Weekend Cooking: The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson

I added The Zen of Fish to my library queue because I love reading about my favorite foods. I really enjoy sushi and, after reading The Zen of Fish, I feel I'll be a more confident sushi eater.

Corson follows a group of students at The California Sushi Academy. Along with their training, he intersperses the history of sushi. I enjoyed the interactions of the students and their teachers but I really liked the history. In some ways it reminded me of Salt: A World History. I could see how the student stories might get on some people's nerves but I thought they added context and helped break up the historical facts. Salt was a much more history focused story where as The Zen of Fish talked about how people influenced the way sushi developed. Corson spent a lot of time talking about how sushi came to the United States which I liked. I also enjoyed learning the differences between American sushi and Japanese sushi. I won't be nearly as surprised if I ever go to Japan and eat sushi.
Sushi rolls like California rolls developed in the States and aren't common in Japan.

The Zen of Fish also made me hungry! It was hard to read and not want to rush out and eat sushi all the time. I can't wait for our next sushi visit! Others who shared their thoughts on The Zen of Fish: Historica Canada and The Wine Dark Sea.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

This was my first read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Desert Tales

More stories set in the Wicked Lovely world? Sign me up.

All The Bright Places

This one is supposed to be The Fault In Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park. We'll see.

Mistress of The Revolution

I wanted some historical fiction set during the French Revolution.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky.

Teaser Tuesday-The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Without this mold, sushi as we know it wouldn't exist. The mold's Japanese name is kōji."
pg 13 The Zen of Sushi by Trevor Corson

What To Eat This Week

It's was a good week. We stuck to the plan. Yay!

 Cheeseburger in Paradise with roasted brussels sprouts. Delicious. Would make again.

 Bacon Apple Smothered Pork chops with mashed sweet potatoes. The smothering made it good. Would make again.

 Slow Cooker Roast Beef with beef gravy and mashed potatoes. A real winner. The beef was so tender and delicious. Would definitely make again and again. 

 Bacon-Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder. Good, hearty soup. Everyone liked it. Would make again.

 Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp. A family favorite.

Beefy and Cheesy Low Carb Green Chile Bake. Very good. Everyone liked it. Would make again.

Here's what on the menu this week:

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Dinner Out

  Meatballs In Mushroom Sauce

 Hake With Olive Oil, Butter, and Lemon

 Creamy White Bean Stew With Smokey Bacon

 Cauliflower Crust Calzones

Crockpot Roast Beef

(Go Hawks!)

What's on your menu this week?

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

I loved These Broken Stars and I have been eagerly awaiting This Shattered World since I read the last page of These Broken Stars. At first, I was disappointed that Lilac and Tarver were not the main characters in This Shattered World but I enjoyed my time with Jubilee and Flynn. Another fantastic novel by Spooner and Kaufman.

Jubilee Chase is a lifelong solider. Where as other recruits are marking time, getting their training, and a paycheck, Jubilee knows she's in the military for the long haul. There isn't much else left for her. Flynn Cormac has a family. A family of rebels but he belongs somewhere. But when the rebels want to fight and break the tentative peace, Flynn feels that he needs to find a way to bring both sides to talk. Flynn believes that Jubilee is the person to listen.

Jubilee and Flynn are on opposite sides of a war. But they keep coming back to each other for reasons they can't understand. At first, Jubilee would rather shoot Flynn than go along with his ideas. Flynn doesn't know why Jubilee won't listen to reason. They go back and forth, round and around for a long while. But I enjoyed their getting to know one another. The mystery of why Avon isn't terraforming as quickly as it should and what's this mysterious facility was more the focus than Jubilee and Flynn's romance. And that worked in this one. If they'd run off and forgotten saving Avon, then it wouldn't have been as good. Again, chapters are told in alternating format, Jubilee and Flynn. As the reader, you get to understand them and see them understand each other. Beautifully told story.

I'm a huge fangirl for this series. I'm anxious for the next book. Others who shared their thoughts on This Shattered World: Reading After Midnight, Fiction in Fiction in Fiction, The Book Monsters, and Mrs. ReaderPants.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of The Witch

The movie Seventh Son is based on Revenge of The Witch. I think the movie looks good (kind of 80's cheesy in a good way) but Jeff Bridges' voice drives me crazy. So book instead.

The Octopus

While looking for interesting historical fiction, I came across The Octopus. Never heard of it  before but sounded interesting. 

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

This one's been on my tbr list for a while. 

What did you get this week? Share your posts below!

Teaser Tuesday-Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Mere moments earlier, Longmore had been primed for murder. Now he had all could do not to laugh."
pg 37 Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase (The Dressmakers #2)

Romancing The Duke by Tessa Dare

January is much to early in the year to have a slump. But nevertheless, I was slumping. I would read 30 pages of a book only to be bored by it. Nothing was catching my interest. My solution is fun romance by a writer I knew I liked. And I had one which also satisfies a category for  the What's In A Name Challenge (a word including "ing" in it). Bonus! And Romancing The Duke was the perfect book to break my slump.

Isolde ("Izzy") Ophelia Goodnight is penniless, hungry, and homeless. After receiving a letter from a solicitor, she journeys to a castle near the Scotland boarder. Izzy hopes that someone left her a few hundred pounds and that might help her get back on her feet. Since her father's passing, Izzy has had a hard time. Izzy's father was a well-known author of The Goodnight Tales. Due to her father's will granting her horrible cousin, the next male heir, his estate, Izzy is hoping to find her fortune in a ramshackle castle. The Duke of Rothbury has been living in his family's castle for the last eight month nursing his wounds. He's content to be alone with his valet, Duncan. Rothbury hopes to be left alone for a very long time.

Izzy is charming. She's lived her life always being thought of as the sweet little girl in the fairy tales her father was famous for. Her father's admirers have helped her get along now that her father is dead and she's penniless. Rothbury is so angry and hurt. He doesn't want anyone in his life and has successfully pushed almost everyone away but then Izzy stumbles into his life and starts to care about him. I enjoyed their romance. They almost instantly lust after one another but they get to know one another, revel their secrets. And, oh, this one's got some steamy scenes! I really liked Romancing The Duke. Another great one by Tessa Dare. I look forward to the rest of the series. Others who shared their thoughts on Romancing The Duke: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, Smexy Books, Pop Goes The Reader, and That Artsy Reader Girl.
Romancing The Duke satisfies the word including "ing" in it category for the What's In A Name Reading Challenge

This is my first read for the 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

What To Eat This Week

Before we talk about the upcoming week, let's review last week.

Japanese Beef Soup.

Pretty bland. No one's favorite. 

Spinach Frittata.

Very good. Everyone enjoyed it. I did add cheese. Served with a simple arugula salad.

Stuffed Pepper Soup.

I put out cheese in case anyone wanted it and cheese was very necessary to this dish. It does taste just like a stuffed bell pepper. Tasty, would make again.

Balsamic Steak Skewers and Sautéed Mushrooms.

Everyone enjoyed this dish. Tai though the steak was amazing. I loved the mushrooms. I would make this again.

Ok what about this coming week?

Lunches: Spaghetti Casserole and BBQ pork sandwiches

Dinners:

 Beefy & Cheesy Low Carb Green Chile Bake

Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder

Dinner Out

Cheeseburger in Paradise

 

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp

 

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

What's on your menu this week?

Weekend Cooking: Chashu

I decided to get started on my goal of learning to make Japanese dishes. One of my favorites is ramen. But one component of good ramen is the delicious pork slices that sit in my tonkotsu ramen. I found this recipe for making the chashu (the yummy pork in my ramen) and followed it pretty closely.

I used pork loin instead of belly but I think I'll try belly next time. It took about 2 hours in total to make. My loin was about twice the size of the recipe so it took longer. We had some over rice with the yummy (salty) sauce it produced.

I look forward to trying my hand at homemade ramen and sharing my results.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

2015 Historical Reading Challenge

I've been doing the Historical Reading Challenge for the last few years. I've really enjoyed it. I'm glad the challenge is still alive over at Passages to the Past. I'm joining up again this year. I'm going for the Medieval level (15 books) this year.