Used books and recipes

I have a thing with used book stores. You enter one  and you are  transported to a land of possibilities - hit with that delicious smell  of old books and visions of hidden stories waiting to be discovered.  A name scribbled, an inscription, an old bookmark left in the book seem to tell you a story in parallel with the one you are reading. One of the books I found recently had a hand scribbled recipe for a marinara sauce in it.

I hit the jackpot with three good reads this month all picked up at used book stores. 

Blue boy - tells the story of Kiran, growing up in an Indian- American household in Ohio Cincinatti and his struggle to belong. He doesn't fit into any of the existing cliques - the indian kids crowd or the crowd at school. The story is told with a gentle humor without ever making Kiran's pain feel discounted

This book moved me deeply - it is beautifully written without ever feeling pretentious

Pigs can't fly - Another book that talks about belonging and identity. Turtle springs into the limelight after helping rescue .. In Hoover Dam. The Cherokee nation discovers that she is adopted illegally and begins pursuing a return.

The dinner - Two brothers meeting for dinner; seems innocent enough. The book unfolds like a play through the dinner courses each revealing a new layer to the story.  It is dark and funny at times.

If any of you reading this are interested in any of the books above; leave me a comment and I'll be happy to mail it to you. All I ask is that you  pass it along to someone else after you read and help in prolonging a book's life

What's been cooking - a lot of recipes from other sites. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and hope to be posting more frequently next year.

Carrot Halwa
Jam Tarts (with homemade jam, made in a 9 inch tart tin)
Ginger bread with fresh ginger
Red wine caramel sauce
Fruit crisp bars (made with homemade jam again instead of the fruit)
Banana bread- my current favorite
Seeded banana bread
Butternut squash soup
Za'atar potatoes
Harissa
Chimichuri
Raagi mudde and saaru