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Welcome to my Kitchen and my Bookshelf where I pair a delicious recipe with a wonderful book! Today, we will enjoy a gluten free cookie made with almond flour and a fragrant touch of rose water straight from Morocco (courtesy of my Brother-In-Law - Thanks!!). This recipe is super easy; the dough comes together in just one bowl. The cookies can be shaped into 20-30 gram balls that are then rolled into a fluffy coating of powdered sugar. They hold their shape after a quick bake and in 30 minutes or less, you will be enjoying this sweet morsel with your tea or coffee (or warm oat milk, if you desire). Take some time to read, alone or with another, the wordless picture book I have paired for you. Picture books are not just for children. Picture books truly are for anyone who wants to engage with a story through the amazing art of illustration. The book Mirror by Jeannie Baker takes us on a journey that compares a day in the life of two families from very different parts of the world: Australia and Morocco. From Bookshop.org: "An innovative, two-in-one picture book follows a parallel day in the life of two families: one in a Western city and one in a North African village.Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set out to a bustling market. In this ingenious, wordless picture book, readers are invited to compare, page by page, the activities and surroundings of children in two different cultures. Their lives may at first seem quite unalike, but a closer look reveals that there are many things, some unexpected, that connect them as well. Designed to be read side by side -- one from the left and the other from the right -- these intriguing stories are told entirely through richly detailed collage illustrations." Ingredients:
 Welcome to my Kitchen and my Bookshelf! I am so excited to start this new journey of pairing wonderful reads with delicious recipes. In this space, I will be sharing with you some fun (and sometimes fancy) recipes and books that I think go hand in hand. I will sprinkle in some adult reading material at times, but my expertise lies in the field of picture books.
DID YOU KNOW that there are many diverse picture books out there with recipes INCLUDED? Well, stick with me! I will also share those books with you! (and try out the recipe so you can see how it turns out ;-)) I am have set up my Bookshop.org page so that when I recommend a book, you will have the option to click on the link and purchase a copy for yourself. Yes, I will hopefully receive a tiny commission from this affiliation. A girl has to start somewhere in earning an income after retirement!! Please sign up for the newsletter (form in the sidebar/or at the very bottom of this newsletter) so that you can receive the newsletter BlossomBagelBookBites straight to your email. My intentions are to send the newsletter on Wednesday so you can plan to try the recipe over the weekend. As a school librarian, I will be very careful to only provide access to recipes that are publicly available or I have created myself. So...if I make a recipe from a cookbook or children's book, I will not be able to give you the exact information....but hey! You can buy the book from Bookshop.org! I also would like to be completely upfront with this. I am just starting out, I can't even seem to get the comments working, and I may make some mistakes along the way. I may even switch platforms to Substack at some point. I NEED YOUR HELP! You can help by adding your email to subscribe to the newsletter AND when I send out a feedback survey, I really do want to hear from you! (AND, if you live in MD...shameless plug,...you could order some bagels) More about me? I'm glad you asked! I am a collector of recipes, cookbooks, picture books, fiction/nonfiction, spices, and art supplies. I have just retired from teaching as an elementary school librarian. I have two wonderful daughters, and a wonderful husband who has given me unconditional support for this venture. Prior to teaching, I worked in the hospitality industry...hotels, hotel management, meeting planning, and running a B&B. I have a degree in art and a graduate degree in Library Science. My heart has always been in cooking, creating art, and reading. Ta Da! Stick with me, kiddos! We are going to have fun sampling food and books together! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!     Welcome to Book Bites! Please enjoy these pairings of books and recipes for you to read and recreate. From my home kitchen to yours! Let’s start with a delicious Custard Toast topped with Strawberries macerated in Sugar and Black Pepper and Toasted Coconut. The rich yogurt custard bakes on a slice of buttered toast until it is golden and crusty. Strawberries macerated in sugar and black pepper provide a sweet and slightly spicy freshness that complements the coconut custard and toasted coconut crown. Treat yourself to this custard toast while reading one or both of these lovely books. Berry Song by Michaela Goade is a Caldecott Honor Book celebrating the seasons, the land, and the wisdom of our elders. "On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth. Salmon from the stream, herring eggs from the ocean, and in the forest, a world of berries. Salmonberry, Cloudberry, Blueberry, Nagoonberry. Huckleberry, Snowberry, Strawberry, Crowberry. Through the seasons, they sing to the land as the land sings to them. Brimming with joy and gratitude, in every step of their journey, they forge a deeper kinship with both the earth and the generations that came before, joining in the song that connects us all. Michaela Goade's luminous rendering of water and forest, berries and jams glows with her love of the land and offers an invitation to readers to deepen their own relationship with the earth." Bookshop.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris is a combination of comfort, magic, and intrigue set in a quaint French town. "Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend. But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray. The arrival of Narcisse's relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist's across the square - one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own - all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence - even, perhaps, a murder..." Bookshop.org Custard Toast Ingredients: Strawberries: 8 oz fresh cut strawberries, 3 TB sugar, 5 grinds black pepper Custard: 5 oz yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 TB honey, 1 egg, lemon zest from one lemon Toast: 2 slices sourdough, 2 TB softened butter, salted or unsalted Topping: toasted coconut Categories All |
