In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is both harrowing and brave of the author to write this account of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ‘petite, blond, Harvard graduate’ lover. It is equal parts horrifying and beguiling. It’s hard to describe exactly what this book is, because memoir does not capture the experience this slightly mind-bending retelling of two young, ambitious writers whose passionate relationship sours when one begins to subject the other to emotional and, at times, physical cruelty. But that doesn’t quite capture how it haunts the grey areas of abuse, how it alters the memoir form, or how like a dream it shapeshifts. It’s literature as gaslighting, taking the reader through the often painful and complex emotional experience that the author herself goes through. It ensnares and unsettles, tantalizes and haunts, and puts us all in the experience of begin abused. I wouldn't say I understand what it is like, but this book brings you one step closer to that knowledge.

Vigil Strange I Kept On The Field One Night by Walt Whitman

Memorial Day is not so much about BBQ and the edge of summer, but rather about war and those who experience it. Thinking of Ukraine, invaded and it's citizens tortured, raped, murdered and robbed, and hoping there is a just end to it. Alt Whitman is an American poet known for such groundbreaking works as Leaves of Grass, but he also witnessed the horrors of the Civil War unfold during his lifetime. In this poem, the narrator contemplates a soldier slain by war. Vigil strange I kept on the field one night; When you my son and my comrade dropt at my side that day, One look I but gave which your dear eyes return’d with a look I shall never forget, One touch of your hand to mine O boy, reach’d up as you lay on the ground, Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle, Till late in the night reliev’d to the place at last again I made my way, Found you in death so cold dear comrade, found your body son of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,) Bared your face in the starlight, curious the scene, cool blew the moderate night-wind, Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battle-field spreading, Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night, But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh, long, long I gazed, Then on the earth partially reclining sat by your side leaning my chin in my hands, Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you dearest comrade—not a tear, not a word, Vigil of silence, love and death, vigil for you my son and my soldier, As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole, Vigil final for you brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your death, I faithfully loved you and cared for you living, I think we shall surely meet again,) Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn appear’d, My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop’d well his form, Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head and carefully under feet, And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited, Ending my vigil strange with that, vigil of night and battle-field dim, Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,) Vigil for comrade swiftly slain, vigil I never forget, how as day brighten’d, I rose from the chill ground and folded my soldier well in his blanket, And buried him where he fell.

Frankisstein by Jeannette Winterson

This book is unsettling and dazzling at the same time. It flexes between the time of Shelley and Byron and the aegis of the Frankenstein story, and a more modern interpretation of what the creation of a non-human would be like. Mary Shelley’s novel has long outgrown her humble aim of writing a frightening story to enliven a rain-soaked Swiss holiday and to fill her pocket book. This deathless artistic afterlife in the modern era is both inspiring and cautionary. It is an AI-enabled vision is of a future unconstrained by physical form, in which both human and automated consciousness transcend the messy complications of fragile, gendered bodies. For the scientist it eliminates all the messy biological constraints that the human body puts on form. The business man has different priorities. For him, technological advancement offers the opportunity to dispense with all the inconvenient moral obstacles that attend men’s innate desire for dominion over women, creating a sex bot that does it all without being anything at all. It is an unsettling look at what the not-too-distant future might hold.

Celery Gimlet

Long gone are the early days of the pandemic where the craft cocktails coming out of our home bar were both numerous and exceptional, and our only other goal in the kitchen was to perfect homemade pizza. We are a family of health care workers and there was super charged stress on offer at work. Now things have largely into the haves and the have nots, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and while COVID and long COVID are still possible, it isn't at the level it once was. Be that as it may, the occasional great cocktail can be had and this is one such cocktail. 1 small rib Celery muddled with 3/4oz simple syrup; add 3/4oz lime juice 2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin 2 dashes of celery bitters. Shake with ice and strained into cocktail glass.

The Chancellor by Kati Marton

Regardless of how you feel about her politics, Angela Merkel is a remarkable woman. Her marathon tenure as Germany’s leader has officially crossed the finish line, but her final lap of honor will take some time. There are quantifiable historic firsts: 16 years in office make her the joint longest-serving chancellor of the postwar era and she’s the first German chancellor to have the wisdom to step down of her own will, at the end of a full term. he’s the first female German head of government, the first with a scientist’s training, and the first to have grown up in a socialist command economy. She may go down in history as a once-in-a-century political adaptor, connecting two differently hardwired systems kept apart by the Berlin Wall. Yet it’s also possible that Merkel may not be remembered as a pioneer, but as the last example of an idea that feels increasingly old-fashioned in an age where more and more political tribes are built around personal identity: leadership as an exercise in ego suppression, holding high office as tantamount to covering the very traits that make you unique. I was in awe of her by the end of the book, and hope that we see many more like her, though that seems hopelessly optimistic at this very moment.

Downton Abbey (2019)

This movie was made for people who watched the entire six seasons of Downton Abbey and were left wanting more. Those people are largely going to be happy with this sequel, and I am not sure that if you hadn't watched at least some of the series that you would even be able to assertain what exactly is going on or why it might matter. The target audience is people who enjoy a film in which well-dressed, reasonably thoughtful adults do and say grownup things. The manor house of an earl in the early 20th century is set in something resembling reality, with banquets, dances, familial intrigue, gown fittings, chaste flirtations, declarations of love, and expertly timed reaction shots of characters silently disapproving of other characters. They are firmly established royalists who host a vist from the king and queen and it is lavishly costumed and smartly scripted and altogether enjoyable in an over the top sort of way of these period films.

A Little Devil In America by Hanib Abdurraqib

This is an inspirational, loving, and wildly wide ranging collection of essays that celebrate a wide range of black performance. He is uncontroversial in his coverage of Michael Jackson, reverential in his praise of Aretha Franklin, but the book really shines best when he is reflecting on his own life as it relates to black performance, and when he is rescuing previously under appreciated black artists. His recue of these performers from the obscurity of posterity. He does this lovingly in a tribute to Merry Clayton, the singer who provided the famous backing vocals to the Rolling Stones’s 1969 hit “Gimme Shelter”. He also does this for William Henry Lane, in an essay on the history and legacy of blackface. Lane, who was born a free black man in the early 19th century, went by the stage name Master Juba and made his skin darker to perform. It is a relatively short book that can change the way you think about black talent and how to appreciate it.

Cultural Exposure and Experience

Museums play a significant role in the exposure of their communities to the art and culture from around the world. This is particularly true for those who cannot travel, either because of cost or mobility issues, and it holds double for children, who can easily step into a museum for an hour, but aren't up to the dozen hours or more it might take to get to the place something is from. This is from an exhibit on the Day of the Dead in our local museum, from a hands on part of the exhibit with an oversized alebrije to marvel at. Alebrijes are whimsical carvings depicting animals, people, objects, and imaginary creatures painted with intense colors and intricate patterns that are from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Although there are many artisanal things produced today that date back to pre-Columbian times, these distinctive cultural artifacts are a tradition of Mexican folk art that only began to appear in the 1940s. There are villages that are known for making them, and there is gendered division of labor in the production of alebrijes. Males, both men and boys, gather and carve wood, since wood gathering and carving is a long established tradition in rural Oaxaca. The sanding of the alebrijes is a monotonous job that is usually relegated to children or unskilled labor. Women typically paint the alebrijes, with the most talented painters creating the most intricate and complex patterns. The final product is an amalgamation of talent, and for me, a source of great enjoyment.

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

I loved this graphic novel aimed at a YA audience. The year is 1885 and the location is a small isolated working town. 13-year-old Mei helps her father run the kitchen at a logging camp in the Sierra Nevada. She is first generation American, her father having come on a slow boat from China in search of a better life for her. She dreams of seeing the world but isn't sure how to do so, and she begins to call upon Auntie Po, a legendary giant Chinese matriarch with a blue ox, to watch over the camp. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak along the way. Bad things happen to the best of people in this book which mixes folklore and history to explore issues of equality, equity, and identity. This is a story brimming with historical incident, and timely depictions of both bigotry and understanding. Sweet, funny, and wise without dipping in to self-pity.

Child' Eye View of John Singer Sargent

We have a family plan at the local art museum where my granddaughters live rather than where we live so that we can go to the museum with them. It has been a pandemic, so this plan has not been fully operationalized, but on our very first visit they stood in front of this portrait by John Singer Sargent of Alice Gerson Chase and one of them took in a deep breath and turned excitedly to me and said, "She looks like a princess." And there you have it, through the eyes of a four year old, the deeply satisfying allure of looking at portraits of strangers by one of my favorite portrait painters of the late 19th century. Sargent was renowned for his portraits of the wealthy and famous. Although he worked within the established style of classical portraiture he used unusual compositions, interesting color palettes, and rarely repeated the same arrangement twice. Sargents' lack of use of under painting and under drawing allowed for more spontaneous, less controlled brush strokes which gave the effect of capturing the sitter in a candid moment. At the same time, he was able to manipulate props to convey the social status of his subjects, particularly in his use of texture to detail fine fabrics. I saw a painting of his when I was just a bit older than my granddaughter is now and it struck me much the same way she saw it, which was very satisfying to behold.

The Red and the Black by Stendahl

Yet another classic 19th century French novel! Young Julien Sorel, the son of a carpenter who is inspired by stories of Napoleon told to him by a retired army surgeon and taught Latin by a local curate, enjoys a meteoric rise in life, only to be followed by an even more rapid fall. Julien first becomes tutor to the mayor's children in a small town in the Alps. He has to negotiate the social and political rivalries of the status-obsessed mayor, his grasping commercial rivals, and various other dignitaries — while engaging in a love affair with the mayor's wife, Madame de Renal. Escaping from there as he careens towards being found out, Julien he stepping stones from another village on to Paris, where he becomes confidential secretary to a nobleman and has to learn yet another set of social conventions as he integrates himself into the household and its circle of aristocratic hangers-on. He enters into an affair with his patron's daughter, Mathilde, which he expedites by pretending to love another woman. Julien's story provides a base from which Stendhal satirizes French society, from small town bourgeoisie to clerics and feckless aristocrats, and probes the psychology of love and honor.

Cypriot Potato Salad

I made this as part of some sides for a good roast chicken, but it would be equally great on a mezze table, providing a starchy foil that is not crusty bread (which you should also have, and which we also served). This comes together quite quickly, and you can also make a Greek salad while you wait for the potatoes to boil. 2 pounds new potatoes 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning Finely grated zest from 1 medium unwaxed lemon ¼ red onion, finely sliced ⅓ cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed Handful EACH: fresh mint leaves, fresh cilantro, both finely chopped 1 teaspoon dried oregano 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice Salt and freshly ground black pepper Peel potatoes or leave the skin on. Cut potatoes into 2-inch chunks. (I used halved unpeeled baby potatoes.) Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the potatoes to the pot and boil for about 12 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain and place in a serving bowl. Add lemon zest, onion, olives, capers, mint, cilantro, oregano, oil and lemon juice, along with ¼ teaspoon salt and a good grind or 2 of black pepper.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

I have some gender questioning people in my life and I want to do a good job of trying to be a better and more informed advocate for them. This is a book that my niece read and I really appreciate the recommendation. Felix Love is a talented seventeen-year-old trans man artist with a scholarship to a prestigious private high school, but life is not easy. He has been through a lot over the past several years, from transitioning, to losing his mom, to more recent gender questioning and lots of confusion. For starters, Felix’s mom isn’t dead. She divorced his dad, changed her name, remarried, and moved to Florida with her new husband and stepdaughter never looking back. Five years ago, when Felix was twelve, he emailed his mom telling her that he was trans, and she never responded. They have not spoken or texted since, though Felix has 473 unsent emails addressed to her in his email drafts folder. Felix’s dad is loving and kind, but it’s not cool that he still has trouble saying the name Felix out loud, and often slips up using wrong pronouns not bothering to correct himself. Felix’s dad did pay for his top surgery though, and Felix knows deep down that his dad truly loves and cares about him. Felix has friends and he has allies, but he also has enemies, those who wish him ill, and most of all, he feels he has never been in love or loved in return. This is a great coming of age in a body one just isn't sure about and all that entails.

Shrimp Saganaki

My cookbook club is using Yasmin Kahn's Ripe Figs cookbook this month, and I rediscovered a tub of very reasonoable quality fets deep in my spare refridgerator, so I am trying out a few recipes this month. I used home canned tomatoes and Pernod and probably could have cooked the sauce a bit longer, but a very good week night recipe. Traditionally served with pasta but I used rice. 1 pound shrimp some olive oil to saute 1/2 of a medium onion, finely shopped 15-16 ounces pureed tomatoes 3-4 garlic cloves, grated 3 Tbs ouzo 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon sugar pinch of crushed red pepper flakes salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 handful of chopped fresh parsley 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled lemons for garnish Season the shrimp on both sides lightly with salt and black pepper. Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium heat and cook the onions about 5-7 minutes or until slightly golden, translucent and soft. Add garlic and warm through for a few seconds. Add tomatoes, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper and a little salt. Remember, that the feta is salty, so do not put too much salt in the sauce. Cover the pan with the lid and cook the sauce until it reduces and thickens. About 6-7 minutes. Add the shrimp and ouzo. Cook 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle the feta on top and turn off the heat. Transfer the pan under the broiler and cook about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts, the sauce is bubbly and slightly charred. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges. Serve with crusty, toasted bread or with rice or pasta.

The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn Saks

Today would have been my brother's birthday if he hadn't died in childhood from a physical illness. It seems fitting to think of him with this book, about potentially crippling brain illness. I am on the psychiatry faculty at an academic medical center and a fellow faculty member picked this book to start off our department journal club. It is a memoir of a remarkable woman and her experience with schizophrenia, an often times disabling psychotic illness. It is on the one hand ta daunting life story of an intellectually gifted woman, wrenched out of a normal life by the turbulence of severe mental illness. Voices demeaned her. Disordered thoughts confused her. Words tumbled out of her mouth in stream-of-consciousness word salad that plagued this otherwise thoughtful, gentle, and fragile woman. On the other hand I couldn't help feel like her story is unique and while it might be empowering to some patients with the same illness, it might be overwhelmingly shaming to those who cannot achieve what she did, which is an academic career at a prestigious law school. Saks captures her wobbly, dissolving thoughts in poignant passages throughout the book, but interestingly does not credit medication with saving her sanity but rather high frequency long term psychoanalysis. I have read other first hand accounts of therapy from the patient perspective, and this is commensurate with most. The take away for me was to be reminded of the really big changes that newer anti-psychotics have afforded people in terms of normalcy, as well as hoping for broader funding for non-medication interventions in psychotic illness.

Mulligatawny Soup

A Tamil version that I would even leave the chicken out of and substitute in something like grated zucchini (but that is perhaps because I have a bunch of it frozen from last summer, and we are about to start up the new season in earnest this year). ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 red or yellow onion, minced Salt 8 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped 2 tablespoons minced ginger (from about 2 inches of peeled ginger root) 2 teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 2 celery stalks, sliced 1 large apple, preferably Granny Smith, peeled, cored and chopped 2 tablespoons tomato paste 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks 1 cup masoor dal (split red lentils) 6 cups chicken broth or stock 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk Juice of 1 lime (about 1½ tablespoons) Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and shrunken, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne and cumin seeds, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mustard seeds pop and sizzle, about 90 seconds. Add the carrot, celery and apple, and cook, stirring, until just starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the flour, and cook, stirring well, to uniformly coat all the ingredients, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, masoor dal and chicken broth. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken and carrots are tender, the soup is creamy, and the flavors have blended. Stir in the coconut milk and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve in bowls topped with a dusting of cayenne, if desired.

Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan

I joined a monthly cookbook group through Food 52 a few months before the pandemic set in, but it wasn't until my spouse and I were cooking 100% of the food we ate that we really dove in with both feet. The experience got me back to using cookbooks rather than the internet for my recipes, which improved the range and quality of the meals that I prepared. It has just been recently that I have started to read the cookbook before cooking out of it, and this is a good one to approach in that way. Ripe Figs is a book about resilience as much as recipes. The author, Yasmin Khan has travelled around the Eastern Mediterranean in search of stories about food from refugees who have landed on its shores. While exploring their cuisine and the dishes they have brought with them in their to recreate in their new environment, Khan considers the question of borders, migration, loss, and the role that food plays in helping people negotiate these life-changing events. The recipes are vegetable forward for the most part, and the index is well organized, and categorized around vegan versus vegetarian versus gluten free. There is a cultural context and a story to go with each of them, and center on small dishes and food as a way to build social structure and broader ties. This gives the book even more poignancy and amplifies the ways in which lives are disrupted and changed by events outside of our control.

White Bean Salad

Serve this as part of a mezze lunch and enjoy! 2 cups (14 ounces) dried Great Northern beans 2 bay leaves 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley 6 tablespoons olive oil 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 8 large lettuce leaves Place beans in large bowl. Add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. Drain beans. Place in heavy large saucepan. Add bay leaves and enough cold water to cover by 2 inches; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender but still hold shape, about 15 minutes longer. Drain beans and place in large bowl; discard bay leaves. Add onion and parsley. Whisk oil, lemon juice, cumin, and cayenne in medium bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Pour over bean salad; toss gently to combine. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Arrange lettuce leaves on individual plates or on large platter. Spoon bean salad into lettuce and serve.

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

This is a what if kind of novel. In 2017, a white supremacist drove his car headlong into a peaceful group opposing a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing a young woman and injuring dozens of others. There was widespread horror and outrage as footage of broken bodies bouncing off the car was broadcast around the world. But what if the tragedy did not shame local white nationalists, but embolden them? When armed vigilantes start burning the homes of black people, Da’Naisha and her neighbors commandeer a city bus; dodging bullets and shattered glass, they escape the conflagration, taking the road towards the Piedmont mountains. She is a Hemings, and they inhabit Monticello as a safe haven. It is on the one hand a horror story and on the other, all too believable.

Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)

This year, where we are all quite used to the pandemic and staying home--has us watching the movies leading up to new movies in a series. The latest Spiderman was nominated for visual effects (and did not win) and so we went back to this movie, which we had somehow overlooked. I find the Marvel universe vaguely confusing at the best of times, and so for me, this was essential. Spiderman is still in high school and is on his senior trip to Eurpoe when the trip takes an unexpected turn when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room to recruit him for a mission. The world is in danger as four massive elemental creatures -- each representing Earth, air, water and fire -- emerge from a hole torn in the universe. Parker soon finds himself donning the Spider-Man suit to help Fury and fellow superhero Mysterio stop the evil entities from wreaking havoc across the continent. The plot line is almost secondary to the non-stop action, although it is fun to see Jake Gylenhaal, who will forever be Donnie Darko for me, as a Marvel character.

Red Plenty by Francis Spufford

The view of the Soviet Union when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's is that there was a dearth of commercial goods and a plethora of lines to get even basic goods. The author points out that westerners didn't always see it that way. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union was growing faster than any other country except Japan. This strange, risky and compelling book, which is effectively a collection of vignettes to illustrate what the Soviet economy of the 1950s and 60s was like, both in theory and then in practice. the book highlights the materialism of Khrushchev's project and, indeed, the Russian admiration for American consumerism that predated his rule. For all the idealism, brilliance and ingenuity of the minds that tried to fashion a Marxist utopia on the ruins of post-second world war Russia, the greater part of the book is given over to why and how the Soviet communist project failed.

French Doors

My last trip out of my country was months ago, but some things stick with you. My favorite thing to do when I am traveling is to drive around and see towns. The next favorite thing is to walk around ancient towns and villages, and on a trip that doesn't feature a car rental, that is what I do, between museums and eating local cuisine. The architecture of place holds endless fascination for me for reasons that I cannot explain.

When I comb through my travel photos, the thing that I have the most pictures of is buildings, but the feature of buildings that I most love, especially in medieval towns, is the door.

In ancient times, the door was the most vulnerable experior feature (provided the windows face into an inner sanctum) and so they are both functional and artistic, and for me, memorable.

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

The author is well known for weaving into her stories themes that have relevance for conservation and society well being. There are two parallel families that the book ping pongs between, living on the same block in a small New Jersey town centuries apart. The 19th century story revolves around the emerging evidence for evolution and the growing divide that is being created between science and religion--which sounds all too modern as many GOP controlled states around the country are trying to return to an unscientific world view. The modern family is facing the realities of a torn social fabric, a social safety net with a lot of holes in it, and being penniless and homeless. There is a hopeful message contained in the story that we can all aspire to adopt.

Shrimp in Purgatory

This dish is inspired by the bright flavors of eggs in purgatory, the classic Southern Italian dish in which eggs simmer in a spicy tomato sauce. The exact origins of the name are uncertain, but many say the sauce is meant to represent purgatory, and the eggs, souls. Here, shrimp stand in for the eggs, and the tomato sauce is rich and tangy, with roasted red peppers and capers. Can be served with polenta, rice, or small pasta. 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 yellow or red onion, minced Kosher salt and black pepper 8 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried oregano ½ to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving ½ teaspoon fennel seeds 2 tablespoons minced jarred Calabrian chiles or minced jarred cherry peppers, stems removed, or cherry pepper relish 8 ounces roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (about 1 cup) 1 (14-ounce) can whole or crushed tomatoes 1 to 1 ½ pounds peeled, deveined shrimp 2 scallions, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon capers, drained ½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving Warm the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high. Add the onion, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, soft and starting to turn golden, 7 or 8 minutes. If necessary, decrease the heat to medium to prevent scorching. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the oregano, red-pepper flakes and fennel seeds, then the Calabrian chiles, roasted red peppers and tomatoes. (Crush the tomatoes by hand, if using whole.) Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for about 5 minutes to slightly reduce the sauce and blend the flavors. Add the shrimp, scallions and capers, and cook until the shrimp are curled, pink and opaque, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on size and quantity. Turn off the heat and taste the sauce. Add more red-pepper flakes, salt and pepper, if you like. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and serve, passing more Parmesan and red-pepper flakes at the table.

Shrimp and Asparagus Stir Fry

This was made in an effort to make both my family members happy. My son wants 2022 to be the year of Asian food, with an emphasis on perfecting the weeknight stir fry, and my spouse wanted to use the first asparagus harvest from our asparagus bed of the spring season. It was easy and delicious--I forgot the add the sugar, which would have been a better balance to the vinegar and dry sherry. 1 lb. shrimp, peeled ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar ⅓ cup dry sherry 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Asian chili paste 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar 2 teaspoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 6 garlic cloves, sliced thin 3 large scallions, white parts chopped fine, green parts cut into 1-inch pieces 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 ½ pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut on bias into 2-inch lengths Combine the salt and shrimp. Combine sugar, sherry, say sauce, chili paste, sherry vinegar, stir together, and add the cornstarch. Heat oil in the wok, add the shrimp and stir fry until near done, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan, add more oil if needed, and stir fry the garlic, just a few seconds to soften, then add asparagus, stir fry 2-3 minutes, add the scallions. Once asparagus done, add shrimp back in and then add the sauce, and stir quickly until it thickens up, and then serve.

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

This starts off as a teenage love story, and then it goes off the rails a bit, coming to a surprising end. Sarah is a loner with aspirations toward punkdom; David is a charismatic rich kid with a sensitive side. Unlike the rest of the book, this first section is a dual point-of-view, with the narrator moving back and forth between the minds of both Sarah and David, although Sarah’s perspective dominates. They are doing okay for themselves until the teacher starts veering into very creepy under the guise of theatrical exercises, and then it veers into the realm of #MeToo, rape culture, the deeply damaging effect older men can have on young women, and the very understandable anger they harbor as a result.

Frida Kahlo and Self Esteem

At the end of last summer I did a lightning quick trip to the Chicago area to see some art and eat out in the big city. The Delta variant was more or less waning, the vaccine was more or less protecting people and it didn't see crazy to travel a little. One stop was an exhibit of Frida Kahlo's early work, and a retropsective on her life. The thing I was struck by, other than that I really love her work, which marries the beautiful with the macabre, is that she was a gorgeous woman who thought she was ugly and unlovable.

She was left with severe disfiguring injuries from an automobile accident, but grew up feeling different, marked by polio as a child and never getting over it either physically or emotionally. I think it is worth bearing in mind that we as a culture and a society place a very high value on physical attributes and that that message is heard at the earliest stages of life. It is worth the time and effort to be a champion for those who are a bit different and to make them feel welcome in our homes, our schools, and in our communities. The GOP run states are going out of their way to marginalize those who are different, and it is more important than ever to push back against that.

Kindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes

The subtitle is Neandrathal Life, Love, Art, and Death, and it is all of that, a scholarly recap about what we know about our ancient ancestors for the lay public. This is one of the New York Times 100 Best Books of 2021, and I am interested as while the average person has 2-3% Neandrathal genes, I have more like 4-5%, which is more than 85% of the population. So I am intrigued, let's say. The author has a life long interest in her subject, and if you are thinking how much can they really know about people who lived 100,000 years ago, the answer is surprisingly quite a lot. The world of archeology was dominated by the colonialist need to validate white supremacy in the 19th and 20th century and was therefore misleading and wildly inaccurate when it comes to the Neandrathal. Homo sapiens’ relationship with our long-lost relatives has undergone a lot of rethinking since our relatively recent discovery of them in 1856. Until then, three years before Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, we had no idea that they existed. Then, thanks to the Parisian anatomist Marcellin Boule, who inaccurately reconstructed a skeleton in 1909, the popular image of them has been of an ugly creature with a stooped spine and a decidedly ape-like appearance--the truth is that they are short limbed and upright and it turns out they were amazingly well adapted and resourceful. The fact that their DNA persists is evidence that they bred extensively with homo sapiens and are a not insignificant part of who we are today (me in particular).

Slab Apple Pie

My best baking friend gave me a special pan to make slab pie with and my husband bakes this for us all last weekend. It is somewhere between and apple pie and a poptart, and is espeically recommended if you are a fan of the crust. ALL BUTTER CRUST: One quarter sheet pan (9x13-inch with a 1-inch tall rim) 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and frozen for 20 minutes 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup ice water APPLE FILLING: 3 to 4 pounds (6 -7 large) apples (see Recipe Notes below) 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk 2 tablespoons sparkling or granulated sugar PREPARE THE CRUST: In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter and salt until the butter is in small pieces coated with flour, about 15 times. Add the ice water all at once and process until the mixture almost forms a ball. Form the dough into a 6x4-inch rectangle using plastic wrap and a bench scraper to firmly press the dough into a cohesive form. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm slightly (not too much!) Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger piece to 11x15-inches and place it into the quarter sheet pan, pressing it into the corners of the pan and allowing the excess to drape over the sides. Refrigerate. Roll out the second piece of dough to 10x14-inches, place it on a lightly floured sheet of parchment, and refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you have one, place a baking stone or an inverted larger baking sheet on the center rack to heat. If you don't have one, don't worry about it. PREPARE THE FILLING: Line a large bowl with a very clean thin cotton kitchen towel or a double layer of cheesecloth. Place a box grater in the bowl and grate the apples, including the peel, right down to the core, right into the towel. Dispose of the cores. Twist the towel for a powerful squeeze, extracting the juice. This helps avoid a wet-bottomed pie. Capture all of the delicious apple juice in a glass and drink up after all of that hard work. That freshly squeezed apple juice will taste AMAZING, so don't throw it out! Empty the squeezed dry, grated apples out of the towel into the bowl. Add the brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir well (or mix with clean hands). Take the bottom crust out of the refrigerator. Pile the filling into the center and gently spread out the apples to fit the pan. Scatter the button over the top of the filling. With scissors, trim the crust to about 1/2 inch over the edge of the pan. Tuck the bottom crust edge up and over the top crust, and fork crimp. Chill for 20 minutes. Brush the surface of the pie with the cream and dust liberally with the sugar. Slash one or two vents and slide the pan into the hot oven (on top of the hot stone or baking sheet, if using). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply browned. If the crust gets too dark, tent the pie with foil. Cool for 10 minutes or more before slicing and serving.

Violeta by Isabel Allende

This book is large in scope, much like A Long Petal of the Sea, covering the whole of a person's life and using that time frame to reflect on what has happened in both Chile and the world over the course of a person's lifetime. Violeta was born in 1920 at the tail end of the Spanish Flu, which came later to Chile than to the rest of the world. Her father's response to keeping his family safe is perhaps a criticism of what happened in some places both during the last pandemic and the current one, where prevention and life preservation took a back seat to things like the economy and political gain. The book is written as a letter to her treasured grandson, and ends at the front end of the COVID pandemic. Violeta is born to a rich family, members of Chile’s governing class. However, its security is destroyed by the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Depression that follows. After her father’s death, her only reliable brother Jose Antonio removes her, with her mother and Irish governess Miss Taylor, to the remote and backward south of the country where she grows up in a self-contained colony and assists the family’s benefactors, a married couple who work as itinerant teachers of the poor indigenous peasantry. Her marriage to a well-meaning German agronomist fails because he is impotent and bores her. She leaves him for a dashing and impressive pilot, Julian, who proves a scoundrel. Violeta's life is constrained not just by her choices but also by the domestic and state constraints that are imposed upon her, and a sweeping story of Chile's political situation over the past 100 years is told in just a few pages per year.

Rao's Meatballs and Marinara Sauce

Rao's is (or was) a red sauce Italian restaurant of the finest kind, and this dish is what they were best known for. This is a walk down memory lane rather than a new and innovative take on a classic dish. FOR THE SAUCE: ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 ounces salt pork, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons minced onion 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 28-ounce cans imported Italian crushed tomatoes 6 leaves fresh basil, torn into small pieces Pinch of dried oregano Salt and ground black pepper FOR THE MEATBALLS: 1 pound ground lean beef ½ pound ground veal ½ pound ground pork 2 large eggs 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 small garlic clove, minced Salt and ground black pepper 2 cups fine dry bread crumbs 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, lightly smashed Make the sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the salt pork. Sauté until fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard salt pork. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté just until softened. Add tomatoes with their juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 45 minutes. Add the basil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 1 minute more. Make the meatballs: In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, veal and pork. Add the eggs, cheese, parsley and minced garlic, then salt and pepper as desired. Add the bread crumbs and mix well. Slowly add up to 2 cups water, 1/2 cup at a time, until the mixture is moist; all the water may not be needed. Shape into 1 1/2 -inch meatballs. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and sauté until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes, then discard the garlic. Working in batches and taking care not to crowd the pan, add meatballs and fry until undersides are brown and slightly crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn and brown the other sides, about 5 minutes more. Transfer cooked meatballs to paper towels to drain, then add to the marinara sauce. Mix gently and serve.

In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova

The author is a poet, born in 1972, so she has seen quite a bit of what Russian history has to offer, through her own eyes and those of her elders. She tells us that she’s been trying to write this book of her family history for years, in some sense ever since she was an only child, growing up with parents and grandparents and, for a while, a great-grandmother, too, in an apartment in Moscow crowded with the leftover possessions of past generations: their books, teacups, newspapers, clothes, postcards, toys, photographs, as well as fragments of family anecdote. It’s the same apartment where she begins typing this fictionalized memoir, which is more like a scrapbook than a linear tale, and one that is not fraught with horrors, despite every opportunity to be exposed to them.