Novel Food #19: the finale

Welcome to the roundup of the 19th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007 and that I continue to host with great pleasure, as it brings together two of my passions: literature and food. In fact, Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that inspire the preparation of dishes.

Like all its predecessors, the current edition includes a lovely set of posts, each describing a literary work that the blogger read and the dish that the reading inspired. Please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I will offer a small bite to whet your appetite for more: follow the link to read the details of the special connection between written word and food that each participant has created.

I hope that by the time you reach the end of this post, you will have a nice reading and cooking list to be used in the near future.

Ruhama of rumahama presents The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens,
which inspired her to prepare some Yeast Doughnuts

"This is a fantastical adventure that stars three siblings who lost their parents when they were very young. They don't believe they are dead, though, and start to get proof that life isn't what it seems... At one point, the two older children are thrown in jail by some dwarves and find they are imprisoned with the wizard Dr. Pym" a strong proponent of breakfast for dinner.

Rachel of The Crispy Cook secured a copy of her beloved Zeralda's Ogre by Tomi Ungerer
and was inspired to prepare Antipasto Kebabs 

"I remember borrowing this book numerous times from my local library long after I outgrew a respectable age to check out children's picture books, but I loved reading it over and over and gazing at Ungerer's hilarious illustrations. It's a great fairy tale about a plucky young farm girl named Zeralda who conquers a kid-eating ogre with her culinary skills."

Lucia of Torta di Rose read The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (in Italian La maga delle spezie) and prepared Masala di funghie e ceci (Mushroom and Chickpea Masala)

"I imagined entering the spice shop: I sensed fragrances, saw colors, learned words like naan (bread), garam masala (mixture of spices), Lanka (hot pepper), kalo Jire (cumin), dhania (coriander seeds)... and found the inspiration for this masala sauce (or curry) with chickpeas, peas and mushrooms, soooooo spicy, accompanied by naan."

Rachel of and then make soup was inspired by Peter Mayle's Hotel Pastis
to make Great-Grandma's Vinegar Pie

"Now I have eaten lemon pie here in the States, and in France, and never met one I didn’t like... but I want to tell you about a totally different pie. If “tromp l’oeil” is “fool the eye” then this was “trompe la bouche”. I truly thought I was eating a lemon pie – a very good lemon pie, but apparently I was sorely mistaken!"

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen read Deborah Cloyed's What Tears Us Apart
and cooked some Kenyan Corn and Bean Stew

"Although almost polar opposites in life, Leda and Ita both have dark pasts that, along with their current situation and the unstable Kenyan environment, stand in the way of their deepening relationship. What can tear us apart is just as much those internal "little monsters" that live inside our heads as the external obstacles that surround us."

Ana of Sweet Almond Tree read Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller and prepared Pork and Red Pepper Stew

"The book is also populated by a plethora of eccentric characters, be they human, simian, equestrian or canine.  They are entertaining and unforgettable.  Plus there are those Le Creuset pots.  A set of orange Le Creuset pots that move along with Nicola Fuller all the many times she pulls up stakes.  Thousands of delicious, flavorful stews were created in them by her."

Inspired by Mary Dern's short piece titled Printing,
Simona of briciole (your host) rolled some stained glass maltagliati

"In her piece, Dern remains very close to the senses, as she describes the handling of type to compose words, inking the press, the various sounds the latter does when it is set into motion... The end result of the process, a printed poem, feels almost edible... When I looked at my hand-cranked pasta machine, I realized that it resembles a printing press."

Simona of briciole was also inspired by The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
to bake Bavarian-style Soft Pretzels

"All ingredients of the novel work together to make a nice meal: the story, the characters, the language... Each month, the club members read one of Austen's novels and they meet to discuss it at a different house. At least that's the plan... I have never faced the dilemma of preparing food for a club's meeting at my house."

My special "thank you!" goes to the event's participants: I hope you had as much fun as I always do when I host this event. You will find a link to this roundup and to those of the earlier editions on this page.

The next edition of Novel Food will be in early fall: I will announce it here, on The Food Blog Diary, and other venues, so stay tuned. The Food Blog Diary is the lovely event announcement site created and maintained by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. Visit the site to read about current events and let her know about your event and she will post it on her well-organized site. Thank you, Jacqueline!

In the meantime, read good books (maybe with the next Novel Food in mind), cook good dishes, and otherwise savor life's local and seasonal offerings.

And don't forget the other culinary/literary event I co-host: the Cook the Books Club is currently reading How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher. Details of the event in this post.

Arrivederci!

Comments

[Rachel @ The Crispy Cook]

Great roundup. I love the variety of what everyone read and cooked up. Until next round of Novel Food!

[Simona Carini]

Glad you enjoyed it, Rachel :)

[lucia]

Fantastic roundup!

[Sally]

I don't know how you can keep up with all that you do, but I am grateful for it. Love this roundup. It is always so interesting to discover new (to me) books from what others are enjoying.

[Simona Carini]

Grazie, Lucia!

Thank you so much Sally. This event is really close to my heart. Staying up a bit late to read what people chose and what they cooked is a joy. I am glad you found interesting suggestions in the roundup.

[ruhama]

Yea! Just worked my way through the roundup! Fantastic, as usual. Thanks for keeping this one alive, Simona.

[Simona Carini]

Glad you enjoyed it, Ruhama. Thanks to you for being a faithful participant!

[Paz]

As usual, a wonderful lineup and delicious-looking food, starting with that donut! I want to eat it now. :-) I like the title, "How to Cook a Wolf". When will you write about it? I'd like to know what it's about.

[Deb in Hawaii]

Such a great round up of dishes--it is always fun to see what everyone picks to read and to make. Thanks for hosting! ;-)

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Paz. I will write about How to Cook a Wolf in the next week or so. In a few words, it's a book about cooking in war times. I think you'd like it. She has chapters like "How to Boil Water," "How Not to Boil an Egg," etc. It contains a number of recipes, like a very nice French onion soup.

Glad you enjoyed the roundup, Deb!