The Infamous Ratsos is an adorable, hilarious series about brothers Louie and Ralph and their dad Big Lou. I’ve been straight up evangelizing this series to everyone I know. It’s become my absolute favorite. If you want an early reader series with funny pictures or a great read-aloud chapter book, this series is perfection. Added bonus, you’ll see a grown man cry with his sons, reminders that boys can be gentle and kind, lessons on respecting women, and so many other lessons. I cannot recommend this series enough. 

The Infamous Ratsos are a great early reader chapter book or for introducing chapter books as a read-aloud. There’s lots of funny illustrations and large text.

For The Ratsos brothers, I made the meatball subs, or meatball grinders, that Louis eats cold after his long day. I figured they could use some extra veggies, so I simmered turkey meatballs in my hidden veggies tomato sauce and served the sandwiches on fresh French Bread. The French Bread recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe is phenomenal. I’ve never had a bread turn out so beautifully.

The food in Camp Zero was, overall, disgusting. And while my goal was to recreate a rather disgusting and gristly “cat stew” — mountain lion roadkill — with chicken. Admittedly, my version is delicious.

Camp Zero by Michelle Lin Sterling is a sci-fi, apocalyptic, dystopian…I’ve heard it described as a thriller, but I don’t feel the pacing is fast enough to call it a thriller.

The story follows several characters in a post-apocalyptic world trying to survive in the freezing tundra. The food is mostly processed, canned, or roadkill, unless you’re wealthy enough to live in the “floating city,” a temperature controlled haven floating on the ocean outside of Boston. 

But this is where I felt some of the world-building broke down. The world is falling apart and overheating, but the wealthiest have tropical fruits flown in from countries along the equator. Wouldn’t those places be too hot to grow those fruits now? With all their technology, wouldn’t they just grow those things in a green house in the floating city?

I am conflicted about this book.  The story is surreal and a bit bonkers. My main complaint was the pacing which felt off most of the book. The story would lag for stretches until a crazy turn would be dropped into the plot and the book would speed up. Only to lag again. I did appreciate how all the stories weaved together at the end of the book into so many insane twists that I never saw coming. Also, I just keep coming back to this book even though it drove me crazy. I can’t stop thinking about the themes or the twists or the moral dilemmas! If you’re looking for a post-apocalyptic sci-fi that will blow your mind and force you to think twice, this is it. It may also bore and frustrate you.

It was fun creating fake gold teeth for the reel I created for Camp Zero!

For the cozy chicken stew, I grabbed a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. It added a lovely smokey flavor to the stew. And I served over some creamy mashed potatoes. This is the perfect comfort meal for a cold day!

What’s a hyped-up book that you didn’t enjoy?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller.

In the future, genetic testing has gone wrong, wiping out a huge portion of the population. Logan Ramsey works for the Gene Protection Agency, a government agency that enforces the new laws against genetic research. While on a job, Logan gets infected with a strange virus that after a few days seems innocuous. But then Logan starts to notice changes. He’s smarter, faster, and stronger. 

Now Logan needs to understand why his DNA has been changed, or Upgraded. He’s learning it’s all part of a larger plan that could save or destroy humanity and Logan has to decide whether to support it…or stop it.   

Upgrade was a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that I flew through in just a couple of days. I liked that Logan’s world, while it was under duress, never felt like an apocalyptic future. It felt closer to our current reality and everyone was dealing with a new problem. Without giving away too much, I also loved Logan’s conclusions at the end of the book and find myself thinking about it again and again. The book’s climax was a bit disappointing, though, and the final bit lost some of the book’s momentum. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and recommend it if you enjoy sci-fi thrillers that take place in a world similar to our own.

I had to recreate the butterflied chicken meal since it was so appropriate for the story that the same knife used to butterfly the chicken gets turned on Logan.

I prepared the asparagus in my favorite Staub casserole dish. I also made frozen balls of ice with this tray for the weird ice spheres they find at the beginning of the book.

You can find my reel for Upgrade here!

Maame is a contemporary fiction, coming of age story.

Maddie’s life isn’t going well. She’s just been fired from the job she hates, she’s the full-time caregiver for her sick father with little support, and she’s depressed. Then Maddie’s mother returns to London from Ghana to take care of Maddie’s father and Maddie gets her first chance to move out. She’s going to find a new job. She’s going to date. She’ll wear new clothes. She’s going to go to brunch! 

I loved Maddie’s quirkiness and laughed out-loud several times while reading this book. While it seems as though challenge after challenge is thrown at Maddie, it’s also a season of growth, of discovering her true friends and found family, and deciding who she wants to be. I absolutely recommend Maame.

I had to recreate the lunch Maddie has with one of her friends. Maddie is in a particularly rough patch, and her friend, knowing Maddie needs to eat, takes her out for lunch. They have half a roast chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken), green rice, sweet potato fries (I baked frozen fries), and caramelized onion and mushroom empanadas.

The empanada dough is straightforward. For the caramelized onions, I sliced several varieties of onions and then followed the beginning of my favorite french onion soup recipe. I then sautéed some sliced mushrooms and filled the empanadas. I baked following these directions.

The meal was overall delicious but the caramelized onion and mushroom weren’t my favorite empanada filling.

Do you have a favorite type of empanada? I want to make some more varieties!

In Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabinelli, Eve is mourning the loss of her husband. One day, a new friend who is more of a casual acquaintance buys Eve beef and black bean arepas. The food is both nourishing and comforting, exactly what Eve needs.

On New Year’s Eve, her husband commits suicide and Eve is the one to find him. What unfolds is a tableau of grief and memories as Eve and her family grapple with Quentin’s death. While beautifully written, Someday, Maybe is also incredibly heavy. Quentin’s suicide can be traumatic to read about and it’s heartwrenching to see his family try to make sense of his death.

Eve’s grief is understandably unrelenting. The book only spans about a year so the grief doesn’t really alleviate. But the beauty in this book for me was the very small moments such as a practical stranger buying Eve food and providing the sustenance she needed in the moment. To call it comfort seems too optimistic, but a brief relief from the overwhelming grief.

To recreate the meal Eve eats, I made fresh arepas, For the beef, I marinated overnight a roast in this mojo, pureed in the blender and then cooked it in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. The beef should shred beautifully.

I added beef, refried black beans, and queso fresco to my arepa.

If you enjoy books that rip out your heart, I fully recommend Someday, Maybe.

What’s the saddest book you’ve ever read?