Our Cook the Books selection for August/September is the novel Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber chosen by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.
I loved this novel.............
Cook the books is a bimonthly book club where bloggers who love to cook and read get together and read the chosen selection and then share a recipe inspired by the book they read. It is a lot of fun and everyone is invited to join in the fun. Learn more at the Guidelines page. You still have nearly 2 full months to read this novel and create a recipe.
The novel this month is a fun, magical story that takes place in a small southern town. Anna Kate was raised in the north by her mother who left the small town of Wicklow before she was born. Anna Kate's mother refused to return to the town where her mother, Zee, ran a cafe. Zee and Anna Kate were very close as Zee would visit them up north at every opportunity.
Now, as Anna Kate is getting ready to start medical school completing a promise she made to her mother before she passed, she finally sets foot in Wicklow to bury her beloved Granny Zee.
Anna Kate grew up listening to her Granny Zee's fantastical stories about magical creatures that bring messages to the living from their loved one's who have passed away. Granny Zee helps to get these messages to others by serving them slices of pie containing a big dose of "love" that allows their loved ones to visit them as they sleep.
Regular readers of this blog know that I communicate with those that I have loved and lost in my dreams quite often. They come to me with sound advice, comforting love and, sometimes, just a shoulder on which to cry.
Having recently lost my dearest friend, Kirsten, this book especially sang to me much like the blackbirds in the story sang love and comfort to those who heard them. I especially loved this quote by Anna Kates paternal grandfather.
This story takes place down south in a cafe......TONS of food inspiration. I knew that I wanted to bake a pie but the story begins with all of the locals welcoming Anna Kate to town with zucchini bread and continues with Anna Kate harvesting her Granny Z's zuchinni to use in recipes in the cafe. Zuchinni season is in full swing and zucchini plays a role in much of the food being served throughout the story.
I borrowed the audible version of this novel from my library. The narrators (3 of them) did an excellent job. If you enjoy listening to stories, I would recommend the audible version if it's available to you.
I decided to make a pie using Zucchini that my neighbor, in my small town, shared with me from his garden. This pie is the perfect ending for this wonderful novel and will be a perfect ending for your next dinner too.
This isn't the most attractive pie in the world. The recipe, found on Allrecipes.com told me to peel the zucchini first but I chose not to thinking the green flecks would be attractive. Not so much, but it is a very delicious pie. Perhaps a touch to sweet for my liking, I think next time I will decrease the sugar a bit, however my family loved it just as it was.
I am including our Weekly Menu in this post. You will find the recipe for this pie following that. What's on your menu this week?
Soup Saturday
Celery Root and Mushroom Soup
Polish Potato Bread
Sunday Supper
Chicken Pot Pie
Meatless Monday
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Taco Tuesday
Hamburger Tortas
Wednesday
Pizza on the Grill
Thursday
Herbed Steak Frites
Fish Friday
Grilled Shrimp and Rice Foil Packets
Desserts, Pie, Zucchini, Custard, Cream
Yield: 8 servings
Zucchini Cream Pie
This cream pie is custard like but contains only one egg and uses evaporated milk instead of cream. It's a great way to use up some of that zucchini that is so plentiful this time of year.
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 35 M
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups peeled zucchini, cut into chunks
- 1 c. evaporated milk
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 T. butter, melted
- 3 T. flour
- 1 t. vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- 1 pie crust
Instructions
- Place the zucchini, milk, sugar, egg, butter, flour, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a heavy duty blender and puree until smooth.
- Place the crust into a 9" deep dish pie pan. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and place pie pan on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 5 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350* and bake until set, about 60-75 minutes longer.
Notes:
adapted from a recipe found at Allrecipes.com submitted by SMUTCHL
Nutrition Facts
Calories
400.24Fat (grams)
13.00Sat. Fat (grams)
6.21Carbs (grams)
67.75Fiber (grams)
1.21Net carbs
66.55Sugar (grams)
54.86Protein (grams)
4.99Sodium (milligrams)
184.74Cholesterol (grams)
43.83
Definitely a great way to use up zucchini! Your pie looks delicious and perfect for the summer and the book, Wendy. I am so glad you enjoyed the book and I am sorry to hear about your friend. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb.
DeleteThis pie sounds perfect for anyone dealing with a load of zucchini. I'm about ready for a cream of tomato pie. They're coming out our ears at the moment. I still need to get reading before it expires on my Kindle.
ReplyDeleteIt won't take you long once you start it Claudia. A very quick, fun read.
DeleteI love zucchini in all its cooking renditions but never thought of pie before....
ReplyDeleteWhat a special post. You know I am sorry for your loss. I remember reading about it on facebook. Friends are so dear, losing one is very hard.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was closer to her than I am to by siblings. I still struggle daily with the loss.
DeleteInteresting: I have a recipe for a cake using a grated apple that I sometimes substitute with zucchini but I'd never thought about using zucchini in a creamy pie. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Between look and flavor, I think the latter is more important, so I'm glad your family liked the pie :)
ReplyDeleteThey did and I think if I would have peeled the zucchini it would have just looked like a custard pie.
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