The Telling Room

Where has the time gone? September went by too fast!

Last month we read The Telling Room a Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese by Michael Paterniti.

This was not our favorite book, despite high hopes (since we love cheese). Some folks found it tedious and uninteresting, and couldn't figure out where it was going. The people who enjoyed it most seemed to be those who skipped the footnotes (that went on forever), although there were a few great asides here and there.

What we appreciated about the book, was the romance of leaving America to live off the land, free of conveniences. The characters, food, and deli chapter were likable. Liked the stories, such as the old woman who walked a far distance every day just to spit on her enemy's grave. (I wanted to know more about the assassin known as The Freckle...she sounded much more interesting them some grouchy old cheese maker.)

 We especially enjoyed the passion of the Spanish people, the crazy folk sayings (I shit in the milk of God), and references to Slow Food movement. The cheese descriptions were divine, as were those of local wine and sausage. 

Overall, there were too many distracting footnotes. It felt too long winded, as though he was trying to stretch a magazine article into a book. One reader said: "The book was like a bad date. The food was great, but I couldn't wait for the author to shut up."

We didn't have a big group, but we did have a good meal:

 

Dawn – Manchego and wine







Heather McN – egg tart with potatos and onions 

Katie W. – grapes, apples, pears 






 
Roberta - Paramo Guzman?

 

Sunny S. – Berry Shortcake and Cream   




Madeline - shrimp and pear salad 

Next month...I mean next WEEK, we will be discussing The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses. This takes place in Maine and has all kinds of yummy foods in it, but no recipes (so far).

See you very soon!

Delancey

For August we deviated from our usual summer light kids book, and went with a local author instead and read Delancey by Molly Wizenberg. We had previously read Molly's first book A Homemade Life, back in September of 2011.

While overall we enjoyed this book, a few people liked the first book better...but everyone though the food was simply wonderful. It was a good story of starting a restaurant (and how "freaking hard it is"), but we felt she was kind of rough on herself. She was doing just fine, but considered herself a failure, and really didn't give herself enough credit. After reading these two books, some of us really feel like we know her, which must be really strange when you meet people.

We really loved the recipes, plus all the restaurants she mentioned.  It was fun to be able to say "whoa-hoa! I've been there!" But we really admired her honesty in this book. It is hard to support someone who keeps changing their dreams. And she was very realistic about their struggle and how tough it was…especially hiring good people. It was hilarious how obsessed they both became with their projects "Blah blah blah book tour, blah blah blah restaurant" was something many of us could relate to. Thank goodness they found such a great web of friends, and terrific network of support.

While we liked it overall, some of us were left wanting more. Not sure what…didn't scratch the itch the first one did. Some people though maybe it was like she was writing a book to get to the end. And sometimes the pacing was uneven…some parts felt rushed and others dragged out. The first book had more sadness and tragedy, so perhaps it felt deeper by comparison.

But it totally passed our "made you drool" test. All that pizza. Every single recipe! 

As always, we had a delightful feast this month...partially thanks to Molly's wonderful recipes!

Barbara  - peaches in wine
 

Dawn –    Sautéed Dates and fresh garden tomatoes

 







 


Heather McN – Pupusa (chicken and beef) with cabbage and hot sauce (Salvadorian street food - Tropicos Breeze) 




 


Katie S. –  chocolate devil's food layer cake (Some of the best cake many of us have EVER eaten!)


 
Katie W. – meatloaf 


 

Laura - Vodka Penne

 




Roberta - Campari Granita
 

Vanessa – Noodle Salad

For September 9th we are reading The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti. All the book group copies are already gone, so you will want to order this one from the library, or pick up a copy from half.com.

Dawn will be gone on vacation until the 7th, so be sure to coordinate through our Facebook Event page on what everyone is bringing!

Plain and Simple

This month almost all of us (except for your humble scribe and librarian) read Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender.

The group seemed pretty split on this book. Some of us could really identify with her falling in love with the quilt and wanting to get to know the culture more, and thought it was courageous that she was open to learning and might want to work in Amish country ourselves, at least for a week or two. People liked learning about the Amish and found the book easy to read, nicely spaced and enjoyed the summaries and cute little pictures.

However, the other half of the group didn't like her as a narrator, and found her to be judgmental, shallow, and too concerned with being an Artist. What was so wrong with her that she needed to escape from her life? Tormented artist, or overachiever world getting her down? The problem with people talking about their spiritual journeys, is that "other people's spiritual journeys are boring." Plus she romanticized the Amish, wanting them to conform to her stereotypes. At least they helped her learn to stop trying to stand out so much and just be with everyone and enjoy life. But it was too bad she didn't try to incorporate any of what she learned into her art.

People were also mixed on the dolls, which some thought were cool, others creepy. Everyone agreed that there was nothing droolworthy in this book, she barely talked about food at all.


Katie S. brought some relevant cookbooks to share:

Grandma’s German Cookbook
Amish Cooks Across America (particularly interesting was a bit on page 106 about starting new Amish communities).
An Amish Garden

Other random things we talked about:
• Amish suspenders - is there a really a code?
• Breaking Amish
• Bundle courting. 
• Amy Schmnader interviews an Amish woman
• Amish dolls
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

As usual, we had an awesome feast:

Bobbi – salad with beets and goat cheese

Dawn – Pineapple






Deanna - veggie soup and homemade bread and Amish butter




Heather McN – chicken and cheese enchiladas

Katie S. – tomato bread ham and cheese sandwiches

Katie W. – pickled asparagus & spicy homemade lemonade.

Laura – homemade strawberry ice cream and raspberry sorbert




Madeline - corn on the cob

Sonja – Amish Pineapple Cake

Sunny S. – fruit tray, garden salad/coleslaw, cake

For next month, we are reading another book by local author/blogger Molly Wizenberg: Delancey - A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage. Sno-Isle Libraries has it in eAudiobook, hardback (4 people waiting as of this writing), and large print (1 waiting). Also you can get it from half.com for only a few bucks! Looking forward to seeing you soon.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things

This month we read The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, which wasn't a foodie book per say, but was super interesting and people did eat.

 The daughter of a Coney Island boardwalk curiosities museum's front man pursues an impassioned love affair with a Russian immigrant photographer who after fleeing his Lower East Side Orthodox community has captured poignant images of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.  

We were a bit split on this book. Most of us really loved this NYC history this book explored, and appreciated that it featured a freak show, but wasn't mean or trying to scandalize the readers (unlike Geek Love by Kathrine Dunn, which one person in the group had recently read (and I adore - DMR)). The exploration of social injustice was really fascinating, and still rings true today, but also reminded us of when we read The Kitchen House, and how so many of the characters were slaves to the society they live in and the roles they inhabit.

At least one person felt this was their favorite book we have shared, and many agreed the author is terrific. However, those of us who listened to the audiobook felt that it revealed some flaws in the writing that readers did not seem to feel, perhaps brought out by the sometimes confusing trifecta of narrators (it was often unclear the difference between the Coralie's perspective and the overall narrator) and some repetition in the recalling of the plot that seemed unnecessary and distracting.

While this book was overall some pretty serious literature, it was the lighter spots that endeared it to us, such as the love between Eddie and his dog, the fashionable and heavy set "wizard", and many of the descriptions of old Brooklyn and clothing of the day.  The food was rarely appetizing, alas.

Katie had a favorite line that resonates the spirit of the book so nicely: "He raised his eyes, as if I was a stranger. And in fact, I was." This book explores strangeness in many forms, but especially the strangeness we encounter in ourselves when the expectations of the world confound us and we seek to make new ways of living.

Dinner was lovely, as always:

Barbara – wine and chicken




Dawn – Pear Cobbler




Deanna - Ruebens and chips, pink lemonade

Heather McN – Mashed potatoes and meatball pizza. Lemonade and tea.








Katie S. – stuffed cabbage rolls, deli health salad, cheese/pear/bread.

Laura – Nuts and dried fruit, pesto pasta salad







Madeline - Cod with herb crust and sage butter.






Sunny S. – Watermelon

For July 8, 2015 we are reading Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

- DMR