Welcome to 2015 and another year of Cooking the Books. I’m thrilled to kick the year off with one of my favourite authors. Madeline Ash writes beautifully moving stories wrapped in layers of sparkling humour and sexy times. To die for heroes, wonderful heroines and truly unique stories make her an insta-buy for me. Madeline’s latest release Love & Other Lies is no different. Welcome, Madeline!
Thanks for having me today, Louise, it’s wonderful to back on such a delicious blog! I’d love to talk about the subjective nature of taste. It’s fascinating. We all have foods and flavours that we simply won’t go near. I don’t mean by choice, like vegetarians avoiding meats, but because it just tastes foul!
The heroine in my latest book, Abby, has a strong aversion to bananas. She can’t handle the fruit itself or any banana flavoured goodies. Abby is also a compulsive liar. Or, she used to be – she’s reformed at the start of the story.
At one point, when Abby fears she’s lapsed and will have to rebuild her life all over again, her friend (and café owner) dishes her up a banana muffin for breakfast. Her friend is using it as a test.
“Abby drained her latte in a few long swallows. ‘Add to that, I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours. There’s a trigger-happy man with a nail gun inside my skull. My stomach’s an anxious, ravenous mess and you know I hate banana muffins.’
Jenny folded her arms. ‘And if you’d truly reverted to lying, you wouldn’t have reminded me.’”
If she’d lapsed into lying, the full mess of it, Abby probably would have eaten the muffin. Personal preference never had any bearing on what came out of her mouth (or what went in it). Also, since reforming, she only speaks the truth, even if it offends people. And telling someone that you hate the breakfast they’ve given you is a bitch-slap of truth! I loved using her dislike of food to mark her behavior.
As for me, I don’t mind bananas (their texture is another matter). They’re jam-packed with goodness and make pretty delicious muffins when paired with their best friend, chocolate. Today I’d love to share this tasty recipe from a muffin book I often tug from the cupboard when I’ve got friends coming over.
Instead of typing it out, I’ve taken a photo so the stains act as proof of how delicious they must be – made time and time again!
I’d love to know about you – are there any foods or flavours that you simply cannot tolerate, even to be polite? As for me, don’t even say seafood!
Thanks, Madeline! I can’t think of a single flavour I don’t like although I find some flavours in unusual carriers very off-putting eg. savoury ice creams – Louise
About Love & Other Lies by Madeline Ash
Lou Writes 
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