Summer #ReadCookEat round-up

As I mentioned back at the beginning of July (oh my, how long ago does it seem now?!), I could not do a round-up of #ReadCookEat posts for July. We were away in lovely Cornwall, enjoying the warm weather, the beach and lots of Kelly's of Cornwall ice cream. I promised to write a round-up by the end of August, so here it is, and though we all were busy with school holidays, there are some lovely recipes to show that our culinary fiction-inspired challenge is still alive and kicking.
I started the Summer linky with a recipe for Citrus and pistachio salad which I created after reading a splendid novel Templar's Acre by Michael Jecks, one of my favourite authors. Amazingly enough, Michael Jecks tweeted back to me, thanking for the recipe. Imagine how thrilled I was.

Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews is our most loyal supporter and a veritable bookworm. After reading When the Cypress Whispers by Yvette Mannessis Corporon, she felt encouraged to write a lovely post about Greek cuisine, as the book has a lot of food references and recipes mentioned. Cheryl loved the descriptions of rustic, home-cooked meals, and took her blog readers through a lot of mouth-watering recipes and photos. Cheryl is an enthusiastic cook, and her children are following in her footsteps. Just have a look at her daughter Juliette, preparing the Greek meze.

From many of the scrummy dishes mentioned in the book, Cheryl has picked a recipe for Spanakopita, a wonderful mix of filo pastry, feta cheese and spinach among many other ingredients. This brought back memories of spanakopita I ate in the States. The landlady of the flat we were renting, was an archeologist who travelled the world and the seven seas, and she was a great cook. I have very fond memories of her spanakopita. I often wish Cheryl was my neighbour, as I would invite myself to her house regularly.

Then it was my turn again, with a recipe for Sorrel soup, as described in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, a novel in letters set just after the WWII. I love sorrel soup, and have made it before, in fact it is quite popular in Russia.

A baton over to Cheryl (or should I say bagel?!). Having read The Man Who Filmed Nessie by Angus Dinsdale, Cheryl has prepared the cutest Loch Ness bagel Monsters, a fab recipe for kids' parties or just as a treat. An imaginative and easy recipe, which will make any fussy eaters ask for more.

Reuben sadwich is an American institution, I remember fondly eating it when we lived in the States. Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews often reviews books for teens and preteens, and Geek Girl by Holly Smale inspired her to try to make a Reuben sandwich. And what a scrummy sandwich it is, bursting with flavours! I could do with one right now!

Vanilla Salt by Ada Parellada is one of the latest foodie fiction books, which has been mentioned by many bloggers. This is a book which I have added to my wish list too. Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary has reproduced a mouth-watering recipe for Chicken with Apples. Now I love a good combination of meat and fruit. Elizabeth also uses brandy and stock, and it's a real feast in one pot. I must try Elizabeth's recipe.

As Cheryl says, some books make our #ReadCookEat challenge very easy to join in. The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald is one of these books. Cheryl based her Apple Tart of Hope on a classic French recipe tart aux pommes. It's a clever combination of sliced apples and apple puree, and with caramel sauce and other tasty bits, it sounds like a wonderfully indulgent dessert.

This summer I have discovered a fabulous ebook called Moonfixer by CC Tillery (it is a pseudonym of two talented sisters, Caitlyn Hunter and Christy Tillery French). This is the second book of The Appalachian Series, set in 1906. This fabulous narrative is told by a fascinating protagonist, a wise woman who is in tune with nature. By now, I read the first book in the series as well, and am waiting impatiently for the 3rd book to be published. Bessie mentioned her Mama's molasses cookies a few times, and I couldn't wait to bake some.
Christy Tillery French has kindly mentioned me on her blog, if you fancy reading it, here is the post called An unexpected surprise.

The last post of the round-up for summer has been written by your humble servant again. I watched a rerun of Inspector Montalbano recently, and picked up a copy of Andrea Camilleri's Excursion to Tindari which I read earlier this year, and bookmarked a recipe for Caponata cooked by Motalbano's muse aka housekeeper Adelina. Caponata is a great summery dish of aubergines, tomatoes, capers, olives and other ingredients, and it is so tasty, you really want to make a big batch.

And that's all, folks! We can say Good bye to Summer, and welcome to Autumn. I am adding a new linky tool to our #ReadCookEat Challege, and hope after a long holiday to see more inspiring entries!

Have you read a book recently which inspired you to run to the kitchen and cook to your heart's content?

Chris from Cooking Round the World and I are inviting you to recreate a meal, inspired by books and join in our #ReadCookEat challenge.

The idea is to choose a book, either a world classic or modern fiction, or even memoirs and pick up a dish mentioned or described in that book and then recreate it in a recipe. Please say a few lines about your chosen book, and maybe even do a quote from the book.

If you decide to take part, please add the badge to your post and link up back to Chris and me, and either use a link-up tool or add the url of your post as a comment. Alternatively, email either of us with the link to your post (my email is sasha1703 at yahoo dot com).
The challenge will start on 1 September and will end on 31 September 2014.
I promise to Pin all blogs posts taking part in this challenge, as well as RT and Google+.