Fall Book Preview

One of my favorite things about fall is that the book industry seems to pump out all of its big, juicy reads just in time for purchasing for the holidays (or, in my case, pre-ordering every last one of them!) Here is a preview of some of the books coming out between now and December that I am oh-so-very-much looking forward to:

Room by Emma Donoghue. This one actually comes out today and yes, it has already been delivered to my Kindle. This novel was seemingly inspired by the Josef Fritzl case, where he kept his daughter locked up in their home. A summary of the Amazon.com review: Jack, a 5 year old boy, has lived his entire life in a single room with his mother, visited only a nighttime by a man known as Old Nick. It is the only world he has known, but it is a prison for his mother. When their world suddenly becomes larger than the four walls they are used to, the consequences are "piercing and extraordinary".

I am very excited not only for this one to be released (October 12th) because also I will be hearing Nicole Krauss talk about her new novel, The Great House, at 6th and I Synagogue on October 18th. I adored The History of Love so I have been anxiously awaiting her next book. From the Amazon.com review: "The novel consists of four stories divided among eight chapters,
all touching on themes of loss and recovery, and anchored to a massive writing desk that resurfaces among numerous households, much to the bewilderment and existential tension of those in its orbit, among them a lovely American novelist clinging to the memory of a poet who has mysteriously vanished in Chile, an old man in Israel facing the imminent death of his wife of 51 tears and an esteemed antiques dealer tracking down the things stolen from his father by the Nazis."

David Sedaris writing animal-themed stories. Need I say more? Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary is due out on September 28th.

The Poets Laureate Anthology is the first anthology to gather the works of all 43 poets laureate. I will be attending a reading from this book that will include Billy Collins and Kay Ryan on October 6th. The English major dork in me has been overjoyed since I first heard about this book and the event!

You didn't think I would forget to include some cookbooks, did you?? Baked Explorations, the sister cookbook to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's first cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, is headed to a bookstore near you on October. Both cookbooks provide new takes on classic desserts. I loved the first one-what's not to love about a root beer bundt cake and black forrest cookies??--so I am hoping that this one will prove to be equally as delicious.

Appetite for Reduction: 100 Fast and Filling Lowfat Recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is due out in early December. Every recipe she writes has turned out to be utterly delicious, so my kitchen and I are awaiting this one's release.

I love Colleen. I love her podcasts. I love her outlook. I hope I also love her new cookbook, Color Me Vegan, which is also due out in December.

DC Vegfest 2010

Jesse and I headed over to DC Vegfest this weekend, which was held at our alma mater, George Washington University. It was a lot of fun last year, so we looked forward to experiencing it again. I managed to score one of the last tote bags they had filled with some trials of veggie-friendly food and other products. Then we immediately got in line to get ourselves some of what Vegan Treats brought to the event. I got a peanut butter bomb and Jesse got a berry cheesecake. Take a look at these babies:

We had a delicious lunch of Ethiopian food from Dama Ethiopian Restaurant. Then we found a spot in the shade to see Chef Tal Ronnen's cooking demonstration.

After lunch I got coconut water to drink. Check out the coconut man machete-ing my coconut!

Mmmm, coconut water.

We got some new cookbooks and Jesse got a shirt that says, "Eat Like You Give a Damn". Amen. What a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Falafel "burgers" with a cucumber yogurt sauce from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way by Lukas Volger. SO good! This is a smaller sized cookbook but, based on this recipe, I think I am going to give every single recipe a try!

L'shanah tovah!

Delicious Dishes: Pesto Bread

You MUST make this pesto bread! Here is why:

1. It's super easy, requiring only a mixing of ingredients, 8 minutes of kneading, 2 hours of rising and some spreading of pesto and parmesan.

2. It's beautiful. By rolling it up like a jelly roll, slicing it down the middle and braiding it, it comes out looking like a professional made it. The recipe even has a full page of pictures of a how-to.

3. It's delicious. It's like garlic bread's grown-up, sophisticated cousin. I could eat this every day and not tire of it.

Revelry Review: Cutting for Stone

South Asian Author Challenge, Book 3/5: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Sister Mary Joseph Praise is traveling from her homeland in India to Ethiopia when she meets Dr. Thomas Stone. They end up working in the same hospital for several years. One day, when she doesn't show up for work, her colleagues find that she has been concealing the fact that she is pregnant with twins.

One of the twins, Marion, narrates the novel. The first half tells the story of Sister Mary Joseph Praise and the second half picks up with what happens to the boys after their birth during a time of a coup in Ethiopia, living with adoptive parents and Marion's decision to move to the United States. This sweeping novel touches on just about every topic one could imagine: birth, death, love, rules, politics, medicine, family, responsibility, etc. The characters are some of the best developed that I have ever encountered. I wish, however, that there had been slightly less medical jargon/scenes (the author is a MD in real life), because I started to get caught up in trying to understand it and, in the process, got diverted from the pace and beauty of the novel's prose.

At nearly 700 pages, it is a long novel and a big time commitment. However, it is one that is worthy of the dedication to finishing it.

Snapshots of my vacation.

Jesse and I began our vacation with a trip to the outlets in Freeport. I scored a pair of Cole Haan flats for only $32! Then, later that night, I treated myself to some time at Soakology, a teahouse and foot sanctuary. They lead you downstairs to sit on overstuffed couches and chairs that are up on platforms. Then you soak your feet in warm warm of the scent of your choice (mine? mint chocolate!). They refill your water three times over the course of an hour. I also got a 20 minute foot massage and some red chai. It was amazing and the perfect way to begin the week!

Maine blueberries are just about my most favorite thing ever. They are smaller and sweeter than anything we can get here. I enjoyed this blueberry and lemon tart from the Standard Baking Company.

My Mom and her boyfriend came up to visit and meet Jesse's parents. Here we are looking like we got dropped into a Maine themed postcard.


A shot of the sun setting on the bridge.


Our most favorite vegetarian restaurant ever, The Green Elephant. I had tofu tikka masala, a blueberry soda and Jesse and I split a chocolate and orange mousse cake. LOVE this place! It was one of the best meals I ever had. From there we wandered around the Portland Museum of Art, which is free on Friday nights.


We spent a day at Old Orchard Beach. We walked on the beach, ate pier fries and played mini-golf.

On Saturday, after the second of one the best meals of my life at Street and Company, which was beyond incredible, we headed about 30 minutes north to the lake house (affectionately called "camp") that Jesse's family rents every summer. We spent the days doing camp things--sleeping, reading, eating ice cream, playing cornhole and ping pong, swimming, canoeing and challenging each other at board games. Oh, and making friends with the wildlife.

Here are Jesse and my Mom in the canoe.

This picture is a good example of what camp is like. Relax by the water, read and enjoy doing nothing! Overall, the trip was amazing and far too short. I fall in love with Maine more and more every time I visit.

Revelry Review: Medium Raw

I recently finished reading Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People who Cook by Anthony Bourdain.

Now, I should confess to you that I LOVE Anthony Bourdain. I watch episodes of "No Reservations" endlessly. I think it is smart, well-written, honest and interesting. Tony goes places and does things that I can only dream about. I loved Kitchen Confidential too, mostly because I spent a few years working full-time as a waitress and thought it was time that someone was honest with the general public about restaurant life.

However.

Either it's my old age or Tony's that has led me to conclude that Medium Raw is just a tad too....well, mean. Don't get me wrong--I found it interesting and I like reading his point of view on the food world. Let's face it--tons of bad food-related media is thrust at us daily. But was it necessary to essentially filet Alice Waters? And I know he hates the Food Network, but I didn't know just how deep that hatred ran. I don't like Sandra Lee either, but his description of her is a bit over the top. It felt like essay after essay kept getting more and more angry.

I should back up and say being over the top and a little gruff is why so many of us love Anthony Bourdain. I just wish this book had read more like the honest critique he is known for and less like one big attack on all things mainstream in the foodie world.

Delicious Dishes: Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup

I have a confession: I have a soup obsession. Even in the middle of the summer. To me, soup is the perfect meal.

Despite it being very warm outside, I tried making the Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup from Two Blue Lemons. It was fantastic. Filling enough to feel like a whole meal, delicious and nutritious. I also made another loaf of bread with the dough I had in the fridge. Seriously, you HAVE to try the method Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day! It's so easy to have fresh bread whenever you want! I am glad I tried these two together. It will be the perfect dinner when the weather gets cool this fall.

Revelry Review: Every Last One

This past weekend I finished reading Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. I loved two of her previous books, One True Thing and Black and Blue, so I decided to give this one a go too. What I had forgotten in the many years since I read those other two is that Ms. Quindlen is a master of making you feel the terrible emotions that people go through when they experience a tragedy.

I can't say too much without giving away the heart of this book, but here is a brief summary: Mary Beth Latham is married and has three children. The first half of the book weaves an intricate portrait of the ins and outs of their family life. It is pretty ordinary. Then something absolutely horrible happens. I was pretty blindsided because I had purposely stayed away from reviews of this book so that I wouldn't know what it was. Simply put, there is a Before and an After for Mary Beth and the rest of the book follows her as she attempts to give meaning to the After.

I cried. And then I cried some more. If you've read Isabel Allende's Paula or Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and liked them, then you might also like this portrait of grief and loss.