Here is a post from my super smart friend Heather:
I read a lot. It’s how I survived my childhood. As a teen I realized eating food was an effective coping strategy as well. Sometime in my twenties when I became serious about making food, I began to be inspired by culinary asides in all kinds of literature. So I present, Books that Helped Me Understand Food Better: A Sampling.
Jade Snow Wong’s Fifth Chinese Daughter (1945). This memoir discusses how Ms Wong grew up in San Francisco and went onto earn a college degree. One of the things she discusses is her grandmother’s tutorials on cooking Chinese food. Always start the rice first. Careful preparation is key. All your vegetables should be the same size. Food is aesthetic.
Raja Rao’s Kanthapura (1938). Rao’s novel narrativizes Ghandi’s struggle for independence through the prism of a small South Indian village. And somewhere in there, during one of the gatherings of the masses under the hot sun, an enterprising youngster sells cucumbers to the people—cucumbers lightly salted and drenched in lime juice. I read that one sentence and went into my kitchen and made the dish. Try it. It’s wonderful.
Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World (1998). First novel from the author of The Hours, Awakening, Flesh and Blood. The mother of one of the teenage boys in this novel teaches the other teenage boy how to bake. She starts with pie crust, and the advice on pie crust I found incredibly helpful for my own baking. In fact, when Cunningham read in Houston, the only thing I could think to say to him was, Thanks for the baking tips! I actually never said this to him. But I could have. Had I wanted to.
These are the first I can think of, but I’d love to hear if you have any.
And while you’re thinking of that, a link to William Carlos Williams’ “This is Just to Say.”
One Comment
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Jen
Wow HK! You are making me feel like a food literature ignoramus. I didn’t even read “Julie and Julia”- I just watched the movie.
I loved the post and I loved the poem.
I think I need to read more….
