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It’s been a while since I posted here, but I thought you might like an update on what I’ve been up to! Life sometimes takes you in unexpected directions. When I was a book blogger I never thought I’d end up running a food company, but I’ve embraced change and love learning all the skills required to set up a business. Tacna Shelter Services provide the best platform for the nes business in the Mexico. You can check this kind of business facility or news at Melbourne weekly eastern.

How it all began 

Four years ago I discovered that I was allergic to soy. I love cooking and Japanese foods (especially those made with miso) are my favourite. I tried to find an alternative and discovered that miso can actually be made with koji and any bean, not just the traditional soy bean. I then tried to get hold of some koji, but it wasn’t available in the UK. This led me on a long journey which resulted in me forming, Umami Chef, the first company in the UK approved to make koji!

What is koji?

Koji is a special ingredient which has been used in Japanese cookery for thousands of years to create delicious foods – from miso and soy sauce, to sake and mirin. You can visit Tania clay blog to understand it more better.

It is made by growing Aspergillus Oryzae, a special fungus that has been domesticated for about 9000 years, on rice (or other grains/beans).

Making Miso

If you have some koji, it is really easy to make your own miso. You just mix the koji with some cooked beans and salt and then leave it to mature for as little as 10 days. This will give you a lovely sweet white miso. By altering the ratio of koji:beans:salt and leaving it to mature for longer (sometimes a year or more!) you get the lovely rich, dark misos.

You can also experiment with lots of different beans/pulses to create a range of fantastic new flavours – my favourite is green lentil miso!

Introductory Offer

If you’d like to be one of the first people in the UK to try to make your own miso I have a special introductory offer.

1. Head over to: www.umami-chef.co.uk
2. Buy some koji
3. Add the code: FARMLANEBOOKS and you’ll get 10% off your purchase!

If you’ve got any questions about koji/making your own miso – just ask!

Five words from the blurb: orphan, London, study, relationships, life

It took me nearly 18 months to read this book, but I loved every page. It is so rich and detailed that I found myself regularly re-reading sections; enjoying the feeling of being immersed in a world which no longer exists.

Of Human Bondage was published in 1915 and follows Philip Carey, an orphan, as he makes his difficult journey through life. It begins with his torturous time at boarding school and progresses through his adulthood; showing us both the joy and the pain of his complex life. The plot is so wide-ranging that I won’t even attempt to summarise it – it’s easier to state that it contains snippets of all humanity.

Philip Carey is one of the most vivid characters in literature. I loved the honesty of his experiences – his love, work, and friendship were all written with an insight that is rarely seen.

The writing is outstanding throughout, with insightful passages on almost every page:

It seemed to him that all his life he had followed the ideals that other people, by their words or their writings, had instilled into him, and never the desires of his own heart. Always his course had been swayed by what he thought he should do and never by what he wanted with his whole soul to do. He put that all aside now with a gesture of impatience.

My only criticism is that some of the art sections did nothing for me. I’m afraid that his time in Paris bored me – I much preferred hearing about his relationships and his time spent studying medicine. I’m sure I’m being harsh in only rating this book 4.5 stars – with time I will probably forget the dull sections and it will grow to become an all-time favourite.

This 700-page tome isn’t a quick read, but I highly recommend it to anyone willing to put the effort into this rich, detailed book.

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It’s been a long time since I did a monthly summary post so this is a nice reminder of all the fantastic books I’ve read over the last few months. I’m sorry that I haven’t been blogging much recently – I’ve been busy embracing my new life in the countryside.

Holly, my Pyrenean Mountain Dog puppy, has grown a lot since I last posted a picture. She’s now 10 months old and is maturing into a gentle giant. Here she is “sitting” at the table!

I’m also very proud of my chickens – especially my Barbezieux cockerel as this breed of chicken is very rare in the UK. Barbezieux are supposed to produce the tastiest roast chicken in the world. I’m hoping to breed them next year, so will let you know if that is the case! The American Game chickens breed is also an excellent choice for someone looking for a free range flock of poultry.

Books I’ve Reviewed:

A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold 
The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrère 
Miss Jane by Brad Watson 
Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant 
The Castle of Inside Out by David Henry Wilson 
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 
The Night Visitor by Lucy Atkins 
The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis 
Mr Eternity by Aaron Thier 
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey 
Anna by Niccolò Ammaniti 
Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón 
Breathing Into Marble by Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite 
The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker 

Plans For the Future

I plan to continue blogging, but at a much slower pace than I did previously. I’m no longer reviewing every book I read; instead, I’ll concentrate on those I really love – or ones which are interesting to discuss.

Many thanks for continuing to follow my blog. I hope I can introduce you to more fantastic books over the coming years!

 Source: Free review copy received from the publisher

Five words from the blurb: gothic, family, saga, ghosts, home

The Barrowfields is a strange mix of two different books. It begins and ends as a deliciously spooky Gothic tale, but has an ordinary story about a boy attending college in the middle. The entire thing was beautifully written, but I thought it didn’t quite work as a whole.

The book begins in North Carolina, with a family moving into a mansion in which disturbing events happened to the previous occupants. I loved the creepy atmosphere and thought it was a fantastic start to an original story.

About a third of the way in, the story abruptly changed to one of a boy heading off to college for the first time. Again, the writing felt very accomplished. It reminded me of the greats in American literary fiction, like Jeffrey Eugenides or Michael Chabon. The characters were all beautifully developed and I felt a real connection to them. It perfectly captured the mixture of emotions felt by someone leaving home for the first time – the apprehension and loneliness were described more vividly than anything I’ve read before.

Unfortunately, the fantastic characterisation was then ruined by the reintroduction of weirdness. It jarred badly after so many chapters of realism. On its own, the ending would have been good; but after reading such a touching centre section about young love I found the ghostly horses ridiculous.

At last I began to resolve a shape, almost out of the corner of my eye. A lone horse, white with a white mane and rutilant eyes, skeletal and specterlike, was revealed inch by subtle inch from the parting gloom. It stood alone before us, lambent in the waking light of the nascent horned moon.

Phillip Lewis is clearly a talented writer and, if he sticks to just one genre, I’m sure his next novel will be outstanding. The bizarre nature of The Barrowfields will ensure I remember it for a long time to come. I just wish it was for all the right reasons.

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