My week of Frida Kahlo inspired cooking

In THIS post, I wrote about participating in a weekly women's history themed baking challenge and that the theme for the previous week was Frida Kahlo. At the time of the baking challenge, the cookbook Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo by Marie-Pierre Colle and Guadalupe Rivera was not available at my local library. However, I recently got my hands on it and loved it! 

This cookbook is one part cookbook, one part Mexican history and culture guidebook, and one part Frida Kahlo biography. It is packed with photos not just of recipes, but also from Frida Kahlo's life and Casa Azul -- her home and studio. the book is arranged by months and each month starts with three to five pages of biography and memories of the authors' experiences with Frida, followed by a page with a menu plan for the month -- often based around a holiday or celebration -- and then the recipes. 

Because I didn't have the cookbook during the baking challenge week back in August, I only used one of Frida's recipes that week (I found it online). I also went beyond baking and took it as a Mexican cooking challenge. 

The one recipe I did make that was from Frida's cookbook is Macaroni with Spinach Sauce. Due to a dairy allergy, I made some substitutions, but it turned out fairly tasty, although it looked nothing like the photo in the cookbook. Unfortunately, I neglected to get a photo of mine, but what I ended up with was a casserole that was entirely green, not yellow and green with pasta and spinach clearly defined. Oh well! I do have some ideas for making this again and having it turn out more like the cookbook photo, but we'll see. Here's the same dish in the cookbook:

For the rest of my cooking challenge focused on Mexican dishes, I made a vegan/dairy free Tres Leches cake -- but couldn't find one that fit both my and my son's allergies and so did a lot of alterations to ingredients. It turned out sooooo delicious though! For my three milks, I used Ripple dairy free milk, oat milk, and a coconut based creamer. 

The cake was so delicious! I will definitely make it again. My finished cake: 

I also made vegan barbacoa tacos which I loved, but my son didn't like the flavor very much. The filling is lentils based and was excellent as an enchilada filling too.

Lastly, I attempted to make chilaquiles, but they didn't turn out like authentic chilaquiles. I realized halfway through that the recipe I was using was not at all authentic! You don't need to tell me that these aren't authentic -- I know! I had someone tell me on repeat that they weren't authentic even though I had already stated that at the outset! I actually don't care that much that they aren't authentic because the dish tasted great anyhow!

And, finally, here are some images from Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo:

You can buy the book and support independent booksellers via Bookshop HERE.

Or, buy from Amazon HERE.

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BOOK REVIEW: Recipes for Love and Murder—A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally Andrew

I love fiction plus food, and when recipes are included? Even better! That was certainly the case with Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew.

This was a fun romp through South African cuisine, a new language for me (Afrikaans), and more than one murder! Although there were parts of the story that were definitely thrilling, it was overall upbeat and funny. The main character, Tannie Maria, is a newspaper columnist who writes recipes and love advice—every piece of love advice revolves around a recipe or a meal. And, throughout the story, she relates to the other characters through food as well.

Frankly, some of the recipes made me hungry and I can’t wait to try some of them!

Recipes for Love and Murder starts off as a mystery around the murder of an abused woman and suspects that include her husband and her best friend, a woman who was in love with the murder victim. Among characters are a slimy grocery store manager, a dashing police officer, a hip young reporter, another shy police officer, an organic farmer, and so on.

The book very briefly delves into politics, discussing Nelson Mandela and pre- and post-Apartheid South Africa. There are a few characters who seem to be racists...but are they really? 

And then, there's more than one couple with mixed signals -- does she like me? Does he like her? Who likes who? 

And, I can’t forget a spectacular character running throughout the entire book: the landscape and the sunrises and sunsets! Truly, these were their own characters and really brought the book to life. I’ve never been to South Africa (or any other part of the African continent!), but the author, Sally Andrew, described it in such rich detail that I could see the flora and fauna in my mind as clearly as if they were in front of me.

By the end of the book, I was longing to sit on Tannie Maria’s porch with her, eating cookies or cake, and watching the sunset.

As a bonus, to help you understand the book which is written in English but with a lot of Afrikaans sprinkled throughout, there is a glossary at the back; however, you can get the general meaning of most words from the context.

Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew is a nice, easy read that kept me interested throughout. I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

What are you reading right now?

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2017 Bookish Roundup

It's been a very long while since my last post and long time since I've updated my reading list! Whoa! 2017 was a particularly rough year for my family with my uncle (and best friend and mentor and champion) being diagnosed with and eventually dying from a stage IV glioblastoma (a really bad, aggressive brain tumor), my mom being moved into a memory care facility due to worsening dementia symptoms, and myself having gastrointestinal issues that had me quite ill for months on end and finally resulted in surgery. 

Thankfully 2017 is coming to a close and life is starting to look up. 

I'm also back to more regular reading, and I'm quite happy about that!

Without further ado, here are some of my 2017 reading stats, the five books I loved the most, and the books I'm currently reading as I finish out the year:

Books read in 2016: 39

Books read in 2017: 23

The five books I loved the most from my 2017 reading:
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
Stir is equal parts memoir and cookbook--honestly, this kind of crossover is my favorite genre! I love memoirs infused with recipes and delicious food! Fechtor suffered a horrific medical event that could have killed her and it ruined her ability to smell or taste food for a long time. She worked hard to fight her way back from illness to her life and she talks about how food and cooking are a huge part of her life and connect her to memories of childhood and growing up.  (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

Bon Appetempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes) by Amelia Morris
Another memoir/cookbook crossover! Seriously, I can't get enough of this type of book! Bon Appetempt is set in Paris, France which adds a fun dimension to the memoir/crossover. Morris writes about her experiences as a US expat in Paris, her job journey, relationship, markets in Paris, and cooking. I devoured it! (Get in Bookshop HERE)

The Scavenger's Daughters by Kay Bratt
The Scavenger's Daughter was a delightful find on Amazon Prime Reading (NOT the same thing as Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program!). I stumbled upon it at work when NOTHING was happening and NOTHING had been happening for hours on end--shhhh! Don't tell my boss! I rarely read on a tablet, computer, or device, preferring actual books in hand, but Amazon Prime Reading has saved me from falling asleep due to boredom at work when NOTHING is happening, everything is completely caught up, and there's nothing more to do while I wait for a patient to sign in (I work in patient registration in an Emergency Department). 

Anyhow, The Scavenger's Daughters is a fictional piece about a man and his wife who survived the Cultural Revolution in China, but due to a variety of reasons, the husband is unable to work beyond being a scavenger. He picks up other people's discards and resells them to earn money. During the course of his scavenging, over several years, he has also happened upon discarded female babies and children! He rescues these girls and he and his wife raise them as their daughters. The novel is a lovely story about the love of family and the fact that family is what you make it. There's a lot more to it, but that's the most boiled down version I can offer. (Get it on Bookshop HERE.)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi
Whoa! When Breath Becomes Air is a TEAR JERKER! Have tissues at hand, and if you read it in public, be prepared to cry in front of others! This is one of only maybe three books that have ever made my cry in public, and I wasn't the least bit embarrassed or ashamed. That's how powerful this memoir is. Kalinithi was a medical resident in neurosurgery and found himself facing cancer which ultimately took his life. The book is both sad and uplifting at the same time. If I could only recommend ONE book from my 2017 reading, it would be this one! (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

No Other World by Rahul Mehta
No Other World was a random library grab and I'm so glad I brought it home! I'm not sure why I picked it up initially--the cover isn't all that amazing and I didn't read the flap. I just grabbed it and checked it out, and I'm so glad I did! Mehta did a masterful job of writing a novel that crosses cultures, carefully explores coming of age, and captures both the loveliness and cruelty of being a young person lost in the world. Please note, however, that if you find sexual scenes offensive, this novel is not for you--there are a couple of scenes that depict abuse and a few that are coming of age. (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

The books I read in 2017 were almost entirely excellent! Boiling down my favorites to only five was no easy feat! 

The books I'm currently reading as I finish out 2017:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins -- not to be confused with Girl on a Train by AJ Waines (one of my 2016 favorites!)
• The Whistler by John Grisham
• The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

My reading goals for 2018 include:

• Weekly reading blog posts
• Donate 48 books to children's literacy projects/groups
• Start a monthly silent reading group

How did your reading goals go in 2017? Do you have reading goals for 2018? Post a comment and let me know!

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Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor

I haven't blogged about my reading in a long while and it's also been a while since I've actually done any really substantial reading.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to get back into my reading habit thanks to a medical crisis that has caused me to spend a lot of time on my couch. Thankfully, I'm feeling a lot better thanks to an abdominal surgery*, but I'm also feeling better due to all of the reading I've been doing. I didn't realize just how much I've missed reading!

In addition to my health issue, I've also just let the everyday stresses of life and work get to me. I let reading go by the wayside even though books have always been one of my primary means of relaxation and escape.

Sigh...

Well, on to one of the first books I've really dived into over the past couple of weeks...

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor is a book that was nourishing on so many levels! It was a terrific read, allowed me to focus on someone else's medical problems instead of my own, and it was chock full of food, food, food! Most chapters end with a recipe, almost all of which sound absolutely dreamy!

Naturally, I haven't tried any of the recipes since I read Stir while I was on a highly restricted diet...I'm not sure if that was the best idea, but reading about food and reading recipes did give me something to look forward to once my recovery is completely done and I'm back to a normal diet.

Stir is a memoir--and I LOVE memoirs--about a young, intelligent woman who suffers a ruptured brain aneurysm that renders her incapable of doing almost anything that is part of her normal life. When Fechtor had her medical emergency, she was a PhD student and at the start of her marriage. She loved food and cooking, and was looking forward to starting a family. One moment she was on a treadmill and the next she was on the floor with the worst headache of her life and a long road of uncertainty ahead of her.

Fechtor's book combines so much of what I love in memoirs. She is able to bring together a good mix of seriousness with humor with moments that remind the reader that we are all human. Fechtor also writes with fondness of her parents and other relationships and makes it clear that our childhood memories carry on with us well into adulthood.

As I read about Fechtor's experiences cooking with her stepmom, I was reminded of many mornings and afternoon spent at my grandmother and great-grandmother's kitchen counters--I could practically smell the cinnamon and apples and could just about taste my great-grandmother's bread-and-butter pickles.

If you want to bring alive your food memories, you MUST read Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home. Not only will it bring up memories of food's intersection with your own upbringing, but you will come away with several new recipes as well. I've already written a grocery list and can't wait to make a mess of my kitchen with all the baking and cooking Fechtor has inspired!

You can buy Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor on Bookshop HERE (please note, there are two cover versions as of my writing this post).

This post contains affiliate links.

*If you are curious, I had a cecal bascule, a type of volvulus or twisting of the large intestine that can cause a bowel obstruction. Initially, this appeared to correct itself, but then I continued to have symptoms. We (myself, my GI doctor, and two surgeons) decided that even if it appeared resolved on CT scans, the fact that I was continuing to have symptoms and the fact that it could recur at any time and potentially have life-threatening consequences, surgery seemed appropriate.  As of this writing, I am 10 days post-surgery and feeling much better, although I still have some healing to do and it could be a few more weeks before we know if the surgery resolved my symptoms. If nothing else, the surgery will 100% prevent the potential life-threatening consequences due to recurrence--quite simply, the part of my colon involved was removed and thus the potential for recurrence is ZERO.