Before We Were Yours
by Lisa Wingate
Early on I realized this book was told in the "then" and "now" alternating passages that I found so annoying in a previous book. But here, they weren't annoying--not in the least. I think that's because both stories were equally engrossing and because the author let the stories dictate the breaks rather than chop them into chapters. In the other book, I was annoyed at having to constantly wrench my attention back and forth. This just flowed.
I don't read enough historical fiction to have a vote, but I could see myself voting this for best book of the year. Except it came out last year and it already won.
Nothing else to say that hasn't already been said in thousands of other reviews. It was scary and disturbing and if the bad parts had been told by an adult, it would have been excruciating. The narrator would have known what dangers really faced them, rather than a vague sense of dread that might not really be so bad as reality. Even so she was old enough to feel responsible for the fate of her siblings and that was the worst--having no power to fight back. Knowing there was nothing she could do, but feeling that she ought to have done something.
Shudder. But don't let me scare you off. Lots of good stuff, too.
Pukka's Promise:
The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs
When Ted Kerasote writes about dogs, he writes good! I've been trying to read one of his earlier works of travels and adventures, Navigations, and while I'm finding it enjoyable, I'm also finding myself putting it aside and not picking it back up.
Pukka's Promise I devoured in one weekend and immediately started over. It's all about the mystical magic of dogs combined with a lot of hard science. His research takes him deep into questions I never even considered questioning--
Why do dogs need annual vaccinations for diseases that don't mutate, like distemper and parvo? (answer: they don't)
Since wolves eat no grains, why do dogs thrive on diets consisting primarily of corn or wheat? (they don't)
Is there a long-term benefit to radical sterilization at an early age? (depends on who you ask)
What is the genetics behind breed-specific diseases and how can you improve your odds of getting a healthy purebred dog? (he tells)
How can you make your dog happier?
I need to re-read the section on dog food and the part where he gets a tour of a plant that produces animal by-product meal. It seems that when done correctly with a careful separation of species, by-product meal should be an ideal product to incorporate into pet food--it consists of the organs and innards and ground bones of the animals, which are exactly the parts that wolves and other predators prefer.
Poultry by-product meal has gotten a bad rap--most of the trendy dog food brands specifically exclude it on the label. Careless producers have been reported to include feathers and hair and improperly stored remains, and also throw in remains of dogs and cats killed in shelters. This is a shame, because organ meats and offal can be very nutritious. Think of French cooking--tripe, trotters and chitterlings--or early American hog slaughtering--headcheese is what you get from boiling the cleaned head; all the leftover snips of meat and fat go into the sausage grinder. If you've ever read Never Cry Wolf, when the author attempted to see how well he could survive on a diet of mice, he soon realized that he needed to include the whole of the mouse, just like the wolves did. I think he must have skinned them.
While Ted Kerasote researches and writes about all the science of healthy dogs, he's also acquiring and training his puppy on the skills needed to survive as a (mostly) off-leash dog in Wyoming. Mr. Kerasote's previous dog Merle had already acquired a lot of survival skills, including watching out for cars. The town where they lived was smaller, all of the dogs ran loose and were able to socialize themselves using normal dog behaviors. When Pukka came around there are more dogs on chains, more stupid owners, and more careless drivers.
That last paragraph sounds grim. It isn't--it's a lovely, happy book with plenty of elk bones to gnaw, pheasant to flush, and snowy slopes to slide. Wish I lived there.
Don't Make Me Pull Over!
An Informal History of the Family Road Trip
by Richard Ratay
Near the beginning he made a statement about the National Road having its beginnings when President Thomas Jefferson wanted a better route between Monticello and Washington. That seemed like such an interesting oddity of history that I tried to verify it. And I failed. The best I can tell the National Road went across the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River.
Other than that I didn't argue with him. He tells all kinds of interesting stories about the "biggest ball of string" and the first motel chain and the rise and fall of Stuckeys. He mixes his social history in with political history--oil embargo, airline deregulation--and adds a very amusing dose of his family's legendary auto trips.
If you lived through the days when seat belts were things to tuck under the back cushion, emergency roadside assistance (and cell phones) didn't exist, and Dad Drivers were nearly universally focused on "getting there", you'll resonate with this book. And most likely start telling your kids, "You don't have a clue what we went through. I had to hold my bladder from Minneapolis to Georgia."
Red Potato Bundles
from A Taste of Home
Pointless. I've made potatoes with rosemary before and liked them, but those were roasted in the oven with olive oil or butter. This called for onion and garlic and cheese, then rolling it all up in a square of aluminum foil and grilling it. I thought they'd make a good camping food.
But something failed to translate. These were just pointless.
Roasted Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
from A BEAUTIFUL PLATE by Laura Davidson
Not bad at all, but I'm not an acorn squash fan. For reasons unknown, the CSA likes to grow them. I much prefer butternut, delicatta, or pumpkin. However, this recipe's suggestion of pairing the flavorless squash with yummy sweet potatoes was sound. Very sound.
One question: it has you roast the squash and sweet potatoes, but you mince (finely) and sautee the onion. Then you put it all together and puree in a blender. Did it really matter that you minced the onion, let alone, finely? Did it really matter that you sauteed the onion at all? Why not just cut it in half and toss it on the baking sheet to roast along with the rest?
People really need to think about reducing unnecessary steps when writing down recipes. I think it would have been just as good, and maybe better, if I'd roasted the onion. And certainly easier!
Not having brought lunch today on account of "plans" that fell through, I went over to Tom Thumb Grocery to see what I could scavenge. I was craving salad. There's a Braum's next door, but their "garden salad" consists of iceberg lettuce, cabbage, carrots and cheese. Tom Thumb had a lot to choose from: roast beef club, chicken club, Asian chicken, sesame chicken, chicken chicken.... I finally found one that didn't feature meat--triple cheese melt.
So that's the story of American food--you can only eat salad if it's topped with meat or cheese. No chance of roasted squash, chickpeas, quinoa, black beans...any of the delightful things I love to put on a salad.
Giving up on the salad, I took a glance at the sandwich stand. No waiting in line, there--grocery store sandwich shops are almost always deserted. But all of the featured sandwiches were based on meat or cheese. Has no one but me ever spread toasted bread with hummus and piled it high with roasted vegetables and sliced olives? What about refried bean sandwiches topped with lettuce, tomato and guacamole? What about pesto spread piled high with sprouts, cucumber and garbanzo beans?
I'm making myself hungry. I guess that's why I need to always bring my lunch even if I think I have plans.
Cold Soba Buckwheat Noodles
from Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat
The epitome of Japanese eating--you chop up a little of this and that, present it on tiny plates and bowls, and give each diner one-half cup of a dipping sauce and a big bowl of noodles. Each diner doctors up their sauce and then use chopsticks to dip the noodles delicately in the yummy sauce. Then they slurp 'em down.
My version was altered for a bag lunch--the this and that were all piled in a flat bowl and the sauce and noodles packed separately.
I liked it, but I'd like it a whole lot better on a scorching day in mid-July. Today it was near freezing and I was craving a big plate of steaming hot noodle soup!
Gougres
Yummy! They taste just like Cheese Nips!
Which is amazing. Imagine a home-baked snack made of water, butter, flour, mustard powder, eggs and Gruyere Cheese (very expensive Gruyere Cheese!) could come out of the oven....
Tasting like a supermarket snack aisle product. It's sad beyond imagining. In order to retain my sanity, I have to pretend that they're missing that nasty little artificial aftertaste of the commercial product. Plus...they're pretty and puffy.
How to pick a peach
The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table
by Russ Parsons
Reading this makes me want to get a copy of How to Read a French Fry. It was fun and incredibly instructive. Even want to know whether the "new" potatoes at the farmer's market were secretly bought at the grocery store? Even want to know which fruits need to be picked dead ripe and which are better ripened on the kitchen counter? Is the best tasting peach the one with a reddish blush?
Maturity is another matter entirely. Although peaches and nectarines do soften and become juicier and more aromatic after harvest, they don't get any sweeter. That requires picking the fruit at the highest possible maturity....The best hint is the color of the fruit. That doesn't mean picking the peach that is the reddest--remember that blush is a genetic variation that has nothing to do with either ripeness or maturity. Instead, it means paying attention to the quality of the background color of the fruit. ...Peaches and nectarines that have the most sugar and are the most mature have a background color (yellow) with a golden, almost orange cast. When you see a piece of fruit like this, pick it no matter what the variety is.
I'm assuming he did the research and really knew what he was talking about. But enough of his information gibes with what I already knew, from observation or research, that I trust it. I only wish he'd write a companion volume that deals with imported fruit, like the papaya or the Korean plum.
If you're thinking to buy this book, note that it includes a few recipes fro each fruit category. I haven't tried any of them, and oddly, I didn't feel the desire to try any of them. They were either too cheffy or they included meat or cheese that wouldn't have been easy to omit. I might try Garlicky Braised Cauliflower with Capers or Plum Cornbread Buckle.
Other than that, the real value of this book would be if the "how to choose" sections were pulled out into a quick-reference guide. If I ever do that, I'll post it here. Wonder if I'd need to get permission from the author? Yes, of course.
The Tuscan Child
by Rhys Bowen
I don't know. It was a good story--it flowed excellently well and the people were all so very lovely. But I don't think I fully understood the ending. I didn't even like the ending, much, but I can't tell you why because that would ruin it for you. So I won't.
Be warned that the storyline flips pretty much chapter by chapter between then and now. Not my favorite narrative style and I didn't ever come to like the people in the then story--the now story was much better and it was set in a beautiful, idyllic countryside I'd love to visit. Lots of good food and local produce, too. Maybe she should have added the recipes and made a cookbook out of it.
JK. It's okay, I just didn't love it like I wanted to.
Rising Tide
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
by
John M. Barry
How is this possible, that a big old book about the politics and people of the great Mississippi flood of 1927, could be so darn good? Okay, there were a few too many 'floating cows' and cold, scared people perched on levees waiting for boats that never came. But the whole story of the mismanagement of the great river, all mixed with politics and racism and engineers who made decisions based on profits rather than facts, was great! It should have been subtitled, the Documentary of a Disaster. Or, more accurately, how mankind's meddling created a disaster.
It started in the 1850's and 60s, when The Army Corp of Engineers was led by a flawed scientist named Andrew Atkinson Humphreys. He took the time to collect the data that would allow him to make informed decisions about managing the river, then ignored it all. One of his proposals for managing the river was so out of touch with reality that,
Privately, even some Army engineers were aghast at Humpreys' position. One was Barnard, the sole dissenting vote...[who said] the plan submitted to the board simply ignored the engineering science of the present....The incompetence from first to last with which the thing has been handled by the [Corps] has thrown it irrecovably into the hands of politicians."
Politicians set up a sort of power play between the Corp and civilian engineers, with Humphreys pitched against the famous bridge builder James Buchanon Eads and the scientist engineer Charles Ellet. Their battles made for good reading but very bad outcomes, and the decisions ended up in the hands of the "Mississippi River Commission"--neither a scientific organization nor an engineering one, but a bureaucracy.
The commission took positions, and the positions became increasingly petrified and rigid. Unfortunately, these positions combined the worst, not the best, of the ideas of Eads, Ellet and Humphreys.
Both Eads and Humphreys opposed outlets. Ellet proposed them. Ellet was right. But the commission opposed outlets.
Both Eads and Humpreys opposed building reservoirs. Ellet proposed them. Ellet was right. but the commission opposed reservoirs.
Eads wanted to build cutoffs. Humphreys and Ellet opposed them. Eads was right. The commission followed Humphreys and Ellet.
And in the end, with outlets, reservoirs and cutoffs all being cast aside, the commission decided to use levees and only levees, a position "violently rejected" by all three men. So over the next decades, levees were built higher and higher and natural outlets were closed off. when the rains came, the Mississippi had nowhere to go but up.
There is no sight like the rising Mississippi. One cannot look at it without awe, or watch it rise and press against the levees without fear. It grows darker, angrier, dirtier; eddies and whirlpools erupt on its surface; it thickens with trees, rooftops, the occasional body of a mule. Its currents roil more, flow swifter, pummel its bands harder. When a section of riverbank caves into the river, acres of land at a time collapse, snapping trees with the great cracking sounds of heavy artillery. On the water the sound carries for miles.
Unlike a human enemy, the river has no weaknesses, makes no mistakes, is perfect; unlike a human enemy, it will find and exploit any weakness.
Immunity Soup
by Heidi
Good work on coming up with a catchy name--which has nothing to say about the recipe. This starts with a basic recipe for vegetable soup that you could find in any woman's magazine cookbook circa 1960--onions, celery and carrots, stewed in oil. I assume the "immunity" label came from the additional of a generous portion of garlic and ginger plus a whole lot of white pepper to cover up its lack of flavor. Since I hate pepper, I skipped it, and sure enough the result had no flavor.
The recipe called for mushrooms and tofu, too, and since I couldn't stand to waste a soup that included two of my favorite things, I decided to give it some flavor. I tried rice vinegar and soy sauce--better, but no unami. So I dissolved a healthy tablespoon of brown miso in hot water and plopped that in. Plus a dash of toasted sesame oil.]
Yummy! Come on, immunity!
Curried Scallops
from Modern spice
I don't know what to say about this. What could be bad about scallops sprinkled with curry powder, sauteed in oil, then served in a sauce of the curry drippings, onion, tumeric and coconut milk? It was good but not special, however, I may have omitted the key ingredient--fresh curry leaves.
Scallops are way too expensive and precious to waste on a less-than-stellar recipe, so I'll have to file this away. But I think it could have been great.
Roasted Delicata Salad with Warm Pickled Onion Dressing
Knock me over! I thought this was going to be yet another meh from the long file of boring "salads" I could have thought up for myself. It was good! Like coleslaw on steroids.
I'll share the basics:
Roast some winter squash. It's hard to find delicatta, so I grabbed an acorn squash and a sweet potato from the CSA box. (The last delicatta from my garden had gone hopelessly soft in storage)
Mix 2 Tbsp honey, 3 Tbsp cider vinegar (the recipe called for red wine vinegar but I messed up and am glad I did), 1/4 tsp caraway seed and 3/4 tsp salt. Heat until boiling, then pour over 1/3 cup of minced red onion.
Shred 2-3 cups cabbage, an apple, and 1/2 c celery hearts. (Please don't measure any of this, just throw it in.)
When the squash is cooled, mix it all together and top with some toasted walnuts. I skipped the walnuts and that's good, because if I'd included them I'd probably have sat down and gobbled the whole bowl at once.
It's that good.
And with that I've knocked out another category (Salads) under the to-try folder! I only have seven categories left. 3 desserts, 7 side dishes, 12 main dishes, 1 other, 1 sauce, 1 soup, and one spread. How does that add up? Excellent -- 26 to go. With some interruptions in the picture, I may not make it but I'm not giving up the race yet.
Nun Too Soon
by Alice Loweecey
Everyone raved over this first mystery. Ex-nun takes over her husband's detective agency when he returns to the police, and proceeds to take on a case investigating an obnoxious man who killed his obnoxious wife by strangling her with a tie. Everyone assumes his guilt because all of the evidence points to him, and Giulia (the detective) is more than half-convinced he's guilty, too. But she decides to take on the case for no reason I can fathom.
Clearly, I had issues--starting with my inability to pronounce the name Giulia. I decided to say Julia, with a little hitch each time as I remember to make the G soft. I eventually looked it up and discovered it is an authentic Italian given name, so I had no right to gripe. So I read on, growing more and more irritated with the abbreviated, uber-witty dialog; the constant interruptions of the "detection" with flavored coffees and snacks and meals and more snack and more meals; the shallow snippets of characters that bounced on and off the stage; the short chapters and shorter sentences. The proof of the crime(s) seemed awfully flimsy, even at the end. The final action scene didn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense any way I looked at it. People acted strangely for no apparent reason and we were supposed to accept it and applaud.
I think all that says this book wasn't a good fit for my personality. I give you permission to adore it. I will not pronounce judgement, just say this: there was too much of nothing crammed into too little space. For my taste.
If Ina Garten has one pet peeve, it's the phrase season to taste. "If you don't know what it's supposed to taste like, how are you supposed to season to taste?"
Yeah!
So not much progress on the recipe reduction front--been sick and out of sorts mostly. One much-delayed update,
Onigiri #30
I've saved this recipe for a while. Don't know why--it's not complicated. Cook some sprouted rice (I sprouted my own, but I don't know if it was really necessary). Mix with mung beans, sesame seeds (forgot) and green onions. Make balls--oops. Mine failed failed failed to make balls. Maybe if I hadn't started the recipe two weeks ago, ran out of time and chucked the whole thing in the freezer, it wouldn't have looked like this mess:
Anyway, make balls with a scoop of avocado in the center. Top with a spotch of miso, soy sauce and nut butter (I cheated with tahini but almond butter would be better). Broil until it melts. Wrap with a strip of toasted nori (I used some roasted seaweed of unknown type leftover from Christmas).
With all my swaps and failures, it turned out good! I should make again, frequently, and figure out how to make it stick together next time.
The Truth About Forever
Classic (dare I say?) Sarah Dessen. I'll probably stop reading her older books now but stay hopeful for a new one. I've read What Happened to Goodbye?, Just Listen and Saint Anything. Of the four, I'd be most likely to recommend the last one, although I only gave it three stars at the time of reading. I was probably still mad at the creepy guy.
She excels in "family", especially the parts of family that must make you want to scream. There always seems to be at least one clueless adult who never takes the time to really see what his/her kid is going through. The resolution of this--the point where the parent wakes up and sees what they're missing--isn't simple and seldom involves an apology, parent to child. The best you can hope for is that they sort-of get it, in their small-minded, grown-up way. In fact, that may be what Ms. Dessen is trying to say--don't expect your adults to ever understand, just be sure that they hear what you're able to say. And get on with your life.
I appreciate that about Ms. Dessen--she doesn't take the easy way out and create the fairy tale happy ending. Her endings are, at best, a compromise. But somehow you never feel robbed.
Another thing I appreciate is her ability to write a sweet romance that complements the heroine's development but doesn't complete it. Yeah, it's great to be liked for yourself. (She steers well clear of any suggestion that a guy might like a girl for her...uh...developments, missing a chance to help girls grow into their sexuality as well as their self-determination. Too bad.) But being liked for yourself, that way isn't the major impetus that helps her heroines move from childhood to adulthood, from helplessness to self-determination. It helps, friendship and sometimes family helps. But eventually, her young women have to grow a backbone all by themselves.
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
by Mackenzie Lee
I wish I'd not started this, but once started, I wanted to see how it ended and so it went. Hint: if you're feeling the same way, early on, go ahead and quit. Not worth it.
All that said it delivered in its intentions--it was light and funny and full of ridiculous escapades. The plot, as described on the cover blurb, was a machination of coincidences. But the real plot was something very different and surprisingly well revealed. Hint: it's a love story.
So if you're a teen looking for a fun afternoon and a bit of light reading. Tackle it. Anyone else, think thrice.
Before We Were Yours
