“The trip was also Max’s chance to continue his long-time pursuit of the perfect Spanish omelet. His passion for eggs almost rivaled his devotion to chickens, though generally he preferred the latter off a plate than on it. Max staunchly believed you could get through anything if you had a chicken, and the clucking kind, in his expert opinion, had far more uses than the ones nesting on warm mashed potatoes and gravy.
Shelley never fully understood her husband’s ethos on poultry and chalked it up as just another item on his long list of quirks. His rabid love of the Bee Gees topped that list, while his two-year reign as strip Scrabble champion fell somewhere in the middle. (Shelley was, by default, first runner-up, being the only other contestant in their Saturday-night tournaments.) Still, she loved all of Max’s quirks equally, and the sum of them even more.” *
Hi, campers! You made it just in time for our Friday Field Trip. I don’t know about you guys, but I just love reading about food in novels. Since I read Harry Potter, I’ve been obsessed with finding out what Butter Beer tastes like. And don’t even get me started on Like Water for Chocolate. But even if a book's characters are just having coffee with toast and jam, I feel that these little details immerse you more deeply into their world.
Eggs are a recurring theme in Before Ever After and today I thought we’d sample the kind of cuisine you’ll find in the book. Don’t worry about crumbs. You’re allowed to eat on the van today. You’ll need the energy for all our other awesome stops.
First on our itinerary are these wonderful ladies who gave me this delightful award:
Everyone, I’d like you guys to meet…
Thank you so much, ladies!
The great thing about awards is that you get to pass on the fun. May I have the envelope please? And The Lovely Blog Award goes to.... (I know that some of them have already received this award before, but there’s always space on the mantle for another award, right?)
p.s. I’m curious – Do you have any favorite dish or drink from the books you’ve read?
39 comments:
So funny! I love reading about food in books too, and my novel has quite a few scenes of characters chowing down :)
Congrats on your award and thanks so much for passing it along to me! It's one I didn't have ~ :) Oh, man. I've been craving pumpkin pasties and butter beer forever! A friend of mine got a Harry Potter cookbook for Christmas and we're planning to get together soon for a HP cooking night. And I'd love to sample every single confection in "Chocolat".
Loved your excerpt, too. Strip-scrabble sounds awesome ~ :D
I found a recipe for butter beer once and made it. It wasn't very good. Even my kids wouldn't finish theirs.
Thanks for the lovely blog award Sam. I am new to blogging and I am flattered. I look forward to reading your book!
For me, the description of scrumptious meals in the count of Monte Cristo, from Alexandre Dumas, was always making me hungry...
Hi Samantha!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting, I love meeting new writers. Now I have a new one to follow! And your book sounds awesome, I know you have to be pulling your hair out waiting on the release...that's so cool! Mine's on sub, so I'm on that "torture" wait of hoping for a sale. Yours is on my list now!
I plan on visiting some of your bloggie friends.
Hmm, I have eggs and bacon in my picture book. My middle grade manuscript has bread and water but there's a reason for the bland food.
Congrats on the award!
Wow, interesting list of blogs! Um, I read a Red Dress book, TART a while back and J. Gehrman, the author must've been obsessed with mochas. Everyone was drinking them! Her descriptions of the drink sounded so delicious, that I became obsessed with them too. I'm over it now, but your question brought that memory back really vividly!
D U - Oooh! Excited to read your novel! :D
Donea - A HP COOKBOOK??? OMG. So jealous!!!
Connie - Shucks. That's disappointing :(
MuMuGB - You're very welcome! Your blog is lovely!!
Sharla - Good luck with you sub! All appropriate appendages crossed for you! :-)
Florida Girl - Hope you enjoy the field trip!
Kelly -Eggs and Bacon - Officially my kiddos' fave food in the ENTIRE world. I'm sure they will LOVE your book. (One food that's stuck with me since childhood is Dr. Seuss' green eggs and ham. I've always imagined them to be yummy)
Catherine - Mmmm...Mocha. Now I want one!!!
Hi Samantha,
They had Butter Beer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.....it tasted like cream soda with a touch butterscotch they also had pumpkin juice which was kind of gross as it tasted like pureed pumpkin pie. I recently read The Sugar Queen and got so hungry while reading it that I kept a bowl of candy next to my reading chair. The author uses candy for each Chapter title.
Have a wonderful Day
Serendipity's Library - I've been meaning to read The Sugar Queen -now you've convinced me! Sounds scrumptious. :)
Sam
Congrats on your award. Thanks for sharing it with me!
Usually when a book talks about eating steak or having ice cream, I instantly want it. I'm all, "Mmm, that sounds good..."
Hmmm....never really thought about it before, actually. I think its always fun when characters have as big of a coffee addiction as I do. (probably because I can relate to it. :D ) But I can't really think about a specific character/book at the moment. :)
WhisperingWriter - You're most welcome. You and your lovely blog deserve it. And I'm soooo with you in the steak and ice cream department! Nom nom nom. :D
Christina - I have yet to read a book that hasn't mentioned coffee or tea. Maybe it's the author's way of channeling his/her over-caffeinated self. ;-)
Sam! I'm honoured and thrilled, thank you VERY much!
My favourite food from a book isn't a book at all but a movie - Big Night. Tremendous food in this (including a simple omelet, speaking of eggs). I do love books that combine food and reading - Julie & Julia is a fine example.
You're welcome, Cathy! And yes! Julie and Julia for the win! :D
Oh, no! Another one! *bows head and sighs* I thought I was done with my share of blog awards.
:-P I know there's always space, but try getting more than you think you would get. ehehehe
Thanks for thinking of Reads, Reviews, Recommends, Sam! I blame Gerard Butler for this. Oh why I had to post a poster of him...*shakes head* But, lucky for you, I have great new bloggers to pass this award to. Thank you for giving me that opportunity. :-) Mwah!
Indeed food can really set the mood and atmosphere and when I hear about how a character relates to food and the ritual of eating, I learn volumes about them. Congrats on another award Sam! I'll have to give you an award for having the most awards!
How exciting, this is an award I don't have, and I'm flattered that you find my blog lovely. I will display it with pride and pass it on in a few weeks. Thank you sooooo very much.
As for food in books... my one character only eats sandwiches. Hilarious, because he'll pile everything between bread. EVERYTHING. There is a reason for his madness. There really is.
Oh wow, an award! Thank you thank you!
PS - when you talk about eggs, I have in my head your favorite egg dish (the one you spoke of in your guest blog)!
Kate - I can smell a Gerard Butler post from a mile away, my dea. It's a God-given talent ;-)
Cathy - Haha! Thanks!! :D
Tanya - You're welcome! It's a well-deserved award. :-) (And I'm intrigued about your character. That's a VERY interesting quirk!)
MyMommyology - That was my fave dish from the trip, but I have an ULTIMATE fave that stars in the book. I'll let you try it when you come back! :D
Thank you so much for the award! That's so sweet of you. I'd give it right back to you if I could. :) And yay for food descriptions in books! I'd love to try some butterbeer!
Hi Sam! Thank you for the award! Flattered, touched and soooo happy! Congratulations on getting it too! :D
All this food is making me hungry, just got to stop writing and go fix myself a snack...
Meredith -You're welcome! :D (and who can forget the HP breakfast scenes? Yum!)
Talo - Thank you!
Mia - Thanks! You deserve it, my dear :D
Deborah - And the best thing is..."literary" calories don't count ;-)
I don't have a fav but for some reason in The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins mentioned food all the time. No, seriously, I mean, a lot. It was funny though. There was one scene where she had her MC, Katniss, dip bread into her hot chocolate...I was like, Ewwww. Disgusting. Then the next time I had hot chocolate I was tempted to get some bread to go along with it. LOL
Hi, Dawn! LOL. I dip churros into thick, bittersweet Spanish chocolate, but yeah, I'm not too sure how well that "concept" works with regular ol' hot chocolate and bread :D
Looks like we both have food in mind right now, but don't get me started on my neighbors' chickens of the clucking and crowing kind!
By the way, have you ever looked for a Butter Beer recipe online? I know I've seen one...somewhere. :)
Janel - Haha! Well, you know what they say about great minds... ;-) *dashes out to hunt for Butter Beer recipe*
Congrats on the award and thanks for passing it on to me too! I'm honored :-)) Food in books....hmmm....well, the most recent ones I've read are Stieg Larsson's trilogy (The Girl w/the Dragon Tattoo) and every time he described the main characters eating a simple sandwich, I found myself drooling a bit, LOL! Well, that's me and food for you! :-))
You're very welcome, Joy! :) Haha! Don't worry. You're not alone in the drooling department. ;-)
I love food, cooking, and the emotion that goes into it. I love everything in 'Como Agua Para Chocolate.' I think that's my classic unforgettable go to fave on that. :-)
Hi, Stacey! I like what you said about the emotion that goes into food. Like cooking, I think the infusion of this emotion is what makes certain dishes in books more successful and memorable than others. :) Have a great weekend!
This is such a cool blog and blog post. I love the red umbrella's!
I look forward to more!
Meryl Jaffe
http://departingthetext.blogspot.com
Aww...thanks, Meryl! :D
yum yum!
Psychotic Thoughts
Must Have Food
Hi, Rikka! YUM inDEED :D
Post a Comment