The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauemeister ISBN# 978-0-425-23209-5

The most beautiful foodie writing passage I have ever read came from Erica Bauermeister’s book The School of Essential Ingredients. In this novel, the main character Lillian, owns a restaurant and holds cooking classes. This endeavor brings together students Claire, Tom, Antonia, Carl and Helen. Each character has rich and unique paths of life and we learn how the cooking class helps them move along in their life’s journey. The story of Claire, a new mother, I most identified with especially when I read her description of the birth of her child. Clarie describes how after wave after wave of pain she felt herself break into pieces and how she needed “one quiet moment to heal, but the pieces had stayed broken and found new places to settle where she didn’t recognize herself” (p. 56). Claire finds her quiet moment when at the end of the first cooking class, she tastes the crabs they had learned to prepare:

“The meat touched her tongue and the taste ran through her, full and rich and complicated, dense as a long, deep kiss. She took another bite and felt her feet settle into the floor and the rest of her flow into a river of ginger and garlic and lemon and wine. She stood, even when that bite, and the next were gone, feeling the river wind its way to her gingers, her toes, he belly, the base of her spine, melting all the pieces of her into something warm and golden. She breathed in, and in the one, quiet moment felt herself come back together again.” (p. 60)

I had tears in my eyes after reading this ending to Claire’s chapter in the book. I had these feelings like Claire and never had the right words to describe how I felt. I had post-partum depression after my son was born several years ago. I was broken spiritually and felt lost in mental and emotional waves. In those trying months, I lost some moments with my newborn son. I was robbed of truly being present and felt like I was watching my stranger self most of the time. I didn’t really know what to do…I refused medication and counseling was not given to me as an option. I am still not sure why only medication was offered and no other type of resource.

Each day my husband and family reminded me that I was still me and that I needed to fight for myself. I literally was brought to my knees asking my God for his help and healing. Then a “mom time” outing brought me to a bookstore. I have always turned to browsing books for comfort as sort of a meditative practice. That day I found the book The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd. I started reading this every day and discovered the secret curative of Quiet time. Finally, the broken pieces of my soul slowly began to mend. The balm of reading God’s word covered my spiritual and mental wounds and calmed my stinging raw emotions. Six months later I finally felt like myself again. It was a bittersweet celebration because it was then I realized how much time I had lost of my son’s first months. However, I knew that the treasures in this trial would help me to be the mother I needed and wanted to be; that I could somehow help others.

After finishing this wonderful novel, I discovered another resource that has helped me to process that depression and also help prepare me for other broken times. It is a Women of Faith Bible Study entitled: Finding God in the Broken Places. I hope whatever your spirituality may be, you find peace and healing if you are suffering and are in a broken place.

   

Writing Lava Cake

Ringing in the New Year usually means cleaning out the old in order to make room for the new in my kitchen as well as other areas of the house. When my cleaning journey brought me to my desk, I found my pile of writing notes. I realized it had been a long time since I picked up my writing and shared the foodie moments in my life or even a recipe. There have been many moments that have been lived and savored. However, they only exist now in my memories and in the scribbled notes and journal entries. But the words to share all of this never came. It seems that I have let everything else take priority of my creative desires.


Recently, when I sat at my desk wondering what I could or should do with a precious 15-20 minutes, I looked at my writing pile and convinced myself that the well had run dry or that maybe writing wasn’t really a part of my life. But then I looked at my full daily journal and the shelf of over 12 years of journal writing, I realized that ideas and the desire are not the problem…it is fear.

Fear of the time that will be lost for getting other “necessary” things done; fear that I have left my creative ideas sit too long untouched and somehow they are stale ready to be thrown out. I have come to realize during this season of renewal and fresh-starts that I view my foodie writing as a luxury and my journal writing as a necessity. My foodie writing is like eating a piece of lava cake – something I love but haven’t let myself eat in a very long time. When I think of the warm smooth taste of the chocolate, the dark brown color of the cake, the semi-sweet smell these two ingredients mixed together, and how when I eat a piece, in that moment, all is calm as I allow myself to take a deep breath and enjoy myself. The things that need to get done will never really be done enough for me to just sit in write…that is impossible. So I will need to remember myself in the daily busyness that threatens to sap my creative energy and convince me that there is no time. I will have to make my creative time a necessity.

Now that the advertisements are all crammed with exercise equipment and work-out clothes, it might not be a good time to eat lava-cake and feel good about this luxury. But I could allow myself to write all my foodie moments, share those yummy recipes, and not gain weight in the process! So my new year’s foodie resolutions are: at least one posting per week on my blogs; give myself permission to read my pile of unopened cookbooks and foodie novels; and to eat a piece of lava-cake at the end of March if I have kept my goals.

My God-Daughter makes this wonderful Chocolate Sauce once in a while and I have been lucky to have a piece of chocolate cake around when she does. This is a “short-cut” to a real lava-cake, but tastes wonderful.

Tianna’s Chocolate Sauce
1 Large Chocolate Bar of Your Choice (16 oz)
1 Stick of Margarine
8 oz of Heavy Cream

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the chocolate in pieces mixing constantly. After a half of the chocolate is mixed, add the ½ of the heavy cream. Add more chocolate and cream to desired consistency. Keep warm in a small crock pot and pour over cake or dip fruit pieces.



See mom - we are writing!
You should too!



The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal ISBN: 9780553385519

Synopsis: Elena is a chef that is given her dream of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. She constantly deals with pain in her body and soul from a tragic accident in which she was the only survivor. Running her own kitchen brings on many challenges with a unique set of characters and soon leads to a romance with the owner of the restaurant. Elena cooks with passion through her pain while she learns to deal with the ghosts of her past.

Recipes Embedded Throughout the Story:

Abuela Maria Elena’s Posole (p.54)

Mayan Hot Chocolate (p.70)

Juan’s Carne en Su Jugo (p.107)

Pomegranate Baklava (p. 197)

Banana and Chocolate Chip Pancakes (p. 221)

Pan De Muerto (Bread of the Dead) p. 266

Tansy’s Churros (p. 281)

Traditional Pork & Red Chile Tamales (p. 316 – Winter Section)

The Ultimate Restorative Chicken Soup (p. 374)

Polvorones (Mexican Christmas Cookies) p. 390

Ivan’s French Toast (p. 408) Carnitas (p. 432)

Mexican Wedding Cookies (Epilogue)

Personal Notes: I have made my own version of Carnitas with a few different spices but they are never as soft and/or tasty. I believes it is because I do not cook with lard; the recipe in this book uses lard and the spices are different but common. The chicken soup recipe my mother has made many times but she insists you must have a stewing chicken and add cumin. This is a wonderful story with Hispanic cultural elements that made me smile and remember my past. Barbara O’Neal is my new favorite author!

Blue Moon Surprise

My husband, Patrick, and I have this tradition of trying different bottled beers when money allows. This started some years ago when we moved into our first new home. The idea of coming home, getting a beer, and relaxing in your own living room until dinner (or in my case drinking a beer while I made the dinner) was something we relished. We don’t drink a lot of beer, maybe once or twice a month, and don’t want to have too many bottles of extra un-liked beer around. So we don’t taste test very often.


Not too long ago my husband came home with a six pack of Blue Moon Beer. I was immediately intrigued by the title and his enthusiasm. He opened two bottles and immediately started to cut an orange to put some slices into the beer. Orange? Yep. He said that his work buddy drinks it that way and that the beer was real smooth. To my surprise that idea was true. I think that the Blue Moon beers will disappear faster than our treasured dark Heinekens. As I drank my beer making dinner that night, I wondered what foodie things were related to a Blue Moon.

First, let us review a little history of a Blue Moon. Since each calendar month has a Full Moon and a New Moon, a Blue Moon is a second full moon in a calendar month. Depending on your perspective, this does not happen very often, about every 2-3 years -- Thus one reason for the saying “once in a Blue Moon. “ Our next Blue Moon will be in August 2012.


(Reference: http://www.obliquity.com/astro/bluemoon.html)

In learning about a Blue Moon, I remembered a cookbook treasure I had found a couple of months ago at a second-hand store. It is a family cookbook by Chief Gary Goss and Illustrated by Jane Dyer entitled Blue Moon Soup (1999). It is a beautifully illustrated book with many soup recipes organized by season. On the back dust jacket (yes, I was lucky enough to find this book with an intact dust jacket) is an illustration of a turtle eating soup in front of full moon and the saying “Soup this good comes only once in a blue moon”. This coincides with the first page poem by Lewis Carroll, Turtle Soup. If you click on the book cover below, you will be taken to Amazon and can browse the contents in which I guarantee you will enjoy.


  At the Blue Moon Brewing Company website, you will discover that they idea of putting an orange in the beer is their own. Also, they produce a Winter Abbey Ale between November and January in which they suggest you make a hearty stew and a chocolate dessert to go with this beer. A great idea! http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/ We splurged and bought this Ale…it is wonderful and is now my new favorite beer. Sorry Corona. I am going to try making “Sob Soup” from the Blue Moon Soup cookbook which is Baked French Onion Soup (p. 9).


Here are some other great foodie things related to the Moon in general:

The Moon Food Page
Here you will find some great recipes for making food related to full moons.
http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonfood/index.htm

The Original Moon Pie
The official site for this dessert tradition.
http://www.moonpie.com/

Rachel Ray’s Recipe for Full Moon Sundaes at the Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/full-moon-sundaes-recipe/index.html

Bible Translations
MANY different bible version of the verse Psalm 81:3 which mentions feasts and full moons.
http://bible.cc/psalms/81-3.htm

RECIPE: Sweet Mini Pepper Medley

2 cups sweet mini peppers sliced into rings
6 large mushrooms sliced
1 cup sliced purple onion
4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into quarter-size pieces
2 teaspoons Granulated Garlic
2 tablespoons Corn Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add the potatoes and cook until slightly crisp.
Remember to keep turning the potatoes periodically so they do not burn.
Add the peppers, onion and garlic and mix well and cook for 3 minutes.
Next, add the mushrooms and mix well again cooking until mushrooms are soft (about 3-4 minutes).
Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Francesca's Kitchen by Peter Pezzelli ISBN: 0758213271

Synopsis: Francesca an older Italian Lady, whom is widowed with grown children, finds herself feeling useless after a long life of relishing in the busyness of the everyday family life. She soon finds a single-mom family that needs her as much as she needs them. With her wisdom and cooking abilities, this needy family and her begin to heal the wounds of lonliness.


Recipes in Back of Book:

Billy’s Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)
Alice’s Arance e Pepe (Oranges and Pepper)
Corianne’s Spaghetti Agliio e Olio (Garlic & Oil Sauce)
Norma’s Lasagna
Sue’s Zcchini Frittata
Camella’s Anisette Biscotti

Other Recipes: What I love about this book is that the author embeds recipes in the descriptive actions of his main character. You can follow Francesca’s recipes throughout the story. I have listed the page numbers below with the dish she made. I have made her “Tomato Sauce” which is actually a wonderful Spaghetti sauce (with a few of my own modifications of course). It is wonderful and has now become one of my staple meals. You won’t ever eat plan Spaghetti sauce again! In the book, she serves this sauce with soft bread and it makes a meal.

Francesca’s Tomato Salad (p.16)
Francesca’s Simple Beef Dinner (p. 32)
Francesca’s Chocolate Cake (p. 157)
Francesca’s Soup (p. 188)
Francesca’s Tomato Sauce (p. 190)
Francesca’s Chicken Topping (p. 232)

– She also makes Sausage & Peppers and Baked Ziti for her son along with this chicken but these two dishes are not described on how they are made.

Personal Notes: It was this book that sparked my ”foodie” book passion to read stories that have recipes in them and/or food themes. This book is absolutely wonderful!

Lunch Odyssey

For any mother of a picky eater, you could probably relate your experiences with getting your child to eat to Homer’s Odyssey.  For me, the journey or adventure (depending on your point-of-view that day) has been over his school lunch.

When John started Kindergarten he ate the school lunch like most of his classmates.  This was going fine until I discovered he was throwing the entire contents of his lunch tray away and only drinking the milk.  Well of course this was unacceptable so we started to see if he could be responsible with a lunch box.  Needless to say he was delighted since it was a soft printed one with Transformers all over it and he was careful not to throw it around or forget it somewhere.  Everything seemed fine so when he started 1^st grade I was confident that lunch would continue in its normal routine.

This silly expectation of mine ended when it was brought to my attention that John was giving his lunch away to other classmates that were “guilt tripping” him into this.  John is required to put all of his wrappers back into his lunch bag (so that we can see what he ate).  For a while, I thought that he was eating all of his lunch because everything was empty.  When I asked John about this, he admitted that he was giving all his food away even though he was hungry because he wanted “to be their friend”.  Well this turned into a learning experience about friendships.  John now knows what he can say to the guilt trips and what he can and cannot share at lunchtime.  Still, I battle what to put into his lunch that he will eat.  So many sandwiches have gone uneaten, fruit untouched, and other items ignored.  My mom and I decided that anything we can get into his stomach at lunch would be better than not eating at all…even if it wasn’t very nutritious.  Our rationale was that John is a great “at home eater” most of the time.  He eats good nutritious food at home better than anywhere else.  So what he misses at lunch during school time will be made up at home.  At least until he gets more mature and his pallet enjoys more lunchtime food items.  Trying to get him to eat at lunch has lead to many different items and combinations of food in his lunch.  Sometimes we have felt like the “lunch box scientists” with all the things we have experimented with.  Some days we are great lunch box packers and other times it seems like a mess, but the goal each day remains the same…please eat something, anything from your lunch box.  Please!

What happened next was a sucker punch to the stomach.  John came home recently and told me that a “teacher” who monitors the lunch time took a picture of the contents of his lunch with her cell phone.  He said that this lady would look at his lunch sometimes and tell him what to eat an not eat.  Well, after an evening of being upset at the gall of this woman and wondering what the core issue really was, I talked with his regular teacher the next day.  She told me that this “lunch lady” was an Educational Assistant (EA) that monitors lunch and that she had concerns about the Nutritional Value of John’s lunch.  John’s regular teacher also said that she chose not to burden me with this situation because she felt that it was not anyone’s business as to what I put into John's lunch…that I am his mother and know what he will eat.

I went straight to the principal’s office.  Many people were already gathered in his office for a different meeting and reason in which they thought I was there for.  They were not expecting me to bring this situation to their attention or use the tone and emotion in my words.  I was honest and made it clear that this was wrong.  A sincere apology from the principal on behalf of the school was offered and I was ready to accept it, but then the nurse decided to start quizzing me about the contents of John’s lunch.  Before my senses kicked in, I replied that one item was a flour tortilla (something John can hardly resist – he favorite thing is to watch them being made at a local restaurant that has a tortilla making machine) in which she wanted to know if it was white flour or wheat; that a better choice would have been wheat.  Before this went any further, I asked which was it going to be?  An apology or an inquisition into the personal choices of items?  The principal stopped the meeting, apologized again, and said he would talk to his EA and that she would no longer inquire about John’s lunch, that no more questions about its nutritional value would be made, and that he would make sure the picture was erased from her cell phone.  NOTE: My son is not mal-nourished or over weight and his doctor is not concerned with either of these issues. He is also very active and loves PE.

In the spirit of tying to see the “gifts in the trials” or if you prefer, “seeing the glass half full”, I am going to process this situation as an exercise in speaking up for myself as a mother, being more alert to how outside organizations try to interfere in our personal lives using bullying or wrong methods, and even look for more ways to get John to eat more types of food.  Still, this question as to Nutritional Value made me feel like I was failing as a mother at different times during this experience.  I think that if this EA is passionate about the Nutritional Value of lunches, she should have gone about it in a different way.  I think that mothers struggle with many different things in their journey…nutrition being one of them.  From the moment our babies are placed in our arms and we decide to breast feed, use a bottle or both, I think that we as mothers need support and encouragement, not bullying tactics or guilt trips in navigating this nutritional road.  I am glad that this experience has not had a negative effect on John…he still feels great about his lunch box.

LINKS
Great Resource for School Lunch Informationhttp://www.livestrong.com/article/255577-school-lunch-nutrition-information/

7 Picky Eater Solutionshttp://www.parenting.com/gallery/7-picky-eater-solutions?tier1=yhoo-picky-eat1

A great website resource:  Books for Picky Eatershttp://www.neatsolutions.com/ChildrensBooks/PickyEaters/PickyEaters_01.html