A Magical Culinary Novel
03.03.10
One of the great pleasures of being a bookseller is to discover and promote a new writer.
In this debut novel, Seattle author Erica Bauermeister tells a fictional tale of a chef who shares her culinary techniques with a cooking class held on Monday evenings at her restaurant.
Through the sensual and magical power of food, she and her students undergo self-discoveries and transformations. Each chapters shares the story of one of the eight students, who range in age between a young woman trying to find her way in life, and an older woman starting to lose her way to Alzheimer.
For fans of Like Water for Chocolate, this is the perfect follow up-but set in the Pacific Northwest!
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Such a small amount of ground spice in the little bag Abuelita had given her….She undid the tie around the top of the bag and swirls of warm gold and licorice dance up to her nose, bringing with them miles of faraway deserts and a dark, starless sky, a longing she could feel in the back of her eyes, her fingertips.
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The Science of School Garden
02.26.10
Last night we were at the Environmental Science Night at Orca K-8 in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle.
This alternative school has one of the most extensive garden programs in the city, with a fully integrated science curriculum and activities from the garden. Students do buddy reading in the garden, learn about recycling and composting, and 4th/5th graders read Michael Pollan’s Omnivores Dilemma for Kids while 8th graders discuss Food Rules.
This May, the school takes experiential learning beyond the classroom and the garden with a “Sustainable Washington Tour.” Science teacher Kent Daniels will take his students and parents to travel the state to learn about the development of energy and agriculture by visiting organic farms, a solar energy plant, a waste water facility and other sites. According to Kent, “children can see where our energy and food comes from and where waste goes.”
Anthony Warner, the garden coordinator, believes the key to success is having a vision, and ensuring that there is parental and community involvement. “Think big,” he said, “so the program can engage other community organizations and stakeholders.”
We look forward to taking this advice to the Washington Science Teacher Association conference on March 12-14, where we will be a book vendor, and hope to create partnerships to promote food literacy through school garden programs.
Hungry, Hungry, Hungry for some BEE-BIM BOP!
02.20.10
One of our family’s favorite picture books and food to eat, Bee-bim Bop! is also a favorite read-along book of children’s librarians from Seattle to New York (NY Public Library’s 2005 Best Book List).
Both the rhythmic prose and the kinetic illustrations capture that frenzy when a child is so, so hungry for her stand-by meal of bee-bim bop.
Not to worry if your child is not familiar with the popular Korean dish, as they’ll love chanting “bee-bim bop!” along with you.
And we’ve heard that they’ll even want to eat this delicious rice and mostly vegetable dish, which you can make following the recipe that Newbery winner Linda Sue Park includes at the end.
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Hurry, Mama, hurry
Gotta shop shop shop!
Hungry, hungry, hungry
For some BEE-BIM BOP!
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Snuggle Up with a Good Winter Read
02.10.10
Lately we’ve been drawn to stories about the farm. What goes on during these quiet, cold months?
One book we greatly enjoyed reading is Chefs on the Farm: Recipes and Inspiration from the Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts, which describes the anticipation that awaits the farm during winter months.
This is the only book where we really got to know the animals and the land as much as the people on the farm.
It’s a great winter read while starting to thinking about the coming growing season, along with the perennial classics, Northwest Maritime Garden Guide published by Seattle Tilth and Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners published by Seed Savers Exchange.
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Winter is a beginning. In the middle of a cold, dry eastern Washington winter especially on a small farm like this one, time seems to slow down.
It’s as if everything–the plants, the goats, the chickens, even the soil–is waiting to see what comes next. And the human members of this scene are waiting, too, for the slow season to pass.
Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen
