest of their life, even if it means denouncing their family.

Tris is born into Abnegation, but never feels at home there. She is rebellious and doesn’t like to submit to the selfless ways of Abnegation. Her aptitude test reveals something troubling – she is Divergent – which means that she has aptitude for three of the factions, something almost unheard of and something very dangerous. On the day of the choosing ceremony, she chooses Dauntless and soon learns that that choice is only the first step in becoming Dauntless. First she must survive the brutal initiation, which involves conquering her feel initiates physically and conquering all her fears. It’s a whirlwind for Tris as she discovers her strength and discovers her soulmate, in her initiation instructor Tobias. Does she have what it takes to survive?

In book two, the factions become involve in a dangerous war which threatens to destroy life as they know it. I don’t want to reveal too much, but it’s VERY EXCITING! Tris learns more about what it means to be Divergent and the danger that brings. Abnegation hold a secret that they are desperate to reveal to the city, but Erudite will stop at nothing to prevent them.

And book three takes the action outside of the city… just what lies outside the city walls that the Erudite have fought so hard to keep secret? Tris, Tobias and their friends soon discover a new truth that changes everything they ever believed.

Hopefully that doesn’t give away too much plot and has whetted your appetite to read the books yourself! They are seriously gripping, engaging and compulsive. I loved them. Book one and two are so exciting, you won’t be able to put them down. Tris is such a strong, fierce character that you can’t help but love and as she and Tobias fall in love, you will too! For me, book three got a little bit woolly – maybe a little too high concept, which distracted from the excitement. It wasn’t quite as compulsive and where some of the holes in the whole premise of the city, the factions and the war crept in…. I guess a little bit bogged down in explaining the whole concept which got a little confusing. But that said, it did pick up by the end and without wanting to reveal the end, I suggest you do not read the last quarter of this book in public and stock up in tissues. It had me hyperventilating with tears! You know a book is brilliant when you feel pain, joy and tension as physically as I did while reading these books! For me, they have a bit of everything: a great concept, some moral debates, excitement, action, love, romance, loads more action and brilliant characters!

 

For my recipe this week, I decided to make burgers, as there is a scene in book one where Tris, used to the plain food of Abnegation, tries burgers for the first time once she joins Dauntless. Being a non-meat eater, I made mine veggie burgers!

I will call these…

Dauntless Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burgers

(Makes 6)

You will need:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500g total)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 tin black beans
• 1 red onion
• 1 green chilli
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-2tsp smoked paprika
• 2 cloves garlic
• Fresh coriander
• Juice of 1 lime

 

1. Place 1 cup water in a saucepan and add the quinoa. Bring to the boil and cook for approx 15mins until all the water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sweet potatoes in the oven until soft. Once cooked, remove the skin and leave to cool.
3. Once the sweet potato is cooled, place in a food processor with the black beans, chopped onion, chilli, crushed garlic, spices and coriander and blend until it forms a paste. Add the juice of the lime and then mix with the cooked quinoa.
4. Add a little flour to the mixture and using wet hands, form into patties.
5. Place on a chopping board, cover with clingfilm and then chill for about 30mins at least (the longer the better)
6. Once chilled, heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the patties for about 4 mins on each side until cooked.
7. You can freeze some of the burgers if you don’t feel like eating 6 in one go! I froze a couple of them to enjoy at a later date.

I ate my burger in a toasted pitta along with some homemade guacamole. Bloody delicious… very smokey and full of flavour. I like to think they are like Tris… bold and they pack a mean punch 🙂 Yes I am Divergent geek, but I don’t care!

 

 

Book Nineteen: Almost English

Almost English is the story of two women, living under the shadow of their loud, eccentric and overbearing elderly Hungarian relatives. Marina, is 16 years old and has escaped to a prestigious boarding school – only discovering it is not the adventure she’d hoped for and she doesn’t fit in. Laura, her mother, on the other hand is at the mercy of her Hungarian in-laws, having been abandoned by her husband and forced to move in with his mother and elderly sisters. She is bored of her life beyond belief, desperately missing her daughter but unable to tell her and engaged in an affair with her boss, merely so she can feel something. 

Miserable and lonely, Marina starts dating Guy, the son of a celebrity historian. Invited into a world in which she doesn’t belong, Marina becomes almost obsessed by the family… meanwhile, Laura gets involved with a figure from her past. And all along, the Hungarians provide a loud and lively backdrop to the story.

It took me a while to get into this book, it was a bit of a slow starter, but it definitely grew on me and had me in stitches at times. There are some really interesting and lively characters and some passages had me cringing but laughing at the same time. Mendleson’s character descriptions are spot on and intriguing, but I did feel a bit perplexed by the backdrop of the Hungarian relatives… they have a lot to say, but do very little in terms of moving the plot along. That said, this was an entertaining and different read – not perfect, but enjoyable.

 

Once again, no time for cooking this week! I am letting myself down… but in my defence, it was my birthday this weekend! Also, I am running about a week late with this challenge… amends will be made no worries about that! See you next week!!