Books I’m reading. Call me old fashioned but I’ve never read anything on a kindle e-reader type thing. From novels to cookbooks to magazines, I still love turning the pages of a book. Who’s with me?
This year, I’ve been trying to read more and just sit down with a good book. Most of the reading stopped once we found out we were moving . . but now that we are getting ready for the actual move and school will be starting, it’s my plan to sit down more and curl up with a good book. Cookbooks included!
What I’m Reading Now
Pachinko is the second novel by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee. “Published in 2017, Pachinko is an epic historical novel following a Korean family who eventually migrates to Japan, it is the first novel written for an adult, English-speaking audience about Japanese–Korean culture.”
“PACHINKO follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan.
So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.”
And while you’re at it, also take a look at Free Food for Millionaires. This is Min Jin Lee’s first novel. I read this book years ago. . and read the entire thing in 3 days. So good.
Cookbooks I Recommend
These are newer cookbooks that I am currently flipping through. Some not *new* but new to me!
Family by Hetty McKinnon. I discovered Hetty when she was recently featured on Food52. “In Family, Hetty shares her approach to modern, uncomplicated, hearty and healthy food that is powered by vegetables. These classic recipes are the multicultural meals she serves around her own family table. Some are heirloom recipes passed on from her mother, others are old family favorites, and many are variations on much-loved comfort food, repackaged with a healthier outlook.”
As soon as I get into my apartment kitchen in PA (while our house is being built), this is the first cookbook I am cooking from!
A Common Table by Cynthia Chen-McTernan. I loved this review I read about Cynthia’s cookbook from the Seattle Times.
“As McTernan says in the book, she is “a Chinese girl who grew up in South Carolina, eating mapo tofu alongside cornbread and washing it down with sweet tea,” married to “a Korean-Irish boy” raised in Hawaii. The cookbook reflects the dishes she makes at home for their family, drawing on influences that “all have so much more in common than first meets the eye.”
McTernan’s recipes clicked with me, the way she casually crosses cultures and links disparate ingredients, paying tribute to family traditions while evolving new ones. After all, why not put kimchi-brined fried chicken onto flaky Southern biscuits, or add sweet Japanese rice flour to buttermilk pancake batter, or spike Middle Eastern shakshuka with fiery Korean gochujang, when your results are as good as hers?”
If you are in the market for an air fryer, or already have one, you need The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook and Gina even has her own Air Fryer! Check it out! It’s a great product! Gina, Skinny Taste, also has about 5 or 6 other incredible cookbooks!
The Home Cook because it’s amazing. I will always love Alex Guarnaschelli.
Cookbooks Coming Out in The Fall
How to Cook Everything—Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition: Simple Recipes for Great Food, by Mark Bittman (coming out in October 2019). I’m getting an advance copy and will probably do a giveaway so stay tuned!
Donal’s Meal in Minutes: 90 Suppers from Scratch, 15 Minutes Prep, coming out in October 2019. You can pre-order now.
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, coming out in October 2019
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