Oh boy- I read an intense book this week!
Birchwood Pie recommended this, and I don’t know whether to thank her or demand an apology. Let’s just say, if you’ve ever wondered what a person is thinking when she’s about to have her throat slit by a psychopath, or wondered how the parents will react when they’re informed their daughter has been murdered, this book is for you.
In addition to supplying all the horrible (yet fascinating) details, this book is a compelling, engrossing story with characters you’ll really care about. It’s a police procedural, which I don’t usually like- but I liked this. There’s also a romance in there, which I enjoyed. See, I’m not anti-romance; I’m just anti-BAD romance.
This is a great read, but it will haunt you. When I finished it, part of me wanted to dive right into the next book in the series- but I knew I needed something a little more gentle. Sophie Hannah to the rescue!
This is the fifth book in her “Hercule Poirot” series, mysteries written in the style of Agatha Christie. I love them! It’s a fun book to read, and although there are dead bodies, it’s not giving me nightmares.
In case you’re wondering how Quantum Physics Made Easy is going… I finished it, and am re-reading it (for reasons which are probably obvious.) It’s a short book, but man… quantum physics is WEIRD.
My cooking rut continues. I went on a sweet potato kick this week, and had three different dinners which involved a baked sweet potato, beans, a vegetable, and tahini sauce. I could honestly eat that way all the time, but the rest of the family is not on board with it.
Sunday, my daughter wanted to cook again, and she picked out this recipe for lemon pasta from Nora Cooks, I’m trying to eat less bread and pasta these days (ha, does anyone else remember the episode of Portlandia where they decide to stop eating pasta?) but I wanted to encourage her, so we made it together.
The recipe calls for spinach, but at her request we left that out and had a salad instead. In case you’re following along VERY closely and wonder why all my salads look the same, my daughter only likes romaine lettuce and avocado in her salads. Sometimes I’ll add something else to mine, but usually I just make the same salad for all of us.
This dish was good! There are white beans in it, so I tried to get a lot of those, but I still ended up with a plate full of pasta. It was fun cooking together though.
What are you reading now? Have you ever read anything by Linda Castillo?
What’s your favorite EASY dinner?
Top photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash
22 Responses
That book sounds INTENSE.
I actually kind of like eating ruts because I’m a bit fan of having the same food over and over (takes less decision-making power). I tend to cycle through things. Like I’ll have wraps for lunch every day for a month and then switch to salads and then switch to smoothies…
I love having breakfast for dinner. Things I can prep ahead – soups, stews. I made this Smoky Chickpea Lentil (Vegan!) Soup this week and remembered how much I like it. It comes together in minutes and there is so much flexibility in the recipe. Highly recommend – though I don’t get the sense you eat a lot of soup? https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/smoky-chickpea-red-lentil-vegetable-soup.html
I’m still reading all sorts of non-fiction because I’M BORING LIKE THAT!
It’s not exactly soup weather in Florida, but we just ignore the weather when it comes to eating, usually. A big pot of soup would be good, because we could eat it for multiple meals. Thanks for that recipe!
The way that I found Sworn to Silence is that another blogger recommended it, and I read a preview on Libby. It starts out with a grisly scene so I was skimming it from the get-go but there was something that drew me in and made me want to read the book. It is most definitely not for the faint of heart, but it is soooo good. I’ve read two other books in the series so far and I’ll read the whole thing eventually. I think that the first book is the worst for total gore, but the other books definitely have their moments.
What kind of dressing do you put on the salad? It looks yummy. Now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind a plateful of that pasta. I’m at a total loss for meal ideas right now.
WELL, my daughter also only likes one kind of dressing on her salads (sigh.) It’s a homemade vinaigrette- olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
I’ll treat the Castillo books the same way you do- if there’s a lull in my reading life, I’ll read the next one in the series. It’s good to know i always have something good to fall back on.
The lemon pasta looks really good! I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried it, but I really like Banza pasta. It’s chickpea based so it’s high protein and doesn’t just feel like you’re eating a plate of carbs. It’s what I always use when I make pasta, which is at least once a week because it’s an easy meal for me!
I forgot about that episode of Portlandia but I loved that show! I’m gonna have to try to rewatch it soon.
Yes I do like Banza! But guess who doesn’t- my daughter and husband. SIGH. Things really get messed up when you have to cook for multiple people.
There is a restaurant here in DC that makes a sweet potato salad with a tahini miso dressing that is sooo good.
Crime/thrillers aren’t my jam. Especially if they are graphically violent because I don’t like being tense and wound up when I read. Which is why I guess I read so many romance novels… hah!
I think my favorite easy dinner is eggs, or noodles, or kimchi and tofu. Or all three together in a noodle soup.
Mmm, kimchi. That would be a good addition to a tofu scramble! And yes- this book definitely left me tense and wound up. Strangely I liked it anyway.
Okay, I have now put that Linda Castillo book on hold at the library. Sounds right up my alley.
My go-to EASY meal is black bean tacos. No-carb tortillas, black beans (which I heat up with a few pinches of oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin), cheese, hot sauce, lettuce. Easy peasy. And if I make a big pot of black beans, I can eat tacos all week long. YUM.
Suzanne, I think you will like the book!
Tacos, I forgot about those. My daughter will eat a taco (or, burrito) with rice and beans. And it could be customized to fit all our individual needs. Tacos are on the menu for next week! (or, tomorrow?)
A book that you and Birchie love… and it’s got gory bits… I must say, this sounds intriguing! 🙂
I’m still on No Highway by our friend Nevil Shute. I’m loving it!
And RESPECT for finishing that Quantum Physics Made Easy and then re-reading it. I know nothing about quantum physics but I’m wonderung – what makes it so weird?
Ha, I can’t even explain it Catrina- but I’ll do a post about the QP book soon.
Maybe I’ll read No Highway as my next Nevil Shute book- it’s definitely on my TBR!
I just finished “The Frozen River” which is historical fiction about a Midwife (I think in the 1800s). It was good but got a bit long. Now I am reading “The River We Remember” which is by William Kent Krueger. He’s a local author that writes books set in Minnesota. This is one of his non-series books and those are the ones I gravitate towards because I am not a series person. I have not read anything by Linda Castillo but I do not read thrillers/mysteries/etc generally. I am intrigued by your description, though!
My favorite easy meal is scrambled eggs! So not vegan friendly. Ha. Tacos is another easy meal for us. We make it with ground turkey (so again not vegan friendly!) and 3 of us eat taco w/ meat – Paul eats his with cheese so it’s basically a quesadilla.
My equivalent would be a tofu scramble, which might be what I’m having tonight!
I’ve heard great things about Krueger’s books. I’ll have to try one.
My favorite totally easy meal is: a) baked salmon (basically zero effort), b) either broccoli in a bag or salad in a bag from TJs and c) some kind of bread or grain product. Always seems much much fancier than it is and hits every food group and my kids actually like it. WIN.
Wait. All three of your kids like the same dinner??? That IS a win!!!
I’m reading interesting non-fiction stuff at the moment mainly, though I have some novels coming up on the TBR once I’ve read two hefty review books.
I also like to eat the same thing a lot. I do like sweet and sour quorn pieces with added pineapple, and if I time it right I use some more of the rest of the pineapple on a pizza. My go-to is chopped tomatoes, frozen spinach, olives and mushrooms with pasta, though.
I would like your meal, but without the mushrooms! My son is also a big fan of pineapple on pizza.
AHHH that book sounds like too much for me. I cannot handle too much “scary”. I would also perseverate on it on the middle of the night or something. Haha. Sounds exciting though and I do like a good page turner.
I need to maybe get a couple more good cookbooks. I feel like my boys are semi-interested in cooking (very much only sometimes) and it would be easier to just flip through a good old fashioned book versus trying to find stuff online. Part of me wants to start assigning them a night to cook once a week or every 2 weeks or so- like maybe let them find a recipe, make it, etc.. But I don’t know. They seem to have sort of limited skills. lol. Asher is actually better than Ethan, though occasionally Ethan will get in the mood to help me in the kitchen. Mostly, if it involves cooking for themselves, they’ll just an instant ramen or something. Eye roll.
My daughter definitely also has limited skills- that’s why we’re doing it together. But I’m always super nervous when she’s chopping something, because her knife skills are not great. Maybe we should take some kind of cooking class together or something. And, for your boys- I can’t believe how much they already do (school, sports, jobs.) If they start cooking dinners I’ll be VERY impressed- but I would also give them a pass if they’re just too busy.
It must be so difficult trying to cook for three different eating personalities! Ahhh. My favorite easy meal is frozen pizza hahahahahaha. I hate cooking.
I just started reading a thriller (A Flicker in the Dark) but I also just realized that I have book club next Friday and haven’t read the book yet. It’s not available through Libby (e-book or audiobook) so I requested it from my library and I’m waiting for it to arrive. I’m going to have to read it quickly once it gets in, ack!
I am currently reading a book called Strange the Dreamer and I can’t tell if I like it or not. The language is…not my jam. But I think I’m fascinated by the plot, so I keep reading it. I don’t know! I’m not even halfway through, though, so I’ll report back if I ever finish it.