October is National Reading Group Month (NRGM) and while Novel Food is not a reading group, reading groups (virtual and physical) are mentioned in the posts contributed to the event. NRGM was started by the Women’s National Book Association and is celebrated by its various chapters with various events. The San Francisco chapter, to which I belong, has two main events planned, detailed on their website.

Novel Food brings together two of my passions: literature and food. The event is about literary works (prose or poetry) that provided inspiration in the kitchen.

Back to Novel Food, please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I 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.

Elizabeth of Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary read The Temporary Bride by Jennifer Klinec
and tells us all about Persian rice

“Reading this book I felt like I was reading the intimate diary of a school class-mate, a school class-mate with much more courage than I! In search of that rice, the writer journeys to Iran, ‘one of the one of the most contradictory and misunderstood nations on earth’… I don’t have to go very far to enjoy that rice. My husband, of Persian descent on his father’s side, makes his rice dish for us quite frequently, and here’s his recipe…”

Claudia of Honey from Rock read Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
and was inspired to make Fa’alifu Ulu (Breadfruit)

The book is “a fictionalized biography of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. Their passionate love story with lots of adventure and travel. In fact, Stevenson’s and Fannys’ lives beat anything fictional the well-known author ever came up with… Fanny at one point was bemoaning the amount of breadfruit in their diet… But I say if people don’t like ulu they probably have not tried it at the right stage of ripeness, or with a good recipe.”

Lucia of So, what are you making for dinner? was inspired by her book club’s choice
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr to make Coconut Lime Balls

“Everyone enjoyed the book. It was truly an amazing story. Every time I read a book about the sacrifices people made during World War II, actually during any war, it makes me realize I should not complain about a few inconveniences that might pop up every now and then.” Lucia shares with us the full menu of her book club’s meeting.

Lucia of Torta di rose was inspired by Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
to bake Muffins al cacao (Cacao Muffins)

“Beautiful Gabriela’s story begins with her arrival in Ilhéus, a port town in Brazil, land of rich fazendeiros and exporters of cacao. In the twenties cacao plantations expanded and fortunes increased, progress was incessant and changed the essence of the city… With the struggle for supremacy in the cacao market as background, the love story between Nacib and Gabriela, a girl arrived from Sertão looking for a job, unfolds. She will go into the kitchen and into the heart of Nacib, inebriated by her clove scent and her cinnamon skin color.”

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen was inspired by The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo
to prepare a Greek(ish) Pearl Couscous Salad     

“If you think you have problems or don’t make the best choices, wait until you meet Matilda (Mattie) Wallace who is crashing fast and seems bent on repeating many of her late mother’s mistakes… Maddie is broke and pretty much exists on a combination of stale food in her grandmother’s cupboards and freezer, handouts, swiped apples and crackers from her library job, some fast food, and a couple of dinner dates… Finally a dinner date between Mattie and attractive paraplegic paralegal Luke sparked a dish as it seems Mattie and I share a love for Greek salads.”

Simona of briciole was inspired by Point Reyes Sheriff’s Calls by Susanna Solomon
to bake Pear sourdough bread

“I like that the stories show the characters at their best, their worst and all the shades in between: they can be selfish and insensitive, but also generous and even heroic; they can be silly or stubborn, but also thoughtful and selfless. They deal with daily occurrences (shopping, cooking, doing laundry, watching a baseball game) and with life’s challenges: growing up, growing old, being homeless… Making sourdough bread is one of my passions. For Anson, I baked a boule enriched with Asian pears.”

Simona of briciole also read Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
and prepared her version of kokoda: marinated raw fish salad (from Papua New Guinea)

“Early in the book, he tells the story of going fishing with his adoptive father and then preparing some mackerel for dinner for the two of them and one of his uncles. The fish caught around Papua New Guinea is different from the fish caught in Sweden and from the fish caught in the water off the California North Coast, but in each case it is fresh catch.”

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 late winter: 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, enjoy good food and otherwise savor life’s local and seasonal offerings.

Arrivederci!

Welcome to the roundup of the 24th 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. Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that provided inspiration in the kitchen.

Please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I 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.

Lucia of So, what are you making for dinner? was inspired by her book club's choice The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan to bake Anzac Biscuits

The book tells "an incredible story. It was about Australians in a Japanese POW camp on the Thai-Burma death railway. It was brutal and moving. There were times I had to shut the book and walk away. But it kept me wanting to read more…  I wanted to make an Australian cookie so I went to Google and found the recipe for Anzac Biscuits." They "were really, really good. So good that they may be part of this year's Christmas tray."

Judy of Judy's Gross Eats read Corduroy Mansions, by Alexander McCall  Smith
and was inspired to bake Lemon Gems

After hearing the author speak at an event, "I set out to explore some of his lesser advertised novels.  In this particular case, that would be Corduroy Mansions, a description of the lives of an eccentric group of Londoners and one precocious dog… Two of the novel characters, Caroline and James, spend an afternoon making cookies.  Not just any cookie, though, but Lemon Gems from Nigella Lawson's cookbook, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, which just happens to be on my bookshelf."

Claudia of Honey from Rock read Susan Wittig Albert's Cat's Claw
and was inspired to make Texas Style Oven-Fried Chipotle Chicken

"I enjoyed Albert's recent approach to character voice, shifting between the various leads, which brings more depth and insight to the story.  She also includes her usual interesting segues into different local and cultivated herbs, as Cat's Claw, which give each book its title.
Also included at the back of these novels are several recipes mentioned in the course of events. None of which, in this case, called my name for dinner.  However, the thought of oven-fried, spicy Texas style chicken did. Big Time. Love that smokey chipotle flavor."

Simona of briciole (your host) read The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch
and baked her version of golden Cuchaule: Swiss saffron bread

"The cast of characters is quite colorful and the protagonist, aptly named Sugar, tries her best to bring the smile back to their faces. Among them, Ruby, a young woman robbed of her smile by anorexia. The few 1/8 of a rice cracker portions she doles out to herself daily made me want to bake bread for her, the quintessential nourishing food of the culinary tradition in which I grew up, and sweeten it lightly with honey."

Simona of briciole was also inspired by The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley
to bake Carrot sourdough bread

"Eilish's worries about surviving end once she moves into the house in Craven Street, where, among other things, she eats buttered bread for breakfast and tea. Erin finds "natural-yeast bread" in her brother's kitchen, a sign that the new treatment he is undergoing with Dr. Berrick includes a healthier diet. So, I decided to create a bread for the two E's of the book…"

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 late summer: 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, enjoy good food and otherwise savor life's local and seasonal offerings.

Arrivederci!

Welcome to the roundup of the 23rd 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. 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.

Thanks to fellow book & cook enthusiasts, every edition of Novel Food brings new and interesting titles to my to-read list and delectable recipes to my to-cook list. I hope it does the same to you. 

Ruhama of rumahama read Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien,
which inspired her to make some Chocolate-Chunk-Coffee-Cinnamon Swirl Ice Cream

"The premise of the story is… teens are competing to win a spot at a prestigious school that broadcasts the daily lives of the artsy students. Part of the deal, though, is that the students who make it through the competition have to sleep for 12 hours at night in pods, via sleeping pill. Enter our main character: Rosie. One night Rosie decides to fake taking her sleeping pill and stays up just to watch the stars…"

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen read The Thing About Great White Sharks by Rebecca Adams Wright and was inspired to make Ruby Red Grapefruit Mimosas

"What a great and inventive collection of stories. I was hooked from the start… I love the creativity of the author and her ability to paint such interesting and provocative images with her words… I took inspiration from two favorite stories, combining the mimosas enjoyed between friends in Orchids and a diner breakfast staple of sunny-side-up eggs from Storybag."

Alexandra of The Lass in the Apron read John Buchan’s spy thriller The 39 Steps
and was inspired to bake Scotch Girdle Scones

"The protagonist… spends a good deal of time wondering where his next meal is going to come from. Gratitude for a square meal is an emotion that pops up frequently throughout the story. When I asked for a night’s lodging, she said I was welcome to a 'bed in the loft' and very soon she set before me a hearty meal of ham and eggs, scones, and thick sweet milk. Scones! One of my favourite bakes. But I wanted properly Scottish ones…"

Inspired by Richard Brautigan’s In Watermelon Sugar,
Phil of As Strong As Soup made a Carrot Halwa For Al 

"The narrator… lives in a shack near iDEATH and tells us of his life in a place where many things are made of watermelon sugar and the sun shines a different colour every day. I'm wondering what the people who lived at iDEATH would make of iPhones and the iPlayer. I like to think that Mr Brautigan would be amused but sadly he left us in the 1980s… I've certainly never forgotten Al and his carrots." 

Inspired by Simonetta Agnello Hornby's Il pranzo di Mosè (Moses' Lunch), Lucia of Torta di rose prepared Sofficina Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Caramelized Pistachios

"The book is the story of the 19th-century farm where the author and her family spent their summer vacation. Guests were welcomed with their serious and fun stories… about Sicilian food products and traditional family recipes." The author's mother observed her guests "at the table and tried to understand their tastes, then at the moment of farewell she offered farm products, such as olive oil, almonds, cheese, fresh vegetables or herbs."

Caroline of Caroline Makes was inspired by Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan to prepare Chunky Peanut Brittle

"A woman moves to a small village to look after her elderly aunt, who runs the local sweetshop. She ends up learning a lot about her aunt, and herself – and sweets! Each chapter of the book begins with either a recipe or a passage from her aunt's notebook about a particular type of sweet and there is one chapter which begins with a passage on peanut brittle. So that was also partly what inspired me to make this recipe…"

Debra of Eliot's Eats was inspired by Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
and her deep admiration for the author to prepare Spaghetti Carbonara

"I admire Reichl… I admire the way she jumped at the chance to become a food writer and restaurant critic… I admire her gumption and ability to live life to the fullest, even when that gets her into trouble. You know that quintessential party-conversation-starting question, 'If you could invite any person, living or dead, to your dinner party, who would it be? My answer is simple: I would love to have dinner with Ruth Reichl."

Lucia of So, what are you making for dinner? was inspired by her book club's choice Mona Lisa, A Life Discovered by Dianne Hales to prepare Tuscan Bean Soup

"For that night, I tried to make food that was predominately from Tuscany, where the book was based. In doing my research for the menu,  I found that food from Tuscany has a reputation for being nourishing, plain and simple, and beans are used extensively. I decided on a Bean Soup." She first made a gluten-free version and then a vegetarian one, both comforting in the cold weather experienced in her area.

Simona of briciole (your host) tackled the making of Cecamariti
a pasta shape that goes well with Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

"No husband was hurt in the making of this pasta. Blinding here is used in the sense of dazzling. Cecare is a dialectal form of the verb accecare. Mariti is the plural of marito, husband. In the book there is a good amount of one person trying to dazzle another (not necessarily a husband)… I remembered seeing an entry for cecamariti in the Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita: it was time to learn more."

Simona of briciole was inspired by Cheap Novelties, The Pleasures of Urban Decay
by Ben Katchor to make Black Chickpea Soup

The collection of black and white strips reads like a collection of short-short stories simple on the surface, yet haunting… The black and white world in which Julius Knipl moves made me want to cook something along the same color lines, yet unusual. I have a package of ceci neri (black chickpeas) from Italy (Puglia, to be precise) and decided to make a soup with them.

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 the summer: 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.

Arrivederci!