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The Hungry Bookworm

The Hungry Bookworm

reading + eating

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dessert

Arsenic and Adobo + Ensaymada

May 25, 2021 by Megan 1 Comment

Mia P. Manansala’s debut novel, Arsenic and Adobo, is the first book in a new culinary cozy mystery series. Though I’ve never read a cozy mystery, I have always been intrigued by them — especially since there seem to be a lot of culinary cozy mysteries where food is front and center. When fellow blogger, Elizabeth from Dinner and a Novel, suggested we do a buddy read and each cook something to go with it, I didn’t hesitate! Not only is Arsenic and Adobo my first cozy mystery, it’s my first culinary buddy read too. 

Available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

In the story, Lila moves back home from Chicago to help her Tita Rosie save her restaurant. Right away, a local food critic heads into the restaurant to cause trouble and then drops dead at a table — oh, and he happens to be Lila’s ex-boyfriend too. Lila is quickly caught up in the investigation and trying to conduct her own so she can clear her and her family’s name. 

[Read more...] about Arsenic and Adobo + Ensaymada

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: book of the month, books about food, cultural, dessert, fiction, mystery, quick read, snack

Kids Edition: Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball + "Dirt" Pudding Cups

March 27, 2021 by Megan Leave a Comment

We received Sometimes I Like to Curl Up Into a Ball second-hand. I didn’t realize it’s part of a Little Wombat series and is quite popular! Either way, it is quickly becoming popular in our house. Henry will often grab it and bring it over to have it read to him, and with the fun story and cute pictures, we are more than happy to oblige. 

Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill and Charles Fuge
Available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

In it, a wombat takes children through his day, where he plays with his friends — all sorts of animals including a koala, turtle and rabbit. He likes to make funny faces, jump as high as he can, play in the mud, and of course, sometimes, he likes to curl up in a ball. 

I drew inspiration from the page where the little wombat plays in the mud with his friends:

“Sometimes I like to get in a real mess, 
with mud on my feet and my hands and my chest.” 

In the illustration, he is sitting in the middle of a garden with his friends a rabbit, frog and a worm. He is completely covered in mud and smiling. 

It reminded me of a dessert I made once as a kid — we called it a dirt cup. It was actually pudding with crushed Oreos on top and some gummy worms too. 

I found a recipe that required no cooking or hot ingredients, so Henry could help me make it.

First, I made the pudding, which I did by whisking 2 cups of cold milk into a packet of instant pudding and allowing it to thicken for 5 minutes. Then, I combined it with the thawed Cool Whip. (This is where I let Henry help, though I gave him his own small bowl and spatula.)

He also, of course, wanted to help me mix the big bowl of pudding.

Once the pudding and Cool Whip were mixed, I scooped it into clear cups.

Pudding Cups

I topped it with crushed Oreos, which I crushed by breaking them up in a large Ziploc bag. (This could be a great activity for older kids, or more interested toddlers — I tried to have Henry help but he wasn’t very into it.) 

"Dirt" Pudding Cups

Then, I added a couple of gummy worms to make it look like the messy scene in the book.

"Dirt" Pudding Cups with Worms

Not only was this an easy-to-make snack, it was delicious too. A perfect pairing for this charming children’s story.

Dirt Pudding Cups inspired by Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball
"Dirt" Pudding Cups with Worms
Print Recipe

"Dirt" Pudding Dessert Cups

Prep Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
Course: Dessert, Snack

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cold milk
  • 1 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding, 4 serving size
  • 8 ounces frozen whipped topping such as Cool Whip, thawed
  • 1 1/2 cups crushed sandwich cookies such as Oreos, about 16, divided
  • Gummy worms

Instructions

  • Whisk together the milk and instant pudding for 2 minutes, until pudding is completely dissolved. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken.
  • Stir in frozen whipped topping and 1/2 cup of the crushed cookies.
  • Spoon into individual (clear, if possible) cups.
  • Sprinkle remaining crushed cookies over the pudding mixture. Top each cup with 2 gummy worms. Chill for at least 60 minutes or until ready to serve.

Notes

From: The Spruce Eats

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: children's, chocolate, dessert, easy prep, snack

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies + Peach Cobbler

March 13, 2021 by Megan 1 Comment

It’s well-documented over my years blogging here that short stories aren’t for me… usually. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of short story collections I’ve truly enjoyed. That being said, Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is one such collection. And I didn’t just like it — I loved it. It was my first 5-star read of the year and my first 5-star short story collection ever. 

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

It’s a slim volume, so I expected to get through it quickly but it ended up going even faster than I thought — I finished it the same day I started. I couldn’t put it down, which is unusual for me with a short story collection since it has several natural "take a break" points. The stories in Church Ladies focus on Black women and their varied relationships. They are told with insight and nuance, each word chosen with precision. Each story quickly drew me in, kept me engaged and then ended without leaving me wanting. 

The best part of this collection is that there was a clear food tie-in, which meant I got to write a review-recipe pairing for it! That food? Peach cobbler. There is, in fact, a story titled for the dessert in which it plays a feature role, and it’s mentioned in at least one other story too. It was possibly my favorite story, though I loved so many of them, it’s hard to pick a true favorite. 

Anyway, "Peach Cobbler" starts as such: 

My mother’s peach cobbler was so good it made God himself cheat on his wife. 

The main character watches her mother making the cobbler covertly, longing "to perfect the sweetness and textures" of her mother’s recipe. She also describes eating it:

I grabbed a handful of the cobbler and shoved it all in my mouth at once. The sugary juice dribbled over the corner of my mouth down to my chin as I chewed. I savored the peaches and the soft bits of crust soaked through with the syrup. 

Now, if that doesn’t make you want to gobble down your own peach cobbler, I don’t know what will. But I absolutely had to have some. I googled around to see if Philyaw herself shared a recipe somewhere, since she wrote about the "best cobbler in the world" with some authority, but I couldn’t find one. So, I settled for a Southern peach cobbler recipe that the creator says she spent an entire summer perfecting. 

I can’t help but agree that it is very delicious, even though I had to use canned peaches because fresh aren’t in season right now. (In the story, the mother uses fresh, except when not in season and is described as taking great care to drain the canned peaches, so I felt okay doing the same. But I can’t wait to try making it with fresh fruit this summer!)

As I mentioned before, I started with canned peaches. I used 5 cans, or what ended up being just over 6 cups. I drained 3 of the cans and used the juice from the other two, as the recipe creator recommended using about half the juice when using canned peaches. I cut them into bite-size chunks, except when the slices were already small or thin.

I tossed them with lemon juice, white and brown sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch. Then, I poured them into a 9x13 glass baking dish. 

Peaches for cobbler

I baked the peaches for 10 minutes in a 425-degree oven. Meanwhile, I made the topping. 

I grated cold butter using my food processor.

Grated Butter

Then I combined the dry ingredients — flour, white and brown sugars again, salt and baking powder. To them, I added the grated butter and then a half cup of boiling water, stirring it all together until just combined. 

Crust topping for cobbler

I used a small spoon to drop the crust in dollops onto the peaches. 

Crust on unbaked cobbler

I sprinkled the whole thing with cinnamon sugar and then slipped the dish back into the oven to bake for just under a half hour, until the crust was baked through and golden. 

Peach Cobbler

It was a mouthwatering pairing for The Secret Lives of Church Ladies — one that I will absolutely be making again.

Peach Cobbler inspired by The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
Peach Cobbler Piece
Print Recipe

Peach Cobbler

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Southern
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Peach Filling

  • 8 medium-size fresh peaches* (about 9-10 cups) sliced into thin wedges or bite size chunks
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch

Crust Topping

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter chilled and grated
  • 1/2 cup boiling water

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a large baking sheet covered in foil on the lowest rack in the oven, as the cobbler may overflow. The baking pan will catch the drips and prevent a mess in the oven.
  • In a large bowl, combine the peaches and the lemon juice and then add the rest of the filling ingredients. Stir to coat and then pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
  • Bake the peach mixture in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. While the peaches are baking, combine the dry topping ingredients and whisk to combine. Toss the grated butter in the flour mixture. Stir in the boiling water, just until combined, leaving plenty of little lumps of butter.
  • Remove the peaches from the oven and drop the topping over them in spoonfuls. Sprinkle the cobbler topping with the cinnamon sugar topping. Bake until the crust is golden and a toothpick inserted into the crust comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

From: Barefeet in the Kitchen
*If using canned peaches, use about 5 cans, or 6-7 cups. Drain about half of the juice (or 3 out of 5 cans worth). 
Use a cheese grater or grating attachment in a food processor to cut the butter in quickly.

This post contains affiliate links. This does not increase the price you pay, but I may receive a small commission for any products you choose to buy. Purchases made through affiliate links help to cover my blogging costs. Thank you for helping to support The Hungry Bookworm! Full disclosure here.

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: baking, dessert, easy prep, favorites, fiction, fruit, short story

Devolution + Blueberry Lavender Lemonade Popsicles

January 19, 2021 by Megan Leave a Comment

Max Brooks’ Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre is a wild ride. It is told primarily through the journal of Kate, a resident of the secluded Greenloop when it was attacked, along with a few post-massacre interviews. It’s both a scientific observation and a horror story, as we first discover Sasquatch (aka Bigfoot) with her and then watch as she and the other residents frantically scramble to protect and defend themselves when Bigfoot attacks.

Devolution by Max Brooks
Available at Bookshop.org and Amazon

This is the kind of book where I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that the book is not what it seems at the outset — which to me, at least, was a far-fetched romp about Bigfoot. Brooks does an excellent job of building his characters and the action. First, it progresses slowly, luring you in, and then aggressively so you can’t help but turn pages faster to keep up. I love seeing how different people cope in a time of crisis, and this is a study in those differences. 

[Read more...] about Devolution + Blueberry Lavender Lemonade Popsicles

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: dessert, easy prep, fiction, five ingredients or less, fruit, quick read

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow + Strawberry and Cream Cheese Empanadas

January 9, 2021 by Megan 1 Comment

I first heard about Laura Taylor Namey’s young adult novel, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow on one of my favorite book podcasts, All the Books! It was described as delightful and heart-squeezing by Liberty Hardy, and she said the descriptions of food made her so hungry. I knew I had to pick it up, and luckily, I was able to get a copy from the library nearly right away!

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

Lila is a Cuban-American girl living in Miami. As she graduates high school, Lila knew exactly what was in store for her future, but unfortunately, life had other plans. Newly adrift, she is sent to England to live with her cousin for the summer. Lila doesn’t sulk for long and soon she is getting back in the kitchen (her cousin lives at a bed and breakfast), making friends, and discovering a new future. 

[Read more...] about A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow + Strawberry and Cream Cheese Empanadas

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: books about food, dessert, easy prep, fiction, five ingredients or less, young adult

Kids Edition: You're My Little Pumpkin Pie + Pumpkin Pie Crisp

November 21, 2020 by Megan 2 Comments

One of our favorite books this fall has been You’re My Little Pumpkin Pie by Natalie Marshall. With memorable rhymes and cute illustrations, it’s sure to become a fast favorite in your house too! My son especially loves the cut-outs and reveals on each page.

You're My Little Pumpkin Pie by Natalie Marshall
[Read more...] about Kids Edition: You're My Little Pumpkin Pie + Pumpkin Pie Crisp

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: baking, children's, dessert, easy prep, kids edition

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The Hungry Bookworm brings together literature and food. Megan has an insatiable appetite for both.

As C.S. Lewis said, “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” Enjoy!

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  • Subscriber Box Review: Literati Book Club - Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club
  • Arsenic and Adobo + Ensaymada
  • Review of The Kindred Spirits Supper Club
  • Kids Edition: Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball + "Dirt" Pudding Cups
  • The Midnight Library + Broccoli and Ricotta Toast

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