New Book of the Month: March 2021

Hey there fellow readers and eaters!

I hope everyone enjoyed February's Book of the Month The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. If you haven't finished it yet, or it is on your To-Be-Read list, don't worry, you'll never find spoilers here. I will say though, I think this one will be earning a spot among my favorites on the bookshelf. I loved everything from the unique premise, to the incredible writing, to the magic of it all. Mwah! Chefs kiss.

Things I ate while reading Addie LaRue: Cereal, a sandwich, a super messy double-decker taco, ramen, an insane amount of ice cream, and *drum roll* the dish that I paired with this book! But you'll have to wait for my Perfect Pairings post to find out what that is. I promise it's coming soon, as is a full review post of the book.

And now I'm sure you're ready to find out what the March Book of the Month is so that you can get started right? Ok, so I picked another thriller/mystery type book for those of you who are fans of that. I had heard good things about this book, so I was really excited to give it a go. I hope you guys enjoy it.

The Book of the Month for March 2021 is The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. This book is about a journalist, Lo Blacklock, who has been invited on the maiden voyage of a small boutique cruise ship catering to the very rich. The accommodations on the ship are amazing, except for the fact that Lo witnesses a woman get thrown overboard, and no one seems to believe her.

I decided I'm going to try this one out on audiobook, but you can bet I'll still be eating along the way. After all, no one should read on an empty stomach! Enjoy!

Goat Cheese and Radish Avocado Toast

Goat Cheese and Radish Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bread, sliced and toasted

2 oz plain goat cheese

1 ripe avocado

3-4 radishes, sliced

½ clove of garlic, minced

Balsamic glaze

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Make sure wheat bread is well toasted. Mash the garlic with a pinch or two of salt, then add in the avocado. Mash the avocado until it reaches desired consistency. Spread Avocado, salt, and garlic mixture onto the toast. Place sliced radishes on top of the avocado mixture. Using your hands, break up the goat cheese into pieces and sprinkle on top of the toast. Add a pinch of pepper over the toast to taste. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Perfect Pairing: The Wife Upstairs and Goat Cheese and Radish Avocado Toast

Hello there everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed the January Book of the Month: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins. If you haven’t quite gotten to it yet on your To Be Read list, or are currently reading, you are in luck! I’m about to introduce you to the perfect dish to take a bite out of while you dive into the book. If you’ve already finished, I hope you enjoy this pairing and hopefully it comes to mind next time you need to host the Neighborhood Beautification Committee for brunch, or you know, if you just want a snack.

Now, when I first started reading The Wife Upstairs, I was a little skeptical. I was introduced to this book as a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, which happens to be my absolute favorite classic novel. Talk about EX-PEC-TATIONS! As I started off, I wasn’t sure I could get behind this new characterization of Jane, but as I got into it, I began to realize that I needed to let go of my expectations and comparisons. While this book does draw some really cool parallels to Jane Eyre, it is first and foremost, its own story. Once I started reading it as its own story instead of constantly wanting it to be my favorite OG Jane Eyre, I really enjoyed the read.

And let me tell you, is there anyone more relatable than the Jane in this book? I mean, I feel like I get her. She’s down to earth, a bit naive, has a whole lot of baggage but is still hopeful. At the same time, she’s got some sharp wit and she’s just trying to make it through. I mean, I get that. I also like that while pretentiousness is annoying to her, there is some rich people stuff that is just straight-up enjoyable. You can’t help but like it. I would argue that Brunch is one of those things and Avocado toast is a blessing of brunch that we all might make jokes about but we also all really enjoy it at the same time.

So, in the spirit of Jane from The Wife Upstairs, I have paired this book with my version of Avocado Toast: Goat Cheese and Radish Avocado Toast.

This is actually super quick and easy to make. To start, choose a substantial bread. I chose a multigrain wheat bread from my local bakery, but you can choose a sourdough, regular wheat, or really any kind of bread that is substantial enough to take the toppings when it’s toasted.

Next: Choose your mooshing vessel. I like to moosh with my molcajete, a traditional Mexican version of a mortar and pestle. A molcajete is especially great for making salsa and guacamole, but it also works awesome for making avocado toast. You can also do your mooshing, smooshing, and smashing with a spoon, potato masher, or whatever you have in your kitchen that will get the job done.

First, I put a good dash of kosher salt and half a clove of minced garlic in the molcajete and got it all mashed up. Doing the salt and garlic together makes it easier to mash the garlic because it gives the garlic something to grab onto. Once you have that into a bit of a paste, go ahead and add your avocado. If you’re only making toast for one and only need a little bit of avocado, cut your avocado in half and twist to open. One side should still have the pit intact. Save the side with the pit in an airtight container or ziplock back in the fridge. The pit will keep it good for a day or so. Meaning, more toast tomorrow. YES!

After I added the avocado in, I mashed it until I got the consistency I prefer. Some people like their avocado super smooth, others like it more chunky. You do you.

Give it a taste, see if you need any more salt added in. I like a little more salt in mine because with all the other toppings, the salt for the dish really comes from the avocado mixture. If you taste it at the end and you feel like it needs more salt, you can always add a little more on top too.

I took my radishes and after giving them a good wash, I sliced them up thick enough to give a crunch, but not thick enough to be the only thing you taste. After spreading my avocado mixture pretty thickly onto my toasted bread, I put radishes over top of that in one even layer. You can space them out a little bit. I made sure there were enough radishes so that you would get some with every bite, but I didn’t want to overcrowd the toast.

Next, I got out my goat cheese. I don’t know how other people feel about goat cheese, but I’m a big fan. It has a super creamy texture and a relatively mild flavor. It brings an extra something to the toast. Just using my hands, I crumbled it over top of everything else on the toast. After rinsing the excess goat cheese (or if we’re being honest, eating it off my fingers and then washing my hands), I sprinkled just a bit of pepper over the toast. The pepper is so necessary because it really brings out the flavor of the radish. It’s such a nice compliment.

To bring the whole thing together, I topped it all off with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. And of course, is it even Brunch reminiscent of Thornfield Estates if you don’t serve it on a board in the shape of your dog?

Impress the Brunch crowd or your book club with your avocado toast game, or just make some for you as you unravel the mystery of Eddie Rochester and what happened to his wife Bea in The Wife Upstairs. Either way, you won’t want to pass this one up.

Goat Cheese and Radish Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bread, sliced and toasted

2 oz plain goat cheese

1 ripe avocado

3-4 radishes, sliced

½ clove of garlic, minced

Balsamic glaze

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Make sure wheat bread is well toasted. Mash the garlic with a pinch or two of salt, then add in the avocado. Mash the avocado until it reaches desired consistency. Spread Avocado, salt, and garlic mixture onto the toast. Place sliced radishes on top of the avocado mixture. Using your hands, break up the goat cheese into pieces and sprinkle on top of the toast. Add a pinch of pepper over the toast to taste. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.