It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #2 + Summer 2016 Comment Challenge

This was another crazy weekend. I participated in the Save Our Cozies Readathon, met with my mystery book club, and went to my childhood best friend's bridal shower. For an introvert like me, all this enforced socializing has left me exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. Not looking forward to work tomorrow.

First things first, the Save Our Cozies Readathon was so much fun! I'm new to the blogging community, so it was nice to participate in something that made me feel like I was part of the group. It's crazy how fast an hour can pass, as I struggled to keep up with the hourly challenges. I greatly enjoyed it, and would sign up again in a heartbeat. I not only found lots of awesome blogs to visit, but I read three different books that I'd had my eye on, but never got around to reading. I also won one of the challenges, so I'm eagerly awaiting a copy of Terror in Taffeta ^^

Hosted @ The Book Date

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a chance for me to talk about what I was/am/will be reading.

What I Read Last Week:

First up, I did a LOT of reading last week. For the Save Our Cozies Readathon, I read Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna (reviewed here), Death with All the Trimmings (reviewed here), and Murder at Fountainebleau (expect a review soon).

I liked Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna, but ultimately found it disappointing. I might have had my standards too high, but I found the plot rather convoluted. I might check out more in the series, but it's not on my priority list. Death with All the Trimmings was a fun, easy read and I definitely plan on checking out more in this series. The last book I read for the Readathon was hands-down my favorite. Even though I had never read any of the other books in the Elizabethan Mystery series, I was immersed from the very first page. I literally ordered all 5 books in the series as soon as I was finished, I loved it so much. Highly recommended.

1) Pretty good, 2) Good, 3) EXCELLENT

Bruno, Chief of Police was my mystery discussion group's July selection. I really, really enjoyed this book. It started off a bit slow for me, but I was soon immersed in the intricacies of food, life, politics, and murder taking place in the fictional town of St. Denis. The food descriptions were so good, that I whipped up on omelette based on one of the passages in the book (recipe here)

The Teaberry Strangler is, I believe, the 10th volume in the Tea Shop Mystery series. Another great edition, though I suspect I enjoy the world and the characters much more than I do the mystery-solving.

What I Am Currently Reading:

 

 

I got A Dark and Stormy Murder at the author's book signing and discussion and have just been waiting for the craziness of last week to finish before reading it.Throw Away Girls was downloaded from Netgalley (why did it take me so long to find you?!), and it seems like an interesting departure from the many cozies I've been reading. Expect reviews on both in the coming weeks.

What's Up Next:

I am a huge fan of graphic novels, and spent a ton of money on Saturday picking up the latest trades. Paper Girls has been sitting on my shelf, but it's definitely going to be read soon, not only because it's gotten great reviews but because it's also a mystery. So expect me to talk about it in the coming weeks.

Lastly, I will be participating in the August/Summer 2016 Comment Challenge, hosted by 

Lonna @ FLYLeF and Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense.

Since I'm a new blogger, I figured this would be a great way to meet other people in the blogging community, make some friends, and discover new blogs. I'm new to this, so I'm only signing up for 5-10 comments. I can't wait to meet my blog partner! 

You can also follow along on Twitter by using the hashtag #commentchallenge2016

Recipe for Fun Friday #2 - Bruno's Truffle (Oil) Omelette

"All I can say is that we don't yet have any firm evidence, and so no obvious suspect," Bruno told them as he broke the dozen eggs, lit the grill for the steaks and threw a stick of unsalted butter into the frying pan. He began to slice the truffles very thin.
...
"He wasn't there this week. He forged a note from his dad saying he was sick," said Bruno, tossing the whipped eggs into the sizzling butter and the fresh garlic. As the base of the omelette began to cook, he threw in the sliced truffle and twirled the pan.
...
They fell into a silence, all eyes on Bruno as he lifted and tilted the heavy iron pan, gave two strategic pushes with his wood spoon and tossed the herbs into the runny mix before folding the giant omelette over onto itself. Without a word, they all trooped to the table and sat. The Baron poured the wine and Bruno served the perfect omelette, the earthy scent of the truffle just beginning to percolate as he divided this opening course onto six plates.

Thursday's Farmer's Market Bounty - Tuscan kale, flat-leaf parsley, peaches, cherries, truffle oil, and mango balsamic vinegar

Truffle oil omelette and demi-baguette

Seriously, how good does that sound? Yesterday, I posted the beginning of this scene with all the men pooling their weekly contributions. This a continuation of the scene, where Bruno cooks their repast, all while being grilled about a possible suspect to the brutal murder that had just occurred. 

I obviously can't afford real truffles (on a part-time language teacher's budget? Pshaw), but while cruising around the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market yesterday, I happened across an awesome booth with a wide selection of infused olive oils and gourmet vinegars. The minute I tasted the truffle oil drizzled on a chunk of baguette, I knew I just HAD to buy a bottle. And I knew exactly how I was going to use it...

Bruno doesn't have recipes, the way a culinary cozy would, but the author so lovingly describes the scenes where Bruno is cooking, that I used them as a rough guide to cobble together my own recipe. 

Try it and let me know what you think. And if you've got the budget for real truffles, go ahead and splurge!

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Bruno's Truffle (Oil) Omelette

Notes: Bruno states that he brought flat-leaf parsley from his garden, so that's the herb I used, but you can switch it up as you like. I would recommend chives. As for the butter, he specifies unsalted, but I was too lazy to go to the store and salted was all I had. Also, I always scoff when I see a recipe call for just one clove of garlic, but I LOVE garlic, so keep that in mind. Lastly, truffle oil can be quite strong, so start with the smaller amount at first. Truffle oil is used as a finish, so if you'd like a stronger flavor, you could always drizzle on more.

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter (see Note above)

1-2 tablespoon(s) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or other herb (see Note above)

1-2 teaspoon(s) truffle oil

1-2 clove(s) minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Put the butter and garlic in a non-stick pan and set it over low to medium-low heat. Whip the eggs together in a bowl and you can either salt and pepper them now, or do it directly in the pan. Your choice.

As soon as the butter is melted (don't wait for it to brown!), pour in the eggs and start pulling them toward the center of the pan, gently, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. You don't want to scramble them, but you do want several large curds in the center.

When the top looks almost set, but still a bit runny, pull the pan off the heat (leave the stove on) and sprinkle on the herbs and truffle oil. Put it back on the heat. 

It's time to fold the omelette. You can either choose to fold it in half, or carefully roll it to the edge of the pan. Plate immediately. Sprinkle with more salt, pepper, and/or truffle oil, if desired. 

Serve with a good baguette and simple salad (not pictured because I'm a dummy and forgot to plate it before taking the picture).

Bon appetit! 

Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts #2 - Bruno, Chief of Police

Hosted @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Food and books are the two greatest loves of my life, so it's natural that I would participate in Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts. This is where I will post food and/or drink quotes from the books I'm reading.

This week's excerpt is from Bruno, Chief of Police. This book is a love letter to the French countryside and its wonderful food, as well as a grisly murder mystery with political overtones. A very enjoyable read. There were so many good food scenes that I had a hard time choosing just one.

This quote is from the scene where Bruno and his tennis club discuss the murder of an old Arab war hero over their usual lunch ritual.

As always after their game, the group of men walked back to the clubhouse. The rain had eased. They showered and then brought in the ingredients of their ceremonial Friday lunch from their cars. Bruno provided eggs from his hens and herbs from his garden. In early Spring, he picked boutons de pissenlit, the tiny green buds of the dandelion, but now it was young garlic and flat-leaf parsley. He also had some of his own truffles, which he had stored in oil since the winter. Michel brought pate and rillettes, made from the pig they had gathered to slaughter in February, in happy defiance of the European Union regulations. Dougal supplied bread and cheese and the bottle of Scotch that they took as an aperitif after their first thirst-quenching beers from the tap at the clubhouse bar. Rollo brought steaks and Xavier the salad and a tarte aux pommes, and the Baron provided the wine, a St. Emilion '98 that was tasted and judged to be at its best. 

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Tell me that doesn't sound amazing. On Friday, I'll be posting a recipe based on this scene. Look forward to it ^_~