June 2020 - Page 2 of 2 - NY Foodie Family

With a long, hot summer approaching, some of us may need some new book and television recommendations. It’s surprising how many television shows are based on books. I’m always a fan of reading the book first and then comparing how different the show or movie is. Many of these television shows have been streaming for awhile now, so you have probably watched some of them. But have you read the book(s) that they are based on? In this first edition of Read Before You Watch, catch up on your summer reading and watching with these books and the television shows that they inspired. While this list isn’t comprehensive, it’s a good start!

Newer Shows:

Read: The Black Echo (Book #1 in the Harry Bosch series) by Michael Connelly. There are 22 books in the series.
Watch: Bosch on Prime Video if you like police drama and suspense. Season 6 began streaming in April 2020.

Read: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Watch: on Hulu if you like family drama. This show started streaming in March of 2020.

Read: Stealing Home (Book #1 in The Sweet Magnolias series) by Sherryl Woods. There are 11 books in the series.
Watch: On Netflix if you like southern small town drama, friendship and romance. The show began streaming in mid-May.

Read: Normal People by Sally Rooney
Watch: Normal People on Hulu if you like Irish coming of age dramas. The show began streaming at the end of April.

Read: Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman
Watch: on Netflix if you want to learn more about Hasidic Judaism and one woman’s journey escaping her religious roots. The show began streaming in March 2020.

Older Shows:

Read: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Watch: on Netflix if you like teen drama that deals with heavy topics like suicide and rape

Read: Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
Watch: on Netflix if you like action, science fiction and mystery

Read: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Watch: on HBO if you like family/friendship drama

Read: Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (8 books in the series)
Watch: Dexter, originally aired on Showtime. You can now watch it on Netflix if you like crime, psychological

Read: The Feed by Nick Clark Windo
Watch: on Amazon Video if you like futuristic, dystopian, psychological thrillers

Read: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (7 books in the series)
Watch: on HBO if you like fantasy, action-packed, drama

Read: Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar (13 books in the series)
Watch: on Netflix if you like YA drama involving wealthy teens

Read: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Watch: on Hulu if you like dystopian fiction

Read: House of Cards by Michael Dobbs (3 books in the series)
Watch: on Netflix if you like political dramas/thrillers

Read: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Watch: on Netflix if you are interested in seeing a woman’s prison comedy/drama, based on a true story

Read: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (9 books in the series)
Watch: on Starz if you like historical fiction, romance, time travel and fantasy

Read: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (There are 16 books in the series)
Watch: on Netflix if you like YA teen drama and mystery

Read: The Stranger by Harlan Coben
Watch: on Netflix if you like mystery/thrillers

Read: The Awakening by L.J. Smith (There are 7 books in the series)
Watch: on Netflix if you like YA supernatural drama, fantasy

Read: Westworld by Michael Crichton
Watch: on HBO if you like action-packed, dystopian science-fiction thrillers

Read: You by Caroline Kepnes
Watch: on Netflix if you like psychological suspense thrillers featuring a stalker

Check out this week’s vegan meal plan. With pictures, recipe links and reviews, hopefully you will find something tasty to make! This week’s menu includes fajitas, pizza, pasta and more. There were so many tasty recipes this week that we recommend!

Sunday: 5 Ingredient Vegan Vodka Pasta – We were out Sunday and got home late. We thought about ordering takeout. But I had this recipe on our menu plan for the week and decided to cook instead. This is super quick and easy to make! We were eating it faster than if we had ordered and picked up takeout. The coconut milk gave the sauce a slightly sweet taste. It tastes a little different than non-vegan penne vodka….because heavy cream! But this was a tasty vegan version.

Monday: Vegan Bombay Potatoes – I made this for dinner a couple of weeks ago and my daughter loved it so much, she chose to make it again for her recipe this week. It’s easy to put together and very tasty! We served with Basmati rice and naan.

Tuesday: Sheet Pan Cauliflower Fajitas with Instant Pot Spanish Rice – These cauliflower fajitas were delicious and so easy to throw together. I made Instant Pot Spanish Rice from the same blog, but that didn’t come out as expected. First, note to self, read number of servings before preparing the recipe. I started making the recipe and when I saw I had to add 4 cups of rice, I knew it was going to make A LOT! If I had previewed the recipe first, I could have halved it. The rice came out a bit mushy, almost porridge like. It wasn’t bad, just not the consistency that we are used to.

Wednesday: Healthy Taco Salad – This was my son’s recipe of the week. There was little actual cooking involved. There were no avocados at the store when we did the grocery shopping, so we had to do without. But, they would have been a great addition to this salad. This is a light recipe. But even with chickpeas and black beans, we all felt hungry later that evening.

Thursday: Simple Summer Corn Soup with Beer Bread – Dana made this soup for dinner along with Beer Bread. We’ve been finding the corn at the supermarket has been super sweet. The soup was tasty and easy to make.

Friday: Vegan Zucchini & Hummus Flatbread – The original recipe that I linked to actually calls for eggplant. But since the kids aren’t big fans, I swapped it with zucchini. We made this into pizzas using dough from the grocery store. This was really good and we will be making it again!

Saturday: Veggie Burgers and Tater Tots – No recipe here. This is our go-to lazy lunch or dinner. I took some frozen veggie burgers and cooked them in a pan. I realized that we didn’t have any hamburger buns so I had my burger on a tortilla and everyone else ate theirs without a bun. We topped them with vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. This is a quick and easy meal that I served with some tater tots cooked in the air fryer.

Recipe recommendations of the week: 5 Ingredient Vegan Vodka Pasta, Sheet Pan Cauliflower Fajitas, Vegan Bombay Potatoes and Vegan Zucchini Hummus Flatbread.

Month: June 2020

Read Before You Watch {TV Series Edition}

Weekly Vegan Meal Plan {Week 4}