Bookish Review: Belladonna

Belladonna is historical fiction for tweens/teens. At least one of the characters is a real historical figure, but not one that I was familiar with. Set in 1757, a young Englishman stumbles upon a mysterious French girl in the English countyside. He is soon captivated by her and gets involved in trying to help her reccover her horse. As time goes on, she involves him in new opportunities and schemes and the path of his life is forever changed. An interesting and fun read, which horse lovers in particular will enjoy.

I got my hands on an ARC of this somehow, for which I thank the publisher, Candlewick Press, but the free copy did not affect my review.

Bookish Review: Her Fearful Symmetry

Her  Fearful Symmetry is a book about secrets, ghosts, and twins. Elspeth and Edie are twins who have been separated most of their adult lives. Elspeth has never met her twin nieces, but nonetheless leave them her fortune and her London flat when she dies--but she stays in the flat, too. One twin desires to separate herself from the other, to discover her own life, whereas the other wants nothing more than for them to be together forever. Valentina decides the only way to escape her twin is to fake her death, and ropes her ghostly aunt and her aunt's former lover (also her current love interest) into going along with her plan. But all does not go as planned...

An interesting and fun read, but unsatisfying ending.

Bookish Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl has recieved a lot of press and critical acclaim, and it was a great read. The book opens with Nick's wife disappearing, and is told alternatively through his and her point of view. About halfway through the book, you feel like you've about got it figured out, and then you realize you haven't got anything figured out. The second half of the book is definitely a page-turner. A great psychological thriller. I didn't love the ending, but it made for a much more disturbing book. Highly recommended.

Bookish Review: Off Armageddon Reef

This book was recommended to me by my boyfriend, and was an enjoyable read. He loves sci-fi and historical fiction, particularly if it involves naval battles and swashbuckling, seafaring adventure. So, I could clearly see why he loves this, because it's kind of Horatio Hornblower in space. The beginning is a bit slow, but once it gets going, it's very entertaining. The book is set in the future, and humns are forced to start a new settlement on a new planet, hiding from alien enemies. To remain hidden, they need to eschew modern technology. To facilitate this, the founders start a new religion that forbids technology that is not wind or water powered and sets themselves up as archangels. Hundreds of years pass. However, there is one being that remembers why the humans have had to restart their civilization, that the religious dogma is not true, and who believes the threat of the enemy is not over. This being begins to orchestrate changes in the society and naval battles ensue on the new planet. At this point, it's an exciting read, with a fairly happy ending, but it's just the beginning of the fight. I haven't yet read more in the series, but I am looking forward to it.

Cookish:Something Sweet

A friend's birthday is this weekend, so of course I had to make a sweet treat. She's a chocolate-PB fan so I needed to make something along those lines. I went with this recipe from Rachael Ray: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dessert-recipes/chocolate-peanut-butter-fudge-crunch
It's in no way healthy, but it was a big hit! I've rewritten it slightly below, because I made it with chocolate chips, so I measured them in cups, not ounces (I don't have a food scale).

Ingredients

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 sticks (8 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon butter

1 16 ounce jar  creamy peanut butter*

3 cups crispy rice cereal

3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Use the microwave to melt half of the chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the microwave; stir in 1 cup peanut butter, then 2 cups rice cereal. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan; refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.
2. In the microwave, melt the remaining 2 sticks butter. Remove from the microwave and stir in the remaining peanut butter and the confectioners' sugar. Pour half of the peanut butter mixture over the cereal layer. Top with the remaining 1 cup cereal.
3. In a small bowl, microwave the remaining chocolate at medium power until melted, 1 1/2 minutes. Stir into the remaining peanut butter mixture. Spread evenly on the cereal-topped peanut butter layer; refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes. Cut into small pieces.

*The jar I bought was actually 16.3 oz. I used it all, minus a spoonful I ate straight from the jar.

Cookish: What's for dinner?

My boyfriend had the audacity to go to Japan without me a couple years ago
(It was before he met me, but whatever). He still has longing for Japan, so he requested Katsudon for dinner, which I made with chicken rather than pork because I like chicken better. I adapted the recipe from http://japanesefood.about.com/od/pork/r/katsudon.htm and http://norecipes.com/blog/katsudon-recipe/

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken cutlets
flour
egg
panko
salt
pepper
oil

If not using cutlets, cut your breasts in half horizontally and pound slightly. Dust with seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg, and coat  with panko. Heat your oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook each cutlet until golden brown on all sides. Allow to cool slightly and cut into strips

4 cups cooked Japanese sticky rice, white rice, or jasmine rice
1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 TBS mirin
1 TBS sugar
several dashes fish sauce or worcestershire
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 eggs

Put stock in a pan on medium heat. Add soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. To cook 1 serving of katsudon, put one quarter of the liquid in a small skillet. Add one quarter of onion slices and simmer for a few minutes on medium heat. Add 1 serving of chicken pieces in the pan and simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Beat an egg in a bowl. Bring the soup to a boil on medium heat, then pour the egg over chicken and onion. Turn the heat down to low and put on a lid. Turn off the heat and allow to sit on the burner for 1-2 minutes until the egg is set. Serve 1 serving of steamed rice in a large rice bowl, then pour everything on top of the rice. Repeat the process.

This was quite yummy and filling, if salty, which is why I suggest reduced-sodium products where possible Next time I am going to consider adding thinly sliced mushrooms, carrots, and/or peas to the onion. I did add some pre-cooked broccoli and it was pretty good

Cookish: What's for dessert?

I generally make my own desserts on my birthday, because it gives  me an excuse to try something new. This year, I made two treats.

The first was a chocolate and coconut pie by Martha Stewart: http://www.styleathome.com/food-and-entertaining/recipes/recipe-martha-stewart-s-crisp-coconut-and-chocolate-pie/a/34855

It was good, but I had a couple issues. 1. The coconut in the food processor never formed a ball for me. 2. I used (not great quality) chocolate chips for the chocolate, because that was what I had, and I think that was a mistake.

The second were these salted Pretzel-marshmallow bars, which just sounded so crazy I had to try them: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/salted-pretzel-marshmallow-bars-recipe/index.html

They were amazing. Highly recommended if you like salty and sweet and blondies. Yum!