My Little Orange Kitchen

If You Only Buy One Book This Year

We're back and we had a great time on our whirlwind trip to Arizona (Sorry Michele M., but it was too whirlwind to plan even a lunch!). I have pictures to edit and then I'll do an Arizona post, but for today, the news is about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

When I read one of Barbara's earlier books, The Poisonwood Bible, I was in a state of deep depression for at least a week. Not because it was a sad book, but because it was such a complex and well written story with character development surpassing anything I'd ever read before. I felt like throwing in the towel on my own writing aspirations.

It seemed that nothing I'd ever write could be so compelling and I knew I wouldn't have the patience to do the kind of research necessary to write a novel with the parallels between history and story the way she did.  It made for some blue days over here folks! I eventually rose up from the pits of despair and settled into happily (and without envy)...admiring her writing.

When I saw she'd written a non-fiction book about her family's experience eating only locally grown foods for a year (and now a lifetime), I was interested, and used the vacation as an excuse to take a break from BBB 2008. 

It was worth my weakness. 

This book is a must for anyone intrigued with the concept of eating local or with the Slow Food movement in general.

I must confess that I only recently learned what the Slow Food movement actually is.

Because it started in Italy and has been embraced by Europeans, I assumed it literally meant eating your food more slowly, savoring every bite and spending more time relaxing over long slow meals (the way they tend to in Europe anyway)! AGHAHAAHAHA!  I was wrong (mostly) and you can laugh, but I know I can't be the only one! 

The Slow Food movement has certain objectives (here are a few):

• Forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food    systems
• Developing an "ark of taste" for each eco-region, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated
• Preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation
• Educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms
• Educating citizens about the risks of mono-culture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
• Developing various political programs to preserve family farms
• Lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering
• Lobbying against the use of pesticides
• Encouraging ethical buying in  local marketplaces

Basically ... Slow Food is not fast food by any stretch.

Barbara, her husband and their two daughters left Arizona and moved to rural Southwest Virginia to live full-time on the farm they usually just spent summer vacations at. They decided to only eat locally grown food (including their own) and the book is about how they handled the difficulties of finding and existing only on local fare. They made very few exceptions, but each family member got to pick a "must have" item that could come from somewhere else and unfortunately they couldn't get their wheat for bread baking locally, but they did a great job with everything else (including meat). They made their own cheese and the easy recipe is included...Michelle over at Vanilla Icing....I can so see you doing this!  Mary Ellen...you'd love the canning and harvest descriptions.

I was totally enchanted by the family. Oldest daughter Camille gives us short essays with recipes throughout the book and youngest daughter Lily blew me away with her chicken raising entrepreneurial spirit. No news for any moms out there, but Lily's own family ranked low on the priority customer list!

The Slow Food movement gets a hard knock now and again from people who claim that eating organic and locally grown foods is elitist and not financially feasible for the average family.  Barbara totally debunks this and shows that even in a big city the cost can be less, but the planning is obviously more complex than heading over to Burger King when you're tired on a Friday night after work. 

Not everyone (my condo-living self included) can go as far as this family did, but the book inspired me to make some hard and fast decisions.  Really. If I want strawberries in the middle of winter in Wisconsin, then I'd better stock up and freeze them when I see them at Farmer's Market this year (Hey, it should be easy since I'll be selling wallets at the Wednesday night market anyway!).  I can do this. I can make a small difference by growing a few things, buying from local growers and by making some of foods I'd incorrectly assumed would be too "involved" like mozzarella cheese. 

Barbara is as thorough with her non-fiction as she is with her fiction.  In addition to humor, recipes, great family exchanges (Lily dramatically realizing that she has to sell an awful lot of her eggs to get a horse), fun information about plants and canning you'll find some hefty statistical information and lots about the history of family farming. 

Let me emphasize the fact that this book is not preachy at all...not one iota....but, it does make you think. When one of eighteen year-old Camille's girlfriends visits and asks for bananas, it's gently explained that the resources used to get to them to Virginia make them an environmentally costly purchase. Good news...she was totally cool with the fresh blackberries they had on hand.

The book is about Barbara's family's total conversion, but it isn't about converting anyone who doesn't want to or who can't go 100%.  It shows you how exciting small steps can be.

For example, I went to the grocery store here (Copps East) and asked the produce manager to point me in the direction of all produce that's locally grown. 

Guess what?

Potatoes. 

That's all.

In a huge grocery store during asparagus, rhubarb and green onion season. 

I decided that from this point forward I'm going to ask every time and when the check-out person half heartedly asks me if I found everything I needed...I'm going to say, "Actually, I didn't. I was looking for locally grown produce and you don't have any." 

I know how this makes me sound, but so what? Normally, I usually just say yes...and not because I did find what I needed, but because it's a habit and answered in the same half paying attention attitude as it's usually asked.  Maybe I'm not ready to give up bananas or mandarin oranges just yet...but, step by step...we shall see!

WHEW! So...in a nutshell....I like this book. :)

In other news:

• Red Belt: A good movie with a few holes, but I love David Mamet.
• The Breadsmith has begun selling fresh baked gluten-free bread on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. If you have them in your state...check to see if they are offering gluten-free too.
  
• My newest set of hearing aids are being "worked on" and I hope to have them next week.  Say hello to my little friends (mine are black to blend in with my dark brown hair).

• I'm horrified that I thought my one year-blog anniversary was at the end of the month...but was last week!!!!!!!  Give-aways and events coming soon!!!          

Arizona Post Preview:

Slow Food Info:

http://www.slowfood.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food

      

She's Done It Again

Mark never agreed to Book Buying Ban 2008 in January when I swore off of buying new books for one year.  I  went at it on my own because I realized that I was buying new books far too casually and often they were available at the library.  I've been pretty good and feel proud of myself so I didn't get too annoyed when Mark ordered this new hardcover for me.

I love Jhumpa. I mentioned before that short stories never appealed to me until I read Interpreter Of Maladies and now she's got a new collection out. I read the first story last night and am in awe of her detail. It's not flashy detail...these are gentle details of everyday things and they creep up on you and hit like a wrecking ball right at your core.

I'm going to read no more than one story a day. I want to make it last.

On to other news...the wallets got accepted and I'll have a booth at Art Street!!! I wasn't overly hopeful when I sent the slides in last month, so getting the envelope in that mail was truly a surprise. 255 entries were received and 141 were accepted...add this to the 49 artists who were invited because of their long standing commitment to art and participation in Art Street and you have 200 vendors!  Yay! It's going to be fun and I feel so good about it because I almost let my self-doubt keep me from applying...so I'm glad I pushed past the fear of rejection (oddly, I have no fear of rejection with writing...my plays and poems have been rejected and it never upset me).      

I'll have to post Learning To Drive At 35 tomorrow! Sweet Dreams!

Essential Reading Material

Perhaps now and then a castaway on a lonely desert island dreads the thought of being rescued.
                                                                Sarah Orne Jewett

 

 As soon I found out I was tagged by Yours 'til Niagara Falls for a "book post" I thought of the Sarah quote. I keep it on a card at my desk because in the young adult novel I work on from time to time, the main character winds up alone on an island (lucky girl). 

The tag goes something like this..."In the unlikely event that you were stranded on a desert island for an undetermined length of time, what five books would you take along with you?" 

This is a troubling tag for me. My preference in reading materials swings wildly from one end of the spectrum to the next. I read cookbooks like novels and books on physics like cookbooks. I read biographies suspiciously, wondering what important facts were left out and yet when I read fairy tales, I believe every single word to be truth. I have self-help books, herbals, a collection of first edition children's books and thanks to my father in-law, a significant number of antique books including a copy of Madame Bovary that's over 100 years old.  How in the world can I pick just five?

I'm able to narrow it down, only because my true favorites have been read so often that just my memory of their words would serve me well. Just thinking about Charlotte's Web, The Jungle, The Good Earth and Island of the Blue Dolphins would occupy me for hours and I'd need never open a page.

So here it is. My list. It pains me to post it because even the idea of being book-less is a bit stressful.

The Mists Of Avalon:  The Arthurian legend from the perspective of the women involved. It changed my life when I was twenty and miserable. I spent hours in the bathtub reading and escaping to Avalon from my sometimes stressful job as a party line monitor.  It's a history book, an herbal, a fairytale and a romance novel all in one. If you can get past the first two boring pages, you'll never put it down. Well researched and well told, it's a must have. And for those who rail on it as feminist propaganda..well, you can go bite the bullet. And I mean that respectfully.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn: I love Francie. I love her tough little spirit and her optimism in spite of the poverty and disappointments hits the most tender place in my heart.

Road Song: This was my Amazon review:    My father gave this book to me 6 years ago and and I reread it every few months. The true story of author's childhood is told in a bluntly honest and often painful way. This is a book that all writers interested in writing creative non-fiction need to study carefully. Kusz has mastered the craft. She takes us from California to Alaska with her family in 1969. We are enchanted by her family and the difficult path her parents chose to take in the effort to give their children something more. Even after loss and struggle, when you want to fault her parents for the choices they made, you cannot. Kusz understands them and helps bring you in. Kusz stays away from describing the harsh landscape of Alaska, but the harshness of the land is illustrated when she tells of the family. This book is my favorite memoir to date.

A River Runs Through It: It's not often that I see a movie before I read the book, but in this case, as I listened to Robert Redford's narration of Norman MacLean's words in the theater, I knew I had to have more. If stranded, I'd pull it out and begin hearing Robert's (yep, we're on a first name basis with all celebrities around here) soothing and gentle voice in my mind and I'd never care if anyone came to get me. Kind of like Morgan Freeman's voice in The Shawshank Redemption.

Grimm's Fairy Tales:  There are many areas of my life that I am or have been insecure about . Early readers may remember that I dropped of of high school and sometimes, because of this, I tend to downplay knowledge I have in certain areas for fear I'll not be taken seriously because I don't have "credentials".  I'm guilty of deferring to other people even if I'm right, simply because I don't want argue my point for fear I'll make a mistake and thus be exposed.  However, I have no problem saying I have a knack for seeing symbolism and common themes in fairy tales from different cultures and how the archetypes are relevant in our present day lives. 

I can instantly tie together commonly used symbols like cups, rings, blood and keys from hundreds of tales.  Clarissa Pinkola Estes is a hero of mine and I would have chosen her book, but my grandmother gave me many of my volumes of fairy tales, so I'd have to choose one from her.

My dream is to write a book for women showing how the very act of re-writing your own life as fairy tale (the good, the bad and the ugly) using common themes is a wonderful tool for developing the type of detachment often needed to recognize patterns in behavior that act as obstacles to our happiness. Sometime we need to detach to connect more deeply.   I used to be accused of living in fantasy and of daydreaming too much, but these turned out to be assets, skills that enable me to get to the  heart of a story's symbolic meaning without censoring the message.

Fairy tales are never the same with each reading. The meanings change depending on the reader's circumstances, so even with one book, I'd always have new stories...even if on the island for years.

And remember, I lived on a sailboat for eight years as a kid, so it's not like I never fantasized about my parents and brother going down with the ship and me "getting" to live alone on an island!

The four of us lived in this space ...thank God for my books.. Escaping into them was the only privacy I ever got.

This is a tag, but I fear I may have tagged people out...so please, please do a post on your blog if you find the subject exciting. I have been behind on my blog reading, but I'm catching up, so I'll be over to see it.

p.s. I haven't been to bed yet, so to me this is Monday night's post which means I'm still good on my post a day for 30 days quest!  Hey, my quest...my rules!  :)

Sweet Dreams All! Thanks for visiting.

P.S. double S: Did anyone notice that I shamelessly found a way to squeeze in eleven books, plus a few hints of others in the photo? Aghaahaahahaahahaha! I can't help it...I can't be contained!!!!    

Goji Berries & A Book

I can't get enough of Goji berries and while I could cite experts and studies that indicate they're a new superfood, I think I'll just say they taste great, are incredibly high in vitamin C and make a nice change from dried cranberries and raisins when making salads and baking.

They're less chewy than raisins and have a mild tang...sort of sweet and sour.  They are expensive though, especially if you buy the organic variety, but even a small handful sprinkled on a salad, added to trail mix and granola or even tossed in a batch of oatmeal cookies will punch up the flavor and boost the vitamin C content.

I savor them for their flavor, but as I said earlier, many savor them for their nutritional value.  I love finding a treat that gives me both.

Speaking of nutritional value...This brings me to a book recommendation; Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. 

Pollan addresses our nation's obsession with food and "nutritionism" (his word) and helped remind me of  how new the science of "Nutrition" actually is. No wonder we're constantly being asked to change gears and can't figure out what's good for us (collectively). The science is in its infant stages.

I've shared before of how I had a discussion with a friend about how it's a crazy world when you're scared to eat a carrot for fear that it'll lead to a sugar binge because it's "high on the glycemic index".  We're still learning and too many of us forget that it can be quite simple..."Eat a little, not to much and mostly plants."  I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I see the value of vegetables taking up more room on my plate. 

I recently heard Pollan speak on television and was impressed.  He obviously has an opinion, but he remains objective and never steps on the soapbox. I'm the queen of fun facts and loved learning how the FDA guidelines for the term "Imitation" changed a few decades ago and what happened as a result (disaster for consumers).

He's an interesting guy, a good writer and a pretty good speaker.  He made me laugh when he talked of how in the 1600's the "new and advanced" surgical techniques were fascinating and something you might even have wanted to watch, but most of us would have preferred to wait a few hundred years for them to become a little more fined tuned (ie: anesthesia) before hopping on the table! 

Nutritional Science is still in its infancy. There's much we don't know about how our bodies process nutrients from the foods we eat. He mentions we've only recently discovered there are more neurons in the stomach than in the entire spinal column! This makes the term "thinking with your gut" take on some new meaning.  Why do we need more neurons sending messages to our brains from our stomachs than from our spinal column?  I'm not kidding when I say I'm waiting to find out.   

Ultimately, it boils down to some simple rules, one of which is; Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.. 

This is a quote from his recent post on Amazon's  Omnivoracious:

"My premise is that science doesn't yet know enough to tell us how to eat. So who, or what, does? Not me or any other journalist, god knows. No, the best guide to how to eat is the guide we relied on for thousands of years before people know what an antioxidant or carbohydrate was, and that is Culture. Culture, when it comes to food, is of course a fancy word for your mom--through mothers, dietary wisdom, based on generations of trial and error and the gradual discover of what keeps people healthy and happy, has been passed down for thousands of years. So the last third of my book is an attempt to recapture some of this cultural wisdom before it completely disappears under the onslaught of food marketing and nutritionism."

Highly recommended!  Oh, and this wasn't a 2008 B.B.B.B. (2008 Book Buying Ban Breach)...it was a gift!

Now, on another note...Do you remember my Food That Loves Me Back post?  Well, the message writer over at Dove sure knows how to confuse the issue!

Back To Normal

I'm so happy to be able to post tonight. Why? Because I feel like it's one of my normal posts...extra wordy, over-italicized and all over the place. Lucky you.  Ha!

I haven't been thrifting in ages...and I mean ages. I took ten dollars and went to Goodwill. Goodwill is my least favorite place to shop because they seriously inflate prices, which sounds hilarious considering things are still fairly inexpensive. However, it seems they've developed a new strategy of pricing just below retail. It's always a shock to turn an item over and see a T.J. Maxx sticker with $12.00 on it and note that Goodwill priced the donated item at $9.00.  I know it's for a good cause, but there needs to be a better balance.

Fortunately, I found two items the Goodwill Price Auditors must have overlooked. First, was the purse you see above. When I was a pre-teen and visited my grandmother in the summers, she always had some complaint about what I was wearing. To be fair, I usually took the time spent away from my parents to wear all the forbidden stuff I'd secretly stockpiled at various garage sales. Things like the famous espadrilles with four and half inch heels with the criss-cross ribbon straps that wound up to my knees! Adam and I often rode Greyhound to see her and eight states after I boarded, I'd step off the bus in full "grown-up" regalia...which included make-up and blue satin short-shorts with white piping. 

To give my grandmother some credit, she was a fashion savvy woman in her day and liked that I was fearless about my "look", but she felt it was her duty to try to reel me in a little. Usually this meant being covered up with something from her closet and while now I'd die to fit into her things from the 30's, 40's and 50's, at eleven I thought my fashion sense was highly developed and none of her things could compete with my almost completely see-through purple disco halter top.  There were tears of protest on my part and lies that my mom really did know about my crocheted bikini, but in the end Grandma Gloria usually won and I'd sulk, but eventually get over it and enjoy the trip.

If you're wondering what the heck any of this has to with the price of rhubarb, the reason I bring it up is because the purse above is an example of something I like now, but would have been horrified by even just a few years ago. My taste changes frequently and I often find myself falling in love with things the eleven year old in me would have died and gone to hell before being seen in. I miss her though, she was so brave.

As I wandered Goodwill, I saw the purse hanging on a rack and was drawn to it immediately. I reached for it and and knew it was silk right away. Then I realized it had a familiar look and remembered I'd something like it in a museum magazine a few years ago. I looked inside and sure enough, it was a Pineda Covalin. I'm not a designer purse-hound, but I got a little kick that I was holding a three hundred dollar purse priced at only $7.00 and more importantly...I loved it.  It went in the cart. 

Then I found this vintage Steelmaster (late 40's early 50's) file for $2.99!

I don't write about my playwriting often, but it's still a major goal. I keep all my ideas on index cards and file them away for future reference. Now I have the perfect place to keep them! I may have to change the subject cards, but who knows? Maybe I'll get an idea for a play about Wall Street and the card will be ready!  By the way...visit this site if you want to weep with longing. 

OK. The Food Project.  It was a success and I didn't buy groceries, but we still ate out more than we should have towards the end of the month. I learned a few important things:

• We do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. I thought we were pretty good before I started this, but realized early on that we eat much less than I thought. The reason I end up throwing produce away is probably due to under-eating rather than over-buying.  It was a shock to realize how little fruit we consume in a week and I'd thought we were getting well over five servings a day...try hardly two.
• I use the grocery store for inspiration and creativity. I wander the aisles picking up things for spur of the moment meals and without these trips, I felt a little uninspired. I found myself staring at the cabinets and everything seemed boring. Though, I made a lot of good meals for us with what we had.
• We eat too much food at night. We snack and when the easy snacks ran out the first week or so, I ended up making us popcorn a lot. Then, we'd end up with grilled cheese or French Toast...as a snack. Pretty soon, I didn't feel like making much and Mark was not inclined, so we just fantasized about what we'd eat in the future....Sad, because you guys saw the ample food list. Mark was desperate for toast...we ran out of bread and I wasn't in baking mode.

In summary: It was an eye-opener, I used up a lot of what we had, we saved money and I felt more appreciative and vowed to be more mindful when we could shop again. I also appreciated the little things, like knowing I could grate organic chocolate into hot almond milk and be happy even without a cookie on the side or that my tea with honey seemed so much sweeter since there wasn't candy around (I did buy some candy the other day and got a pounding headache after eating it). I didn't lose any weight though. Do you think the popcorn and Gluten-free brownies at two a.m. had anything to do with it?      

The future plan: Well, this is the month to be extra mindful of how I handle a return to shopping.  I decided that even though we could probably go another month on the project with just the food we have, that instead, I'd look at what we have before shopping and only buy items that complement things in the cabinet.  And I also want to make sure to include more fruits and vegetables in our diet. I'm stunned at how little we eat and here I'd truly thought we were practically vegan for crying out loud!

In March we may do a restaurant ban, but first we're going to practice simply being more balanced in February. Mark really felt the pinch since he isn't the cook around here and relied on me to be creative when it came to snacks...but, he got to eat out more because of his job which annoyed me to no end. 

I'm doing well on the 2008 book buying ban too, but since it was my birthday, Mark gave me some books...Remember, Mark thinks book buying is a small pleasure and he will not give it up, so it's just me on that one. I have to say I was appreciative when I opened this one though:

I was never a short story fan until my friend Kelly gave me Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.  It blew me to  pieces and I've been afraid to read anything else of hers for fear it won't live up. Mark thought it was time to get over it and picked up The Namesake as a birthday gift. I read the first two pages and I'm in like Flynn. Sigh. What a relief. Sorry I doubted you Jhumpa.

Last, but not least...I wanted you to see this. I want it soooo much. I can just see my goldfish bowl atop of it. It's a mere $975.00 over here. Oh well...someday.

   

Sweet dreams!    

39

Oh Kitchenettes, thank you for hanging in there with me and my less than frequent posts. I hope to get back to my seventy-five paragraphs of thrifting news three times a day soon. Thank you for the birthday well wishes! I appreciate it.

Yep, the big 39.  It was a low-key day and I told Mark and family that I needed to wait until next week to celebrate, because I love celebrating and didn't want any work over here to interfere. I took a good part of the day off and went to Milwaukee. I wandered and had lunch out at Bravo Cucina.  Mark respects the fact that I need my "Artist's Dates"  (Artist can mean writer, singer, artist, crafter and even blogger. Hey, isn't blogging an art form too?) and it's been awhile. It was a nice way to reward myself for working hard and also a nice way to accept where I'm at production-wise.  I always think big and wanted to have 10,000 wallets for the show, but I can handle having 160 or so. Plus, I've even taken some time out to experiment with other things...passport and CD holders as well as some drawings.

I came home last night and even though we're not doing presents until next week and we're counting my laptop as a present, Mark whipped out this little number by Joanne Harris who wrote Chocolat. The cover on this edition is so much nicer than the one with the goblin:

I'm looking forward to a nice dinner out and his other mystery gift next week.

I have some news. I was once again (she wrote humbly) awarded and tagged! 

Sweet Leigh over at LoveLeigh Things gave me me the Spread The Love award. Thank you Leigh!  If Biography ever comes a calling when I win my Tony for Best New Play, I'm sending them over to Leigh's blog because she always says such nice things about me and is the most gracious and friendly blogger you'd ever want to meet.

 

I want to spread a little love too, so I'm passing this award to Karen over at Popsicles and Lollipops both for her love of gnomes and because she's holding a Mother Goose Swap that I signed up for ... you have until February 11th to get in too. You know I love vintage and antique children's books and illustrations, so how could I resist?   

And then, there was a tag from Kai. I must publicly apologize to Kai because I never realized she had a blog and had never visited until Leigh mentioned it.  Sorry Kai. It should also be known that she's holding a swap too. The You Light Up My Life Daylight Savings Time  Swap.  You have until January 31st to get involved...hurry hurry! 

      

Tagging means listing random things about me that I haven't shared before...easy peasy:

1. I love Avgolemono soup and my friend Sherry and I used to get bowls of it at a nice restaurant on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. It was a treat the likes of which I have yet to find, except for the one time we both got food poisoning there and also happened to have severe urinary tract infections at the same time. Sherry's mom called the emergency room and said "Look, I've got two sixteen year old girls here who are vomiting and who can't pee, we need help!" 
2. I never, not even once considered being a nun. :)
3. I would never ever want to be kept alive by life support machines if the prognosis was less than 50% that I'd be fine. Cut me off and let me get onto the next life please.
4. I throw an amazing punch. I mean amazing. Mark regrets teaching me how to aim my swing through the object, not at the object. My arm is a deadly weapon and sometimes it's his arm that's the object.
5. I am offended by a certain type of crudeness...not that I never swear, but once I heard a man say his wife was "with calf" meaning she was pregnant. I was annoyed. On a side note, the word "preggers" offends me too. It seems so irreverent of a miracle.  No offense, I know it's commonly said, but I just don't like it.

OK, I want to tag Racheal over at Miles Away In France. She writes her blog from her farmhouse in France. A lucky woman. Imagine saying, "Oh, that was when we were living in our farmhouse in France." It has a nicer ring than, "Oh that's when we were living in our condo in Green Bay."  Rachael, you just have post five things, tag one or more blogs and link to this blog.  Look at a picture from their latest trip to Dijon. Her daughter will be going to school there...lucky girl.

To anyone who is a new blogger or even an old hat at blogging who would like to be tagged at some point, please send me a private email and I promise if I ever get tagged again, I'll include you. Even though participating is always voluntary, I still feel a little pang of uncertainty when I tag someone. I never ever want anyone to feel pressure. I also know that some people live to be tagged and I wouldn't want to miss the chance to make someone's day.

I also want to thank you guys who are still hanging with me even though I haven't been posting much or getting over to your blogs much. I appreciate you and will get back to normal soon.                  

Food That Loves Me Back

The title of this book by Shauna James Ahern AKA Gluten-Free Girl is changing my life. Seriously.  What a concept.  Food that loves me back.  As many of you know, I love good food. High quality fresh ingredients send me over the edge. As many of you also know, I've made my weight loss goals rather public and while this is neither a weight loss nor a food blog, both food and weight enter into my posts rather often.

I'd visited Shauna's blog a few times because it's linked to one of my all time favorite blogs (Apron Thrift Girl). I'd checked it out and enjoyed it, but didn't feel compelled to make it a "regular read."  However, the other night I felt strongly drawn to take a gander and saw that her book is out! I didn't even know she had one coming and yet I reacted as if I'd been waiting for this news forever!!!!  I mentioned it to Mark and said I'd like to order it at some point.  I left it at that, but I couldn't get the words "food that loves me back" out of my head. It became a mantra.

I thought about what those words mean to me.  I've always talked with friends about how I can taste the difference in food that's been prepared or grown with love versus food that hasn't. Christine's turkey and rice or her tender pork chops with lentils, Janet's comforting warm cottage cheese puff that practically made me cry, Sherry's yellow rice chicken salad, Sonya's pumpkin peanut soup and last but not least...Janice's white lasagna (I embarrassed myself and ate half the pan on our first dinner together!  What a good way to start a friendship!).  I'm blessed to have been served food made with love over and over and I know what it feels like in my body.  I've also prepared myself many meals created with love.  I recognize it, I'm good at it and doggone it, I know what foods like me!      

Why then, do I turn my attention towards foods that treat me like crap? I know what happens when I eat processed cookies. My face gets extra pink and ruddy looking. I know what happens when I drink soda. My scalp gets dry and my eyes get bloodshot.  So what's my problem?  Why do I do it?   I think Shauna's book is to my relationship with food what He's Just Not That Into You was to single women everywhere. It's a wake-up call (no wonder that book annoyed me so much and I'm married for crying out loud!). 

Hmm...is trying to get nourishment on all levels from a processed cookie similar to what happens when we sense we aren't appreciated, noticed or liked by someone we really want to win over?  You know??? How we practically hurl ourselves in the direction of someone who for some odd reason doesn't respond to us, so naturally we choose to channel energy towards him or her only to deplete and exhaust ourselves every time?  Do I do this symbolically with food?  Perhaps I do.

I have a history of directing a lot of mental energy towards people who just don't see my charm...men, bosses, women who seem more professional and pulled together. In some cases (usually with men) it was obvious...trying to top my last witty comment, sexual performance (yep, men who didn't see my charm still saw my bedroom...funny how that works) remarkable insight etc.  Though, with women and bosses it was (is) more subtle. I may not do anything externally, but the mental energy I devote to thinking of the next interaction where I'll say the perfect thing so they can finally see how smart or talented I am is enormous.  What a waste. 

The connection I'm making here might sound odd, but trying to get love and appreciation out of a processed cookie is the same thing...a big waste of time and energy. Especially when I can sit in Christine's kitchen and be served her biscotti or eat Janet's banana bread and bask in the security of love that's always present even if not spoken.    

People talk about how food shouldn't equal love. I'm starting to disagree in a big way. Maybe that's true when we continue eating it long after it's clear that it's not loving us back, but what about when it deeply nourishes us on all levels?  That's the love I want in my world. 

Why can't food be love?  It's something we all need.  I'm not saying it's all there is, but when Janet took the time to invite four of us over and treat us to her salad, bread and lasagna...believe me people...we all felt the love.

And it isn't just a group thing. I've felt the love when I've ladled soup into a bowl and sat alone in our quiet dining room enjoying my creation. In fact, I've been known to pound on the table in ecstasy and delight over my own cooking. How's that for self-love?

I'm also aware that it isn't the processed cookie that's the enemy. I firmly believe in some cases the energy of love can change a processed cookie into an elixir of life if the right person sets it lovingly on a plate.  But this is more about what happens to our bodies physically when we indulge in foods that have screwed us over time and time again. For me, it's Pringle's.  I love Pringles. I can eat a whole can, but even if I have one single salty delicious Pringle, I'm sick all night.  I may love them, but they give me nothing but heartache (Well, isn't heartburn close enough?).            

I came home from work the other night and to my surprise, I saw the book on the table. Mark picked it up for me (thanks babe!). I began reading non-stop, only pausing to yell (at the top of my lungs), "I love this book!!!" several times.  I stayed up way too late, but who cares?  The book is about her "food life" and how her life changed drastically for the better once she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I won't say too much, but let's just say she eats remarkably well, she started a blog, wrote a book, fell in love and got married.  Life has been pretty damn grand.   

I do not have Celiac, but I do have sensitivities to certain foods (usually sort of managed when I eat them in moderation).  I was amazed at how Shauna is able to cultivate the foodiest of gourmet foodie lifestyles when she can't eat any gluten (and this is more than just flour...gluten is everywhere). Something about the whole thing makes sense to me, but it's more than a diet choice. It's an awareness.

Food that doesn't show me the proper respect doesn't get my time anymore.

This book is more than a book about not eating gluten. It's a book about identifying and recognizing (sometimes with help) what works for you. It's also got a pretty good love story which you can read some of here.  Plus, if you're a foodie of any sort, you'll love reading about her relationship with food. Get the book or at the very least, go over and read her blog.   

I have no real closure to this post, only to say that I'm still processing (aghahaa!) all my thoughts and feelings on the subject, but isn't it amazing what one line can do to shift my whole perspective? 

God I'm easy. Food that loves me back.  What a concept.      

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Can you believe that these cupcakes aren't real? They knock me out!! They came in the mail today along with a whole slew of treasures from my Vintage Storybook & Bookmark Swap partner Colleen over at Frostings & Sparkles! The package was so much fun to open!!!!!!  I was secretly hoping she'd include one of her famous cupcakes and I wasn't disappointed! I love the story hour pennants and am going to keep them on my desk to serve as inspiration as I write.  Go to her blog to see more of her edible looking creations. 

Colleen must be a kindred spirit!!! This little mermaid is just perfect !!! I'm mermaid obsessed...really. I love mermaids and selkies! I also get a kick out of the sheet music this little lady rests on...mermaid songs really are beautiful and not all mermaids are sirens!

Next out was a bookmark with a Wizard of Oz Theme.  I once went to a metaphysical talk where the speaker broke apart Dorothy's journey as a spiritual one and explained how and why we all long for our real home, a space within ourselves. He talked of how Dorothy actually means "Door of Thy"...the door of oneself (no one was any smoking pot I assure you!). So, when I saw the bookmark I just knew that it belonged in the Spirituality (Feng Shui) section of my house.  I couldn't get a good picture of it, so I used Colleen's. I love the ruby slippers.   

Next, speaking of mind altering substances, you've got to appreciate a swap partner who sends you a children's book written by Aldous Huxley.  The Crows of Pear Blossom.  The story is humorous, but I must admit the illustrations by Barbara Cooney are fantastic too. It was written in 1944, but not published until 1967. I'll treasure this one always. I didn't even know Aldous Huxley had written a children's story!!!

But wait, there's more!!

1966's Cannonball Simp is by John Burningham (Another interesting choice of author!!! Wow! Colleen must know that I have a thing for men with causes!).  Simp is a dog who gets taken in by the circus. 

Bedtime Stories because we all need them:

BUT....I must say the biggest shocker in the box was this:

When I saw this Happy Hollister book my heart froze. I couldn't believe it.  When I was six and my mother worked at the library in Rockland, Maine, I spent hours and hours in the far back corner of the children's section reading the Happy Hollisters. I loved this series. I read them all and I'm embarrassed to admit that one of the reasons I escaped into them was because of the food.

Mrs. Hollister always made "good food" and by good I mean not the whole wheat bread, co-op peanut butter, nutritious wheat germ cookies, lentil soup fare that my mom was passing off as suitable for children.  Nope, Mrs. Hollister made bologna and cheese on white bread, lemonade and brownies. BROWNIES! For no special occasion! Plus, it seemed like those damn Hollister kids got hot chocolate all the time...just because! If being a Hollister meant that I could freely munch on cookies and milk while pondering a case? Count. Me. In.  Sorry mom. As an adult, I love and appreciate what you were trying to do with the homemade wheat bread and "keep the sugar consumption low" stance, but as a kid...Mrs. Hollister understood me.  Take this section for example:

Just then Mrs. Hollister called the children inside. "Daddy and I have packed a picnic which we will eat at the state park," she said. "Everything is on the kitchen table and ready for you to carry to the car."

This would have had me excitedly wondering if she'd packed her brownies or her chocolate chip cookies and if they might get an ice cream cone at the park. I know.  It's sick and I'm sure the bloom has gone off my blogging rose.  Have I lost you forever?

In our house desserts weren't a given, so the idea that the Hollister kids got to have a sweet snack  because they happened to want one blew my six-year old mind to pieces.  I'd become absolutely infuriated when twelve-year old Pete (the oldest) declined a second piece of cherry pie because he needed to go read the mystery note again.  How dare he deprive me of vicarious pie eating!!!!!!!! Though, in my poor mom's defense...she made great blackberry pie and Swedish coffee cake. It's just that we didn't get them all that often. 

My father began inventing holidays and special occasions to get her to make something sweet. He once planted a seed in my little brother's mind that Lamb-ey (Adam's stuffed animal) just might have a birthday coming up. A terrible thing to do to a three-year old who didn't want Lamb-ey to have hurt feelings if he didn't get a cake.  So cruel.  Hmm...I wonder who it was who suggested to poor Adam that maybe Lamb-ey's birthday had already been missed.  WHAT? Mom got to cake-making pronto! AGAHAHAHA!  If I remember correctly, I got on board with my dad's sudden realization that it was Spring Eve too.    

Anyway, you can imagine how I felt opening Colleen's package and seeing that book.  It took me way back in time.  Thank you Colleen...you have no idea how special a gift it is. Though, it's funny because now I'm the whole wheat bread/granola eating/thrift store shopper I swore I'd never be when I grew up!         

This swap was perfect. I thank my great partner Colleen and the Polka Dot Pixie for creating and hosting it. I had a blast.  i just can't get over how thoughtful Colleen's choices were. Oh! Before I forget...Look at the cool paper (some of it feels like wallpaper) she used to wrap the books!

And off she went to bed...while visions of cupcakes and storybooks danced in her head... 

Sweet Dreams Kitchenettes!

P.S. Mrs. Hollister was also a very good detective.

Vintage Story Book Swap (It's a Long-ey)

“We can get away with things in children’s books that nobody in the adult world ever can because the assumption is that the audience is too innocent to pick it up.  And in truth they’re the only audience that does pick it up.”   

Maurice Sendak

                                             
I should call this post the Neverending Story. I hope you'll bear with me. When I first saw the Vintage Storybook & Crafty Bookmark Swap over at the Polka Dot Pixie, I knew I'd found the swap for me. If there's one thing I can say I know, it's children's books. I never outgrew them. I even remember my first story-time at the library when I was three.

The woman reading to us had a long Japanese name and she said it was hard for kids to pronounce so we should call her Mrs. M. I clearly remember thinking that calling her Mrs. M reminded me of M & M's and I wondered if we'd get some at the end of the story.  The candy problem started early. (I'm doing well, by the way...with the exception of last Tuesday, which was a root beer barrel day of fun!)          

My grandma Lucille (not the one of boudoir picture fame) was a librarian, English teacher, and a reading specialist for a textbook company.  She served on the Jane Addam's Book Award Committee for a number of years. To be considered for the award, books must promote one of more of the following: peace, social justice, world community and the equality of the sexes and races. 

Before she died in 2001, she compiled a list of fifty picture books that promote peace and social justice, It started off as project for her Asheville Friends (Friends are what Quakers call one another) Meeting, but the idea quickly grew and many other groups, schools and churches began requesting it. One of my long-term projects is to get it updated and back into circulation.  If you would like a copy of the list as it stands, please email me and I'd be happy to send it to you,as well as get you on the list for an updated copy (not that I'll be doing that before next year).

Funny, as a kid I was turned off by books that had an obvious message. They sounded preachy and boring. However, I loved books with a message that was cleverly told.  Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle is about a war between the Zooks and the Yooks over how to butter bread. There's a message all right, but it leaves room for discussion. It was censored by some states and banned from some public school libraries. It's Dr. Seuss!!! It was the eighties!!!Jeez Louise people!!!!

My mother gives me a new or vintage children's book every year for Christmas. I love our tradition. This is one of my favorites. It's called Under The Snowball Tree by Ellie Kirby and is beautiful. Just look at this illustration.

My friend Christine (Chrystal) caught my essence very early in the friendship, I was nineteen or twenty when we met.  She was teaching meditation in Chicago and I was in awe of her, her cool apartment and her cooking!!  She picked up on my untapped (at the time) need for magic and my deep deep need to have my imagination validated.  These are two of my favorite books and they were gifts from her.

A Fairy Went A Marketing is beautifully illustrated.  I love the details and of course look at Christine's inscription...she saw me at my desk. Everyone needs a friend who can see you for who you really are inside.

Look at the detail!

Later, she gave me Caretaker's of Wonder.  It tells of how the wonder gets placed in the world each night. How the caretakers hang the clouds, replace the picked fruit on trees, brighten the sun, paint the grass green and take care to make things beautiful while we sleep.  Of course, she knew that I truly worried about how all this happened and wanted me to know that there was an official organization I could join to help out. Proud member since 1991.

Be prepared!

True Story: When Mark and I got our first apartment together (I was 22) he awoke very early in the morning to find me missing from all four rooms and finally found me outside where I was collecting dewdrops in a little glass bottle.  I'd read they had magical properties. He asked me what I was doing and I said, "Collecting fairy presents, just go back to bed!" Mark sighed "Laura, get back inside, you don't have any shoes on."  I yelled, (outside at 4:30 a.m.) "Leave me alone!!! You can't hold me back!!!" Which was a common thing for me to yell in those days. Mark just shook his head and then as he was going back upstairs he called down, "Well, then see if they left me any French toast." Aghahaahaha! It's my belief from reading children's books that all things are magical and other worlds are right in front of us.

Another problem with reading children's books...I go around anthropomorphizing every creature.

My mom and I laugh about when a boyfriend of mine was over visiting and thought he'd help out by attempting to kill a spider he saw near the television. BIG MISTAKE! She'd pointed it out to me (as a good thing not a bad thing) and he'd jumped right up and said, "Don't worry Mrs. McCullough I'll get it for you!"  My mother and I both screamed, "No!No!No! What are you doing? It could be one of Charlotte's grandchildren!" The poor guy. He was about 6'6 and weighed almost 300 solid pounds, but my mother and I were ready to Take. Him. On.

Speaking of Charlotte's Web, I have my grandma Lucille's Vintage Charlotte's Web and Narnia map posters hanging in our book room.   

Anyhoo...back to the swap. I knew it was the one for me.  We had a budget limit and because of good thrifting, I managed to stick to it. I was concerned about the bookmark part though, because I'm not super inspired when it comes to bookmarks and there are are some really good artists participating in the swap.

I was matched with Colleen at Frostings & Sparkles. I decided to keep it simple and made her some magnetic bookmarks from the pages of children's books. I love how they turned out. I just used those magnetic strips for business cards (available at any office supply/craft store).  Easy and inexpensive, but cute. They can be used bookmarks or magnets...Colleen can make the call! I used images from The Princess & The Pea, The Elves In the Shelves, Bedtime for Francis, Up The Down Street (a 1950's reader), Amelia Bedelia, Sylvester & The Magic Pebble and the Wind in the Willows.   

Here's a close-up of Elves In the Shelves and Bedtime for Francis...(I love Francis!).

   

Next on the hit parade is Sea Sprites which is a rare book and more antique-y than just vintage, so I hope she'll forgive the condition of the spine.  I love the illustrations and the story is about a crab who is fostered by a lobster family.

Animal Babies is a cute book and it's got a gift inscription written in 1969. I love endpapers and prefer it when the publisher doesn't paste them down, but what are you going do?

Frog and Toad stories are my favorite and I read my own copies at least once a month. So, I had to include one in the box. I'm still annoyed that Grandma Lucille gave the Frog and Toad poster to my cousin (as well as Richard Scary's Reading Is Fun poster!). Oh well. She wasn't just my grandma.

The next book falls one year shy of being vintage (it was published in 1976 not 1975), but something tells me that Colleen will like it. She's an artist and loves all things pink and girlie. It's about the Abbots, an  artistic family of rabbits who travel around on vacation painting things. Of course they have to get back in time for Easter because there's the little matter of decorating eggs.

The card catalog description just kills me!

"The Abbotts (rabbits), established Easter egg artists, let their son develop a style of his own when he shows interest in painting."  What's not to love?

I enjoyed reading Colleen's blog. She makes these incredibly edible looking (but not) cupcakes that will blow your mind...

She has four kids and her son laments the fact that the good looking cupcakes aren't real. A friend was over and when he spied a tray of cupcakes, her son basically told him, "If it looks good, it's fake."  I decided to give Colleen some cupcake papers to use in her crafts or to make the kids some real ones! Plus, who could possibly read a book without candy and chocolate covered Oreos? So, I popped these in there too.

Wrapping is the best part!

I loved decoupaging children's book images all over the top of the box. Here it is, ready to be addressed and mailed! It's hardly as inspired as pixiegenné and her fantastic suitcases, but it does the job.  Too bad about the crease on the Margaret Wise Brown/Lilian Obligado bunny. RATS!

Whew! How's everyone holding up?  Well, at least you can see I had fun!  Thanks to the Polka Dot Pixie for hosting! Hope you like your package Colleen!

There's still time to enter the drawing to win a ton of stamps (many are vintage!!!).  You have until  midnight--your time!

Happy Day Kitchenettes! Thanks for sticking with my long post!                                  

Oh Rats! Oh Rats! Oh Rats!

When my brother Adam was little and especially disappointed by something (or extremely frustrated) he'd scrunch up his little fists, shake them and cry out, "Oh Rats! Oh Rats!Oh Rats!" completely oblivious to the fact that any adult onlookers were immediately endeared.  So, here I am, at thirty-eight years old and extremely disappointed with nothing to do but cry out:

OH RATS! OH RATS! OH RATS!

Is anyone completely endeared?  I didn't win the free tent. In fact, I didn't even make runner up and there weren't all that many entries, perhaps 15 or so. Oh well.  My mother is majorly upset and thinks the whole thing stinks big time! I was robbed!!!!  Agahahaahahaha! No offense to the judge or the winner, but one's mother is allowed to think and say whatever she wants about crimes against humanity!  Really, I thought I had the tent contest in the bag.
 

All jokes aside, the winner (Meg) had a great story and mine fell a little short in many areas. The good news is that I recognize it and someday, when I accept my Tony Award for Best New Play, I'll be able to share the whole "didn't win the tent, but persevered" story with my public. :)  In the meantime,  I'll keep enjoying  Heather's book and keep spreading word about how good it is.

I thought I'd share the non-winning essay of 500 words or less. It was supposed to be about a camping trauma. Please note, that this all happened during our first summer in Maine. This is the same summer that my mother and father went "Mother Earth News" and decided to preserve fifty pounds of carrots for the winter in an uncovered box of sand on our front porch. We had cats...needless to say, we didn't eat the carrots.

My Entry:  

I was five when we moved from Chicago to Spruce Head, Maine so my parents could experience the joys of natural living (remember the ‘70s?). Though, living without hot water proved too much a stretch, so they opted to have a new water heater delivered. 

After installing the heater, the deliverymen left its large brown cardboard box on our lawn. My  younger brother Adam and I laid it on its side, declared it “a tent” and begged to be allowed to camp in it.
 
My parents finally succumbed to our pleas, and my mother got in the spirit, pulled out the fifty pound can of all-natural peanut butter and stirred for most of the afternoon so she could make us a couple of sandwiches.
 
I packed a grocery bag with a flashlight, our sandwiches, and two peaches. At dusk we got situated in the box, not caring that we kept sliding towards the back end of it (our front lawn was actually a small hill) and happily ate our peaches, but decided to ration the sandwiches just in case of an emergency.   

 It started raining and my dad came out to see if we wanted to call it quits.  NO WAY!! Adam entertained us with an armpit noise concert and we drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, awakened by urgent whispers of, “Lor, something’s out there!” I turned my flashlight towards the front of the box.  Through the rain I saw a pair of glowing eyes attached to the hairiest super-sized monster raccoon I’d ever seen!  I hurled my peach pit at it while Adam frantically kicked at the other end of the box hoping to break us to freedom! 

To our horror, the creature was undeterred by the peach pit, and seemed to think it was an airborne invitation to come inside and dine! As it made its way into the box, we realized that it wasn’t a raccoon, but was something much bigger!  Adam and I began screaming and kicked the cardboard walls for our lives!  All the movement towards the end of the box created enough momentum to make it stand completely upright! 

There we were, two terrorized children and a panting, furry, rabid wolf-like thing all thrashing around in the wet box!  Finally, our shrieks were heard and my parents raced out just as the creature broke through the wet cardboard and ran off with a sandwich. 

Once we were inside and dried off, my parents listened without interrupting as we detailed how we survived the terrible attack. Finally, my dad asked, “Kids, do you think it could have been Sammy?” 

If you’ve ever lived on an island you know there’s always the friendly island dog roaming from house to house looking for peanut butter sandwiches.  On Spruce Head, it was Sammy.  Adam and I looked at one another in disbelief.  There we were, traumatized for life and our parents actually had the gall to suggest that we might have gotten scared by a dog? Jeesh! What nerve!
___

I can see I rushed my ending, but oh well. 

I had a lot of writing success early in my twenties and my mother reminded me of how I once bragged to my father that I'd never been rejected and he said, "Then you must not be sending out enough work." Gee. Thanks Dad. But, it's true, rejection of one's work (not of one's self) is all part of the writing game.

The worst part about not winning the tent is going to be the looks I'll get from other campers on my upcoming solo camping trip as I stroll past them carrying a large cardboard box!

Romancing The Stove

It's been a busy week Kitchenettes! I can't believe it's Sunday (4:45 a.m. and 54 degrees!) already.  I thought I'd post about another one of my favorite cookbooks.  Romancing the Stove By Margie Lapanja.  While the cover does absolutely nothing for me and as with the Passionate Palate there aren't any pictures, this one still makes the cut as one of my all time favorites.  Great recipes for baked goods in particular, but it's the narrative that gets me again. 

There's a wonderful passage that I typed up, framed and have hanging on the wall in my kitchen. I think it sums up how I feel about cooking and food perfectly.  Over the past few years I've emailed it to friends who feel the same way. (If you want the passage, just email me and I'll send it to you.)  I think she hits upon the idea that cooking should be fun and we shouldn't get hung up on everything being perfect all the time. 

I, for one, have had plenty of cooking disasters.  One of my most embarrassing was at a get-together at Mark's friend Mike's house before we got married. I decided to make rumaki (minus the chicken livers---basically bacon wrapped water chestnuts broiled with barbecue sauce ).  I was twenty-two and confident that my fancy mini masterpieces would outshine the taco dip and cheese curl fare everyone was accustomed to. I was still new to the group and wanted to be a culinary superhero.  Disaster ensued.

I wrapped the bacon too thickly, had the broiler too high and served everyone charred on the outside, but raw on the inside slippery gross bacon balls on burned toothpicks (because toothpicks are soooooooo classy).  Barbecue sauce splattered the inside of Mike's fairly unused bachelor oven and I overestimated the amount to make by dozens. I had just assumed they would be a hit and the five of us would eat sixty or so pieces.  I left poor Mike with an aluminum foil covered dish of un-broiled pieces just in case he wanted to "bake some off" on his own.  I'm sure he got right to it after we left.

The clincher was when Brian, my favorite of Mark's friends (who seemed particularly queued into my shame) held out his plate and said he'd try another! What a guy. I was thoroughly ashamed, looked at him and said, "Oh, come on...it's raw bacon." took the plate away from his outstretched hand and dumped it in the garbage. He knew it, I knew it, the whole world knew it...I was the worst cook ever!

To make matters worse Brian's gorgeous and blond new girlfriend (now his wife) was witness and she graciously tried to help me clean up. It was so humiliating!  It should also be known that both Brian and Mike on separate occasions had already suffered through king sized portions of the over-cooked and gluey Korean stir-fry that I used to pride myself on as a young cook.  And once, in gratitude for Brian giving me a ride home from the gas station where I worked, I gave him a specially prepared bagged lunch.  We're lucky he survived.  I realized at some point the lid on the canning jar (I was going for home-style quaint) of pudding I included was...well, maybe a little rusty.  Not to mention the time I went all Martha and wrapped a tin of my chocolate chip cookies for him individually. He dutifully reported back (as only a nice twenty-four year old guy could) that he and his roommate came home after a night "out" looking for snacks and after a few of my cookies, his roommate announced that unwrapping each one "seemed like a lot of work".  Agahahaahahaha! The first tip from the Little Orange Kitchen; Know your audience...package appropriately.      

My point is that we've all had disasters, or not had our creations as well received as we'd like, but that doesn't define us as cooks. I've become a better cook over the years, but I appreciate the fearless cook I was as a teenager too. 

I worked at a fairly upscale catering company and bakery in Chicago for a few years starting when I was sixteen.  The first week when I proudly put my family's version of Waldorf salad (tons of whipped cream, marshmallows and garnished with maraschino cherries) out next to elegant bowls of chicken salad with herbed cilantro mayonnaise and marinated vegetables, my boss and the other real "chefs" were not impressed, but thankfully they said nothing discouraging.  I was rewarded when a little old lady came in and her face lit up when she finally spied my salad (which had been moved behind all the more presentable food).  A few weeks later I wowed the whole kitchen when I made up my own recipe for dime thin melt in your mouth linzer cookie hearts that were a huge hit at an afternoon tea party for a hundred people at the Art Institute.  Fearless cooking may result in a few losses, but it nets you far more wins.

I cannot remember the exact recipe of my creation (a downfall of cooking on the fly), but it was similar to this one only I made them with hazelnuts, added some rum to the dough (a few tablespoons), rolled them thinner than what you see here and skipped the powdered sugar in favor of a light dusting of super fine sugar. 

I'm engrossed in the new Harry Potter and doubt I'll get much else done today...though we're going to see Sicko.  Have a great day all! 

The Passionate Palate

I've mentioned I've been perusing my cookbooks lately, so I decided to share one of my favorites.  Please keep in mind that I never actually follow the recipes, I tend to use cookbooks more for inspiration than instruction.  I love The Passionate Palate by Desiree Witkoswki because it's filled with great recipes as well quotes and "pamper yourself" tips.  Plus, the cover is positively frame-worthy.  It doesn't have any photos (always a bit of a disappointment), but the narrative is so fun that I frequently pull it off the shelf and open it up just for a boost.  A reviewer on Amazon gave it 4 stars, but said she wished it had some recipes that were "lower in fat and higher in nutrients".  Jeez...Some people just don't know how to live!  (Just kidding...I appreciate good nutrition too.)...The criticism is fair, but the author never encourages eating the whole cake!    

The woman on the cover kind of reminds me of Nigella...very sensual, but down to earth too. Though, is it just me, or has Nigella been making more and more odd facial expressions lately?  It seems like she's just a little more aware of herself than a few years ago, and I suppose that's normal considering how popular she is.    

OK...now this is only for those who watch the Next Food Network Star. What the heck? I firmly believe the network knew about Jag's past and knew he'd have to be removed, so they gave him the spot over Amy knowing she'd be back...it made great television and please...they raved about her so much that to send her home seemed odd.  Just my conspiracy theory...but, I'll say no more for fear of starting a riot.

Thanks to those of you who asked about Etsy! I am hoping to get it going by August, but I will admit that it gives me some concern...my wallets are doing well, but most of the sales have been to people who have actually held one and examined it...it's hard for me to describe how they feel...they're sturdy, but they are paper.  Though, I'm excited to get going on a new batch with Etsy in mind.

I did make wallets today and rescheduled my sewing lesson for Monday. My good friend Nancy (We saw Harry Potter by the way...thumbs up!) has also offered to share her skills, but until I can at least thread a bobbin, I don't want to test the friendship! Plus, Nancy does everything crafty very well, I want to feel moderately competent before I head over for help!

I have to work tomorrow (today), so I'm going to close, but I'll leave you with a link to a baking blog that never fails to inspire me. 

p.s. I read about a blogger celebrating her 100th post...she's been blogging for almost two years.  Yikes! I'm at number 57 and it hasn't even been three months!!!!  It's kind of embarrassing...but, I really do get away from the computer once in awhile! I'm still new at blogging, so every comment is cause for celebration and getting tagged for the first time the other day was "write home to mother" thrilling!   

p.s. double s: Fall must really be on my mind...Isn't this fabric cute! I'm ashamed to say that I saved the image from a retail fabric site and cannot remember what it was called so I can't provide a link...   

   

 

The Lollipop Shoes

Yes, the sequel to Chocolat is finally here!!!!!  Actually, it came from Amazon UK courtesy of an order placed by Mark a few weeks ago (It's available at Target On-Line now).  I've read it and enjoyed it very much. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the movie if not the book, but if you did read the book, you know what a treat it is.

I love how Joanne Harris writes about magic and food. With titles like Blackberry Wine and The Five Quarters of the Orange, it shouldn't surprise us. When I first saw Chocolat (in 1999, sitting on a bookshelf on Charing Cross Road in London) I knew I had to have it.  The golden eggs, chocolates, the nest, stars, a tarot card and the saint on the cover absolutely pulled me in.

I took it back to the hotel and after reading a few chapters loaded with descriptions of candies called Nipples of Venus, truffles, frothed hot chocolate made warmer with secret spice, the magical tempering process and the description of the little town in France...I was hooked.  I fell in love with Vianne, Anouk and of course Pantoufle.  It had not been released in the states yet, and when it finally was, the cover was different and not at all magical.  I felt so lucky to have my UK edition.

Joanne Harris has a knack for bringing out the sacredness and magic of food. She anthropomorphizes (does that word apply?) food the way I do. I mean, who among us has not heard the beckoning calls of chewy ginger cookies and pumpkin pie from the kitchen? I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to hurt that last brownie's feelings by leaving it unchosen and lonely on the plate.   

I often use my spices and special ingredients to try to create something for myself, to transport myself to the exotic places they came from. Every flavor has meaning and every scent takes me on a journey.  Chocolat (along with her other books) was pivotal for me because I realized there was someone else out there who also saw the magical potential in a bowl of freshly whipped cream (Kind of like reading blogs and realizing that I'm not the only one who enjoys a perfectly plated cupcake!).

A few years ago I was up alone in the wee hours of the morning preparing for a holiday (Easter maybe? I celebrate time with family, but am not religious) and I had bread, cookies and a buttered apricot ham baking while I was stirring an enormous pot of caramel on the stove.  As I stirred, the house went very  quiet and I felt connected to women the world over who were cooking at that very moment.  I cook intuitively, and while I read cookbooks like novels, I almost never follow a recipe; they serve as mere outlines only and I like to imagine that most women do too...   

Anyway, back to the book. The Lollipop Shoes picks up a few years after Chocolat ends and when Anouk is coming into her own intuitive and magical power.  Vianne is relatively shut down in this story and I don't want to say more for fear of spoiling it.  I knew nothing of the sequel until I began reading it and want you to have the same experience.  It was good and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it comes in a little behind Chocolate. Then again, what doesn't?

I'm surprised it's getting so little promotion here.  I didn't even know about it until Mark found it and told me it was ordered. I don't understand how or why that could be. Maybe if they do another movie?      

One flaw.  I love the short little boxy UK editions of her books. Those covers are wonderfully designed. However, this one broke from tradition and is the size of a normal hardback. Though, with all the images the title conjures up, I'll forgive the publisher this one one time.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Hmm...I just went from a title paying tribute to Beck to one paying tribute to Jack Johnson. See? I really am Sybil.

Unlike many people who make things, I am not my own worst critic. The tortured artist/writer who thinks everything they turn out is crap does not apply to me at all.  I drive Mark insane when I strut into his office and casually (but with great flair) set the latest creation in front of him and then step back nodding my head, arms crossed, looking smug and enthusiastically mouthing the words, "That's right and to think you're lucky enough to be married to me!" Why do I have to mouth the words?  Well, because usually he's on a business call when I do it. Agahahaaha! I continue my antics until he acknowledges my masterpiece (Usually with a thumbs-up and a point to the phone, as if I missed that he was in the middle of a conversation).  Hey, creative brilliance waits for no one.  When sharing with my friends, I'm a bit more modest, but in truth, what's wrong with thinking you're the bee's knees?

Speaking of which, I've been making some wallets out of the New York Times and am thrilled with this one.  It's already sold and will be off to Chicago on Wednesday.    

Recycling the newspaper this way is fun, but can be frustrating.  Lately, the NYT has not had enough full-page color