Let’s have some book talk! A couple weeks ago I took this short quiz to see what book I should read next. Here’s the book I got:
I think part of the reason I got this one is, one of the questions was something like “Are you ready for spring to come, or do you want to hold onto winter a little longer?” Well, since I live in Florida and winter is our most beautiful time of year, I gave the winter answer.
I’m not sure I’m up for a book that takes place during the Christmas holidays right now, but I did put it on my November-December TBR, along with Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. I”ll have lots of books to read during the Christmas season!
I finished my Agatha Christie…
… and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew it wasn’t going to be a great literary adventure, or impart any deep truths, but as I crawled into bed, knowing I would finish it that night and find out who murdered the rich father, I reflected that some books are just pure FUN.
On that note, my husband got me a book for my birthday!
I probably wouldn’t have chosen this for myself. I like mysteries, but not necessarily thrillers (sometimes thrillers make me too anxious). But so far it’s been another fun book to read. It’s easy to get into and the storyline is compelling. It’s no Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but then, few books are. Sigh.
Eating! I finally made pancakes that didn’t suck. To be clear, all my pancake failures are my own fault. I’m always trying to use weird flours, or make them healthier by adding flaxseeds or something else unusual. But, I found this recipe for protein pancakes from Chocolate Covered Katie. I used gluten-free all purpose flour for the flour, and a vanilla protein powder.
Last time I posted a photo of my pancakes, complaining that they were all dry and lumpy, someone- and I’m sorry but I can’t remember who!- said it looked like there wasn’t enough liquid. I took this to heart, and when I made this batter it looked way too thick so I added more liquid. It definitely made a big difference.
In other news, last time I was at Trader Joe’s I got this:
If you have a jar of enchilada sauce, a pan of enchiladas is just a small step away (it’s the extra step of making the sauce that puts me over the edge). I used this recipe, because it has beans and tempeh in the filling, and my daughter is all about protein right now. But it seemed a little vegetable-light, so I added some cauliflower as well. I forgot to take a photo on the first night, and when we reheated them for leftovers they looked kind of charred and unappetizing, so I’ll leave it to your imagination. They looked like enchiladas, and tasted delicious.
What are you reading now?
Have you tried this enchilada sauce? – It was spicy and delicious!
8 Responses
What did you think of Small Things Like These? I really liked it and I have another of her books sitting on my table right now. I have a STACK of library books to get through. Luckily we have a four week lending period.
Your daughter’s time in the gym and now the interest in protein could be a game changer for meals!
My mom is a really good cook and made many things from scratch, but enchilada sauce was never one of them. I’m always surprised when I hear someone really hype up homemade enchilada sauce. I mean fine, it’s not hard but to me it tastes exactly the same as canned sauce. Maybe there is a cost savings, but it’s just not enough to be worth it to me.
I just finished The Secret Book of Flora Lea last night and it was everything.
First, I am so relieved that Birchie liked The Secret Book of Flora Lea! Second, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (actually, I’m sure I have and just forget), so I’ve just ordered that in from the library.
I’m thinking of 2025 as my Year of the Thriller. Outside of non-fiction, that’s my favourite type of book to read and I’ve come across a few great ones so far (and some other…not so great ones).
I don’t think I’ve ever made enchiladas before, but anything from Trader Joe’s is a winner!
The pancakes look so good! I’m partial to waffles because I prefer the texture and I feel like they’re harder to mess up than pancakes, but a lot of the things I make aren’t aesthetically pleasing so as long as they taste good, I’m fine with it!
I am a Karin Slaughter junkie, and that is FOR SURE my favorite enchilada sauce.
I liked Small Things but it left me wanting more as it was a very slim book, almost a novella!
I am currently reading “Catalina” – I have no idea how it ended up on my hold list. I abandoned the previous book I was reading – “Remains of the Day.” I heard about it on a podcast recently and thought I would try it even though the other book by the author Kazuo Ishiguru (sp?) didn’t work for me. Well this one didn’t either. So I’m in a bit of a reading rut right now but Catalina is interesting so far – it’s about an undocumented college student at Harvard.
I haven’t cooked a meal in so long and won’t cook one until the weekend! I am looking forward to getting back to normal eating habits but that will have to wait until I get back from my work trip to DC! I have not tried that enchilada sauce! We do not shop at TJs because there is not one close to us. I always mean to pop into one when I go by it when I’m out and about but never do!
I am currently reading a Kinsey Millhone mystery I’ve already read a couple of times because I’m in a bit of a reading rut and I just needed to read something I knew would make me happy.
I’m still over here boycotting Trader Joe’s for two reasons. One, their labelling practices are misleading. A lot of their products labelled gluten free have been found to contain gluten according to Gluten-Free Watchdog. Two, their parking lots stress me out. Why are they always so small?
I read the “Small Things” and really loved it. At this moment in time I am ready for spring/summer… But it was a really good book 🙂