Kate's blog (Reading & Eating)

15 October 2018

Book 82: Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J Maas

I actually started reading another, completely different book, which is very good, but which requires a little bit of thought. So in the evening, when I was too worn out from school to really think about anything, I just wanted to pick up something which would virtually read itself. I had this standing by, and tore through it very quickly - in just a couple of evenings. Now looking forward to the third.

Dinner, 15/10/18: Roast Cod with Lentils (Hairy Dieters)

With the girls gone, we're eating more fish, as the three of us love it. This one has a side dish of lentils with tomato and chorizo. Very tasty.

14 October 2018

Dinner, 14/10/18: Roast pork ,roast potatoes, spring greens

A small pork roasting joint was on sale during my weekly shop, so it was a roast dinner again. This time, there's not enough left for more than a sandwich, so no second meal is planned.

13 October 2018

Dinner, 13/10/18: Massaman Curry (Bosh!)

This one is from a new cookbook called Bosh! (https://www.bosh.tv/book/bosh-the-cookbook). It was a nice curry, but honestly, I'm not sure it's worth the effort of making the curry paste from scratch. I liked the combination of veg, though.

Book 81: The Song of Seven, Tonke Dragt

Tonke Dragt is a Dutch author famous for her book The Letter for the King, which I haven't read, but understand is excellent (Alex thoroughly enjoyed it). This was a fun adventure story, very compelling, definitely one for my classroom - just about the right age (10-11) for my middle readers. Think I really must read The Letter for the King now, though.

12 October 2018

Dinner, 12/10/18: Sausage, Celery and Tomato Tray Bake

This was really nice - the cooked celery was lovely with the tomatoes and sausages. And easy.

10 October 2018

Dinner, 10/10/18: Cheese and Lemon pasta with tapenade

...and salad and crusty bread...

09 October 2018

Dinner, 9/10/18: Bombay Potato Frittata

We've had this before a couple of times; it's one of our favourite frittatas - great flavour. With no girls in the house to complain about eggy meals, there will be more frittatas and omelettes on the menu for sure. Such a quick and relatively healthy way to rustle up a weeknight supper.

08 October 2018

Dinner, 8/10/18: Miso noodle soup with edamame

Sadly, although this looks very promising, it lacked flavour. I don't know if this was just because it didn't have enough miso in it (I put in more than in the recipe, but still) or what, but it was a bit of a shame.

07 October 2018

Book 80: Hero at the Fall, Alwyn Hamilton

The third (and final) in the Rebel of the Sands series - a young adult fantasy series featuring half-Djinn people, as well as regular people. Based in a desert (mostly) country, with Sultans and Rebel Princes and inventors and whatnot, as well as the aforementioned magical beings. I've really enjoyed this series and found this a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, even if a heck of a lot of characters die. Sigh.

Dinner, 7/10/18: Beef Bourginon

A good way of using up a bottle of undrinkable red wine (Geoff bought it for a dish last week, as he couldn't find the three bottles of red wine we already had in the house; it was from the local shop; it wasn't very nice, though it's fine for cooking.) In the slow cooker all day, making the house smell nice, as well as dinner tasting good.

06 October 2018

Dinner, 6/10/18: Tomato, Chicken & Olive traybake with basil oil, Thomasina Miers

Very tasty - the tomatoes are roasted a bit before adding the chicken, along with some stale bread. Very nice effect, and the basil oil was a lovely addition.

Books in

Finished the Sarah J Maas this morning, and promptly went out and found the next one - plus the first in another series. And the second in Ali Smith's seasonal series, having read Autumn earlier this year.

Book 79: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J Maas

The first in a young adult fantasy series - this is in many ways a take on the Beauty and the Beast story, but it's not any less for it; Maas has created an intriguing world of rather unpleasant (in some ways) fae and a complicated political and ethical scenario. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next.

05 October 2018

Dinner, 5/10/18: Spinach and Ricotta Pizza Bianco

Lovely! I chose this because I had a tub of ricotta in the fridge by mistake (Ocado put it into my shopping trolley because I bought some recently, and I missed taking it out) - but it was serendipity, because we loved this.

03 October 2018

Dinner, 3/10/18: Meatball & Mozzarella Bake

This was incredibly yummy and really easy - especially as I used a pack of pre-made meatballs (I buy them when they are on half price sale and keep them in the freezer). We loved the crusty bread on top. Basically just two tins of cherry tomatoes, the meatballs, some basil, a couple of balls of mozzarella and a loaf of foccacia bread. Awesome. You'll see this again.

02 October 2018

Book 78: The Shape of Water, Andrea Camilleri

The first in the Inspector Montalbano series, set in Sicily. Pretty light hearted for a crime novel, especially one set in the home of certain types of crime. But very readable. We have quite a few in the series in the house, The Book People having offered a set of 10 or 12 for very little money. So I imagine I'll be working my way through these, among other things...

Dinner, 2/10/18: Mushroom & Pancetta Risotto

Roast chicken on the weekend, means chicken stock; chicken stock means soup or risotto, usually. This time, risotto. Alex likes mushrooms ok, but they aren't his favourite, so we do the mushrooms separately and people can top their own risotto as they like. This time around, I had a small pack of pancetta in the fridge, so that went in with the rice as well. Yum!