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I had to recreate the mushed box of donuts from Beach Read! I created six different types of donuts — glazed, apple fritter, strawberry sprinkle, chocolate sprinkle, cherry filled, and maple bars! It was a busy day in my kitchen!
[Gus] tipped his head, gesturing for me to accept the foam cup and box of donuts the man was holding. To fit twelve into this box, they’d been compacted into one box-shaped mash of fried dough. I grabbed them and plopped into a booth.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Gus sat across from me, leaned across the table, and pried the box open. He stared down at the donut guts between us. “God, those look disgusting.”
“Finally,” I said. “Something we agree on.”Beach Read by Emily Henry is a romcom, featuring enemies to lovers.
January Andrews is in a writing slump so she runs away to the Michigan lake house her father left her after his death in order to escape and focus on writing on her book. The new space is no help, though, as it forces January to confront the many secrets her father kept during his life.
One day, January’s next door neighbor and former college rival, Gus Everett challenges her. By the end of the summer, Gus must write a rom-com with a happy ending and January must write a serious, literary book. They’ll spend their weekdays writing and their weekends giving each other tips on their genres. But nobody is allowed to fall in love.
Beach Read is a cute, fun…beach read. The witty banter between Gus and January had me laughing out loud. January’s relationship with her father was complex and while I appreciated her journey, I felt there were aspects of her father’s secrets that didn’t really get resolved by the end of the book. While this book didn’t live up to all the hype for me, it was still an enjoyable and fun read.
I had to make the donuts that January and Gus eat while striking their bet! Making six different types of donuts was no small feat.
I used this donut recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe as my base recipe. It’s an excellent recipe and the apple fritters are phenomenal. I used Mel’s glaze recipe as well and, when necessary, add a bit more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze.
Glazed Donuts – followed Mel’s recipe for the donuts and glaze
Apple Fritters – followed Mel’s recipe for the donuts and glaze.
Maple Bar – cut out Mel’s donuts into rectangles. Added cinnamon and maple syrup to a thickened glaze. Honestly, I couldn’t get the flavor quite right. It didn’t taste maple-y enough.
Chocolate Sprinkle – made my favorite chocolate ganache and allowed it to sit at room temperature until it was thick enough not to run off the donut. Added rainbow sprinkles.
Strawberry Sprinkle – added pureed freeze dried strawberries powder to the glaze. Dipped and added rainbow sprinkles.
Cherry Donuts – Cut out a whole circle of donut dough. I followed Sally’s Baking Addiction cherry pie filling with some changes. I used whole frozen dark cherries, combined all of the ingredients, and then heated it on the stovetop. I allowed it to simmer about 5 minutes and then pureed it with my immersion blender. I filled the donuts with the cherry jelly and then sprinkled the tops with powdered sugar. I love this sifter set for cooking and baking.
Check out my Instagram reel for Beach Read!
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“How about this,” Glenn said next, both of us aware that he had all the power. “You this without complaining, and I’ll send you wherever you want for your next assignment. You can take your pick. The Korea thing’s back on. You want it? It’s yours.”
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
I’d been waiting for another Korea assignment ever since the last one got canceled. “I do want Korea,” I said.
“Done,” Glenn said. “Six weeks in Seoul. Endless bowls of black bean noodles.”The Bodyguard by Katherine Center is a light-hearted romcom with secret dating and a movie star meets normal person relationship.
Executive Protection Agent (aka, bodyguard) Hannah has just buried her mother and then been spectacularly dumped by her boyfriend. All she wants is a new assignment very far away from Texas. Instead, she’s assigned to protect Hollywood heartthrob Jack Stapleon right in Houston, Texas. Oh, and Jack doesn’t want to alarm his sick mother so Hannah needs to pretend to be his girlfriend.
I think you can guess where this story is heading.
The Bodyguard was delightful. It was hilarious and predictable in the best way of a rom-com. While there were moments when Hannah’s character felt a little inconsistent, overall, I liked the pieces of Hannah that got revealed bit by bit and felt that by the end of the book her character came together for me. While the book takes place close to Thanksgiving, the setting is warm, warm Texas so it’s also a perfect, light-hearted summer read.
What’s your favorite dish you’ve eaten while traveling?
Mine is probably a bratwurst wrapped in sliced bread with mustard that I ate on the bank of a river in Lucerne, Switzerland while listening to a violin player.
I won’t bother sharing the Jjajangmyeon recipe I used since I didn’t like it! I lived in Korea for a year many moons ago and it was one of my favorite dishes. I’ve never been able to replicate it properly.
Check out my Instagram reel for The Bodyguard!
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“I got him!” Elliot called, his footsteps crunching. The floor was covered in grains of sugar. And then Kane saw what Elliot meant. By the looks of it, Ursula was very stressed. Baked goods covered the entire kitchen. Cupcakes, cakes, pastries, cookies; they littered every surface of her kitchen in a sugary clutter, as though they’d washed up in the low tide of some mania.
Reverie by Ryan La Sala
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“I made apricot scones today,” [Ursula] said. “I don’t even like apricot. Does anyone want to try one? Oh, wait, actually try this batch instead.”Reverie by Ryan La Sala is a YA paranormal, fantasy novel.
Kane Montgomery wakes up in the hospital with no clue how he got there. He’s told he crashed his car into the old mill and the building…exploded. Kane is lucky to be alive. Now Kane must piece together his life and memories which includes shadowed, scuttling creatures, out-of-control dreamscapes that can kill you, and newfound (re-found?) powers.
If you’ve been here a minute, you know I loooved The Honeys, also by Ryan La Sala. Reverie is a fantasy YA novel that has some similar imagery and themes to The Honeys but also stands on its own. I love how La Sala brings together misfits with the popular kids, subverting stereotypes and expectations for these characters. The mystery of Kane’s missing memory and the events that led to his lost memory gets revealed tiny slivers at a time. Each revelation brought new questions, which kept me on the edge of my seat, and constantly wanting to read more. And as you pass through this surreal story, you can never know who to trust. I was even suspicious of the narrator, Kane, since he was missing half his memories.
I had to recreate Urula’s stress-baking scene since…relatable. Thankfully, putting everything together for this post coincided with practicing making a wedding cake for my sister-in-law! With the number of guests, we wanted to make sure there was plenty of cake, so I made a sheet cake white cake and added chopped strawberries.
And I also made a two-tier chocolate cake with layers of ganache, peanut butter buttercream, and graham chocolate crumbles. This cake weighed a ton and spoiler–we had way too much cake for the wedding! For the cake design, I used palette knives, which is such a fun cake decorating method!
Using some of the extra white cake batter, I made a mini funfetti bundt cake with my mini bundt pans, I baked up my favorite chocolate chip cookies, and added some chopped apricots to my base scone recipe for Urusla’s apricot scones.
Final wedding cake! layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, peanut butter buttercream, graham chocolate crumbles, decorated with Italian Meringue buttercream. If you enjoy fantasy, paranormal reads I highly recommend Reverie. And it would be great to read around Halloween since that’s when the book takes place.
Check out my Instagram reel for Reverie!
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The Celebrants by Steven Rowley is about a group of college friends who, after one of their own passes away weeks before graduation, make a pact. Each member of the group is allowed to cash in one living funeral to be reminded that they each matter and are making an impact. Through divorces, family deaths, and…prison sentences, the friends gather to support one another.
Jordy flipped pancakes on her mother’s teppanyaki griddle, an offense in and of itself but one she was willing to let slide so long as they cleaned it, while Craig emptied used coffee grounds into the trash in preparation to make a fresh pot. Jordan set the table with mismatched flatware, folding paper napkins from an out-of-season holiday just so. When Naomi had had enough and desperately wanted to change the channel on the scene she said, “What the hell?”
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Jordan grabbed Marielle and spun her just as she said, “I told them no bacon,” absolving herself as if the bacon were the true offense in this extravaganza and not literally everything else.There’s a beautiful scene where the friends, the morning after a funeral, are gathered and all making breakfast together. The scene reminded me of when I was studying the Iliad in college. The professor really focused on a scene in the epic where after a death and in the midst of mourning, everyone stops and eats. The professor emphasized how the living must continue on and deal with the mundanity of living, such as eating.
I couldn’t help but think of that college class as I read about the friends, all together, making breakfast. They were doing something basic–feeding themselves–but doing it together and caring for each other.
I made buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon all cooked on my beloved raclette.
I read The Guncle last year and loved it. To say I was excited for The Celebrants would be an understatement and yet this book vastly exceeded my expectations. It’s heartfelt and thoughtful without being saccharine. This story is beautiful, hilarious, heartbreaking, and absolutely stunning. The cast of five friends are loyal, ridiculous, flawed, and they all love so big. I’ve never laughed so hard or cried so much in a single book. And at times, I was both laughing and crying. Rowley is an expert at layering scenes with humor, sorrow, swoon-worthy romance all present in a single moment. I cannot recommend this book enough. And if you’ve read it, come chat with me, because I could gush about it for hours on end.
Check out my Instagram reel for The Celebrants!
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I finally took the plunge and read an ever-popular Emily Henry novel! It was fun and sweet and cute.
“–look, I’d gotten dumped like forty-six seconds earlier, and I still sat down for a martini and a [goat cheese] salad with a perfect stranger, so I get it.”
Book Lovers by Emily HenryBook Lovers by Emily Henry is a romcom about a successful New York City literary agent who is independent and fiercly protective of her family.
Nora Stephens has a successful career as a literary agent. She’s got the nice apartment, the nice shoes, the 45-minute skincare routine. She’s also got a string of men who dump her for their very own small-town low-maintenance, sweet country girl.
Which is why Nora is convinced when her sister Libby whisks her off for their own small-town adventure that small-town life will not agree with Nora. Until she runs into Charlie Lastra, fellow New Yorker and successful book editor. Perhaps small-town trips can be fun.
Book review: Book Lovers is an easy, summer read. It’s lighthearted and funny==I laughed out loud several times. Nora and Charlie are the best match and I loved how Nora was unapologetically herself and maintained who she was despite others telling her she needed to change. While it was a fun read, it didn’t grab me. At about the 70% point I wished the book was 50+ pages shorter. I recommend it if you’re looking for a light-hearted summer romcom.
I knew I had to make a goats salad since Nora was constantly ordering one or thinking about one. I made this amazingly delicious salad from Half Baked Harvest. I diced up my cantaloupe and crisped the prosciutto.
I had to include some of my favorite skincare items in honor of Nora’s 45-minute routine. This gua sha is under $8 and is so relaxing. Plus, it really helps with any puffiness I have after a bad night’s sleep! I live in a desert, so I would never survive without my hyaluronic acid. And this aha peel is so refreshing every week!
Watch my Book Lovers Instagram reel!
Are you religious about your skincare routine like Nora?
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ice cream
Glow by Ruth Forman, illustrated by Geneva Bowers
drips stoop
bubbles wait
bath soonGlow written by Ruth Forman and illustrated by Geneva Bowers, is the perfect summer kids book. It’s beautiful, lyrical, nostalgic. Both of my kids love it and so do I.
We loved creating these vegan coconut vanilla ice cream cones just like the cones the boys ate in the book.
What’s your favorite summer children’s book?
Watch my Glow Instagram reel!
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The Honeys by Ryan La Sala was the most surreal, bizarre book I’ve ever read and I knew I needed to recreate what was one of the weirdest scenes in the book.
They bring cutting boards of shining meats rolled into roses, baskets of bread dotted with baked seeds, and plates of sweating cheese drizzled in oil. There are peaches, split open and cored, their middles wet with sugar, served with bowls of whipped cream, yogurt, and crushed almonds. Several of the boys carry crystal pitchers of water that they decant into translucent goblets. As one leans over me to fill my cup, I whisper, “Help me.”
The Honeys by Ryan La SalaAfter his twin sister dies in a violent accident, Mars is determined to return to his sister’s prestigious summer camp to find out the mystery of her death. Navigating the toxic, macho boys’ cabins as a gender-fluid individual, Mars digs for answers.
The Honeys was the weirdest book I’ve ever read and I loved every bit of its weirdness. It’s summer, it’s teeangers, it’s challenging gender norms, it’s weeeird and surreal, The Honeys is everything.
I had to recreate this very strange scene in the woods with the boards of seeded bread, meat roses, cheeses, and the sugared peaches. I split some peaches very carefully, sprinkled them with sugar, and then bruleed them with my kitchen torch. They were delicious.
For the scene, I had to wear my bright blue “OMG” Olive and June nail polish like Mars wears in the book. I added my honeycomb candle that I got at a local art market, but here’s something similar. I couldn’t forget Mars’s favorite pink lip gloss!
I staged some of the food on these adorable wooden plates. They’re study, beautiful, and I’ve been using them a ton since I bought them!
Here’s my Instagram reel for The Honeys!
What’s the craziest book you’ve ever read?
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When he saw Sadie, Dong Hyun came from behind the counter to hug her. “Sadie Green! Famous person!” he greeted her. “Same order? Half-mushroom, half pepperoni?”
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
“I don’t eat meat anymore,” Sadie said. “So just mushrooms. And onions if you have them.”
Using one of the many keys on the key ring attached to his belt, Dong Hyun unlocked the Donkey Kong machine. “You kids play as much as you want.”
“Shall we?” Sam asked.Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is the story of Sadie and Sam, childhood friends who after a rift meet again in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sam wants Sadie to build a videogame with him and after months of sleepless nights, the friends create a success before either of them have even graduated college.
Sadie and Sam’s tumultuous relationship makes this book. Their constant falling outs are beyond frustrating and, at the same time, justified. It was heartbreaking to see their miscommunications (or complete lack of communication) and the hurt that would build up between the two of them. And yet, the two constantly find a way back to each other.
I absolutely loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It’s brilliant, it’s clever, it’s beautiful. I’m no gamer, but I loved Sadie and Sam’s creative process as they built new games and the world surrounding each game. I adored Marx who was the best of the best, giving his love and friendship so easily. I cannot recommend this book enough.
For Sadie, I had to make her childhood favorite, mushroom pizza. I used my go-to whole wheat pizza dough that we use every weekend. I smeared on tomato sauce, sprinkled on mozzarella cheese, and added sliced mushrooms and olives. I only added pepperoni to half the pizza since Sadie becomes a vegetarian later in life. Honestly, it’s my favorite pizza combination.
Have you read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow yet? Which was your favorite game Sadie and Sam created?
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Do you have any weekend traditions?
We celebrate Peterson Pajama Pizza Picnics every Friday and Saturday night. We make a homemade pizza, get comfy in our pajamas, and watch a movie or show. With a two and six-year-old, the show is typically Bluey, but occasionally we branch out.
This pizza dough is adapted from Janssen’s from Everyday Reading. There’s only a few tweaks I’ve made to double the recipe and use it for three doughs. If I make the dough on Friday evening, I can then divide it into three, place each dough into a ziploc bag, and freeze whatever won’t be used in the next day or two.
The frozen dough will keep for a month or so. Not that they’re ever in our fridge that long since this is a weekly tradition.
Because the dough is so large, I always mix it by hand.
I take a large mixing bowl and add my warm water. It should be between 100 and 110 degrees Farenheit. I add my yeast and honey and then let the yeast get all foamy.
All the other ingredients get dumped into the bowl. The honey adds a nice sweetness and balance to this dough. I mix it with one of my favorite gir spatulas. Either a regular sized one or this jumbo one. Because the dough is so sticky, I use the spatula to kneed it. If I’ve got the time, I’ll kneed it for about 10 minutes. If I’m in a rush, I’ll kneed it for 2 minutes. It always come out just fine.
And then I let it rise. While it’s best to let it rise for 60-90 minutes, to be honest, I’ve had many a Friday when I realized last minute I forgot to make the dough. And it’s been ready to go within about 45 minutes!
I cook my pizza on a pizza stone at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 minutes and then turn and bake the pizza for another 6-7 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the cheese melty and bubbly.
While we typically keep our pizza pretty basic with turkey pepperoni, we also like olives and artichoke hearts; black olives, mushrooms, and pepperoni; Hawaiian. I’ll also occasionally make a fancy pizza crust by mixing a bit of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of garlic powder, a pinch or oregano, and a pinch of basil in a ramekin. I’ll then brush the mixture on the outer crust of the pizza before baking.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of warm water (100-110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 Tablespoon of instant yeast
4 Tablespoons / 1/4 of a cup / 52 grams of granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon of salt
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of honey
400 grams of whole wheat flour
410 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour
Directions:
- Add the warm water to a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar. Stir to combine. Let rest for 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
- Add the salt, olive oil, honey. Measure in this order and you won’t need to dirty more than one Tablespoon, plus the olive oil will help the honey to not stick to the tablespoon. Stir to combine.
- Add the flour. Using a spatula, stir the dough until well combined. Use the spatula to kneed the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be very sticky.
- Oil the bowl with olive oil. I push the dough to one side, add oil, push the dough to the other side, and add oil. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth or plate and allow to rise for about 60-90 minutes. If I make the dough in the morning, I’ll then stick the entire bowl in the fridge and separate it in the evening when it’s time to make the pizza.
- I separate the dough for three pizzas. It comes out to about 500 grams per pizza dough. I store any dough that I won’t be using within 24 hours in the freezer. The dough will keep in the fridge for about 24 hours.
- To use the frozen dough, remove from the freezer 2-4 hours before using and allow to come to room temperature.
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The meal was very good that night, roasted fish dressed with lemon and herbs, fresh cheese and bread, and he ate well. The boys were unconcerned by my presence. They had long ago ceased to see me.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerThe Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a retelling of the Greek classic The Iliad. It’s a romance with beautiful, lyrical prose.
I know The Song of Achilles was published over 10 years ago and I’m very late to this party, but I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it.
I loved how closely Miller followed The Iliad while filling in gaps and the occasional twist that made the story more compelling as a modern reader. I also loved Achilles’s character. As a boy, he’s portrayed so arrogant and naive, yet also so vulnerable and I couldn’t hate him for his arrogance. Miller brings the reader on a journey, transforming that arrogance to Achilles’s hubris.
The Song of Achilles is officially on my list of favorites.
I had to make fresh pita for the fresh cheese and bread that Achilles and Patroclus eat with Chiron. And I made the roasted fish dressed with lemon and herbs. For the pita, I made my favorite pita recipe that I make every year for our Christmas Eve dinner. For the fish, I substituted tilapia for the chicken in this chicken piccata recipe.
I served the fish and cheese on these beautiful wooden plates that I just love.
Check out my Instagram reel for The Song of Achilles!
Do you enjoy reading retellings? What’s your favorite retelling?
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