Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Rainy Day Reading

It's a miserable, cold, windy, rainy, blustery day in the  mountains today. Not a pick of sunshine, just damp, dreary and downright chills you to the bone.

It's the perfect day for two things: making soup and reading a really good book.

I started my day by putting on a big crockpot of broth. It won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon, unfortunately, but when it's done I'm going to make a nice batch of potato soup.

Russet potatoes were on sale at the market this week - buy one bag, get one free. I had potato soup on my mind right away!


I started my broth out with the carcasses of 2 chickens - one I had saved in the freezer and one from Monday night's dinner. 

I added the following to the crockpot for this batch of broth:
1/2 bag baby carrots
4 stalks of celery, leaves included
1 head of garlic, unpeeled, cut in half
1 large sweet onion, unpeeled, cut in half
a handful of mushroom stems and pieces from the freezer
a couple of rinds of hard cheese from the freezer
1/4 cup peppercorns, whole
1/4 cup chopped dried parsley
4 bay leaves

Fill to the top with water, and cook on low for a minimum of 24 hours. I will actually cook this for about 30+ hours, until I come home from work tomorrow evening.

It's the perfect thing to make on such a miserable day.

I also have a perfect book for you to read on a day like this. I just finished this book and I am not lying when I say I could not put it down!

I absolutely love a book that grabs my attention like that! It brings me back to my childhood when I used to get so involved in a book that my mom says she could have a whole conversation with me and I wouldn't hear one word. I could tune everything and anything out!

This is that kind of book. The kind that reminds me how very much I love to read. 
The Forgotten Garden
I'm sure many of you have read it already....if you haven't, please pick up a copy asap! You will not regret it!

This is absolutely not a sponsored post, and no affiliate links. I just adored this book!

The story grabbed my attention from page one and every spare second I had found me going back to pick it up and read more, more, MORE!

One more page....one more chapter....one more hour...!


I've now downloaded samples of 3 of Kate Morton's other books and I can't wait to dig wholeheartedly into the next one.  I have just started The House At Riverton....I'll let you know what I think when I'm all done but I have high hopes for it after The Forgotten Garden. 

Do you have any books that you have read recently that moved you to the point of thinking about them constantly? If so, please share - I'm always on the lookout for a new favorite book!





38 comments:

  1. Can't wait to hear about your soup. Yesterday I made soup from what was left of a turkey breast. It turned out really good. You have made me seriously want to read The Forgotten Garden. I've almost finished "At Home In Mitford" by Jan Karon and have really enjoyed it.

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    1. Oh, I love the Mitford series!! I even have the cookbook - what a dork, huh? :) I wanted to make the marmalade cake - you've just reminded me of it!!

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  2. Your broth is going to be amazing. I really, really need to make some. I have been using store bought and it is ok, but not really fabulous.

    I have a personal friend that is an author - Barbara Hinski - Coming to Rosemont. It is a series of 3 books so far and the 4th will be out this summer. They are all good.

    I will have to check out your book and give it a try, sounds good.

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    1. And I just looked up your friend's book and I am ordering it asap - sounds like something I'd love! Thanks for sharing, Marty - and I do hope you try making your own broth - it's actually quite simple and really tastes so much better than anything you buy in the market. I do keep store bought around also for convenience in cooking other dishes but when it comes to a soup base I tend to reach for my own broth first.

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  3. I bet your broth will be heavenly. :) Glad you found a good book to get thru the cold days of winter. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

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  4. The picture of your broth is making me hungry, and I just finished a late lunch. ;) I'm going to be making broccoli cheese soup this week since I have some broccoli that desperately needs used us. The book you are reading sounds really interesting. I think I will order it through the library. :)

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    1. That's one soup I have never made, isn't that funny? I must try it sometime!

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  5. I have to stop coming here when I'm trying not to eat!

    I'm reading 'Girl in Translation' and enjoying it immensely. I've read more books in the last month than the previous year...must be because I'm not blogging as much and going to the beach. LOL

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    1. Don't rub it in!! I just sent my Kindle a sample of that book - thanks for the suggestion!!

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  6. I have to stop coming here when I'm trying not to eat!

    I'm reading 'Girl in Translation' and enjoying it immensely. I've read more books in the last month than the previous year...must be because I'm not blogging as much and going to the beach. LOL

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  7. Defending Jacob was that book for me. Still can't stop thinking about it.
    Brenda

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  8. Homemade broth is the best. So much better and flavorful than store-bought stuff, even the organic stuff. My mom makes bone broth with beef bones and her soup is amazing. I have a chicken carcass in the freezer right now, along with a bag of vegetable scraps. When I accumulate more of both, I will then make broth, too. I bet your house smells so good. :-)
    I just know I have that book here in my collection somewhere! I just went downstairs and look through my shelves of hundreds of books and can't find it. Now it's driving me crazy, lol. I'm going to do one more look and if I can't find it, I'm going to order the book from paperbackswap (of which I'm a member). A few book suggestions for you:
    Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
    Those Who Save Us - Jenna Blum
    The Dogs of Babel - Carolyn Parkhurst
    A Parchment of Leaves - Silas House
    The Obituary Writer - Ann Hood

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    1. Awesome!! I just purchased Water for Elephants....I already have Those Who Save Us but haven't read it yet....and the other 3 I sent samples to my Kindle - thanks for all the suggestions!! And yes, my house smells pretty amazing this morning for sure - can't wait to make my potato soup tonight!!

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  9. I made a turkey soup somewhat similar to this that I'll be posting about soon. SOOOO good! Today was rainy here as well but it was really mild. Dreary, though. I would love that book. I've always been attracted to books that span generations.

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    1. My sister always sends me home with the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving - I used only half of it to make broth so far, the other half is still in the freezer!

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  10. I can almost smell your broth simmering! I read The House At Riverton when it first came out...great book, great author.

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    1. I haven't had time to really get into it yet, just read the first couple of pages. Perhaps this weekend when I get time to breathe!

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  11. OOH yummy! I love homemade chicken broth! I've never added cheese to mine, so that sounds really intriguing to me! And oh my, potato soup, be still my heart!

    Do you know that I was at the thrift store last week, and saw this book, and passed it by. I remember almost buying it, and at the last minute, making a "no" decision. I'm going back for it, upon your recommendation :) I love books that you can't put down. Your mother and mine must have talked, because when I was a kid, same thing. I could put my head in a book and never come out until it was done. Don't have time for that anymore, but... maybe that needs to change :)

    Have a wonderful day! Always love visiting you here :)

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    1. I hope the book is still there! If not there's always the library, right? I actually buy a lot of my books on Kindle now when they are on a 'daily deal' on Amazon - it takes me so long to get through a book sometimes it just makes more sense than using the library for me. As for the broth, I save the rinds of my hard cheeses like Parmesan or Manchego in the freezer and throw them into the broth - they just add a nice depth of flavor. Give it a try!

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  12. I'm a nonfiction girl, but every now and then I can get caught up by a fun read.

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  13. I ordered Jan Karon's newest book ~ Come Rain or Come Shine ~ from the library and it finally came in today!! Can't wait to start! Have you read What April Forgot or The Girl on the Train?
    Your broth looks wonderful. Looks like it would be a great base for many soup recipes!! I need to become more diligent about saving veggie scraps. It is not like it is any extra work!

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    1. I have The Girl On The Train on my list to read but I can't find the other one on Amazon - who wrote it, do you know? The chef at my job saves buckets of veggie scraps in the walk-in for making broth - I actually put my scraps in the compost pile but rather use fresh carrots, celery, onions, etc when making my broth. Either way, nothing goes to waste, right?

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    2. Oh, and I love Jan Karon but I think I'm a little behind on the Mitford books - I haven't read them in a while and didn't realize there were so many new ones out! I'm going to have to catch up!!

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    3. I must have been thinking of Spring when I typed that! It is, of course, What Alice Forgot. Sorry. I am really longing for Spring!!
      I want to read through the Mitford series again sometime,,,, but with all of the books on my TBR list..... well, so many books ~ so little time! I read somewhere that if you read, on average, 24 books each year, for 50 years, that is 1200 books. I think there are more than 1200 new books published per month!!
      44 days til Spring!!

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    4. Ahhhh....ha ha, ok - I found that book and added it to my list - thanks!! Too many books, too little time....I agree. If only I had a clone....

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  14. If I told you I can smell your broth cooking, I don't suppose you'd believe me? I think it's time for me to make some more homemade soup. We still have our turkey carcass in our freezer from Thanksgiving and seeing the snow falling outside is making me hungry for some good soup. I just finished an awesome book last evening, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I stayed up until 1:00 AM to finish it, it was that good. When our kids were younger, I remember getting into my books and almost forgetting to fix dinner. What can I say!

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    1. Oh I love Kristin Hannah - thanks for the suggestion, Carol - I just sent a sample to my Kindle! Now get in that kitchen and make broth!! :)

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  15. The soup looks delicious...thank you for sharing another wonderful recipe! And thank you for the book suggestion. I read The Girl on the Train pretty quickly....very interesting book! Hugs!

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  16. I am reading The Secret Keeper by Morton. It is as good as The Forbidden Garden. Just finished Come Rain or Come Shine by Karon and The Shoemaker's Wife by Trigiani. All are excellent! Your broth sounds delicious! Enjoy your day of reading and yummy soup.

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    1. Thank you for all these suggestions - I am going to look them up on Amazon and add them to my Kindle!!

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  17. I just read those two books. I couldn't stop reading them! I bought both of them at a thrift store. I will be on the look out for more of her stories. Try using cauliflower instead of potatoes to make soup. I think you will be surprised. Potatoes raise blood sugar levels (which contribute to excessive eating) cauliflower does not.
    www.dietdoctor.com

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    1. Thanks for the tip! You know, I never, ever buy cauliflower because my sweetie hates it but in soup, pureed - how would he know? :)

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  18. I will have to see if the library has this! :)

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