The Recipe Club: Andea Israel & Nancy Garfinkel

Many cultures focus important events and celebrations around food. The Recipe Club is no exception as readers are introuced to the lives of Val and Lily.

The Recipe Club is a compilation of emails and letters written back and forth between Val and Lily. Friends since their childhood they have not spoken in over 26 years. Both come from dysfunctional families with thier own issues that they struggle with as they come of age during the 60's. Val's mother is neurotic and constantly depressed, while Lily's beautiful mother overshadows her daughter.

As children Val and Lily formed a club "The Recipe Club" exchanging recipes that mirrored the events of their lives. Love is celebrated with Holy Cannoli Chocolate Chip Cannolis, Diploma Dip with Veggies is perfect for a college graduation.

Their relationship picks up in 2000 instigated by the death of Val's mother. However old wounds do not easily heal and the two friends are still angry over past events.

The book includes a wonderful collection of recipes. The authors have been kind enough to include an index to make finding them easier.

Thank you to Caitlin Price, at FSB Associates for providing me with a copy of the book. Below are more tales of Food and Friendship from the authors of The Recipe Club.

Tales of Thanksgiving Food and Friendship
By Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel,
Authors of The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship

For some people, Thanksgiving evokes warm feelings triggered by memories of a close-knit family gathering, where relatives share traditions and a home-cooked meal.

For others . . . it's the beginning of a holiday season stuffed with lunatic relatives, family dysfunction, bitter recriminations, and heartburn.

We heard a wide range of Thanksgiving Tales this year while traveling around the country for our Recipe Clubs. Inspired by the plot and structure of our book, Recipe Clubs are storytelling and friendship circles in which women gather to share true-life food-related stories along with recipes. Recipe Clubs are not about cooking; they're about creating community and fostering friendship . . . they're about laughing and crying . . . they're about honoring our own lives and the lives of others. They show us how the simplest, sweetest, or funniest tales about food can turn into deep revelations about our lives.

Just about everybody has at least one quintessential Thanksgiving food memory that perfectly captures the complicated feelings surrounding the holiday. Here are some of our favorites:

GIVING THANKS
One Recipe Club friend recalls the first time she ever cooked a Thanksgiving meal on her own. Her mother, who traditionally did the meal, was recovering from surgery. Her father was working. And her sister was flying in just in time for the meal, but not early enough to help cook.

So our friend rose to the challenge, proclaiming that she would do the entire meal, on her own. No problem -- until reality set in. She woke at dawn, shopped, chopped, and soon realized her oven was half the size it needed to be. By the time the turkey wanted basting the chestnut stuffing required baking -- and the brussel sprouts were definitely not cleaning themselves!

But things really went south when it came time prepare her grandmother's famous pumpkin pie. This was the pie recipe that had been handed down through generations. If it didn't come out perfectly, our friend knew she'd feel like a failure.

Of course, nothing went right. The pie crust was too wet, then too dry. There was too much nutmeg, not enough ginger. With every crimp of the dough her head swam with the imagined voice of her southern grandmother: "A woman is judged not just by who she is, but by what she can bring to the table."

When the pie came out of the oven, the crust was too brown, and there was a giant crack running down the middle of the filling. Our friend fought back tears, took a deep breath, and set the pie out to cool, knowing more clearly than ever that neither it -- nor she -- was, or would ever be, perfect.

But when it came time for everyone to gather at the table, something shifted. Her parents and sister praised her hard work and loved the meal. And our friend realized she had somehow been carried on the wings of the generations of women who had cooked before her, without complaining, to serve a Thanksgiving meal to their family. She felt truly thankful for all the work that her mother, grandmother, aunts -- indeed all the women she'd known through her life -- had accomplished each holiday. Triumphant, connected, and happy, she understood that food cooked with love is its own kind of perfection.

FINALIZING THE DIVORCE
One Recipe Club friend recalled her first Thanksgiving after her divorce.

Since carving the bird had always been her ex-husband's job, she delighted in finding a new, turkey-free recipe. She settled on an apricot-glazed ham, and went to work cooking a glaze of brown sugar, cloves, and apricot nectar (an ingredient that gave her extra pleasure knowing her ex-husband detested it.)

When her grown children came for dinner, they were childishly upset not to have their usual 12-pound bird. But it was delicious, and in the end each one complimented the chef. On her way out, the youngest daughter told her mother, "maybe we all need to learn how to gracefully accept change."

For this new divorcee, serving ham became a way of asserting her independence, showing her children there was life after marriage, and teaching the whole family to find new ways to be together.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE
The truth is, we don't pick our relatives. So if the Thanksgiving gathering of the clan is an annual emotional challenge, you aren't alone.

In a recent Recipe Club circle of old friends and new acquaintances, we met a woman who admitted that for most of her life she dreaded Thanksgiving; all it evoked for her were memories of family fights. The contrast of what she knew Thanksgiving was "supposed" to be, versus what it was in her home, always made her feel ashamed and disappointed. And yet every November she felt compelled go home for a family Thanksgiving meal.

But one year, that changed, when her parents and brother decided to have Thanksgiving away from home. They journeyed together to Nantucket, where they ate dinner at a seaside inn. The inn served a New England clam chowder, rich with cream and warm on a cold autumn night. And they discovered that a new location, with new foods, away from the house where memories were often more fiery than the jalepeno cornbread, turned out to be just what the family needed.

Now, every year, back at home, they have a new tradition: serving New England Clam Chowder at their Thanksgiving feasts, each spoonful bringing back fond memories of a peaceful and loving family holiday.

A FAMILY OF FRIENDS
Finally, a little tale of food and friendship.

A reader of our book told us that she had a choice this year. She could invite Uncle Tim and Aunt Zoe, the way she does every year, and spend the entire holiday worrying about whether or not the perpetually complaining couple were happy. She could include cousins Beth and Sean, knowing they would be competitive, putting down her choice of food, her way of cooking, her table setting. She could extend an invitation to her brother and dreaded sister-in-law, who would sit in silence the entire meal and pick at the food.

Or . . . she could shake things up and do something entirely different: invite only friends. True friends. People she enjoyed being with. Who made her laugh. Who spoke truthfully. Who shared her passions for good books, good wine, and good music.

She took the leap. She dumped the whiners, broke with tradition, irritated several family members -- and never looked back. The moral: good food and good friends are the perfect combination. Sometimes it's a good idea to trim the guest list before you serve the bird with all its trimmings.

©2009 Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel, authors of The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship

Author Bios for The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship
Andrea Israel is a producer/writer for ABC's Focus Earth. She was a producer/writer on Anderson Cooper 360, Dateline, and Good Morning America (which garnered her an Emmy Award). Her story In Donald's Eyes was recently optioned for a film. Ms. Israel is the author of Taking Tea. Her writing has appeared in many publications.

Nancy Garfinkel is co-author of The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino(Chronicle Books, 2005). A creative strategist, design consultant, writer, and editor for magazine, corporate, and non-profit clients, she has won a host of graphic arts and editorial merit awards. She has written extensively about food and graphic arts.

For more information please visit www.therecipeclubbook.com

White Picket Fences Review and Giveaway

White Picket Fences, it is the ideal border for a beautiful home. We always admire the home with the white picket fence. But what really goes on behind the white picket fence? Is the family living there always as happy as they pretend to be.

When the storybook-perfect Janvier family temporarily "adopts" their teenaged niece, Tally, they assume they'll be helping her. But when Tally befriends her cousin, Chase, she soon realizes that he badly needs encouragement, too. When the troubled teens interview two holocaust survivors for a sociology project, will they trigger the healing process that everybody needs?

White Picket Fences introduces us to meet Neil and Amanda and their children Chase and D who live the perfect life in a home with a white picket fence. Amanda's niece, Tally, comes to live with them when her father who supposedly is in Poland cannot be reached and her grandmother dies. Chase and Tally have a school project that leads them to interview two old men at a nursing home that survived Treblinka during the Holocaust. This opens doors to the past that no one new existed. Susan Meissner has written a great book that explores relationships and the communication between family members. I enjoyed this book a lot.

Special thanks to Staci Carmichael at Waterbook Multnomah for the review and giveaway copies of this book! Should you wish to purchase the book, click here.

The giveaway will run through November 30-given I am sending out the book I will open the giveaway internationally. Oops I initially said November 15-I must be tired-I mean November 30th.

For a chance to win, mandatory entry is to leave me a comment why you want to win the book with your email. The winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

For extra entries-tweet about the contest-you can do this daily.
Blog about the contest and leave me the link.
Follow my blog.

Torta Rustica

If I could choose to be a child in any city where would it be. Paris. Without thinking twice would be my choice. Can you imagine, the food? Fresh croissants for breakfast each morning, pain de chocolate as an after school snack. I can only guess what is in a Parisian child's lunchbox, escargots, quiche, french onion soup. The possibilities are endless.

What about the clothes. Off to school I would go, with colored tights that contrast my jumper and a scarf always knotted fashionalby around my neck. Of course I would have un petite chien. My little dog and I would take walks through the parks and by the Eiffel tower.

Maybe my dog would sit in the basket of my bicycle as I rode to the boulangerie for a baguette and a sweet after dinner pastry. Here, I get in my car everyday and sit in traffic. Not a day goes by without traffic in Southern California. In Paris, everyday you go to the boulangerie. Would I tire of all those pastries...I think not. Let's not forget the crepes and nutella.

Maybe I would be able to draw better. I envy the French children and their sketch pads. They are introduced to the great masters at a young age. Their parents take them to the museums with a sketch pad and crayons. And then of course is the visit to the boulangerie.

If I cannot be a child in Paris, I will settle for being a woman enjoying French food. Most of my fond memories of Paris involve food. I remember the first time I enjoyed vol-a vente, ice-cream from Berthillion, a Nutella filled crepe, steak frites, macaroons and chocolate eclairs.

I had passed through Charles de Gualle airport a few times as a child, but first spent time in the city as a 21 year old accessorized with a backpack and a stash of Amex travellers checks. I still remember the baguettes and cups of hot chocolate that would be served to us for breakfast at the youth hostels. From that trip I still have the t-shirt I bought with a drawing of the Eiffel tower-and the year 1987 emblazoned on it.

As I got older and moved up ever so slightly in my income bracket, I could enjoy different foods and better restaurants. One french dish I have always enjoyed is a quiche with a fresh salad. You have to love a country that can heat up a quiche for you and out the door you go. One momement you can be shopping at Galleries Layfayette and then hop over to the men's store, up the elevator to their market and enjoy a slice of quiche and glass of wine.

TORTA RUSTICA (adapted from Women's Day Holiday Baking 1995)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
16 ounces cottage chess
4 ounces shredded (1 cup) pepato or asiago cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained and coarsely chopped
1 teaspon dried basil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cheese and basil and mix until well blended. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. (Sometimes I add a ten ounce bag of spinch) When you stir it all together it seems quite dense with the spinch, you may condense the mixture in the quiche dish. Add mixture into a quiche dish. I intentionally do not have a crust.

Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degress, bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in dish for 20 minutes before serving.

Help Save an Animal's Life

I just came across this blog It's Raining Cats and Dogs. They list animals at high kill shelters-Maybe someone you knows wants a pet. Please help save a life. It breaks my heart to see all the animals just sitting on death row.



When I lost my cat earlier this year I went to shelters looking for a new pet. It amazes me how many people just drop off pets because they are tired or done with them. People need to think before bringing home a pet. It is a responsibility. Please have your animal spayed so their offspring do not end up in a shelter.

Sorry to sound as if I am preaching, but it breaks my heart to see these animals in a metal cage, knowing that a worse fate may await them.

While I do not believe in plagarism-I did take these photos off the website-I do not think they would mind-feel free to plargarize my post.

What Matters Most: Diary of a Teenage Girl by Melody Carlson

Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

For myself I found the book rather young. While I do enjoy young adult books I could not relate to the subject matter of this book. Maya finds herself in daily struggles with life as a teenager. However for young teens I believe this would be a great book as it deals with issues that teens must find themselves in a daily battle with. Maya's issues are no different. Throughout each chapter she has her good and bad moments as she tries to cope with life's daily challenges. I think that most teens will enjoy Maya's adventures.

One aspect of the book I really enjoyed where Maya's green tips. Each chapter contained a tip on how to make the environment a better place. No matter how old we are we could all benefit from making the earth a greener place. Maya's Green Tip of the Day: Even in September most people are still using air conditioning. I've mentioned before that it's a good idea to turn your AC up a couple of degrees and save a few bucks as well as some energy. But here's another way to keep your cool—and it doesn't involve electricity. You can cool yourself off internally by drinking cold tea, lemonade, or water. Not only will you conserve energy (since all the cooling power is directed straight at your body's core rather than at the air), but you'll stay hydrated as well.

Thank you to Liz at Multnomah Publishing for giving me a review copy. If you want your own copy, visit here.

Lentil Quinoa and Apples for Jam

Look at this beautiful cookbook cover. Apples for Jam is a colorful cookbook. I must say it is adorable. Everything about this book is adorable and charming from the title of the book Apples for Jam to the way the recipes are categorized, by colors to the photos.

I love the idea of organizing the recipes by color. The color categories are red, orange, yellow, pink, green, gold, white, brown, monochrome, stripes and multicolor. The chapter on multicolored food starts off with a fun photo of a merry go round. This merry go round has beautifully painted horses with pink plumes. The recipes in this chapter include roasted zucchini and tomatoes with thyme, tiny savory tarts, smoothies and much more. Striped food, contains many different ice cream desserts and chocolate concoctions. What food is pink you ask, beet gnocchi, poached fruit in vanilla syrup and a few shrimp dishes.

I like the idea of organizing the recipes by color. Different days you are in a different mood. I think of fall food as being a variety of orange and red and golden hues, much like the changing of the leaves. Christmas time calls for deep reds and simple white menus. Of course for the spring I would want something green and fresh. Life is starting over. I am always up for something pink. Somedays you may be in the mood for a kaleidoscope of food.



So who is the author of this wonderful cookbook, Tessa Kiros of course. Click here for an interview with her. Previously I reviewed another one of her cookbooks, Falling Cloudberries. Born to a Finnish mother and a Greek-Cipriot father, Kiros, appreciates the world's diverse cultures and traditions. While Falling Cloudberries, has a variety of multi-ethnic recipes, Apples for Jam is a compilation of recipes that could be found in any home. All of Kiros' books are more than a compilation of recipes, they are her stories and memories with the food that accompanies them.

These are the recipes that will remind you of fond childhood memories. Food that you are in the mood for when you are feeling nostalgic and warm inside. All the recipes are quite easy to follow and I am sure taste delicious. If you are looking for a present for yourself of someone you enjoy spending time with, Apples for Jam is the perfect gift. If you never cooked before you will find yourself in the kitchen dressed in an apron, with all your measuring bowls and spoons ready to go.

So what did I choose to make? Lentil quinoa. This was not one of her recipes but an adaption of one of Kiros's recipes. I had recently purchased lentils, a vegetable I rarely eat except for in soup. Sunday night I made butter chicken from the recipe that Crazy Asian Gal was kind enough to share with us. Initially I was going to make curried lentils and then sat down to browse through Apples for Jam and found a recipe for lentil rice. Instead of using rice I used quinoa. The great thing about my lentil mixture is I think you could add any dish to it. My husband accidently poured the butter chicken into my lentil bowl and it was actually quite good. I like eating foods that absorb the taste and sauce of other foods.

LENTIL QUINOA (adapted from Apples for Jam)

INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups lentils
4 cups water plus 1 cup
1 cup quiona

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it is golden and sticky looking. Add the garlic, cinnamon, paprika, and coriander and stir until you can smell the garlic. Remove fro the heat.

Meanwhile, put the lentils in a large pan, cover with 4 cups of water and ing to a boil. Skim the surface and then simmer for 30 minutes.

Scrape the onion mixture into the lentil pan and add the quinoa, cooking over medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir.. Cover the top of the pan with a clean dish towel, put the lid back on and let sit for 10 minutes.

Let me give a big thank you to Andrew McMeel Publishing for sending me this gorgeous book.

"Limelight" by Melody Carlson Book Review

Claudette Fiore was used to making men's heads turn. Married to Gavin Fiore, a Hollywood director, Claudette enjoyed the good life, expensive foreign vacations, 500 thread Egyptian sheet cotton sheets and a handful of servants to attend to her needs.

Suddenly at the age of 82, the glamorous life of Hollywood comes crashing down on Claudette as she is forced to learn the tasks of life, many of us perform routinely on a daily basis. As a widow, Claudette finds herself almost penniless due to her accountant's swindling.

What is a diva to do? Move back to her hometown in Northern California where she swore she would never return to.

Limelight is a quick, witty and enjoyable read. As an 82 year old Claudette does not have many endearing qualities. Used to being pampered she has difficulty adjusting to the lifestyles of the not so rich. Having spent most of her life in Hollywood Claudette is overly self conscious about her looks. By the end of the book, I found myself liking Claudette. Life in a small town makes her realize that at the end of the day all that is really important are the people that you surround yourself with.

The book has an assortment of quirky characters, Claudette's gay step-son-who works magic with her new home. His enthusiasm and appreciation of life is contagious. Bea, her nosy overly friendly neighbor has no fashion sense but will not be deterred by Claudette's snobbery. In her first week in town, Claudette meets the senior liaison lady, a fan of imitation handbags, an art dealer and a clerk from the hardware store.

Author Carlson, weaves together a fun story of life in a smaller town. She brings to life everyday events that we can all relate to, locking yourself out of your house and overflowing toilets. At times the book had me laughing out loud reminiscing about my own bad luck situations. The book also made me wonder what my life would be like at eighty-two.

If you are looking for a light fun read, I would highly recommend Limelight.

Thank you to Multnomah Books for providing me with a copy of this book for review. To purchase the book, visit Random House.