We have been extra inspired by all the tasty videos in our feeds lately, and it’s obviously our first impulse to make everything as YA as possible.
So we thought it’d be fun to make a few YA-inspired recipes, and darn, are we happy about them. Below you’ll find four yummy recipes inspired by some of our faves. YA has literally never tasted so good. Bon appétit, book nerds.
Words in Deep Blueberry Pie Cups
Enjoy these Words in Deep Blue–inspired blueberry pie cups while reading your fave YA with your very own sweetie! You will NOT regret it.
Words in Deep Blue is a love story. It’s the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets. It’s the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea. Now she’s back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother, Cal, and looking for answers in the words people leave behind in the books they love.
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- egg wash
- powdered sugar, to serve
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Roll out pie crusts onto a well-floured surface.
- Using a 4-inch (10-cm) flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many flower shapes as possible. Ball up and roll out any remaining dough to make more flowers.
- Press flowers into a greased mini muffin tin, so that the petals fall on the outside of the mold.
- Prick the bottoms with a fork.
- Freeze for 20 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix blueberries, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon zest.
- Divide filling between flower cups.
- Dot the top of mixture with butter.
- Brush egg wash on the petals.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden.
- Cool completely before serving.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
This Hawaiian Pizza Is Everything, Everything
Everything, Everything takes us to the land of Hawaii! This magical Hawaiian pizza is the perfect snack to transport your taste buds. It is EVERYTHING (everything).
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Ingredients
- prepared pizza crust (recommended brand: Boboli)
- 2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken breast
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1 cup diced baked ham
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Place pizza crust on a baking sheet and top with all remaining ingredients, in the order listed.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Banana Puddin’
Hey there, puddin’—you NEED to try this amazing banana pudding recipe. It’s 2 die 4.
Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.
Ingredients
for 4 servings
- 2 ripe bananas, peeled
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups milk
- vanilla wafers
- whipped cream
Preparation
- Place the bananas, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and milk into a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Transfer mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Pour mixture into a heat-safe bowl, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours.
- To serve, scoop a spoonful of pudding into a glass. Add one layer of vanilla wafers and then whipped cream. Repeat until glass is full.
- Enjoy!
Nevertheless, We Ate Breakfast
Here’s something to give you the energy and strength to power through the day! Inspired by Nevertheless, We Persisted, here are some irresistible brekky sammys.
Nevertheless, We Persisted shows readers that they are not helpless and that anyone can make a difference and change the world. This is a powerful collection of essays from actors, activists, athletes, politicians, musicians, writers, and teens, including Senator Amy Klobuchar, actors Alia Shawkat and Maulik Pancholy, poet Azure Antoinette, teen activist Gavin Grimm, and many, many more, each writing about a time in their youth when they were held back because of their race, gender, or sexual identity—but persisted. These essays share deeply personal stories of resilience, faith, love, and, yes, persistence. Not just for a young adult audience, this incredibly impactful collection will appeal to readers of all ages who need a little boost of hope.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons red bell pepper, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 whole wheat English muffin
- avocado, sliced, to garnish
Preparation
- Whisk together egg, spinach, bell pepper, and salt and pepper.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Place a greased mason jar lid on the pan.
- Slowly pour egg mixture into lid. Cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove cover. Using a fork, pull the lid off the egg. Flip egg, and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat once cooked through.
- Place egg patty on English muffin and top with sliced avocado.
- Enjoy!
