The Girl Who Chased The Moon

 

 

 

 

The Girl Who Chased The Moon **** by Sarah Addison Allen

 

 

 

 

I’m joining Jain with my Edible Book Review at Food for Thought, where in her words, pages from your book magically mix with the kitchen and your camera.

 

 

 

 and Michael Lee at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. . . the perfect little food corner in blogland.

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

Mullaby is a small town of North Carolina, that is full of gossip, ghostly lights that dance in the moonlight, and magical wallpaper that changes color. When 17-year-old Emily comes to live with the gentle giant that is her grandfather, she hopes to solve some of these mysteries including what caused her mother to leave town and vow never to return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julia Winterson has returned to town to run her father’s barbecue business. Mullaby is a town with more BBQ restaurants per capita than any other place in the state. Julia’s father’s restaurant has a loyal small following.

 

 

 

 

Lexington-Style BBQ is something my family is very familiar with. 

The fictitious Mullaby, is loosely based on Lexington, with more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other place in the state. It’s also home to the famous Lexington Barbecue FestivalLexington-Style to us, is the epitome of North Carolina BBQ and nothing rivals Lexington #1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

With BBQ on the brain, I borrowed this idea from Southern Living Magazine, where Foods Editor Scott Jones fondly remembers the BBQ Sundae served at the Rebel Barn BBQ in Oxford, Mississippi. An entrée, not dessert, the sundae layers pork, slaw, and baked beans, all covered in thick, sweet red sauce, or Lexington-Style sauce in this case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would be a great idea for tailgating or an outdoor party for serving your BBQ~

 

 

 

Julia’s dreams to open a bakery have to be put on hold, while she works off her father’s debt, so she begins to add cakes and pastries to the menu. To Julia, baking is a language that calls to those you love.

 

 

  

 

  

“There was a mood of magic and frenzy to the room. Crystalline swirls of sugar and flour still lingered in the air like kite tails. And then there was the smell–the smell of hope, the kind of smell that brought people home.”

 

 

 

Milky Way Cakes typically have the candy bars melted into the batter. 

 

My version of a Milky Way Cake~aka  Incredible Melted Ice Cream Cake Recipe

 Here

 

 

 

 I used a yellow cake mix and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Everything But The… (everything BUT Milky Ways :-)  I did cut up 3 miniature bars and added it to the batter for this Edible Review. This is an easy cake recipe, and it can be altered lots of ways, depending on your cake mix~German Chocolate, Devil’s Food, White… and then with the addition of your flavor of melted ice cream, according to your taste.

 

 

  Julia runs into Sawyer, an old flame, when she returns to town.

 

Sawyer:

 

“You know how some people have a sweet tooth? Well, I have a sweet sense. When I was a little boy, I could be playing across town and know exactly when my mother took a cake out of the oven. I could see the scent, how it floated through the air. All I had to do was follow it home.”

 

 

 

  

“His mother had tried to hide cakes from him when he was small, but he always found them. He couldn’t help it. At that age, he hadn’t yet developed the willpower to resist. He’d inherited his sweet sense from him grandfather. It was the reason he felt so close to him, closer than to anyone else in his family. His grandfather had been the one who taught him how to turn it off, after one to many stomach aches. And he’d also been the one who’d told Sawyer that not everyone could see what he saw, so be careful who he told. Sawyer normally left it off now, unless he was distracted or tired, then he would unwittingly see the silver glitter undulating out of house windows, or the sparkle trailing out of a child’s lunch box.”

 

 

 

 

 Julia:

 

“It was what you told me about how you always sensed when your mother baked cakes. I loved that story. I started baking when I was away at school. That’s a whole story unto itself. The point is, at a time in my life when there were a lot of bad things happening, you gave me something good. Something to hold on to. I’m opening my own bakery when I move back to Baltimore. And it all started with you.”

 

 

  

 

 

 

“You said you followed the scent home when your mother baked, so I have it in my head–in my heart–that if I just keep baking, she’ll find me. That this will bring her home.”

 

 

 

 

In Mullaby, Emily discovers some of the answers to her questions but also discovers that her disbelief could be suspended further than she ever thought.

 

 

I enjoyed this book~ reading it was a piece of cake :-), easily done is a day or two. You do have to suspend your sense of disbelief, just like Emily. You should be warned that it will make you want to bake a cake, or follow your sweet sense to find some!

 

Be sure to stop by Designs by Gollum and see what’s being served this Friday &  Food for Thought and find out what everyone is reading & eating!

 

  11 comments for “The Girl Who Chased The Moon

  1. April 9, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    Decadently delicious!

  2. April 10, 2010 at 12:00 am

    oh i am eager to read this book! your bbq sundae is fantastic, what a great idea, portable pork! trust me, i will not be making pork for this book, its too much of a southern tradition to even attempt, i have never even had pulled pork, its just not seen in california, but i sure loved seeing yours!

    but that cake, omg, swoon… i never even heard of that either, but i think i will have to give it major thumbs up and give it a go! did you make it all up, have you had this before? how can i know so little about something i love so much, CHOCOLATE! each pics makes me wilder and wilder…

    i can’t wait to read my book, i think she writes really well, and lets face, i know i will be eating dang well!
    gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, too bad i didn’t read it last night, we would be in a bake off today with each other if i had!

    thanks for the sweetest reviews ever!

  3. April 10, 2010 at 1:10 am

    OK, Sarah Addison Allen’s books are definitely on my radar now. I’m having a serious sweet attack after the photos of that chocolate cake.

  4. April 10, 2010 at 8:15 am

    It sounds like I would truly enjoy this book..You’re great at this!

  5. April 10, 2010 at 8:23 am

    Well, you’ve certainly made ME want to bake a cake! What great photos…Oh my goodness, they almost make my teeth ache, they’re so sweet.

    I am always amazed at the different types of BBQ around the country. The jar with the beans, slaw & the pulled pork is positively brilliant. What a great idea for a picnic! I just bookmarked the Lexington sauce version…thank you so much for doing this post!

  6. April 10, 2010 at 10:19 am

    A Milky way cake… died and gone to heaven!

  7. April 10, 2010 at 11:22 am

    Nice review of the book and that milky way cake?? Dangerous.

  8. April 15, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Magical post- Over the moon!
    Yvonne

  9. April 15, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    Now I don’t know whether to read or cook :)

  10. Liz
    April 16, 2010 at 8:52 am

    What a great post! I love the cake! : )

    ~Liz

  11. April 16, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Your cake looks so delicious – and thank you for sharing about Sarah Addison Allen’s new book. I loved Garden Spells, so will try to get a copy of The Girl Who Chased the Moon soon!

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: