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Novel Food #36: the finale (readings and recipes)

And before you know it, it is time to come to the table to taste the contributions made to the 36th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007. Novel Food is about prose or poetry works that inspire the preparation of dishes. I continue to host this event with great pleasure, as it brings together two of my passions: literature and food. Every edition delivers a great reading list and a lovely set of recipes, and this one is no exception. A group of book-loving food bloggers has contributed posts, each... Read more →

tomato, cucumber and radish salad / insalata di pomodori, cetrioli e ravanelli

light, refreshing, colorful, flavorful: perfect! (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Three months ago, I listened to an interview1 with science writer Christie Aschwanden2, author of the book Good To Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery3. I was so intrigued by what I heard that I purchased the book and learned a lot by reading it. While I am not a competitive athlete, I exercise regularly and a year and a half ago I started running regularly. Regardless of how far you push yourself, recovery is a fundamental component of physical... Read more →

green bean and torpedo onion salad / insalata di fagiolini e cipolla rossa di Tropea

a simple seasonal side dish with a lot of flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO, cheeseboard by BHVwoodworks1) The memoir Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton2 had been on my to-read list for a while. I had read good reviews and was intrigued by the title. Hamilton's writing and storytelling style makes for an easy reading and the events she narrates with more details are well chosen. The three parts of the title corresponds to the three parts of the book and three periods of her life: childhood-early adulthood, chef/owner of a restaurant, marriage and motherhood. My favorite part... Read more →

Announcing Novel Food #36

In the northern hemisphere winter still rules, but not for long: by the time the 36th edition of the culinary/literary event Novel Food ends, it will be spring! In the meantime, as inclement weather keeps us inside, we have a perfect excuse to curl up in our favorite armchair with a book and a steaming mug of tea. Novel Food is a little voyage of literary discovery and a delightful party featuring literary-inspired dishes contributed by event's participants. I hope you will join. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio,... Read more →

artichokes, fava beans and sausage / carciofi, fave e salsiccia

satisfying spring flavors (sapori di primavera) (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO, cheeseboard by BHVwoodworks) Reading Buttermilk Graffiti1 by Edward Lee, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, was a pleasure from the first to the last page. Lee is a great storyteller: he brings the readers with him in his travels, inside every eating establishment he visits, next to every person he talks to. Together with the more factual details of his 16 stories, each centered around a place with specific food traditions, he shares doses of personal opinions, memories, experiences. Each chapter of the book ends with... Read more →

Novel Food #35: the finale (readings and recipes)

And before you know it, it is time to wrap up the 35th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007. Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that inspire the preparation of dishes. I continue to host this event with great pleasure, as it brings together two of my passions: literature and food. Every edition delivers a great reading list and a lovely set of recipes, and this one is no exception. A group of book-loving food bloggers has contributed posts, each describing a literary work and the dish... Read more →

artichoke spread / paté di carciofi

creamy distillation of artichokes A recent visit to the local bookstore resulted in the purchase of the novel The Goldfinch by the American author Donna Tartt.1 Published in 2013, The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, among other honors. Distinctly Dickensian in breadth, The Goldfinch grabbed my attention from the mysterious opening pages, and soon I found myself deeply interested in the adventures of the protagonist, Theo Decker, who reminded me a lot of Pip, the protagonist of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The first person point of view works well in the story. The title refers to a... Read more →

popiah: fresh spring rolls with jicama / involtini primavera con patata messicana

composite flavor and texture I read Crazy Rich Asians1 by Kevin Kwan, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, in just a few days. It is a modern version of a Victorian novel set mostly in Asia, particularly the island state of Singapore. When Rachel and Nick, the protagonists, arrive in Singapore, they are greeted by Nick's bet friend, Colin, and his fiancée, Araminta. Together, they go to eat at one of Singapore's hawker centers. I have never been to Singapore, but I learned about hawker centers and the characteristics of Singaporean food thanks to the paper Lucey Bowen... Read more →

Announcing: Novel Food #35

In the northern hemisphere winter still rules, but not for long: by the time the 35th edition of the culinary/literary event Novel Food ends, it will be spring! In the meantime, as inclement weather keeps us inside, we have a perfect excuse to curl up in our favorite armchair with a book and a steaming mug of tea. Novel Food is a little voyage of literary discovery and a delightful party featuring literary-inspired dishes contributed by event's participants. I hope you will join. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio,... Read more →

pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts / banana in padella e noci di macadamia

crunchy, soft and sweet I read the novel Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers1 by Sara Ackerman, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, in just a few days: the story is interesting, at the level both of the individual characters and of the historical background. To the tragedies of World War II and of the internment of Japanese-Americans, the novel, set on the Big Island of Hawaii, adds the personal tragedies of Violet, whose husband disappeared a year before the story starts, and of their daughter, Ella, whose distress hints at a devastating secret she cannot share. The... Read more →