Month: November 2017

A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara

Michael Soos Book Review Articles

a little life hanya yanagiharaSummary:  Follows the lives of four classmates, particularly the tormented Jude, and how the others relate to him and each other.

Thoughts:  What a harrowing, difficult, disturbing read.  But un-put-down-able.  And highly recommended.  It won’t be for everyone, but the story is incredible.  The characters vary from unlikable and shallow to heart-breakingly tormented.  And you just want to climb into the book and give Jude a hug.  You’ll probably cry.  I didn’t, but I could see how people would.  It stays with you for weeks after, and unlike me, I couldn’t just pick up the next book once I’d finished this one.  I had to give it a few days to settle.  Haunting.  Brilliant.  Slightly scared to read her other novel, The People In the Trees.check price and availability here

The Summer House Party, Caro Fraser

Michael Soos Book Review Articles

the summer house party caro fraserSummary:  A group of people meet at a house party in England the early 1930s.  The novel follows their diverse lives over the next few years.

Thoughts:  Caro Fraser writes elegantly.  She’s English.  I love English authors.  They seem to have a fantastic command of the language, and describe things so beautifully.  The guests at the house party are diverse, their lives inter-twine, the ending is in some cases predictable, in others not, and the book was a glorious escape, without the fluff and superficiality.check book price here

Reckoning, Magda Szubanski

Michael Soos Book Review Articles

magda szubanski reckoningSummary:  Magda’s memoir of her early life, including her father’s activities during the Second World War.

Thoughts:  I didn’t want to read this book, given the war stories and the Polish father connection.  I have awful memories of mine, and steer clear of anything war-related.  But the book was on my Book Club reading list (and from memory I think I actually selected it – mainly to see what all the rave reviews were about).  I was engrossed from the first few pages.  Magda writes so well, her stories are interesting, but not long-winded.  I didn’t know much about her, not being a TV watcher, but she has had such an interesting life.  I would have liked more on her recent years, but perhaps that’s coming in a follow-up.  A surprisingly wonderful read, and an easy read, given it’s a memoir.check book price here

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski

Michael Soos Book Review Articles

the story of edgar sawtelle david wroblewskiSummary:  Mute Edgar lives with his parents and several dogs on a farm.  A series of tragic events lead Edgar to flee into the mountains with three dogs while he plans how to right the wrongs which led to his father’s death.

Thoughts:  Beautiful descriptions, and very unusual protagonist, and story, and not knowing how it’s going to end kept me reading with bated breath.  What a shame this is David’s only novel.  I’ve been waiting for years for a follow-up, but he probably knows that if you’ve created a masterpiece, it should stand alone in all it’s glory.check book price here

Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama

Michael Soos Book Review Articles

dreams from my father barack obamaSummary:  The early days of Barack’s life, including how he got into politics.  Ends with his marriage to Michelle, but no details about their relationship.

Thoughts:  Beautifully written, insightful, powerful, thought-provoking.   I didn’t understand much of the American racial issues, but that didn’t matter.  Barack’s writing is just gorgeous.  What a clever, intelligent, good man.  Someone I respect, admire, look up to, and there’s not many people in today’s world who I can say that about.  I was eager to read about how he met Michelle and their flourishing relationship, but there was none of that!  Very disappointed in this small lack of content, but I loved the book despite this major omission.check price and availability here

Roast Vegetable Tray Bake

Michael Soos Soup Recipes & Articles ,

Okay, it’s not a soup.  But it could be.  The leftover roast veg with some lovely stock, heated, then pureed.  But I can’t stop eating the roast vegies so there’s rarely any or enough left over.

Ridiculously simple, and discovered during my two week drive around northern Tasmania where in the first cabin I stayed at on Cradle Mountain, the only oven was a small bench type.  I was desperate for vegies, there was no steamer, so I chopped everything up, scattered them into the tray, and stuck them into a very hot oven for half an hour.  What a revelation!  Divine!  And quick.  And easy.  And I’ve been eating this most evenings ever since – sometimes with some sausage or chops on top of the veggies, or a bit of fish, or a few eggs (in their shells).  I vary the flavours a bit by sometimes drizzling oil, lemon juice and cumin over the veggies, or leaving them plain and sprinkling with sea salt after, or sprinkling over ras-el-hanout.  Mostly I leave them plain and add a bit of salt.  And the invariable left-overs are made into lunch the next day, a frittata, or just heated up, or turned into roast veggie soup.  The ultimate ‘set and forget’ one-pot meal that’s flexible enough to allow for whatever you have in the fridge.

Spicy Kumara and Corn Soup

Michael Soos Soup Recipes & Articles

Oh.  My.  Gosh.  If I’ve made this Spicy Kumara and Corn Soup once I’ve made it twenty times.  There something hearty and comforting and divine about the taste and texture.

I took this recipe and a few others to Perth when I stayed with a work-a-holic friend some years ago.  She’d go to work each day, I’d play tourist, aspicy soupnd get home in time to cook dinner for us.  I felt I had to earn my keep somehow, and I enjoyed being in someone else’s kitchen.   This was her absolute favourite of all the meals I cooked over my two week stay.  The following year, on another quick visit, I made a huge batch so she could freeze individual serves and take them with her to work for lunch.  I’ve never made the cornbread muffins.

Ingredients
  • 50g butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot diced
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use ¼ teaspoon)
  • 1 cup yellow split peas
  • 5 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1 kumara (sweet potato) peeled and cubed
  • kernels of two large corn cobs
Method

Melt the butter in a large pot and add onion and garlic.  Fry until softened.  Add the spices and stir until fragrant.  Add carrot, stock and split peas.  Simmer for about 30 minutes and add kumara.  Simmer for a further 10 minutes, then add corn kernels.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  Scoop out about 2 cups of the soup and puree the rest.  Then return the 2 cups.

For those interested in the source of this magnificent recipe, I came across it in “Delicious” magazine back in August 2010: spicy-kumara-corn-soup-cornbread-muffins

Broccoli, Garlic and Lemon Zest Soup

Michael Soos Soup Recipes & Articles

I love broccoli, I love lemon, I love garlic.  Who thought of putting them together?  Well, Naomi Devlin did (link below). And thank goodness she did!  soup recipe

Vibrant, aromatic, creamy and delicious – I always seem to have excess broccoli, and it’s a great way to use up the stems.  I’ve tried adjusting the amount of lemon and garlic, with not nice results.  Stick to the tried and tested original, is my view for this soup.

Ingredients
  • 1 lb (0.5kg) broccoli florets
  • 1 oz (30g) butter
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 large pinches of sea salt
Method

Wash and chop the broccoli into small florets.

Mince the garlic finely and melt the butter gently over a low flame in a medium to large saucepan. When the butter has melted, add garlic and sweat for a couple of minutes until translucent but not coloured at all.

Grate the zest from the lemon and add to the pan with salt and brocolli, stir to coat.

Pour over 1 1/2 pints of boiling water and bring back up to the boil again.

Boil gently – a kind of aggressive simmer, not a rolling boil – until the stalks of the broccoli are soft, but still bright green. Don’t let the broccoli turn olive green or the soup will lose its freshness.

Puree in a blender (or with a stick blender) until completely smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more salt or some black pepper if you like, possibly a little lemon juice – but not too much.

Pour into bowls and garnish with a little yogurt.

 

The link for this recipe is Broccoli, Garlic and Lemon Zest Soup

Naomi Devlin’s blog is worth a visit at milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com.au .

Chilli, Chicken, Corn and Tomato Soup

Michael Soos Soup Recipes & Articles

chicken chilli soup

I’ve had this recipe for so long I can’t even remember when I didn’t have it.  A friend of a friend, long ago at a back-yard barbecue described it to me, I thought it sounded nice, and asked for the recipe which she then provided some time later, much to my surprise.  Back-yard barbecue promises are often made, seldom kept so I’m very grateful; especially as I’m no longer in contact with the original friend.  I’ve adapted and simplified (e.g. I use corn cobs and boned chicken thighs and cook everything together).  I use red lentils rather than risoni or pasta, and I remove the chicken and corn and puree the soup before adding them back in.  But the original recipe is useful as a starting point and ingredient guide:

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 400g chicken breast fillets
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 small red chillies, finely chopped
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 410g can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup risoni or pasta or red lentils
  • 2 x 310g corn kernels, drained
  • 1/2 cup coriander, chopped
Method

Heat half the oil and cook chicken for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through.  Cook and shred into small pieces.  Set aside.

Heat remaining oil in same pan and sauté onion, garlic and chillies for 4 minutes until onion is tender.  Stir in stock, tomatoes and paste.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add risoni and cook for a further 5 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Stir in corn, chicken and coriander.  Simmer for 2 minutes to heat through.

You can find this recipe (and more) at chilli-chicken-corn-and-tomato-soup