The Cat's Table

This month we read The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje, which while not being the greatest in the food descriptions and totally lacked recipes, nevertheless was a interesting read.

 Only Rachel's had read many of Ondaatje's books, and she felt this may be one of his weakest.  While everyone in the group found the setting very interesting, and the trouble the kids got into pretty amusing. the plot was slow to develop, and generally unsatisfying.  It was unclear if he was leaving so many lose ends and unknowns in the story to illustrate how children know so little of what is going on around them and how memory and imagination fill in the rest, or if he is just actually piecing together his own childhood memories and doesn't have real answers to give.  While many folks were left with uncertainty about reading more by this author, most of us could agree that we would like to take a long journey by boat like this one.  One of the most disappointing passages was probably the secret dinner down in the hold.  While the setting and characters took on an air of magic in this scene, the food was sadly neglected.  Descriptive as this book could be in places, it simply was not drool worthy.

Happily, we still were able to piece together a lovely feast, loosely based on the regions featured in the book.

Heather McN.

 Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry to stimulate our appetites, 

 lovely green vegetables, and rice.

 
Dawn 
simple veggie curry



 

 

Jennifer T. 

naan bread

 


Julie D. 
couscous with chicken

 

Katie S. –  Bademiya's Justly Famous Bombay Chile + Cilantro Chicken with Cilantro Sauce

Katie W.
cucumber mint tea sandwiches 
and tea

 

Laura H. 

spinach, pear and walnut salad 

with raspberry vinaigrette

 
 

Madeline 

fruit sculpture

 
 
Rachel R
Sri Lankan Coconut Cake

Sonja K-G – Cherry Cordial Cupcakes with condensed milk

Much thanks to Katie S. for making a sign for us to put on the door, so Al-anon folks won't have to be embarrassed about going to the wrong location any more!

Next month, on Wednesday March 5th, we will be discussing The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.  (takes place in Paris, with some Japanese cooking!) at Madeline's house (due to our regular location celebrating Lent with community dinners).  If you need her address, please contact me, or someone else who was at the last meeting.  She does not wish to post it online.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory report

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the delay in reporting, and the brief report (I did not take notes at the meeting).  I'm still in a sling for a few more weeks, which makes everything more complicated!

This month we discussed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, as we so enjoyed James and the Giant Peach from a few summers back.  Once again we were surprised by how dark Dahl's writing could be, and how truly crazy some of his characters could be.  We discussed how the book compared to both movies, and how children would perceive this book differently than adults.  While it certainly is an interesting and creative read, it took forever for Charlie to get to the chocolate factory, and once he arrived, everything moved with dizzying speed.

For food, we had far less chocolate than I might have anticipated, leaning instead on the German food favored by Augustus Gloop.

Heather made delicious Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut from The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking, that was super tasty.

















Katie made a chocolately chicken mole and brought a great looking cookbook from the library called Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate by Alice Medrich that looks well worth checking out.  And also some bright colorful lollipops to insure we had enough candy!

Karen brought yummy cabbage and mashed potatoes to go with the pork, and I believe she also brought the yummy strawberry dessert too?

I brought chocolate zuchinni bread, and my pal and driver Rita brought some delicious fizzy lifting beverage (ginger beer).

Next month's book is Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Smith.  There is one copy available in the Sno-Isle catalog right now, but I also have five copies sitting on my desk at Mountlake Terrace Library...just ask someone at the front desk to grab one for you.  Our next meeting is Wednesday August 8th at 6:30 in the basement of the Bethesda Lutheran Church (2 blocks from the library).

Hope to see you there, where we can share food made with produce from our gardens and local farmers markets!

February 2011 meeting: Mexican cookbooks

This month we explored and shared Mexican cookbooks and some very tasty food!


Everyone attending had been to Mexico at one time or another (alas, mine was the shortest trip, having only been to Tijuana for an afternoon). Some of our favorite Mexican foods include Shrimp Mojo de Ajo,

Here are the dishes everyone brought:

Sheri - Shrimp & Pork Tacos with Creamed Avocado
Deborah S. - cornbread
Teresa - shrimp ceviche
Katie - Flan and Marinated Tomatillo salad.
Dawn – Tuna Ceviche with Lime, Roasted Chipotle Acorn Squash


Cookbooks we shared were:
Chevys & Rio Bravo Fresh Mex Cookbook
Salsas and Tacos by the Santa Fe School of Cooking
Ceviche! Seafood, Salads, and Cocktails with a Latino Twist by Guillermo Pernot & Aliza Green
The Sunset Mexican Cookbook (and old favorite...2 different versions showed up!)
The Book of Mexican Food
The Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy (the Julia Child of Mexican food)
Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor by Marcela Valladolid

Overall it was a really delicious meeting, both the discussion and the foods!

Here are our upcoming books:

March – Pomegranate Soup
April – Fortune Cookie Chronicles
May – Omnivore’s Dilemma
June – Little House in the Big Wood

Invite your friends...anyone can join! All we ask is that you make a good effort to finish the book (not required to get to the end if you hate it or are suddenly busy) and bring a dish from or inspired by the reading.