Blue Plate Special

This month we had a great discussion and super tasty meal around Blue Plate Special: an Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen.  This one had some pretty mixed reactions. A few people really liked it and found the author very easy relate to. Others had trouble connecting with her, and didn't find the food writing as appetizing as would have been hoped from the title.

Our first impressions of the book were also mixed. While more than one person said they could barely set it down and read it in just a few days, others found it to be a tougher read. The prologue definitely drew everyone in, seemingly starting out with they typical foodie memoir scene of a small child savoring a tasty treat...then the trauma starts. This had some of us "clenching my jaws" and feeling sorry for her, while others found her treatment enigmatic with lots of foreshadowing.  But this foreshadowing didn't always lead anywhere, and while she confesses a lot, there weren't enough details to draw everyone in.

When Christensen does go heavy on the details, that is where we really responded. Her writing could be really fun, such as on page 40 where she talks about being an omnivore and a glutton. The explanation of the blue plate special was really well received, as was how she used food for comfort. Many members related to her descriptions of hippie and/or space food from their own childhoods. And the shoplifting scene was a guilty pleasure read for many.

But despite some solid writing, the majority of us seemed uncomfortable with this book. The author seemed conflicted about everything, and often this read more as therapy notes than an engaging sharing. Her relationship with food was so out of balance. She claimed to get pleasure from it, but would put herself on horrible diets at the drop of a hat. Most troubling of all, was a perceived lack of empathy for others seen in so many parts of the book.

The food descriptions in the book were occasionally drool-worthy (the soft-boiled eggs of the opening, and when she travels to Mexico, France and Italy), but not consistently appetizing, reflecting her uncomfortable relationship with it at various points.

However, the book did inspire a very good meal for us:







Deanna - meatloaf and biscuits and ketchup


 

  

Heather McN – enchilada casserole, a Jello salad and real whipped cream with orange segments

 
Katie S. – southern green beans with bacon







Katie W. – tapioca pudding



Laura – strawberry rhubarb cake





Sonja – Spinach Pie #1
Dawn – Spinach Pie #2 (not pictured)




Sunny S. – Asian salad



And someone brought these strawberries with whipped cream and nuts.  Who was it?





Next month we are discussing An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage. There should be a few copies behind the desk at the Mountlake Terrace Library, plus a few more available in the catalog (including 3 large print).  If you want ebook or eaudio, you will need to go to Seattle Public. SPL and KCLS both have cds, too.

Looking forward to seeing you next month!

The Dirty Life

This month we read The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball, the story of a NYC writer who falls in love with a single minded farmer determined to live off the land and create a single source CSA. We had a wonderful turnout of thirteen people and just barely fit in Mad's craft room.

Overall, we found lots to love here. There was some concern that this would be just another city "girl goes to the country" book, with the usual disastrous results.  But we were all impressed how she didn't just show up, but really put her heart into embracing the hard work of farming. It felt much more authentic than the Pioneer Woman book we previously read. When you read about tiny Kristin struggling with the huge horses, with big clumps of earth flying everywhere, you knew she was devoted and not taking the easy way out. 

Some of the things we enjoyed most about this book, were the surprises along the way. The contrast of her helping kill a hog in an Agnes B. blouse, could have been the path to disaster, but instead really symbolized how she was the rare New Yorker who could give up her big city ways and sink her roots into the farm earth. Adored the story of her seeking out mean cats to deal with rats. Also great, was how she embraced the local community, and learned their ways.  We especially loved the non-conversational visitors who would literally just hang out.  Best of all, we felt like we learned a lot reading this book (of course we all already knew that bacon is the gateway meat away from vegetarianism).

Her relationship with her sweetie was fascinating to us.  The way he put her off completely the first time they met, only to decide he would marry her once they actually spent a little time together. We loved how his (sexy) unwavering vision helped her to let go and embrace the experience fully.  And his magic circle was pretty amazing...particularly with the baby bull whose botched castration paid big time.

Our only frustrations were there were not enough pictures, and not enough recipes.  There were some places more elaboration would have been nice but over there was great details.

Much of the book was drool-worthy, but the scene that really stood out was when they took over Thanksgiving dinner at her parent's house.  Mmmm.

Someone mentioned a good source of local meat pies: http://goodtogomeatpies.com/daily-menu/

Our menu for the night was marvelous:







 Dawn – scrapple

Barbara – pasta chicken salad and wine

Deanna - Organic roasted chicken with roasted root vegetables

Heather McN – apple pie

Jazmin - cheese and landjäger

Julie B. – stuffed peppers

Julie D. -- chicken pot pie

Katie S. – sauteed kale and butternut squash

Katie W. – Potato Leek soup

Laura – pickles and veggies

Madeline - cherries

Sonja – homebaked bread + butter + hard cider

Sunny S. – fruit tray








Such bounty!

Next month we will be meeting again at our usual location, and discussing Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen.  All Sno-Isle copies are checked out so if you have a KCLS, SPL, or EPL card you will probably have better luck with them.

Looking forward to seeing you in April!

The Hundred Foot Journey

 This month we read The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais.   This was a sumptuous book, packed full of amazing food descriptions, but alas, no recipes.

Most of the group found the book delightful overall, although they were uncertain where it was going at first.  Morais is a "wonderful, descriptive writer", whose writing one reader found beautiful but "too much like a fairytale".  Another was reminded why she does not want to visit India, as she "could not handle the filth and poverty".

Our favorite parts of the book were the gorgeous descriptions of the French countryside and India...one reader felt this read like "a set of travel snapshots" (although another felt the book was like a "bunch of magazines stories squashed together").  The hard core foodies amoungst us loved the section with the foodcart, and the porchini mushroom festival the family visits on their European tour.  But also appreciated were the interesting relationships in the book, and getting the perspective of what might be the driving force behind non-Americans.

What people disliked a variety of small things about this book.  They were frustrated that the relationship between the main character and his sister never really developed.  That the pacing felt inconsistent (perhaps the author's journalist background lead to this?)  Opposing viewpoints in the group held that it was too much like a fairytale, where another wanted it to be a true story.  Another found the butchering descriptions far to realistic and frequent.  There was much frustration expressed towards Madame Mallory...from her only eating at the restaurant once, to the amount of control she had over the town, and that she was responsible for almost killing the kid, but faced no charges.

There were many drool-worthy passages in this book, with tons of appetizing descriptions on practically every page.  But the memorial dinner for his friend Paul really stuck out in people's minds.

Our own feast was just lovely this month!  The desserts were particularly exceptional.

Barbara  – croissants and cheese
 








Dawn –   champagne and sparking cider

 
Heather McN – chicken tikka masala, 3 bean marinated salad, rice brown/white






Jane - roasted fingerling potatoes, with creme fresh and caviar







Julie - Ezell's Chicken  and rolls






Katie S. –   Haricots Verts with Dijon-Shallot Vinaigrette and  Chutney with blue cheese.

 









Katie W. –  crème brûlée






Laura  –   dessert - pear claufouti and homemade vanilla bean ice cream, and spinach pear salad.

Madeline -  (house arrest – calling in)

Vernetta – mushroom soup




Next month:  The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball:

Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs and cattle and driving horses. But on an impulse, smitten, if not yet in love, she shed her city self and moved to five hundred acres near Lake Champlain to start a new farm with him.

There are currently copies available at the Mountlake Terrace Library. We will not be meeting at our usual location, due to a conflict.  Be sure to check our Facebook page, or the email list for more details the week before!  See you in March...

The Abundance

 This month we met to discuss The Abundance by Amit Majmudar, a story about a married Indian immigrant couple and their very American children, struggling to deal with the mother's struggle with cancer.

This book received an overall strong positive response from the group.   Most found it to be a very enjoyable, and fairly fast read.  While it could be very sad at times, the honesty of the book insured that it really hit home, and was very relatable. And the group liked that everything was not neatly resolved at the end, making it feel even more real.

We were especially taken with the mother-daughter relationship, and how they were able to use cooking to heal their relationship.  The collecting of the recipes was something we really like, and Katie W. did just this when her kids became adults, so they could have the family flavors as a continuing part of their lives. It was great to see a character (the dad) who did math just for pure enjoyment.  But best of all was the pure human qualities that came through, and how well you could relate to the family, even if yours was Mexican American, or pure mutt.

What we didn't like was how the father treated the mother.  We were unsure how much of this was cultural, if he was trying to keep everything looking as normal as possible, or if he was just a jerk.  Or was this the author giving an exaggerated generational perspective?  It was also frustrating when the son tried jumping in on the cookbook, with an eye to profit, almost ruining the beautiful thing his sister and mother were creating.  Clearly some part of him wanted to be included and celebrate their achievements, but the way in which he handled it was very heavy handed and a bit selfish.  Last of all, not everyone was up for a cancer book :(

While this worked as a foodie book, there wasn't a ton of drool worthy moments.  Ghee melting on roti was tasty sounding, and the first feast the mom and daughter made together was mouthwatering.  But otherwise the food descriptions were not tantalizing.  But perhaps that was part of the tragedy of the mother's illness?

Happily, our meal was quite delicious:

Madeline - Indian salad cucumber








Dawn –  naan from a local Indian restaurant


 

Jazmin - chickpea and spinach fritters with strawberry lime basil spread

Katie S. –   roasted eggplant curry

Laura  –    Chicken marsala, cucumber yogurt (ratia?)

Emily - yummy Dal Nirvana!





Vanessa - (tika chicken fail - don't cook when you're angry) sag panner, goat, garlic naan from Curries "the best Indian in Snohomish county" - on Casino road.




Barbara - mango mousse

Katie W. –  Kulfir - Indian almond pistachio ice cream.

(oops...no dessert photos!)

February's book is The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. This book is hugely popular right now due to the movie.  Most of our bookclub copies were checked out at the meeting, but I was able to dig up a few more...so if you go soon there should be a few copies left at the Mountlake Terrace Library!