Archive | February, 2025

Seaside Mysteries: An Island of Suspects and Beyond Paradise Season 2

26 Feb

An Island of Suspects
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
Originally from Paris, Georges Dupin has begun to embrace his new home along the northern coast of France in Brittany. In An Island of Suspects, he heads to the nearby island of Belle-Ile after the body of Patric Provost turns up in the harbor. Provost was universally disliked so there are plenty of suspects despite the small size of the island. Having visited the area of Brittany myself, spending an August there as a teen in Dinard, I found it interesting that Bannalec included unique details about the area such as Dupin enjoying salt marsh lamb, where the lamb is said to be pre-seasoned from eating pastures with high salinity. It gave me lots of moments of nostalgia. Besides background research, Bannalec brings alive the look of the area describing the unique colors and vistas. There is no slow build like some mystery novels where the characters are first introduced before the action; the book thrusts into the case immediately and picks up speed to the dramatic end. Although there are several prior books in the series it is easy to jump in without having read past entries. It reminded me of a classic Agatha Christie novel. Hoboken resident cardholders can stream the 2014 German television adaptation of Bannalec’s Inspector Dupin series from Hoopla.

Beyond Paradise Season 2
I had written previously about Beyond Paradise and the show it spun off from Death in Paradise. In season 2 Humphrey a detective that had been previously stationed on a small French island is now settling in to life on the equal beautiful and prone to quirky crimes, Devon town of Shipton Abbott with his fiancee, cafe owner, Martha. Last season dealt with the stress of infertility possibly causing the end of their relationship, while this season has the couple eagerly looking into the possibility of becoming foster parents. You can stream the 6 episodes of Season 2 along with the the 2023 Christmas Special with your Hoboken Library Card from Kanopy. Episodes include a Murder Mystery Play on a train that becomes the real thing, a psychic whose predictions seem to be coming true, and a case of a disappearing priest. The season finale ends with Humphrey and Martha’s wedding day which of course has some bumps along the road to wedded bliss. The show is if anything even more charming then the first season as it more deeply develops the various characters and their relationships. If you love cozy dramadies than this will be your cup of tea.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Baking Fun: Sweet Farm! and Baking Yesteryear

19 Feb

Sweet Farm!
by Molly Yeh
I’ve been following Molly Yeh since back in her blogger days when she published her memoir Molly on the Range about her move from NYC to her husband’s family beet farm so I jumped at a chance when I could get a copy of her latest cookbook from Netgalley and the publisher. Yeh has become a star on Food Network with her show Girl Meets Farm and judging appearances on a variety of competitions and now owns her own restaurant. I loved the marzipan chocolate chip cookies from her second book Home is Where the Eggs Are so I looked forward to her latest cookbook Sweet Farm! Her recipes often feel both homey and exotic with their mix of cultures from her Jewish and Chinese heritage as well as time living in the Chicago area, NYC, and her in-laws Scandinavian/Midwestern roots. We tried baking up the raspberry coconut cinnamon version of her jam bars which were very tasty. There are also two other versions one with plum hazelnut five-spice, and another with apple cardamom marzipan that also sound delicious. I appreciate the fact that Yeh isn’t afraid to use floral fragrances in some of her bakes like rose essence and lavender. My Parisian grandmother always used to make financiers for Christmas; I’m looking forward to Yeh’s version which adds rainbow chocolate chips for a kid friendly spin and I’m also plan trying the Nutella version of her nutbar recipe. If you are looking for fun twists on some classics sweets than this cookbook should delight. Yeh fans will also enjoy some insights into life on the farm including what it is like farming sugar beets and what sugar beet farmers do during the winter months. Checkout Sweet Farm! when it comes out on March 4!

Baking Yesteryear
by B Dylan Hollis
Baking Yesteryear features recipes from B Dylan Hollis whose Youtube/Tiktok shorts are always a fun mix of goofy humor and retro baking. Hollis was born in Bermuda before coming to the United States for school. Viewers are never sure whether a quirky old timey recipe will turn out yummy or yucky. Most of the recipes in the cookbook are from the yummy category, although there are a few worst of recipes for those wanting to try something truly awful like a Jell-O molded spaghetti-Os salad. The recipes are primarily broken up by decade and span from the 1900’s to the 1980’s. There is also a specific chapter though for dates (the fruit). A brief background of the origin of the recipe and historic context is given. My family tried baking five of the cookie recipes in the book for Christmas this year including Peanut Butter Styrofoams (my son’s favorites), ANZAC Biscuits (my favorites), Potato Chip Cookies (my husband’s favorites), Starchies, and Sour Cream Cookies. The first three we would definitely bake again. The Starchies were a little on the dry side though there may have been a slight baking error in that the recipe states they should not brown and ours definitely had a brownish color on the edges. Another recipe I look forward to trying is the Kiskadee Fantasy which comes from Hollis’s Bermudian father and is named after a common bird on the island. I also can’t wait for May when his next cookbook Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip will be published.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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