• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Book Index
    • Fiction
    • Non-Fiction
    • Top Ten Tuesdays
The Hungry Bookworm

The Hungry Bookworm

reading + eating

  • Recipes
    • Drinks
    • Snacks, Sides & Apps
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • 5 Ingredients or Less
  • About
    • Meet Megan
    • How I Rate
    • Review Policy
    • Contact

dinner

Anxious People + Pizza Capricciosa

December 1, 2020 by Megan 4 Comments

Jump to Recipe

As I have said time and time again, I really love Fredrik Backman’s storytelling. In the case of Anxious People, his latest novel, not that much happens but you get so caught up in the story that you fall in love with it anyway. Anxious People takes place during a hostage situation in Sweden, and though we have a few flashbacks and several interrogation scenes at the police station afterward, the majority of it takes place in a single apartment. 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

It is not dissimilar to Bel Canto, which also takes place during a hostage situation (this one in a large mansion in South America) and which I also loved. The key here is that Backman really builds the characters — and they’re mesmerizing. With some, you meet them thinking one thing and leave them realizing you were completely wrong; with others, your initial judgements were apt from the start.

[Read more...] about Anxious People + Pizza Capricciosa

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: baking, contemporary, dinner, favorites, fiction, lunch

Mexican Gothic + Asada Mushroom Tacos

October 27, 2020 by Megan 1 Comment

I don’t like scary movies, but somehow, I still get a thrill out of watching them… sometimes, usually with a viewing partner and often in the daylight. I need the boundaries of someone else’s imagination to keep mine in check. So, it may go without saying that I don’t typically like scary books. My mind runs wild! But, it is spooky season, and if you’re going to give a creepy book a try, why not now? 

Mexican Gothic is a hot novel right now. Not just because it’s October, but that certainly doesn’t hurt. I’ve heard about it everywhere lately. One of my friends picked it as our current book club read, so I had no choice but to see what the fuss was all about. (Side note: we meet on Thursday and I can’t wait to see what they all thought!)

Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel begins slowly, in classic gothic fashion. In 1950s Mexico, Noemí receives a frantic letter from her cousin, who recently married a man who lives in a mysterious house in the countryside. Noemí has no choice but to head to High Place to see her cousin. High Place is isolated and full of secrets and odd family members, which is really the perfect setting for a book I shouldn’t have been reading just before bed.

Noemí does have some hope in the youngest brother, who she comes across picking mushrooms which leads to a sort of bond. He proves himself to be willing to help her help her cousin, at least some of the time. I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll end here, but if you’re looking for something eerie and old-fashioned, this would be a great pick. This book is such a mood. Sort of Jane Eyre-esque in its setting. 

Since I don’t read really these types of books I’m not exactly sure how to rate it as I have very little to compare it to, and honestly I was so creeped out most of the time, I’m not even sure if I was seeing clearly, so to speak.     

The mushrooms I mentioned earlier actually pop up constantly in the novel because they grow on the High Place's property. Mushroom tacos seemed like a great pairing. In looking for a recipe, I learned from Epicurious that the earliest Mexican cuisine was, in fact, vegetable-based. I didn’t ultimately choose their recipe, but it sounds delicious and seems like it would definitely be worth a taste! I found a recipe from Half-Baked Harvest that looked amazing for Asada Mushroom Tacos and made those.

Unfortunately, my grocery store was all out of portobello mushrooms the day I was cooking, so I subbed in baby bellas instead. This totally worked fine, and if you can’t find mushroom caps and really want these, by all means, swap them in. But I really like think, if you have the larger portobello mushrooms available to you, that’s the way to go — primarily for texture, but also ease of cooking (especially if you’re wanting to grill them). 

Anyway, they’re super easy to make. First I made the marinade and got the mushrooms in there so they could soak up that flavor for at least an hour. 

Marinated Mushrooms

While those marinated, I made the pineapple salsa. (Not quite the same make-up but reminded me of my first post!) I used guacamole we already had on-hand, so I didn’t make that from scratch this time. 

Making Salsa

It was also colder the day I decided to cook these than I had anticipated, so I instead cooked the mushrooms on the stovetop. If you opt for this method, make sure to drain the pan a few times as you cook it so the mushrooms have a chance to develop some color. 

Sauteed Mushrooms for Tacos

I served these on corn tortillas that I warmed in a pan. 

Mushroom Tacos

We really enjoyed them, but like I said, I think the large portobello mushroom caps would’ve been even better. They were the perfect accompaniment to the novel for sure.

Mexican Gothic Book Club Tacos
Mushroom Tacos
Print Recipe

Asada Mushroom Tacos

Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican, Vegetarian
Keyword: vegetarian
Servings: 6 tacos

Ingredients

  • 6 portobello mushroom caps halved
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo chopped (or 2 teaspoons chili powder)
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
  • corn or flour tortillas warmed
  • crumbled feta or cotija cheese for serving (optional)

SALTED LIME AVOCADO

  • 2 avocados mashed
  • juice and zest of 1 lime
  • Maldon sea salt

PINEAPPLE SALSA

  • 1/2 of a small pineapple cubed
  • 1 jalapeño seeded and chopped
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Instructions

  • Add the mushrooms to a ziplock bag. Next add the olive oil, orange juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, paprika, lime juice, cilantro, and a large pinch of salt. Seal the bag and marinate 10 minutes or in the fridge up to overnight.
  • Meanwhile, stir together the avocado, lime juice and zest, and a pinch of salt.
  • To make the salsa. In a bowl, combine the pineapple, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro, and a pinch of salt.
  • Preheat your grill or grill pan to high. Remove the mushrooms from the marinade and sear for 5 minutes, flip and sear another 5 minutes or until lightly charred on both sides. Slice into strips.
  • Spread the avocado onto the warmed taco shells, and top with the mushrooms, salsa, and cheese. Enjoy!

Notes

From: Half-Baked Harvest

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: book club, dinner, easy prep, lunch, suspense

What She Ate #1: Dorothy Wordsworth + Mini Pork Pies

February 16, 2019 by Megan 3 Comments

As a lover of food memoirs, culinary news and food in general, Laura Shapiro’s nonfiction What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories has been on my TBR since it’s release two years ago. I have been meaning to do a review-recipe series on it for far too long, and that day has finally come! This post is the first in the series, so I’ll give a brief overview of the book before diving into the first woman’s story.

What She Ate by Laura Shapiro

As the blurb says, “everyone eats, and food touches on every aspect of our lives—social and cultural, personal and political. Yet most biographers pay little attention to people’s attitudes toward food.” Those of you who enjoy food memoirs like me know that, while food plays an important part in the storytelling, those memoirs are rarely just about food. They are about the human experience. So much insight can be drawn from not only what people eat, but how and why.

[Read more...] about What She Ate #1: Dorothy Wordsworth + Mini Pork Pies

Filed Under: book review, post series, recipe Tagged With: baking, books about food, dinner, meat, nonfiction, what she ate

The One + Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

January 19, 2019 by Megan 7 Comments

I recently heard about John Marrs’ novel The One on the Currently Reading podcast, in an episode about “Books to Blow Your Socks Off.” (The episode was also amazing because it included an interview with Delia Owens, who wrote a wonderful recent favorite of mine, Where the Crawdads Sing.) The description was brief but intriguing, and I immediately rushed to get a copy from the library.

The One by John Marrs

It takes place in a “near future,” one in which it has been discovered that people can be matched to their soulmates through their DNA. It’s 10 years after that discovery, and those who have been lucky enough to find “the one” are considered Matched and those who are still waiting are Unmatched. Because you can be matched to literally anyone, racism, homophobia, and religious and other prejudices no longer exist.

[Read more...] about The One + Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: dinner, easy prep, favorites, fiction, pasta, science fiction, thriller

Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously + Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon

January 15, 2019 by Megan 4 Comments

Ever since Julie & Julia hit theaters 10 years ago, it has been one of my favorite movies. Until recently, I had never read the book it was based on. Julie Powell’s memoir Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously is based on the year she spent cooking all of the recipes in Julia Child’s legendary cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blogging about it. Perhaps you can see why I love the story so.

Julie & Julie by Julie Powell

Not much over the course of Julie’s memoir was surprising to me, though certainly elements of it had been left out of the more streamlined movie (also paired with Julia’s life story, where Meryl Streep plays the iconic chef). I have to say, though, the book lacked the charm with which the movie nestled into my heart.

[Read more...] about Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously + Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: books about food, dinner, dinner party, meat, memoir

Good Morning, Midnight + Kale Sausage Soup with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

October 20, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

Good Morning, Midnight is a low-key post-apocalyptic novel. Augie is an aging but brilliant astronomer who ends up stranded in the Arctic, choosing to stay when everyone else flees because of “war rumors.” He never hears from them again. In space, Sully is the communications specialist aboard the Aether, which is heading back from a mission to Jupiter. As they get closer to home, it becomes worrisome that they’re unable to re-establish communication with Earth.

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

I didn’t love this book as much as I expected to, but it certainly had gorgeous elements. Lily Brooks-Dalton’s writing was vivid and imaginative. I could picture Sully’s living quarters and appreciated the description of life in space. I could feel the cold as Augie explored the frozen world around him.

[Read more...] about Good Morning, Midnight + Kale Sausage Soup with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: dinner, easy prep, fiction, lunch, post-apocalyptic, soup

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

About

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!

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe

Don't miss out on bookish content, exclusive giveaways, and of course, book club-friendly recipes. Get notified of new posts via email.

Join 2879 subscribers.

Search for Ingredients, Recipes, or Books

Recent Posts

  • 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

Goodreads

Tags

5 ingredients or less appetizer baking book club book list book of the month books about food bread breakfast brunch chicken contemporary cookies cultural dessert dinner dinner party dystopia easy prep favorites fiction fruit historical fiction holiday ice cream linkup lunch meat memoir mini review nonfiction pasta quick read reading challenge science fiction seafood show us your books side dish snack soup TBR list thriller top ten tuesday vegetarian veggies

Archives

Other Great Book Blogs

Literary Quicksand
Never Enough Novels
Death by Tsundoku
Professional Reader 25 Book Reviews
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Footer Widget Header

Megan’s Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Hungry Bookworm