All Saints Day

When I received this book as a gift from my friend Sam via young Naomi who tied it charmingly with this bow and brought it to our brunch at Bette's Ocean View Diner, I was both thrilled and wary - not only is the title, Nose to Tail Eating, slightly daunting but its Introduction is written by Anthony Bourdain who we all know will eat absolutely anything. Sam may label me a gastro-experimentalist (great term, huh? I plan to have that printed on my calling cards) but the sad fact is that I'm not that brave!

I was somewhat reassured, however, by the fact that one of my cooking superheroes, Jamie Oliver, wrote a glowing endorsement on the back cover and the table of contents calmed the rest of my fears - this looks like a heck of a fun cookbook! While it does offer ways to cook things I know I will never find the courage to eat, such as lamb's brains and haggis, it also contains some delicious sounding recipes for things like lamb shanks, pork loin, and roast game birds. Best of all was the invitation Sam included in his card - to revive with him his Culinary Expedition Club, which he founded in Oxford a few years ago - once he finishes his doctoral work and moves here to California some time next year. I'm looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I will read the book to find the recipes I will dare to try and enjoy keeping Naomi company until he comes. By the way, Naomi, Happy Birthday!

Cherokee Wisdom

I know this is mostly a food blog but every now and then I like to stray away when I have read a book I think the greater world would enjoy. The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter is just such a book.

The story is about a little boy who is adopted by his Cherokee grandparents when his parents die. It's a delightful insight into the way Cherokee people lived and thought, and it's also a powerful statement about racism and prejudice as readable, funny and thought-provoking for me as Huckleberry Finn, which I recently re-read. While it is presented as a book for young adults and is, indeed, an easy read, I loved it, laughed at the simple humor, and wept when it ended.