Food for Thought

Truly one of the best things about blogging is making new friends.
Friends whom you might never even meet.

One of the first bloggers who befriended me is Jain at Once In a Blue Moon. There's something about her blog that caught my interest. It could be her gorgeous photos of her dreamy California property. It might be her funny, exasperating stories of her many pets, including some of the cutest dogs ever. It was definitely her words of encouragement to me, who she didn't even know, when I was getting started.

Jain loves to read and cook.
I love to read and cook. We pass book recommendations back and forth.
Then Jain had a great idea she calls "Food for Thought".
You read a book, any book you like.
While reading, think about any food involved and how it might look.
Make up a little vignette using the food, the story and anything else you think would add interest.
Take lots of pictures.
Post them on her blog.
For  examples and how-to's, click here.

Lately my book group has chosen books that I've read earlier this year.
So I used my "unassigned" reading time to catch up on some others that have been sitting on my nightstand for who knows how long.
I dug through the pile and found  Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser. I used to enjoy her column in the Sunday New York Times magazine. She wrote about her courtship with a man she referred to as Mr. Latte, because that's what he ordered after their first dinner together.
Not breakfast. Dinner.

If you are reading food blogs, I'm sure you know that this is simply NOT DONE. Lattes and cappuccinos, loaded with milk as they are,  are for breakfast. And breakfast only.
Amanda, as a card-carrying member of NY Foodie-ville and an actual food writer with a steady job, was horrified.

The rest of the book describes her attempt to gently show him, and get him to enjoy, the same food that she loves. Intertwined with the storytelling, there are numerous recipes for fancy French dishes, family favorites, some wonderful pastas and salads.
I've bookmarked many of them.

 And I did try two of the recipes - a soup and an almond cake. To be honest, neither came out very well.
The soup was dull. The almond, while extremely tasty, looks like wreckage from the Titanic - completely sunken. Could be my fault entirely.

Oh well.
The stories Amanda Hesser tells are nourishing enough.