Review: The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee

Title: The Glass Kitchen
Author: Linda Francis Lee
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Magical Realism
Publication Date: 17th June 2014
Pages: 384
Book Source: own purchase

Synopsis: Portia Cuthcart never intended to leave Texas. Her dream was to run the Glass Kitchen restaurant her grandmother built decades ago. But after a string of betrayals and the loss of her legacy, Portia is determined to start a new life with her sisters in Manhattan... and never cook again. 

But when she moves into a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side, she meets twelve-year-old Ariel and her widowed father Gabriel, a man with his hands full trying to raise two daughters on his own. Soon, a promise made to her sisters forces Portia back into a world of magical food and swirling emotions, where she must confront everything she has been running from. What seems so simple on the surface is anything but when long-held secrets are revealed, rivalries exposed, and the promise of new love stirs to life like chocolate mixing with cream. 

The Glass Kitchen is a delicious novel, a tempestuous story of a woman washed up on the shores of Manhattan who discovers that a kitchen—like an island—can be a refuge, if only she has the courage to give in to the pull of love, the power of forgiveness, and accept the complications of what it means to be family.

My Thoughts: 

I'm seriously loving on this one!! It's one of those beautiful feel-good reads, right story, right time ... you know the one, warms your heart, leaving you feeling like you've been wrapped in a rainbow. 

Portia has a gift, a knowing connected with food, it's a beautiful, magical, healing thing when she allows it to come. 

I loved Portia from the start, I love how the story unfolded ... turmoil, chemistry, hurts, love and laughs. I wanted Gabriel and Portia to be together, neither were perfect but they seemed perfect for each other and I was torn between reading fast enough to see if my HEA wish was granted and savouring every delicious morsel.  

"I am going to prove to you that I listen. I am going to prove that I love you in that madly, deeply, let-you-eat-crackers-in-my-bed, shouting-Stella-from-the-courtyard sort of way."

Linda Francis Lee does justice to a full cast of characters. It's not all sunshine and roses, there are some unlikable characters in the mix but for the most part I adored them - Portia's sisters, quirky neighbours Stanley and Marcus, Gabriel's daughters ... I liked Miranda with all her teenage angst but I have a soft spot reserved for Gabriel's youngest daughter Ariel, she's pivotal in the story with her insight and sass. 

I can't recommend this one highly enough, if you love emotional reads with a touch of whimsy and magic, if you believe in the healing power of food and following your heart, you'll adore The Glass Kitchen. It really is love on a plate!

Fried Chicken with Sweet Jalapeno Mustard

Ingredients:

2 cups panko

2 cups bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 eggs, scrambled (can use yoghurt or buttermilk instead)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast (use kitchen mallet to pound into flat, even pieces)

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (use kitchen mallet to pound into flat, even pieces)

vegetable oil for pan frying

Directions: 

Mix the panko, bread crumbs and seasoning in a bowl for dipping, or a bag for shaking.

Dip the pieces of chicken into the egg to coat; then dip in the bowl of crumb mix. Coat the chicken in the mixture. (For extra-crispy chicken, repeat the dipping steps.) 

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Heat on medium-high until hot. Carefully fill the bottom of the pan with chicken pieces. Brown, approximately 4-6 minutes each side (depending on the thickness of chicken), until cooked thoroughly. Place on paper towel to drain. 

Sweet Jalapeno Mustard

Ingredients:

6 tblsp mustard seeds

1/2 cup mustard powder

3 tblsp vinegar

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp salt

2 tblsp honey

2 tblsp finely chopped jalapenos

Directions:

Stir together the mustard seeds and mustard powder. Mix with the vinegar and wine. Add the salt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in the honey and jalapenos. Pour the mixture into a jar. Refrigerate anywhere from 1 to 3 days to bring out flavours. Makes approx 1 cup

There's some yummy recipes in the back of The Glass Kitchen. I love honey mustard dipping sauce with chicken (this fried chicken looks like the equivalent of our chicken schnitzel, which we make regularly) and the Sweet Jalapeno Mustard sounds like it has a big mustard kick. I'm going to make it, starting with 1/4 cup mustard powder and adjust from there. 

 Connect with Linda Francis Lee

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Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

Review: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Genre: Fiction/Magical Realism
Publication Date: 21st January 2014
Pages: 296
Book Source: St Martin's Press & NetGalley

Synopsis: Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

My Thoughts:

Lost Lake is just delightful. It's been a while since I read Sarah Addison Allen and I had forgotten how much I adore her writing. Lost Lake felt like coming home. 

I loved the cast of quirky characters, Kate and her daughter Devin, Aunt Eby, Kate's great aunt and owner of Lost Lake, Lisette, locked in the past, irrepressible friends Selma and Bulahdeen, George and Wes. As much as I'd love to rave on about all of them, I won't. Half the magic lies in their stories and discovering yourself, how they fit.

Lost Lake is one of those magical places where all things seem possible. It's a story of love and healing, family, friendship. For me, one of the many highlights of Lost Lake was the strength and beauty of female relationships, the camaraderie and banter was just so endearing and completely infectious.  

Bulahdeen put her notebook in her purse, then stood stiffly. “Selma, we’re going to the store. I need to get more wine.” 
Selma was filing her nails at the next table. “Why do you need so much wine? Doesn’t alcohol interfere with your medication?”
“I don't take any medication.”
“That explains a lot, “ Selma said, blowing emery-board dust off her fingertips.

I really enjoyed the author's trademark, magical realism. A number of separate magical elements; the alligator, Selma's love charms, come together seamlessly within the contemporary story ... a contemporary story with old world charm. And Sarah's lyrical writing holds you right in the moment, creating effortlessly, a beautiful sense of time and place.

The bell over the restaurant door rang, and yellow light from inside melted into the fog like butter. 

Whilst dealing with sad themes the whole story really felt ... joyful. I didn't want to leave the magic of Lost Lake.

and bravo to Sarah Addison Allen for her own healing journey.

Connect with Sarah Addison Allen

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Genre: Fantasy
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 291
Book Source: Library borrow

In Bascom, North Carolina, everyone has a stroy to tell about the Waverley women. The old house that's been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumours of dangerous loves and tragic passions. There's not a Waverley that isn't somehow touched by magic.

Claire has always clung closely to the Waverley's roots, tending the family garden to grow the secret ingredients for her sought-after delicasies. She thinks she has everything she needs - until one day she finds a vine of ivy creeping into her garden and knows that everything is about to change - book cover

This was a magical, enchanting read. It made me feel like everything was right in the world, the kind of feeling you get with the first sign of spring flowers, a breath of fresh air on a still day, a rainbow after a sun shower. I guess the magical component really appealed to the little girl in me but this isn't just a story about magic, it's about self discovery, place, belonging and love, wrapped up in a gentle, uncomplicated read.

Claire's younger sister Sydney returns to the family home with her daughter Bay to escape an abusive relationship after a 10 year absence from Bascom.  As acceptance and trust between Sydney and Claire grows, the sisterly bond they have both longed for also flourishes.

Each member of the Waverley family has a special gift, gifts that tie them to their family name, whether they believe it or not. 80 year old Aunt Evanelle has the gift of anticipation, little Bay is a wise old soul who just knows where things belong, Sydney understands the language of hair and Claire uses her catering business to share the magic of flowers and herbs. And who'd dare forget the mischievious and enchanted apple tree with prophetic fruit. Delightful characters, beautiful writing and as the story unfolds we watch the men in Claire and Sydney's lives, push aside barriers to create some magic of their own.

Sydney walked into the kitchen and froze.

She'd just walked into heaven.
And her grandmother was right there, in every scent.
Sugary and sweet.
Herby and sharp.
Yeasty and fresh.

Cinnamon and nutmeg for prosperity, roses for love, nasturtiums to keep a secret, lilac for humility, pansy to encourage compliments, honeysuckle to see in the dark ... and Garden Spells for a magical escape!

From Sarah Addison Allen's website:
"Garden Spells, my mainstream debut, didn’t start out as a magical novel. It was supposed to be a simple story about two sisters reconnecting after many years. But then the apple tree started throwing apples and the story took on a life of its own...and my life hasn’t been the same since."

Garden Spells was once titled Garden Spells and Southern Belles
Like Claire in the book, Sarah's real sister's name is Sydney.
Evanelle is based on a dear old woman with the same name, a friend of Sarah's great-aunt, who would come by with surprises in the form of broccoli cornbread and sweet potato pie and buckets of blackberries.

Visit http://www.sarahaddisonallen/ for excerpts, interesting tidbits, recipes & book news. Sarah Addison Allen's  2nd book, The Sugar Queen was published in 2008 and The Girl Who Chased the Moon is due for release March 2010.

This month on The Eclectic Reader you could win Fire by Kristen Cashore OR Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick OR Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.