Cooking With Ideas

Monday Morning Cooking Club

No, I am not starting a cooking club. This is the title of a lovely book that came in the mail from Harper Collins. Yes, Monday Morning Cooking Club, subtitled the food, the stories, the sisterhood. It emerges from a group of Sydney (yes, Australia) Jewish women who began meeting on Monday's in 2006. They sought out recipes -- through email and other means, and spent 3 years trying them out, refining them, and, eventually, undertaking this book. The book is a delight -- its recipes are dandy (and include a flourless almond florentine that someone I know will love), and the stories are well-told. They range -- from tales of grandmothers and migration, from lives lived in Shanghai or Russia to Poland or South Africa or the Netherlands, spiced with curry or mint or ginger. 

The book is effective at carrying its message that food is about more than survival -- it is about the soul. What I like about this is that the book is not preachy in any way; it simply reaches out to the reader in a somewhat (oddly) kind way that is nearly tangible. The photography, by the way, is also a delight. I love it that on page 77 one writer notes that her grandmother made strudel -- and that she pronounced it 'schtroodel" -- something that makes me think with fondness of a recently deceased family member.

So: this is a dandy book. I will continue to read it fondly -- and unlike some, I am likely to make recipes from it. I hope you do too.

Farmer's Markets

Farmer's markets are, of course, not always what they seem to be. Sometimes, they are simply places that people pull up to in trucks, having purchased produce at a middle man organization, and then attempted to pass it off as direct form the farmer. (Not so much, those of you selling bananas. But harder to tell than they some times.) So, when at an unfamiliar farmer's market, ask. These two are my "home" markets and, of course, I no longer have to ask. 

Geneva's Farmer's Market is amazing. Among my favorites, are the purveyors of beans and Evergreen Farms. The latter (Hello Joe!) sells (on occasion) chickens which I have been known to say are the best chickens ever. (And no, they are not alive, so vegans and vegetarians, beware.) Since I cannot always get to Geneva on Thursday mornings, here is a youtube I like. It is not some place to go when you are in a hurry (at least for me) as it is also a great place to run into friends, gossip with farmers you know, and generally enjoy yourself. 

Canandaigua's Farmer's Market is actually my partner's haunt, but I was there recently as well. In some ways, it is even better than Geneva's -- though that may be a feeling caused by the fact that the space is a tad bit smaller. Among the dandy possibilities there is Italy Hill, which has (i addition to many other wonders) popcorn. Yep, popcorn. And, this time we bought something I almost never buy: celery. Why? Because it was beautiful. And that, dear readers, is something I never thought I would say about celery. 

Do you have a favorite farmer's market? 

Magazineland --- A Lovely Trip to the World of Magazines

I have written about magazines here on Cooking with Ideas before. (For example, here.) Yesterday, I was in teh airport, and saw that several magazines had the topic of FOOD emblazoned in large letters on their front covers. And, I was NOT standing in front of the section of the magazines devoted explicitly to food -- a la Bon Apetit or Food and Wine. No, I was just standing there, minding my own business and -- FOOD shouted out at me from Discover magazine and Scientific American. The latter I had already opurchased elsewhere, but now I was seeing a trend. 

So,  a few reflections on magazines I have been carrying around with me for some time.

First:  Gastronimica (subtitled The Journal of Food and Culture) is obviously explicitly and always about food. Begun in 2001 (for details click here), what I like about it is that the journal brings together fiction, poetry, scholarly work, and various other genres. It is readable, smart and just this side (whichever you f[prefer) of pretentious. Plus, it has good production values. The particular one I have been carrying around is "The Best of Gastronomica" and features past covers on its cover. Think gold pig's head, a spoon, and Freud with a hot dog. (The latter is simply my favorite.) And, of course, inside there is a full page announcement that the magazine won the Best Food Magazine in the World award at the 2010 Gourmand awards and the publication of the year at the 2012 James Beard Foundation Journalism awards. So, I am not alone in liking this one. Perhaps my favorite piece in this issue is "The Unbearable Lightness of Wartime Cuisine" by Alma Marin. But, the perhaps matters -- there are a lot of dandy bits here to snack on -- and ruminate on -- and more. If you are looking for it, the relevant issue is Spring 2013, Volume 13, Number 1. And, I admit it -- I also love the advertisements; did you know that Boston University's Metropolitan College offers a Masters of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy? I did not. If I were younger. . . . 

Second: I am now carrying around the "special food issue" of Scientific American, September 2013, Volume 309, Number 3. Organized around the themes of feast (celebrating our love of food), fuel (how food changes us), and farm (the future of the food supply), the issue is wonderful. Or, at least I think it will be when I get done oggling the pictures and get to reading -- from neuroscience to anthropology (though the latter is likely one I will read least, as I have already encountered the author interviewed in the Scientific American piece focused on anthropology (makes me feel smart to already know something covered in Scientific American). So, watch here for more on this particular magazine. 

And yes, same partner who inspired this -- inspires my magazine reading.