Eats/Reads

Read this for the great dialogue - as recommended by ' Reading Like a Writer ' - and was not disappointed. Lovely storytelling, unconventional ending and nice to read something older and so not so cinematic in its scope.

In the quest to consume root veg, I tried this soup recipe and was pleased by the results. I added more ginger and garlic than it called for, and it could have had even more. But it was nice, especially with a dollop of Greek yogurt. 1 tablespoon oil 1 cup chopped onion 2 lbs root veg, chopped (I used 1 lb beets, 1/2 lb carrots, 1/2 lb swede) 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 6 cups stock (I used chicken) 1 teaspoon grated orange rind About 1 teaspoon salt Freshly-ground black pepper Sour cream or yogurt In large soup pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beets and other root veg and water or stock. Simmer the soup, covered, for 50 minutes. Add orange rind, and stir well. Puree the soup in batches (I used blender). Then season with salt and pepper. Garnish with dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Wild Boar Korma Curry Notes: This was good but next time, more fresh garlic and ginger. The paste isn't that zesty. And add chilis or chili sauce at the table (didn't add chilis because sharing with toddler). 2 Tbsp oil 1 onion, chopped 6 mushrooms, sliced 3 Tbsp korma paste 1/2 c yogurt 1/2 c milk 1/4 c water 400 g wild boar 4 dried apricots, chopped 1 cup peas About half a ripe mango, chopped. Saute onion and mushroom in oil until soft. Add korma paste and cook for 1 minute. Add milk, yogurt and water. Add boar and apricots. Bring to simmer, cover and cook about 1 to 1.5 hours, until boar is soft. Mix in peas and mango. Cook about 5 minutes until peas are done. Serve with rice or noodles. -- 15/2/10: Finally got this right! Yummy Fish Korma Curry. 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 inch fresh ginger, minced 3 Tbsp korma paste 3 mushroom, sliced 1 tin coconut milk 1/4 c plain yogurt One large fillet pollock, cut into large chunks (10-12 ounces) 1/2 cup fresh mango, d...

Only cracked the cover on this one because the book club is reading it (despite my protests). Just managed to get through the intro without exploding with hatred at the shallowness. Then tried to push through the first section (so I'd have something to say at the club) but got so bored at her talking about finding an apartment, eating, making cool arty friends, I had to put it down. It makes me angry just writing this blurb, just thinking about the book. Blech.

Finally finished this a couple weeks ago. Got distracted by many things, and then lost the book. It was great. Perfect example of the book that would be hard to 'pitch' or workshop but is oh so worthwhile. Melds the everyday world with an extraordinary one effortlessly - and without unnecessary explanation. You are led and you follow.