Golden Glow by Benjamin Flouw

While I read a small number of children's books each year for personal edification and pleaser, I read to small children for their edification and pleasure, and this book works for both of those endeavors. The book is aimed at a slightly higher reader than is sometimes targeted in picture books. There is no counting to be had, and while things have color, to be sure, that is not something it would be convenient to highlight. It is a book about camping, being in nature, and enjoying it. In addition to identifiable leaves and canopies of various trees, and some common flowere that can be found in the woods, the senter section of the book is devoted to the euqipment that Mr. Fox needs for his mountain adventure in search of the Golden Glow flower, something so rare that he has to be prepared to sleep and eat outside for days in order to find it. I think it gives a thorough and realistic equipment list and for parents who want to prepare their children for just such an adventure, this would be an excellent book.

Ammonite (2020)

While watching this movie, my youngest son said (and I quote): “This movie is really boring…and kind of depressing. … To be honest, Mom, it’s really right up your alley!” He was not wrong on several counts. I read Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, a story loosely based on the life of Mary Anning, and thought this movie might tell me more about this remarkable woman. She grew up in extreme poverty in Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast. She and her brother were the only children to survive out of eight children born. Her father took them both fossil hunting on the beach and they sold what they found to visiting tourists. At the age of eleven she found an entire icthyosaurus skeleton, and had the dinosaur named after her--she went to see it once on display in the British Museum. She got little to no credit for her self-taught skills as a scientist while she was alive, having left school at a young age to help support her family. This is a speculative story about how Mary Anning, a woman who never married, might have had a romantic relationship with a woman that she was definitely friends with and corresponded with over many years. Anning is portrayed as bitter, silent, and less interestying than her real life accomplishments would lead you to beleive.

Black and White Cookies

My youngest insisted that we make these, a signature New York City confection, after we held an event at our house that he always associates with these cookies. That is because the woman who usually hosts it, and co-hosted with us this year because of the need to have an outdoor space because of COVID and the rising number of cases amongst the vaccinated. Parenthetically, the only unvaccinated people we would consider dining with are those that are under twelve--the risk is just too high to be more flexible. Thses are a very good version of this classic cookie--even though I myself do not much care for them! Vanilla Fondant Icing Ingredients: 200 g confectioners sugar, sifted 1 tsp vanilla extract 30 g light corn syrup As needed water Chocolate Fondant Icing Ingredients: 200 g confectioners sugar, sifted ½ tsp vanilla extract 35 g light corn syrup 30 g black onyx cocoa powder As needed water Black and White Cookie Ingredients: 125 g all-purpose flour 125 g cake flour ½ tsp baking soda ¾ tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt 60 g sour cream 60 g whole milk ½ tsp lemon extract 1 tsp vanilla extract 30 g honey 113 g (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 130 g brown sugar 2 eggs, room temperature Reserved vanilla icing Reserved chocolate icing Method Serves: 6-8 Vanilla Fondant Icing Method: Combine the sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup in a medium bowl. Add just enough water to make a thick but pourable icing. Whisk well until the icing is smooth. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the icing to prevent it from drying out. Reserve until ready to use. Chocolate Fondant Icing Method: Combine the sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Add just enough water to make a thick but pourable icing. Whisk well until the icing is smooth. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the icing to prevent it from drying out. Reserve until ready to use. Black and White Cookie Method: Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Prepare two sheet trays with silicone baking mats. Sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and honey. Whisk well to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Using a paddle attachment, cream the mixture together until well combined, light, and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add one egg and mix until incorporated. Add the other egg and once again, mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Alternate adding about ⅓ of the dry ingredients and wet ingredients, mixing well in between additions. Using a 4 oz ice cream scoop, add the batter to the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to leave 2 inches of space between each mound of batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until fully baked and lightly golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet tray until completely cooled, about 30 minutes. Using a long offset spatula, add icing to one side of the cookies with the vanilla icing. Allow the icing to set, about 30 minutes. Make sure to ice the flat-side of each cookie. Using another offset spatula, ice the remaining half of the cookies with the chocolate icing. Allow the cookies to set completely, about 1-2 hours.

Things We Lost To The Water by Eric Nyugen

Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed this book, which I found because it was on Obama's summer reading list that came out a couple of months ago. I had mostly finished reading the one that came out six months earlier (I am just not a sci-fi fan and skipped that one book), and largely enjoyed it. This is the first book by this young author, and has the feel of a series of short stories that may be anchored in personal experience and that have been loosely strung. pretty successfully, together into a novel. The book is about a Vietnamese family in New Orleans and the story that the mother, Huong, tells herself about how she came to arrive in the United States with her two sons and without her husband. She tells them that he died, but the truth is that he stayed behind and built a different life for himself in Vietnam after the Americans left. Tuan, the older brother, chooses to keep his Vietnamese name and follows a path that included dropping out of school and finding fringe ways to make money, and the younger son changes his name to Ben, and while he finds America to be just as hard to navigate as Tuan, he gets a benefactor and an education. The paths of both boys are complicated and interesting, and I would read his next book.

Black Or White (2014)

Even granted that this movie is several years old, it is really a terrible movie vis-s-vis addressing race, and it is certainly painful to watch. Having just had my whole at home family watch a movie that none of us liked much, I was thankful that at least I watched it on my own. This is a largely simple story about who should raise a child when their parents are unavailable. Eloise is the child, a well adjusted mixed race girl being raised by her white mother's parents after their daughter's death. Seemingly that apple cart wasn't upset until her grandmother is killed in an accident and she is left in the care of her clearly alcoholic grandfather, played convincingly by Kevin Costner. That causes her other grandmother, played by Octavia Spencer, to step in and seek custody and that is at the center of the bulk of the movie. There are so many stereotypes at work and being reinforced here that make the movie difficult to both watch and defend on every level, and causes you to question how two people with so much star power got involved. The only truth is that very often there is not a single great answer as to what is best for the child, and both options are flawed. This will make you sympathetic to the family court judge's dilemma, but not much else.

Spiced Nuts

There are quite a few options out there for spiced nut mixes. This one comes from David Lebovitz' web site, and is a bit on the spicy side--to tone that aspect down for a mortal crowd, consider a less spicy pepper, going with smoke paprika as a sub, or halving or quartering the cayenne. 2 cups (200g) mixed raw nuts (untoasted); any combination of cashews, whole almonds, peanuts, pecan halves, and hazelnuts 1 tablespoon (15g) unsalted butter, melted 3 tablespoons (45g) dark brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper powder 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt 2 cups (100g) small pretzel twists 1. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 10 minutes, stirring once for even toasting. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and maple syrup. 3. Add the warm nuts, stirring until coated. Then mix in the salt and pretzels, and stir until the nuts and pretzels are completely coated. 4. Spread the mixture back on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 12-18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. Remove from oven and cool completely, separating the nuts and pretzels as they cool. Once cool, this mixture can be stored in an airtight container.

Apeirogon by Colum McCann

This is a brilliant book that takes an impossibly complicated situation, the Israeli-Palestinian war/conflict. His two main characters are taken from the headlines. They are two figures from real life, Rami Elhanan, an Israeli graphic designer, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian scholar and onetime political prisoner. Each of the men has lost a daughter — in Rami’s case, Smadar, the victim of suicide bombers, in Bassam’s, Abir, killed by a rubber bullet fired from the back of an Israeli jeep by an 18-year-old. Improbably, the fathers become close friends, supporting each other’s protests and speaking across the world. The book captures aspects of the impossibility of a solution that does not involve both sides wanting it to work, and the two tier society that the Israelis have built, where every citizen is a soldier and every soldier has the authority over the borders and denigates the Palestineans that cross it. The dye is caste, so to speak. Yet this description doesn’t capture the experience of reading “Apeirogon”, which is defined as an object with an infinite number of sides. Its short, digestible sections are about everything and nothing, the vast and the narrow aspects of building a nation with these pieces that don't fit together. Maybe an Irishman, a citizen of another divided nation, is the ideal person to show us how hard this will be to fix.

Hampstead (2017)

I am a fan of Diane Keaton, who I think often plays the same character with different life circumstances. So I am predisposed to enjoying this movie, and frankly even Poms and The Book Club did not set me off of her, and this movie predates both of them. I read that this movie has a small but recent fan club in England, where it is set, and they may explain why it has been shuffled up to the top of the Netflix algorhythm. Keaton plays Emily, a widower of American extraction who runs, with little success, a vintage clothing shop for charity. She has a bunch of snooty semi-civic-minded friends who live in her building and try to manipulate her, but seem anything but warm, even by British standards. And she has dwindling resources since her newly discovered to be cheating husband has died and left her with debts. Her adult son, of Grantchester fame, is both worried about her and planning to move away. She doesn’t avoid talking about her situation in order to tie the apron strings tighter; it’s just that she doesn't even know where to start. She meets Donald, a long time squatter on an abandoned property near her after saving his life. Having observed him, through binoculars, from her back window, bathing in the nearby river, she then sees him being assaulted outside of his makeshift (but, we learn, cozy and utilitarian) shack. They converse in the local graveyard. He’s gruff but smart and an unlikely romance takes hold. Supposedly based on a true story it is mostly in the romantic framework of storytelling.

Michael's On The Hill, Waterbury, VT

This past trip to Vermont was all about going where we had not gone before, and this place is no exception. It's proximity to one of our absolute favorite places means that we will be unlikely to go back if we are on top of it and get a reservation at our preferred place, but this is a nice place, in a beautiful setting.

There were two dishes that we had that I thought were exceptionally good, and both of them are things that I would not sttempt at home if I could avoid it. The first was a calamari salad. The calamari were thin, tender, fried perfectly and the frissee salad was a nice texture and bitterness to foil the sweet squid. The other was a small lobster poached in an herb butter sauce. It was simple, but well prepared and easy to pick the meat out of the shell. A nice fancy dinner location.

Triple Lemon Bundt Cake

We served this at an outdoor party recently, and were wowed by it--even without the finishing lemon glaze! 270 grams or 19 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter 130 grams or ½ cup (118 ml) 7 (to 11) egg yolks (see Baking Pearls, page 110 in Rose’s Baking Basics) 18 grams or 3 tablespoons, loosely packed lemon zest, finely grated (5 to 6 lemons) 242 grams or 1 cup, divided full-fat sour cream 2½ teaspoons (12.5 ml) pure vanilla extract 312 grams or 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (sifted into the cup and leveled off) bleached cake flour OR 312 grams or 2¾ cups (sifted into the cup and leveled off) bleached all-purpose flour 312 grams or 1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar, preferably superfine 10.1 grams or 2¼ teaspoons baking powder 2.7 grams or ½ teaspoon baking soda 3.7 grams or ½ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt FOR THE LEMON SYRUP Makes 200 grams/2⅔ cup/158 ml 95 grams or 6 tablespoons (89 ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained (about 2 lemons) 113 grams or ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar FOR THE LEMON GLAZE Makes 141 grams/7 tablespoons/100 ml 115 grams or 1 cup (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) powdered sugar 21 grams or 4 teaspoons (20 ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained (1 lemon) 5 grams or 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled PREHEAT THE OVEN Twenty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 350ºF/175ºC. MISE EN PLACE Thirty minutes to 1 hour ahead, set the butter and eggs on the counter at room temperature (65º to 75ºF/19º to 24ºC). With dish washing liquid, wash the lemons. Rinse, dry, and zest them. MAKE THE BATTER Into a 2 cup measure with a spout, weigh or measure the egg yolks. Add 60 grams/¼ cup of the sour cream and the vanilla, and whisk lightly until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining 182 grams/¾ cup sour cream. Mix on low speed until the flour mixture is moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1½ minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. The mixture will lighten in color and texture. Scrape down the sides. Starting on low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients smoothly. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly. (If using a 12 cup Bundt pan, first fill four cupcake liners two-thirds full (50 grams each) and then scrape the remaining batter into the pan.) BAKE THE CAKE Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (15 to 20 minutes for the cupcakes), or until a wire cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven. Shortly before the cake is finished baking, make the lemon syrup. MAKE THE LEMON SYRUP In a small pan over medium heat, stir the lemon juice and sugar until dissolved. Cover it and set it aside. APPLY THE SYRUP AND COOL THE CAKE As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, place the pan on a rack, poke the cake all over with a wire cake tester, and brush it with about one-third (66 grams/50 ml) of the syrup. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining syrup. Cool completely and then cover with plastic wrap. At least 1 hour before serving, apply the lemon glaze. MAKE THE GLAZE Into a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the lemon juice and stir until all the sugar is moistened. Stir in the butter. Whisk the glaze until completely smooth. When you lift the whisk, the mixture should drop thickly and pool for a few seconds before disappearing smoothly into the surface. If necessary, add more lemon juice by the drop to thin the glaze. If the glaze is too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar. Cover if not using at once. APPLY THE GLAZE Use a teaspoon to drizzle the glaze onto the cake. You can also pipe the glaze, or even pour it over the top, allowing it to cascade down the sides.

Love Sarah (2020)

First and foremost, this is a British romantic comedy, and if that is appealing to you, as it is to me, it starts pfoff with the sudden death of a woman who is dear to all the remaining characters in the movie. Overcoming that is a tall order, and while it is not the structure that is ideal, I did enjoy this. The movie revolves around a project to open a bakery, and I am a little bit more forgiving of a plot that includes some exceptional baking than one that does not. The business has all sorts of impediments to being successful, but the route that they pursue is one of inclusion, of making the newcomers to London feel a bit more at home, and in the meantime making that who are native born more multi-cultural, and that is a message I can enjoy however it is delivered.

Frida Kahlo Retrospective, Glen Ellyn, IL

This exhibit, which was held in a college museum and consisted of some 30 paintings and drawings by the artist, was hugely successful. We heard that it was selling out on weekends, and we bought our tickets in advance. The cost was exactly the same as getting into the Art Insitute of Chicago, so hefty, especially given that you had to pick not just your date but also the time you would arrive. None of this was a deterrent for the packed crowds we encountered at the exhibit itself. Masks were required and distancing was recommended, both of which were largely adhered to, but it is a testament to the enduring start power of this artist that so many people braved the rising tide of COVID even amongst the vaccinated to come out and learn more about her early work and the sum of her life. She really is inspriational for so many, including quite a few young people. My recommendation is to seek out these small venue exhibits because this was very well done and enjoyable.

Shrimp Scampi A La Alex

The author of Cook With Me serves this with bread to sop up the sauce, whereas I pour it over a pound of pasta, adding a bit of the pasta water to make it the appropriate amount of sauciness. The add ons this recipe has over what I normally make with scampi is the dashes of both hot sauce (on top of the red pepper flakes) and the Worcestershire sacue--both of which are nice additions that I will add to my mental recipe of this classic dish--which I am sure would be good with just bread as well. 1 1/2 teaspoons plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 lb. shrimp Kosher salt 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 large cloves garlic, grated on a rasp 3/4 cup dry white wine 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce 2 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco 1 large lemon, zested and halved 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes Melt 1 1/2 teaspoons butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat, then add the panko and cook, stirring constantly, until the breadcrumbs are golden and toasty-scented, about 2 minutes. Set aside. Sprinkle the shrimp on both sides with salt. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the canola oil. When the oil begins to smoke lightly, quickly arrange the shrimp in a single layer, with a little space between each. Brown the shrimp on their first sides, adding a couple of pieces of the butter around the shrimp to add flavor as they brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp on their second sides and brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Quickly transfer the shrimp to a plate. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining butter and the garlic to the skillet. Press the garlic into the melting butter to break up any clumps. Add the wine and stir up the brown bits in the bottom of the skillet. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce and lemon zest. Simmer until the garlic softens and the wine reduces down to a lush sauce, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the parsley and squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the sauce. Return the shrimp to the skillet and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes. Toss the shrimp in the sauce to coat well. Remove the skillet from the heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with some more lemon juice and the toasted panko and transfer to a platter. Serve with crusty bread, if using.

Dear Comrades! (2019)

This movie was on the short list of international films for the Academy award this year--that is the list of 15 films that the submissions from all countries has been pared down to, and the final five that are nominated come from. The longer list of good foreign language films is a great source for quality films, and sometimes the things that don't make the final cut are less emotionally taut than those that are nominated, so in some ways a bit easier to watch and absorb, at least for me. This movie, which focuses on an outbreak in a town in Soviet Russia in 1962, and everything that is done to cover up the violence and death, to quell the anger, and to let the viewer experience what lie in a totalitarian regime is like. It is magnificent and beautiful. The cinematography is breathtaking and the editing is superb. In reading about the film afterwards, it appears that the director is as complex as this film. There can’t be many people who have made a faithful adaptation of Turgenev’s “A Nest of Gentlefolk” and a buddy-cop thriller with Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone—“Tango and Cash” (1989), and now this. His range is as stunning as this film. I promise you it is brutal but not hard to watch and it will make you think about Putin's Russia for quite some time.

Pandemic Atoning

Here we are, Yom Kipur has rolled around and it is once again time to take stock of the year and how it has gone. Since it was laregely taken up with the pandemic, it was much easier in some ways to avoid messing up with people. On the other hand, if we look at community and what each of our personal role is in that community it became even clearer that for about a third of people, there is no sense of community. If they would not do something for themselves, then they would not even consider doing it for someone else. And I have been seeing something else as well. That the people who do things for their community do not want to have to shoulder the burden of those who do not. They are tired of not just their attitude, but also of bearing the consequences of their reactions. So as COVID is raging in the non-vaccinated and resources are once again stretched, there is more talk of rationed care, and there arre far fewer people who are outraged by that. The pendulum is swinging to the opposite side, and unless things change a lot in the next few weeks, there will not be room in hospitals to care for those who choose to put us all at risk. I hope the year is sweeter than it is starting out is all I can say.

Where We Come From by Oscar Casares

I found this book in an article entitled something like 17 Books To Read About The Border That Are Not American Dirt. This is the ninth book I have read, and I would lighly recommend this as a reading guide. Like all of them, this book revolves around immigration. The novel takes place in Brownsville, one of the poorest Texan border towns, though the setting, as dramatic as it is, never dominates the narrative. It begins with an American-born teenager, Orly, kicking a soccer ball at a pink house — a guesthouse — behind the main blue house where he’s staying with his godmother, Nina, who is also his great-aunt. His parents were in the process of getting divorced when Orly’s mother died of an aneurysm. It’s now a year later, Orly’s father is away on business, his older brother is at camp, and Orly is in Brownsville because in Houston, where he had been living, he was not manly enough according to his father, and without connection to his roots. Patriarchy and machismo undergird the family structure, as do female gender roles--Nina is taking care of her elderly mother even though she herself is getting on in years. The pink house has a central role in the novel. Nina does a favor for her maid that ends up escallating throughout the story. What is hidden behind the windows? How did it start, how did it worsen and how will it stop? The issue of family, immigration. skirting the law, and being loyal all play a role in this story.

Dorie's Dutch Oven Chicken

Dorie Greenspan is not a fussy cook, and she emphasizes flavor and ease over pomp and circumastance, and this easy week night vhicken recipe hit the spot. The only think is to add some potatoes to teh Dutch Oven and do not discard the onions, they are the best part. We had a tiny chicken from our CSA and this was perfect for it. FOR THE CHICKEN: ¼ cup olive oil 1 medium onion (preferably yellow), trimmed, peeled and cut into eighths 1 head garlic, cut crosswise 5 fresh thyme sprigs 5 fresh rosemary sprigs Fine or coarse sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds) ½ lemon ¾ cup white wine FOR THE VINAIGRETTE: 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons wine vinegar (preferably sherry) 1 teaspoon walnut oil (optional) FOR SERVING: 3 to 4 handfuls salad greens PREPARATION Make the chicken: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into a Dutch oven large enough to hold the chicken, then toss in all but 1 piece of the onion. Add the garlic and 4 sprigs each of the thyme and rosemary. Stir to coat, then season generously with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry, season the inside with salt and pepper, and tuck in the remaining piece of onion and herb sprigs. Rub the chicken with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from the lemon half over the bird, and then pop the lemon inside it with the herbs and onion. Settle the chicken into the pot, breast side up. Pour in the wine and cover. Roast the chicken for 60 minutes, then check on it: It’s done when a thermometer plunged into the thickest part of the thigh has reached 165 degrees. If it’s done but doesn’t have enough color for you, you can run it under the broiler for a few minutes; if it’s not done, remove the lid and continue to roast until done, 15 to 30 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover loosely with a foil tent, and let rest. While the chicken rests, make the vinaigrette: Pour off the pan drippings, measure out 6 tablespoons and return them to the pot. (If your drippings are scant or very dark, you can still use them. Keep any extra drippings for another use.) Hold onto the garlic but discard the onion and herbs from the pot. Place the pot over medium heat, pour in 1/2 cup water, and boil for a couple of minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up any stuck bits. You should have about 1/3 cup of drippings; if they’re very chunky, strain them when you add them to the vinaigrette. Working in a medium bowl, mash 6 to 8 cloves of the soft garlic with the mustard, then whisk in the vinegar. Slowly whisk in the reserved liquid, followed by the walnut oil, if using. Taste for salt and pepper, then pour the vinaigrette into a small pitcher. To serve, carve the chicken, cutting it into quarters or eighths, and arrange on the platter. Pour over a little of the vinaigrette. Dress the salad greens lightly with vinaigrette and serve on the platter or in a shallow bowl. Pass the rest of the sauce at the table.

Zappa (2021)

I was never a big fan of Zappa, he was just too out there for me. I did see that he was a deeply creative man, and that it was that I did not get it, not that he didn't have a lot to offer. I also thought that it might help some if you were slightly intoxicated when experiencing what he had to offer, and was surprised when I learned long ago that he was not into drugs at all. My spouse, on the other hand, was really into him, all of that happening prior to our meeting, but despite merging a lot about our lives together, Zappa was one thing that stayed decidedly in his court. This documentary does a good job of displaying just how complicated a man Zappa was, all the while coming off as pretty unlikable. Brilliance is hard to be around, it turns out, although he did have his bubble of people who stuck with him, including his wife. He comes off as matter of factly brilliant, someone who says what he feels regardless of who it might hurt, almost a little autistic in that way, but that quality is both the good news and thebad news. Doors opened for him because he was willing to speak his mind, and the did a wide variety of things with his talent. Ultimately the world is a better place for having him in it.

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

This book is on Obama's summer reading list, and as you might expect from him as a recommendation, it is a novel with a couple of layers to it, and in the end you might still be a bit perplexed. The main character is escaping an emotion charged situation at home, and when she takes a job as an interpreter at the Hague, working with people who are pursuing war criminals on the world stage, she is maybe not in the ideal place in her own life to balance the emotional intensity that is inherent with the job. The woman arrives in the Netherlands with no ties, and when we enter, she is enmeshed in a relationship that is equally fraught with challenges as those presented by her job. Her boyfriend has a wife he is not voluntarily losing and children who he intends to bring back to him, and while you would hope that an interpreter might be good with language, that is not the case here, and she is not reading the text or the subtest. All the while she is working with people who are accused of doing horrible things and their vicitms. The work is clearly deeply disturbing, and yet it seems to come as a bit of a surprise to her. “My job,” she says, “is to make the space between languages as small as possible.” And as we learn more, we understand just what kind of psychological demands that process of translation involves in this setting, even if she is slow on the uptake. A very thought provoking book with a protagonist who you can root for, even if she repeatedly makes choices you would advize against.

Tomato Salad with Bacon

We are deep into summer now, and trying all sorts of different ways to have tomaotes and corn (together and separately). This is simple and delicious. 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 medium red onion thinly sliced 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp pomegranate molasses 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 6 oz sliced bacon cut lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips and then sliced crosswise into 1⁄2-inch pieces 3 large beefsteak tomatoes cut into 1-inch-thick slices 1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes halved 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp Maldon sea salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper Leaves from 6 sprigs fresh tarragon QUICKLY PICKLE THE RED ONION: In a small bowl, combine 1 cup water with a few ice cubes, and stir in the red wine vinegar and the onion slices. Set aside. MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses, and olive oil. Taste for seasoning, and set aside. COOK THE BACON: Heat a medium skillet over medium heat, and add the bacon pieces and 1⁄2 cup water. (The water will “blanch” the bacon as it cooks and you will end up with crispier, less greasy bacon.) Simmer until the water evaporates and the bacon is crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon pieces to a kitchen towel to drain. ASSEMBLE THE SALAD: Arrange the beefsteak tomato slices, flesh side up, in a single layer on a platter or on individual plates. Scatter the cherry tomatoes over them. Season them evenly with the sugar, Maldon salt, and black pepper. Drain the onions, pat them dry with a kitchen towel, and sprinkle them over the tomatoes. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with the tarragon. Finish with the warm bacon. Serve immediately.

Shanty On The Shore, Burlington, Vermont

There are a handful of things that I seek to eat everyday on a vacation. Tiny clams when on the Mediterranean is one. Another is the best lobster roll and very good clam chowder. I could have these two items every day when I am traveling in New England. In preparation for my trip to Vermont last week I looked into a good lobster roll in Burlington. We were flying in there, landing in the afternoon, so we needed a place that served lunch beyond 2 PM. This place fit the bill. Vermont has been very good about vaccinations and so it wasn't until just now that COVID numbers are rising, so masking was low, but the restaurant has a deck that overlooks Lake Champlain (with an admittedly industrial looking area between the shore and the restaurant. The lobster roll was 100% claw meat, light on the mayo and served on a traditional shaped bun that was brioche dough--so essentially the perfect lobster roll. The clam chowder was rich and flavorful, and I would go back and order this duo again.

Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze

This is yet another memoir that is labeled fiction. I am not sure if it is a a trend but it is the third or fourth one I have read this year. This one was longlisted for the Booker prize last year, and submerges the reader in the life of a teen who is on the one hand drawn to the life of crime and gangs and drugs, but is on the other hand a good student with a rich intellectual life. The back and forth between the lure of learning and then the excitement of intimidating people, holding them with the threat of violence, despite the consequences, is not really better understood at the end of the book than at the beginning, at least not for me. I get that people who have little control over their lives enjoy exercising that over others, but still do not get the pull of that violence when it might mean the end of opportunity for oneself. It is well written but not illuminating for me.

Apple Bundt Cake

Here we are, in the heart of fall, and an apple cake that highlights all the assets of apples is a treasure, and this is exactly that. We did not serve with the caramel sauce and omitted the walnits and it was still spectacular. 50 grams or 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (140 ml) eggs (about 3 large eggs) 100 grams or 1 cup walnut halves 300 grams or 2 1/2 cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) bleached all-purpose flour 5.5 grams or 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 4.4 grams or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 large tart apples (657 grams or 1 1/2 pounds) / 525 grams or 4 cups diced 269 grams or 1 1/4 cups (296 ml) canola or safflower oil 200 grams or 1 cup granulated sugar 163 grams or 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract Caramel Sauce and Glaze (optional) The pan must be a minimum 12 cup capacity, such as a Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt Pan with 10 to 15 cup capacity, or a 12 cup Bundt pan, coated with baking spray with flour; or a 16 cup two-piece angel food pan, bottom lined with parchment, then coated with baking spray with flour Step 1 Twenty minutes or longer before toasting the walnuts, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 350ºF/175ºC. Step 2 Thirty minutes to 1 hour ahead, set the eggs on the counter at room temperature (65º to 75ºF/19º to 24ºC). Step 3 TOAST AND CHOP THE WALNUTS: Spread the walnuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the walnuts onto a clean dish town and roll and rub them around to loosen the skins. Discard any loose skins and let the nuts cool completely. Chop medium coarse. Step 4 In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Step 5 Peel, core, and cut the apples into 1/8 to 1/4 inch dice. Make the batter: Step 6 Into the bowl of a stand mixer, weigh or measure the eggs. Add the oil, granulated and brown sugars, and the vanilla. Attach the flat beater and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, until blended. Step 7 Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed for 20 seconds, just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Step 8 Detach the bowl from the stand and with a large spoon stir in the apples and walnuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake: Step 9 Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wire cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. Cool the cake: Step 10 Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. If using a straight sided pan, run a metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the cake. Invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray and cool completely for about 1 1/2 hours. Step 11 Drizzle Caramel Sauce and Glaze over the cake after unmolding.

A Toda Madre, Glen Ellyn, IL

I went to a really charming exhibit of Frida Khalo's early work and a review of her life in Glen Ellyn and then had lunch at this restaurant, which is part of the Buen Trucha group of restaurants found in the western suburbs of Chicago. Buen Truecha is in Geneva and is the parent restaurant, and if this is any indication, is also the better of the group. This restaurant had a more narrow menu, but with the same great flavors. The tortillas are flavorful, the taco fillings are excellent, a level above a Tex Mex taqueria, and the setting is very well done. We initially started off at the bar, and then moved to a table when it was available, and both settings were nice. I would definitely not wait for a table because in some ways the bar is funner. The food is good quality, and there are daily specials that augment the menu that you can find on line. I would not seek this out (while I have done just that for Buen Truecha), but if I was in this neighborhood again, I would return.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

I loved Priestdaddy, and if you did too, you won't be disappointed by this, the author's first novel. In some ways it is more like a memoir than a work of pure fiction. The protagonist, like the author herself, is widely known for her online presence and celebrated for her acerbic wit. She is one to go viral, and yet with all the fame comes problems. What does it all mean? Is a highly exposed life on the internet all that it is cracked up to be, or are there downsides, things that diminish us as a result? The answer is as complicated as the question and the book answers them with a mixture of humor and cleverness. This is short, provocative, and will keep you thinking and evaluating your own life on social media.

Tomato and Chickpea Salad

Yet another recipe from Ottolenghi, who really comes through in the summer time with great recipes to highlight the seasonal bounty. 400g tin chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry (230g net weight) 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 2-3cm wedges (200g net weight) 1½ tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed 1½ tsp ras el hanout Salt and black pepper About 60g tahini paste 1 tbsp lemon juice 600g cherry tomatoes, halved 15g parsley leaves, roughly chopped 10g mint leaves, finely shredded Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark. Mix the chickpeas in a bowl with the onion, oil, garlic, ras el hanout, a third of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, then spread out on a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the chickpeas are crisp and the onion is soft, then leave to cool for five minutes. Put the tahini in a large bowl with 60ml cold water, the lemon juice and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Whisk together until it’s about as thick as runny honey, adding a little more tahini if it’s not quite thick enough. Add the tomatoes and herbs, and stir gently. Transfer the tomatoes to a large platter (or to four smaller serving plates), top with the crisp chickpeas and caramelised onions – don’t stir the two together though – and serve.

HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen in Chicago

My spouse and I spent an extended day in Chicago, driving up for dinner, spending the night, and going to a couple of museums the next day and driving home. This is the restaurant that we chose for dinner and we were very happy we chose it. We opted for the chef's menu, which had plenty of food, and all of it was delicious. Surprisingly, the chicken was my spouse's favorite dish--he tends to find chicken dry and unflavorful, but not so with the fired chicken. He also like the peanuts and dried squid misx, whereas I found the shrimp wraps to be quite good. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, the food leans to seafood heavy, and the food is definitely different from what we would prepare at home. Check it out!

This Will Make It Taste Good by Vivian Howard

There are some very annoying aspects to this cookbook, but do not let that get in the way of enjoying what the author presents. She has some master sauces that she has you make up, some of them requiring that they set for a bit, and others are useable right away. They are flavor power houses, each of them, which you then use as the flavor foundation for a dish. Some of them, which she calls "no brainers", are straighforward and can easily be done in minutes, leveraging the work of putting the mother sauce together to have a complex flavored dish in minutes, and then there are actual recipes that require a bit more time and attention, but again use these pre-constructed sauces. The two that are herb forward sauces are excellent--the Little Green Dress taking quite a bit of time to assemble, but then you can use it over and over again. Same with the tomato pepper relish called Red Weapons. Her version of the herb pesto comes together quickly, and the carmelized onions take forever, but we already know that! I reccommend this for cooks who don't mind spending a weekend day putting the master sauces together and reaping the benefits as the week goes forward.

Gravlox

We just got a box full of flash frozen and vaccuum packed wild caught Alaska salmon, and this is the second thing we did with it! 1 3- to 4-pound cleaned salmon without the head, skin on 1 cup salt 2 cups brown sugar 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup spirits, like brandy, gin, aquavit or lemon vodka 2 good-size bunches of fresh dill, roughly chopped, stems and all Lemon wedges for serving Fillet the salmon or have the fishmonger do it; the fish need not be scaled. Lay both halves, skin side down, on a plate. Toss together the salt, brown sugar and pepper and rub this mixture all over the salmon (the skin too); splash on the spirits. Put most of the dill on the flesh side of one of the fillets, sandwich them together, tail to tail, and rub any remaining salt-sugar mixture on the outside; cover with any remaining dill, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Cover the sandwich with another plate and top with something that weighs a couple of pounds -- some unopened cans, for example. Refrigerate. Open the package every 12 to 24 hours and baste, inside and out, with the accumulated juices. When the flesh is opaque, on the second or third day (you will see it changing when you baste it), slice thinly as you would smoked salmon -- on the bias and without the skin -- and serve with rye bread or pumpernickel and lemon wedges.

Bisa Butler's Quilts

I got to see these magnificacent works of art at the Chigago Art Institute this past weekend, and it was an amazing experience to behold. The quilts are portraits of people, some of them from famous photographs, some of them people the artist knows, and all of them rendered in bold colors and reminiscent of the fabrics I saw when I was in East Africa. It is hard to describe just how moving these pieces are in person, how much personality wach of them conveys.

The exhibit allows for the viewer to take in each quilt one at a time. They are spread out over several rooms, and there is a sound track for the exhibit, developed by Bisa Butler's signifiant other, who is a DJ. This is a celebration of blackness, exuberant and inspiring to behold.