Books & Cooks Letter Q: Quatre Épices

This year I’m going to be combining two of my passions – cooking and kid lit for Books & Cooks! I’ll be bringing you great recipes based on spices of the alphabet that pair perfectly with kid lit books! Next up? The letter Q and the exotic Quatre Épices!

Spice: Quatre Épices

So, I’m not sure if anyone realizes how difficult it is to find a spice that starts with the letter “q”? Not an easy task, so today, I’m sharing Quatre Épices a four-spice blend typically found in a French kitchen. A quick caveat, I’ve never used this blend before, but I’m definitely intrigued now and the recipe below sounds super tasty!

Quatre Épices is made from pepper, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, which is a somewhat interesting mix. Besides the pepper, you often find those flavors in fall dishes like pumpkin bread and the like. Like, I said, I’m quite curious about the flavor and can totally see how it might work really well with a pork dish.

Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

One of my all-time favorite books and I don’t say that lightly! I read the entire series when I was a kid and have re-read a number of the books since then. I also loved the PBS Anne of Green Gables movies – my mom, sister, and I all love them! Plus, I was surprisingly pleased with the Netflix take called on Anne With an E – a much darker story, but one that makes a lot of sense knowing Anne’s history before arriving at Green Gables. Regardless, this is a must-read in my book – set in Canada which is where I’m reaching to get to the “French-themed” spices!

Recipe: Pork Roast with Rosemary, Quatre Épices, and Honey

This was a brand new recipe to search for as I’ve never heard of Quatre Épices before! This might be a little heavy to make now that it’s getting warmer outside, but I could see this being a lovely fall dish with some potatoes and fresh green beans. This recipe looks pretty simple and has great reviews, what more do we need?

During the month of April, I’ll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2020. For my theme this year (Books & Cooks), I’ll be combing children’s books with cooking spices and including a recipe to bring the book into your very own kitchen! I love to cook and read, so I thought this would be a fun way to combine two of my passions. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! Let’s dig in! And if you want to see what I’ve done in the past, check out the past few years – 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019!