Recipe: Soto ayam, the world’s best chicken soup!

It’s fall (or just about), and I have my first cold of the season. 🙁 But all is not awfulness, because at least I have an excuse to make my favorite chicken soup–which, since 2011, has been soto ayam. (Sorry, matzo ball!) With its super-flavorful, coconut-milk-thickened broth filled with chicken, rice noodles, and crunchy sprouts… Read more »

ALL FOUR STARS is out in paperback today!

Hip, hip, hooray! Happy April 7–otherwise known as the paperback release date for my first novel, All Four Stars. I’m incredibly excited about this for several reasons. 1) More affordable price point. Hardcovers are gorgeous and durable, but can be too expensive for some families to afford. When I was growing up, my appetite for books was insatiable,… Read more »

And a few more links

Happy Friday, folks! It’s the last day of Emu’s Debuts launch week for All Four Stars, featuring a recipe for “Amazeballs” by Megan Morrison! Yum! And in case you missed them, there was also an interview with cover artist Kelly Murphy (featuring alternative cover sketches!) and a hilarious compendium of Emu kitchen disasters. Comment on any post for a… Read more »

The ALL FOUR STARS blog tour – stop 4

Happy July 4 to all who are celebrating! Today was the fourth stop on the official All Four Stars blog tour, and a great day for recipes. Over at A Baked Creation, Sylvia has created a crème brûlée recipe inspired by the opening scene from the book! Check out her beautiful pictures. As a bonus, it’s flavored with osmanthus (which, I… Read more »

Four-star recipe: Green tea cupcakes with sesame icing

“Their flavors will send  your taste buds on a trip around the world…the Chinese cake has green tea and sesame seeds…” –All Four Stars, page 268 Classy Cakes–the fictitious “dessert bistro” that Gladys is assigned to review in All Four Stars–is famous for its delicious, internationally-inspired cakes. As for how I decided to write about such cakes…well, if you… Read more »

Four-Star Recipe: Gajar ka halwa

“What’s gajar ka halwa?”  Gladys was intrigued. “It’s a traditional north Indian pudding made with carrots,” Parm said. “Carrots?” “Trust me, it’s the best dessert on earth.” –All Four Stars, page 208 Parm Singh is right. Move over, carrot cake–gajar ka halwa is the tastiest sweet dish made with carrots you could possibly imagine! The first… Read more »

Four-Star Recipe: Tree-Nut Tarts

“Omigosh, wasn’t Saturday so fun? I keep thinking about that tree-nut tart. Do you think you could find a recipe for it?” –All Four Stars, page 263 Why yes, Charissa–there is such a recipe! Charissa Bentley, one of the main characters in All Four Stars, loves desserts and nuts, so it’s no surprise that this dish from Classy Cakes… Read more »

Four-Star Recipe: Bluebarb crumble

“So what’s it called?” Charissa asked. “Bluebarb crumble.” “Bluebarb?” “It’s short for blueberry-rhubarb.” “What’s rhubarb?” “Well,” Gladys began, “it looks kind of like celery, but you can’t eat it raw. It tastes sour, and it grows like a weed…” – All Four Stars, page 222 It’s spring! Rhubarb is here, and blueberries are on their way. In… Read more »

Foodie Kidlit Friday: Interview with A TANGLE OF KNOTS author Lisa Graff!

Welcome back to my new blog series, Foodie Kidlit Friday! On selected Fridays, I’ll be talking to authors of great food- and cooking-themed books for kids and teens, giving books away, and sharing recipes from my own forthcoming foodie middle-grade novel, All Four Stars. Today I am thrilled to welcome the fabulous Lisa Graff to the blog! Lisa is the… Read more »