Summer Reading [General]
Jul 2
Don't know how you feel about diving into something that falls on the academic side of things, but Sidney Mintz's "Sweetness and Power: the place of sugar in modern history" is pretty accessible. And though its likely been critiqued to death since its first release, Sweetness & Power remains an influential, often-cited analysis that documents the co-evolution of sugar as a commodity and of "taste" preferences (esp. in Britain).
anthropology.jhu.edu
www.amazon.com
All these political threads we're having lately remind me that this is on my list of books to re-read (hopefully soon).
anthropology.jhu.edu
www.amazon.com
All these political threads we're having lately remind me that this is on my list of books to re-read (hopefully soon).
Jul 2
I second the recommendation (highly) for Michael Pollan's books "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto".
This morning, CBC's The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti re-aired an interview with him as part of their series "Diet for a Hungry Planet - Focus on Food".
This is really good and worth a listen...
www.cbc.ca
I'd also recommend:
"Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. It's the history of salt in the context of the entire world's history. Wowsa brilliant.
"Beijing Confidential: A Tale of Comrades Lost and Found" by Jan Wong. It has lots of food talk and descriptions (including the distinctively odourous durian) amidst the story of her incredible quest to find someone she encountered briefly in 1973 and is a great portrait of how Beijing has changed since then.
Jul 3
Thanks everyone for their suggestions... I'll do a little research and pick one or two... I'll keep you posted.
Jul 4
Bill Buford's Heat is a fun read, and I do enjoy Anthony Bourdain's books (No Reservations, A Cook's Tour, Kitchen Confidential, etc.)
Jul 4
I second the Heat and Bourdain's books. I also greatly enjoyed both of Jeffery Steingarten's books, "The Man who ate Everything" and "It must have been something I Ate". Both are collections of articles he has written and include recipes. He has a great dry sense of humour. I just finished reading "My Last Supper" by Melanie Dunea, in which she asks 50 top chefs what their last meal would be, and includes recipes.
For fiction, I read Timothy Taylor's "Stanley Park" last summer, and found it to be a great read.
For fiction, I read Timothy Taylor's "Stanley Park" last summer, and found it to be a great read.
Jul 4
Oh! Oh oh oh! And if you're looking for something more in the travel bent, but still a bit food-related, may I suggest Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence? He's delightful.
Crap, I'd better consider buying some of these books myself. I leave for Nova Scotia in less than a week!
Crap, I'd better consider buying some of these books myself. I leave for Nova Scotia in less than a week!
Jul 5
Along with the Pater Mayle suggestion, he also has a book called "French Lessons" which centers more on his experiences specifically with Provincial food than his more well-known "Provence" trilogy does.
My personal recomendation is 2 books of short stories written by a variety of chefs/food people - "Don't Try This At Home" (stories of the worst culinary disasters and embarrasments that they have ever lived through) and "How I Learned To Cook" (self explanitory). The former was actually ironically the thing that inspired me to go to culinary school. Nice light summer reading!
I also just finished "Alone In The Kitchen With an Eggplant" which is again a collection of stories/essays from foodies chronicling times in thier lives when they found themselves cooking for one and/or the comfort meals they crave when they have time to themselves. Not as good as the 2 former titles I mentioned, but a good read none the less - epecically if you're feeling lonely and want to wallow in it a bit lol.
Jul 8
Momomoto, Tre & Food Is Hot - Thanks for your input. Wow it looks like I sure have a great list to choose from. I like the fact that there is such a diverse mix of things... something to suit every mood (the long travel days, lazy days, rain days, beach days, lol). I need to get myself to Chapters and make my selections.
For anyone who has worked as a waiter (and who hasn't?) I just heard of another book Waiter Rant that is to be released at the end of July, hopefully I can get a copy before I leave for vacation... sounds like a good cheezy read for the days to be spent with my toes in the sand at the beach.
"According to The Waiter, eighty percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining twenty percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths. Waiter Rant offers the server's unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he's truly thrived." (as per Amazon)
For anyone who has worked as a waiter (and who hasn't?) I just heard of another book Waiter Rant that is to be released at the end of July, hopefully I can get a copy before I leave for vacation... sounds like a good cheezy read for the days to be spent with my toes in the sand at the beach.
"According to The Waiter, eighty percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining twenty percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths. Waiter Rant offers the server's unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he's truly thrived." (as per Amazon)
Jul 8
I can recommend Waiter Rant. I haven't read the book but I have been reading his blog for years, well before he became famous enough to get a book deal. (His blog is also called "Waiter Rant" and it is linked to by our wiki here.)
He's a very talented and entertaining writer with many stories to tell.
He's a very talented and entertaining writer with many stories to tell.
Jul 8
Fresh Foodie - Thanks. I had read about it I believe in some book review, but it is always better to know first-hand one who recommends. ;-)
Jul 17
Food & Think, not certain if you're still mulling over your summer reading list, but a couple threads in the past day(s) reminded me of another (off-the-beaten-path) possibility, a journal article that would serve as an (analytical) companion piece to Tampopo, a movie cited in several previous threads (and much beloved in certain foodie circles):
ottawafoodies.com/forum/1069
ottawafoodies.com/forum/1072
The article is by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, a Japanese born anthropologist:
www.anthropology.wisc.edu
The writing is a bit "academese" (and i believe English isn't her first language to begin with), but this should almost be required reading for people who have watched Tampopo. Ohnuki-Tierney "reads" and describes the film as "serious" cultural critique / satire: its no mistake, for example, that Itami (director) chooses a Ramen (noodle) shop as his site for that satire. But, he does so with an obviously deep appreciation of the same traditions he's skewers (including the mythologizing of the "authentic" other), and both the film and the article are chock-full of delicious food as culture descriptions.
as i suggest, it might not be regular summer-lite reading ... and the film itself is not everybody's cup of tea. But, since its freely available (as a pdf article), there's little penalty for reading the first few paragraphs to see how it grabs you. But, to repeat, its best read before or after watching the movie itself ... which, you can rent from Invisible Video on lisgar (if you're interested).
ottawafoodies.com/forum/1069
ottawafoodies.com/forum/1072
The article is by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, a Japanese born anthropologist:
www.anthropology.wisc.edu
The writing is a bit "academese" (and i believe English isn't her first language to begin with), but this should almost be required reading for people who have watched Tampopo. Ohnuki-Tierney "reads" and describes the film as "serious" cultural critique / satire: its no mistake, for example, that Itami (director) chooses a Ramen (noodle) shop as his site for that satire. But, he does so with an obviously deep appreciation of the same traditions he's skewers (including the mythologizing of the "authentic" other), and both the film and the article are chock-full of delicious food as culture descriptions.
as i suggest, it might not be regular summer-lite reading ... and the film itself is not everybody's cup of tea. But, since its freely available (as a pdf article), there's little penalty for reading the first few paragraphs to see how it grabs you. But, to repeat, its best read before or after watching the movie itself ... which, you can rent from Invisible Video on lisgar (if you're interested).
Jul 17
I am slowly making my way through:
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee
cheers
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee
cheers
Jul 17
Itchy & Medicine Jar - Thanks for replying, you guys are in under the wire, I plan on placing my Chapters order tonight on-line.
Jul 29
Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a wonderful story of localizing food consumption by her family (she's the author of a number of fiction books and a great writers)
The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage is also wonderful: www.amazon.com
"Few realize the prominence of beer in ancient Egypt, but it was crucial to both cultural and religious life throughout the Fertile Crescent, appearing even in the Gilgamesh epic. Wine's history has been recounted in many places, and its use to avoid often--polluted water supplies made it ubiquitous wherever grapes could be easily cultivated. Spirits, first manufactured by Arabs and later rejected by them with the rise of Islam, played a fundamental role in the ascendance of the British navy. As a stimulant, coffee found no hostility within Islam's tenets, and its use spread as the faith moved out of Arabia into Asia and Europe. Tea enjoyed similar status, and it bound China and India to the West. Cola drinks, a modern American phenomenon, relied on American mass-marketing skills to achieve dominance. An appendix gives some modern sources for some of the primitive beers and wines described in the text".
It's a great, quick read...thirst-quenching I would argue.
The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage is also wonderful: www.amazon.com
"Few realize the prominence of beer in ancient Egypt, but it was crucial to both cultural and religious life throughout the Fertile Crescent, appearing even in the Gilgamesh epic. Wine's history has been recounted in many places, and its use to avoid often--polluted water supplies made it ubiquitous wherever grapes could be easily cultivated. Spirits, first manufactured by Arabs and later rejected by them with the rise of Islam, played a fundamental role in the ascendance of the British navy. As a stimulant, coffee found no hostility within Islam's tenets, and its use spread as the faith moved out of Arabia into Asia and Europe. Tea enjoyed similar status, and it bound China and India to the West. Cola drinks, a modern American phenomenon, relied on American mass-marketing skills to achieve dominance. An appendix gives some modern sources for some of the primitive beers and wines described in the text".
It's a great, quick read...thirst-quenching I would argue.
Jul 29
"As a stimulant, coffee found no hostility within Islam's tenets..."
Neither did Khat !!
I really wanted to try some Khat .... found a Somali friend who was going to 'hook me up' and everything ... but, new legislation came out and Khat became a illegal in Canada.
In Canada, cathinone (the stimulant found in Khat) is a controlled substance under Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), meaning it is illegal to possess or obtain unless approved by a medical practitioner.
I wonder if there are any 'Khat friendly' doctors out there.
Jul 29
Captain C - I know a "Khat Friendly" Doctor....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Veterinarian
>^..^<
Meow...
LOL
Did ya get catch all my "funnies" in the Coppola topic... I dreamed them up just for your amusement... afterall I gotta prove you are not just the only one who has a sense of humour around here. LOL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Veterinarian
>^..^<
Meow...
LOL
Did ya get catch all my "funnies" in the Coppola topic... I dreamed them up just for your amusement... afterall I gotta prove you are not just the only one who has a sense of humour around here. LOL
Food&Think
Two summers ago when "Insatiable" was released I passed many a hot summer afternoon with it in one hand and a cool glass of something in the other... I'm not quite sure which was more intoxicating. For those who may not know, Gael Greene was the food critic for New York Magazine for more than 30 years, and "Insatiable" is a sort of autobiography. Not only is Ms. Greene funny and entertaining in her story but she brings to the page "the steam" from her other written works (Soft Porn Writer as a cover for a Food Critic, LOL, ya gotta love it) since the 1960s she has been truly considered.... ummmm naughty. "Insatiable" offers Food, Wine, Sex, Money, Travel, Famous People, Recipes, Tell All Tales, Famous People Sex, more Food, more Wine, more Sex.... a Fantastic Summer Read.
Maybe I'll just read it all over again!