Roast Chicken and Other Stories - Simon Hopkinson

I've been reading a book this past month by Simon Hopkinson, a man I had never heard of until picking up his cook book with additional stories and patter on kitchen wisdom and food opinions. I have had fun reading the recipes and making a few, as I poked along through the book. He's conversational in his writing style and I like that. It's rather like listening to my brother yak about food and experiences he's had in the kitchen and around the world of food. Not intimidating, full of good information and technique tips, sweetly illustrated with a few stories and a few chuckles, full of recipes that are written clearly and not too complicated. The other thing that I really like about the book's recipes is that they are all geared for four servings, which is perfect for a two-person household, a retiree budget, and a small-ish refrigerator.

The Most Beautiful Walk In the World

I walked the dog today ... it was grey and chilly and the trees were groaning and clacking together in the breeze and spooking Mimi as we made our way down our dirt road, across the state highway, up over the hill and into the village. Two big Newfoundlands bellowed at us, as they lumbered around in their yard. They made Mimi jump and jolted me out of my daydream about this book that I've been reading.

The Orchard - A Memoir and Apple Turnovers

Today's post is about a good read and a classic pastry treat ... 

Bisque and a Book - 'The Lobster Chronicles' by Linda Greenlaw

Back in the day, lobsters were poor folk food. Don't laugh! There were actual laws prohibiting prisons from feeding their prisoners lobster more than once a week! Just imagine! Well, there's no problem in this grey cottage with eating lobster frequently - that is , if the budget would just allow!

Summertime is the time for me to splurge a few times and buy lobsters from a guy down the road. His son has a lobsterman's license over on the coast of New Hampshire, so he sells his catch inland, where he has a sure market. I go into his little shop and pick a few out of the tank, but I rarely consider all the hard work that goes into harvesting these bottom feeders. It's constant work, maintaining lobster traps and lines, hauling, baiting , resetting them. The tourists always love seeing the little lobster boats chugging in and out of harbor, but they don't consider the work either when they are tying on their lobster bibs and bellying up to a table of boiled lobster with drawn butter.

Linda Greenlaw addresses that issue for anyone curious enough to wonder just what does go into being a lobsterman (er ... woman). She has written a chronicle of a year in the life of a lobsterman and I must say, she doesn't romanticize things. It's a hard life that one has to love in order to keep to ... the sea can be a cold, dangerous, unforgiving environment. Currents can play havoc with equipment, weather conditions can be life-threatening, political intricacies can make for bad blood between fellow lobstermen, and the lobsters can come and go (often at the worst possible times). Still, Greenlaw keeps at it ... and writes of her life with honesty, poignancy, and humor. This was a fun summertime read, but on this first day of Fall ... and in honor of Homarus americanus, I am making a Lobster Bisque this evening to have with fresh bread and a green salad.

Good Reads - Fannie's Last Supper

I've been reading Fannie Farmer's Last Supper - Re-creating One Amazing Meal From Fannie Farmer's 1896 Cookbook by Chris Kimball. This all came about because of the 50 Women Game-Changers posts that I've been playing at, plus the research and reading that goes with it.

Chris Kimball had a thing about Fannie Farmer ... an interest that went beyond just living smack dab in the middle of her stomping grounds in the South End of Boston. He and his crew at America's Test Kitchen set out to re-create a multi-course menu right out of her 1896 cookbook and in so doing, he wrote an account and filmed a documentary on how the job got done. It was no easy task, as he and his cohorts used authentic ingredients, cooked almost everything on a coal-fired cookstove reminiscent of those used during the 1890's, and used cooking techniques that have become obsolete for most of us. Of course, some of the original recipes were too strangely textured or bland or fatty for Kimball's and his head chef cohort's taste, so they worked to 'improve' some of the dishes. They always, though, started working with the original recipe from Fannie Farmer's cookbook and went from there.

The book is highly readable, educational, and sometimes funny. Kimball has an easy way of expressing events and has fun commentary on Boston culture, the historical aspects of the story of Fannie and the Boston Cooking School, Victorian manners, Boston culinary history, and the foibles of working with calves' brains, killing lobsters, working with puff pastry, making Victorian punches, and getting ready to host a twelve course meal for twelve highbrows. He also gives history lessons on the development of Boston food markets, the inner workings and techniques for cooking on Victorian cast iron cookstoves, and food trends of the Victorian era.

His altered recipes are included in the book. It's fun to compare them to the originals from Fannie's cook book. Of course, I'm going to try at least one of them! Right now, I'm leaning toward the Grilled Salmon with Lemon and Caper Vinaigrette. I have a fridge full of food leftover from the 4th, though, so the salmon will have to wait. The book, though, is quickly being consumed ...

Iced Tea, Scones and a Good Read

I have just finished reading Molly Wizenberg's memoir called A Homemade Life. Molly's blog, Orangette was one of the first blogs that I fell in love with when I first began learning about food blogs. I love her space because of the quality of her writing ... I think she actually studied writing as an undergrad. Her talent has shown through on the blog and now in her first book. To say that her book is about her blog would be a big fat falsehood ... her book is about her approach toward food as guided by her family and in particular, her Dad. She brings the reader up through her childhood to present day by centering her chapters on particular foods that have been central in her life. I can't recommend the book highly enough ... it's got its hilarious moments, great recipes, tips on handling certain foods, and poignant times. It's a love story on so many levels ...

A Memoir and a Cake ... Pineapple Chocolate Chip Cake

Do you have time for a piece of cake, a cup of tea, and a good read ?

Miriam's Kitchen - A Memoir by Elizabeth Ehrlich

It seemed to me that it was time again to share a really good book.

If you have been following along with me of late, you know that I've had a fascination with Jewish cooking and cuisine. Well, recently a friend passed me a memoir by Elizabeth Ehrlich and I have waited for just the right time to settle in for the read. Now, I won't go into Lent and all it means to me. Suffice it to say, this is my time of year to go on a spiritual journey. It's a slow, tentative thing for me ... but reading of another's coming to terms with their cultural and religious heritage is a perfect way for me to contemplate my own .

Milk, Cookies, and a Good Story ...

I woke up yesterday morning to the public radio station, as usual. Coming awake, I was in time for the international update on the revolution unfolding in Egypt, a story on a play being performed for the American top military brass that gives great insight into the culture and historical perspective on Afghanistan, and then, a short remembrance of the children's author, Brian Jacques who passed away this week in Liverpool, England.

Good Christmas Reads ... and Chai!

It's the second day of Christmas and my true loves gave to me ... books! Hurray!

While others may be out in the stores taking advantage of the sales, I am cozied up by the fire waiting for the blizzard that is bearing down on New England and reading a new book that was given to me by my pastor. She knows my taste! I am enthralled by this book. Laura Schenone has written an interesting and touching historical survey of American women's roles in putting food on their families' and friends' tables. She offers well-researched chapters on Native American food practices, early Colonial housewives' cooking challenges and innovations, the role of the African slaves in providing food for their families and their masters' tables, and onward right up to modern times. Mixed in with the history are first-hand accounts of how foods were prepared, recipes from some of the first published cook books, incredible old photographs and artwork that show women working in their kitchens and gardens, entertaining in their homes, working in the church kitchens and at bake sales, running restaurants and cafes, farming their food ... and on and on. This is an incredible book!

Good Book Alert #3 - Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers

Edie Clark has been a contributing writer and editor at Yankee Magazine for almost twenty-five years. In addition, she writes fiction, has published four books of memoirs, teaches writing and journalism at Frankin Pierce College, is an active lecturer, and keeps her own blog. I discovered Edie Clark, the memoirist, when I picked up a copy of her book, The View From Mary's Farm last winter. It chronicled her purchase, renovation of, and subsequent life at a small hill farm in the lovely New England village of Harrisville, New Hampshire. I loved her humor and the sense of history that she honored when she brought the house and fields back to use. I cheered for her as she weathered that first hard New England winter in her partially restored farmhouse and chuckled at the foibles of her new neighbors. It was a terrific read!

Last week, when I dashed into the local public library to return some books and pick out some new ones, her book, Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers,  jumped off the shelf at me.  Little did I know that I would open the first essay and find a recipe for a fish chowder that mirrored one I was making for a blog entry I was preparing that very day.  I'm telling you, my mother once said that there is no such thing as a coincidence. All things are part of the larger design; one made by forces larger than we.  Mom's world view came wafting around me and sent a little shiver and a feeling of  'whaddayaknow!'  through me, as I curled up and read on through Clark's essay titled  'Aunt Peg's Chowder'.   .

A Nod to Craig Claiborne ...

Let's talk about reading ... and books. I was always a voracious reader, from the times in my very early years of leafing through the World Book Encyclopedia in my parent's living room and reading a little bit about a lot of things, to the middle years of devouring Nancy Drew mysteries, right up to my high school years spent immersed in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Vonnegut novels, and Ferlinghetti's poetry. Then, I went to college and was handed  'required reading lists'  and textbooks the size of the Inquisition stones used to press people to death. (insert scream here).  Suffice it to say, I spent the first three years after college reading nothing more serious than Rolling Stone, the occasional recipe card, and the Sunday funnies.

Beach Read ... The Sugar Queen

What person hasn't eaten to comfort themselves at some point in their lives?  I think we all have  'been there, done that'  to an extent. The Sugar Queen  explores the idea a bit further, though.  What if eating some illicit goodie was your way of rebelling against authority, of taking ownership of your day-to-day life, of going to a place that no one can control or schedule ? This is the life of our protagonist, Josey Cirrini. Josey lives a North Carolina resort town - in a big house with all the creature comforts and very few of the emotional ones. She is the caretaker for her elderly mother - a Southern widow with an embittered past and an iron will.  Josey and the housekeeper maintain the home to Margaret's strict standards, but at a cost. Poor Josey needs to 'get a life'  ... and as the story unfolds, she gets one in the most magical fairy tale way.

Food Stamps ... A Quick Follow-Up...

Isn't it funny that I have been thinking about the trouble of budgeting a good basic diet for a family of four using only Food Stamps and this article appears on my radar?

Food Critic's Current Challenge

Life On Food Stamps

I'm still looking at doing the $68 weekly shopping challenge ... we, who have the means to pick and choose at the supermarket are, indeed, very lucky folk. I don't look forward to this challenge, but I think it's a necessary exercise.

The Untold Story of Milk - What's All the Hub-bub About Raw Milk?

I have been doing a little reading on the milk industry of late. It all started when I spied a small ad for raw milk being sold at a small farm in our town. When I brought the place up in conversation at church one Sunday, one of my 'church lady' friends wondered aloud what all the fuss with raw millk was about. She'd been raised drinking milk straight from the cow and she was alive to tell the tale. I detected a healthy dose of Yankee cynicism in her tone when another woman commented on pasteurization being a public health response to dirty conditions in dairies. She sniffed and replied that her family's dairy was clean and that's why she never had problems. She doubted that other folks' dairies were cesspits. I changed the subject by asking about the flavor of raw milk as opposed to the pasteurized product. More flavor, richer, taste varied depending on the season were some of the comments. Hmmm...

I came away from that conversation wanting to find out more. Doing a bit more reading, I found it's difficult for the small farmer to get a market going for the real thing. Public health laws have governed closely the production, distribution, and sale of milk for a long time. Today's consumer demands for more natural foods , milk and dairy products being one of them, have placed small producers of raw milk in a bind. The laws say they can't produce more than a certain amount, but consumer demand is picking up dramatically for their product. What's a farmer to do? Push for new legislation ... and advocate through various farm and natural foods non-profits.

Which leads me to a book that I found ... The Untold Story of Milk is an excellent overview of milk. The author gives you a history of milk's importance as a cultural product, the science and chemistry of milk, the public health world's policy on milk pasteurization, the naturopaths' philosophy and rationalization for raw milk products consumption, and the history of the industrialization of milk and dairy production. Milk is BIG business! Check it out. Perhaps you'll think a bit deeper about what's in your milk, where it comes from, what you'd like in your milk and cheese that would benefit your body ... interesting stuff!

Food For Thought - Tomato Rhapsody by Adam Schell

Sometimes a book comes along that takes you by surprise. I figured this book was going to be a tongue-in-cheek tale that gave you a bit of food history as it told a sweet love story... but Adam Schell has done much more here. What a witty guy!  He manages to bring the whimsical, comedic atmosphere of a Shakespearean farce to us through his tale of love, hate, prejudice, honor, the history of the introduction of the tomato to Italian food culture ... and olives.

Our young hero, Davido is a young Jewish man heading straight for an arranged marriage with a scrawny young Jewess in 16th century Florence. This will take him away from the family farm in the Tuscan countryside and his beloved grandfather, Nonno. Davido can think of nothing worse than living in a dirty, plague-infested city with a woman he doesn't know or love unless it's returning to a city where Jews are restricted and looked down on. His passion for farming is all he wishes for in life... growing tomatoes, the dreaded ' love apples', and tending Nonno's farm so that it continues to prosper.

Mari is a young Tuscan woman whose mother is crippled and step-father is villainous. She holds the family olive farm and winery business together. She would dearly love to have more control of her life, but her step-father refuses to set her dowery, for in seeing her happily married, he would lose his free labor.  Caught in society's snare, she plods on day to day, caring for her failing mother and growing and harvesting olives and wine that are known for their quality.

Mix these two characters' chance meeting, the politics of the Renaissance Catholic Church and the skullduggery within the Italian aristocracy, the societal suspicion and prejudice aimed at Jews, hilarious episodes in the villagers' everyday lives and you have a wonderful Italian stew of a story... an easy, fast, and satisfying read .

You will probably want to try some of the food that becomes central to certain events in the novel ... eggplants, artichokes, garlic, tomatoes, olives, and wine. They all get some delectable treatments that just might inspire you to create your own kitchen rhapsody ... salut!

OMG! Could Walmart Be On the Right Track?

I am agog... read on folks. An interesting article that will get you thinking ... or at least shaking your head at the ever evolving market mentality of  'corporate America' ... If Walmart can sell  'locavore philosophy'  to the mainstream consumer ... is that a bad thing? If Walmart can help create a bigger demand for local food products ... say what? Perhaps supplying local food product could offset their inordinate amount of imported (read 'Made in China' ) merchandise. When you consider that there are far more Walmarts than Whole Foods Markets in the US right now and when you consider how much of a nutrition problem the American public has, perhaps Walmart's initiative to get into the organic, local produce, locally harvested meat market could be a good thing. Now, if we could just get them to ditch the plethora of junk food that dominate the end aisle displays... and push an initiative for healthier snacking...

       It kinda feels like dancing with the devil, but... what if they are on to it for real? I'm still a cynic.

Making Toast

I'm reading a new book... Making Toast is a memoir written by Roger Rosenblatt. It's a short but powerful collection of essays that details his family's evolution through the dark times after the loss of his daughter to a sudden catastrophic heart attack. Mr. Rosenblatt and his wife move into his daughter and son-in-law's home to help with the care of their three young grandchildren and the maintenance of the household. It is a dignified and bittersweet memoir that chronicles so many things ... the grief of a father, the redemptive nature of his blossoming relationship with his young grandchildren, his wonder at the lasting memories and impressions that his dynamic daughter has left behind, his struggle with the cold and random nature of life's circumstances, his joy and befuddlement at the nature of young children and their inner workings ...

Good Book Alert 2 !!

The Tenth Muse - My Life In Food

I find Judith Jones' memoir about her progression into the life of food writer and cookbook editor enthralling. The list of people that she has worked with over the years is long and daunting - Julia Child, Nina Simonds, and James Beard - to name a few. You don't sense from her words, though, that she was ever overwhelmed or put off by them. Instead, she seems to have been an open vessel into which their knowledge poured. Her adventurous nature and enthusiasm for exploring different food families comes through in the memoir and she devotes the last section of the book to sharing some of the more notable food memories that she has from different eras of her life - and the recipes for these foods.

What a life this Yankee gal has lead! We should all be so lucky and talented!

Good Book Alert!

Okay, so I've just started reading Erica Bauermeister's new book The School of Essential Ingredients. I can already say that I won't want to rush this book. The characters are an interesting group of individuals who all come together for a cooking class with a most interesting chef teacher ... and that's all I'm going to say. Bauermeister has a way with words... nice prose. You could easily gobble this book up fast or savor it in a slow chapter by chapter nibble. A worthy read... no earth-shaking non-fiction. Just a wonderful story to curl up with and enjoy.

Food For Thought

Kate spent a few days with us this week and when she comes for a visit, we usually talk local food movement, food supply issues, CSA's, plans for gardens, antique dishes and glass, entrepreneurship in the baking/catering industry, baking recipes ... you know, foodie stuff. I love it, because Silent Bob is a wonderful husband and all, but he doesn't have a real gift for jabber and I DO love to chat! Kate indulges me, as a good daughter should!

This last visit she brought me a news link  and a DVD documentary that she uncovered when doing some research for an upcoming job interview ...