Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Good Book and Good Recpies

I'm about halfway through The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber. I'm often drawn to books with food as the central narrative especially if there is a historical bend (two of my favorite books are Cod by Mark Kurlansky and The Secret Life of Lobsters, by Trevor Corson). Abu-Jaber's book, while full of recipes relating to her growing up as a 1st generation American with parents from Jordan. There's a little more to it, for me, on a personal level. My mother, now in her sixties, has told me stories of her youth, visiting her grandfather and other relatives who made their way to America from Lebanon. She and Abu-Jaber carry many collective memories of family feasts and the struggles of 20th century immigrants trying to assimilate. It's definitely worth a few hours of your time.

1 Comments:

Blogger Carl Weaver said...

Recipes are boring when they stand on their own. Collecting recipes is one of the best vehicles for storytelling you can get. I am going to create a video recipe book someday. Yes, it will have a paperback accompanying it so you don't have to keep rewinding to find the spot where you set the oven temperature or how long you cook the chicken to avoid the salmonella.

6:43 PM  

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