2.10.2008

Kid lit and food collide...again…sort of

So with the husband gone all weekend, I thought the girls – my daughter and I – could do some shopping. We bought pear-scented conditioner for the kiddo, pajamas for both of us, and then hit Barnes and Noble. I know, B&N is evil. But as I’ve whined before, Queens seems to have no indies to speak of. Alas. So we’re in B&N and I drag the kiddo over to the cookbooks, promising her we’ll hit the kids’ section if she can behave while I peruse books for myself. And my rad daughter proceeds to take her journal out of her purse, sit down, and start writing with abandon. I had a ton of time.

See, I was on a mission: to buy a non-Food Network cookbook. I have cookbooks by Rachael, Ina, Michael (Chiarello), Tyler, Nigella, Jamie. I’m all about the celebrity chef. The only non-FN cookbooks I use on any kind of regular basis are by Patricia Wells*. So I decided I would blind-buy whatever cookbook caught my eye. I found a gem: The French Market: More Recipes from a French Kitchen. It was pure eye candy. And the recipes seemed real simple with really accessible ingredients. I snatched it up. So I’m flipping through it when I get home, and I become curious about who wrote the book: Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. Who are these women? Yep, it’s that Joanne Harris. You know, she wrote Chocolat** and, with the publication of Runemarks, she is now a YA author. Wow. I created this food/children’s literature blog because I couldn’t decide which I was more passionate about. But I keep finding that these subjects aren’t entirely exclusive. Which makes sense because food is truly all-important and of course it’s going to intertwine itself in every aspect of one’s life. If it doesn’t, then you need reassess your priorities.

So I can’t make anything from my new cookbook until Wednesday this week: I begin my French class at NYU on Monday and the husband is taking a class of his own on Tuesday. So we’re going to have to pull out the old warhorses at the beginning of the week: antipasti on Monday and poached eggs with creamy polenta on Tuesday. But come Wednesday…well, let’s just say you’re probably all going to want to come to my apartment for dinner. I’m just sayin’…

Wednesday: brioche with mushrooms/brioche aux champignons, salad with walnuts/salade aux noix

Thursday: cauliflower soup/soupe au chou-fleur

Friday: chicken breasts with Dijon mustard/poulet à la moutarde de Dijon, salad with an herb vinaigrette

Bon appétit!


* How telling that every single one of these chefs has a glossy, pretty website of their own!

** And this is actually Joanne Harris' second cookbook. The first one was The French Kitchen and it actually has a recipe for " Vianne's Spiced Hot Chocolate" from the movie, Chocolat. I know I spent my previous post practically bragging about my lack of a sweet tooth, but I think I have to make this hot chocolate at some point. How could I not???

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

le chou-fleur! je t'aime.

Andrea V.J. said...

It's fantastic when two separate parts of our life intersect like that. In my case it's music. I was excited when the band The Gothic Archies did the music for the Unfortunate Events audiobooks, and when the artist who works with the band The Decemberists did the cover for The Mysterious Benedict Society. It's a great feeling, and I've been thinking of ways to bring my interest in music into my work, especially programming.

Unknown said...

Andrea, you're so rad! I had *no idea* there was a correlation between The Decemberists and Mysterious Benedict Society! But I love them both so it's a divine collaboration!

And I'm at the same place, too, where I have two passions and I'm seeing more and more each day that the two can intersect, inform each other, and feed off each other. And it's ultimately about cultivating creativity, isn't it? Even though I'm in a cubicle now and don't do programming, I still got infinitely excited when the librarian at Corona tells me that she does cooking programs with the kids. I asked her how she manages that, and it ends up she's making do with a hot plate and a microwave. And she is teaching the kids to cook and teaching them about healthy eating. WOW. Again, I find my two passions constantly aligning time and again.

By the way, Queens Library misses you, Andrea! Well...okay...I miss you! But the sentiment is the same.

Oui, Amy, je l'aime aussi. Est-ce que tu veux aller a la classe francaise avec moi? C'est dommage que tu habites a Californie, n'est-ce pas? Peut-etre c'est dommage que j'habite a NYC. And Blogger makes it impossible to spell French correctly.