Food and Wine – Carol's Notebook

Bread by Scott Cutler Shershow

August 22, 2019August 28, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

The other day I listened to a short book about pepper and today it's a book about bread. And I've gone from a funny, conversational writer/interviewer to a formal, slightly pretentious author. Can you tell which I liked better? My boss recommended I read Bread and handed me his copy. He said it changed that way he looked at bread and would definitely change his next Communion sermon, so I was expecting it to be interesting and at just over 100 pages, a quick read. I was disappointed. While the author clearly loved bread and has a lot to say, it was too philosophical for me. When he ventured into history and social status I found it interesting and even the religion up to a point, most of the time I found myself marveling about just how much this guy could contemplate bread. This counts as 3 pts in the COYER Treasure Hunt (a book with One Word Title)....

It Burns by Marc Fennel

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 by Carol3 Comments

I am not a fan of hot things. I don't like my salsa above medium, I avoid jalapenos. I am a wuss when it comes to spicy things. But It Burns was one of the free Audible Originals this month and for some reason the app was having trouble downloading the book I actually used a credit on. (I finally got Bleak House downloaded. It's going to take forever to listen to - 45 hours. Anybody out there love it?) Apparently, the pepper business and the whole hot pepper community is crazier and more cutthroat than I would ever have guessed. It's a whole world that I never knew existed. This audiobook is short, under three hours, but full of people hurting themselves and finding themselves through peppers. It's really rather fascinating in a dark, bizarre way. Marc Fennel narrates It Burns, but it's not a traditional book. We get to hear his interviews with growers fanatics, even his mom. His style...

The Whole30 by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig

July 8, 2015July 31, 2015 by Carol3 Comments

I can't tell you if The Whole30 is a healthy choice, although the Hartwigs give plenty of reasons why it is. What I can tell you is that I'm glad I did the 30 days and will hopefully eat better having done them. David and I did it together which was definitely helpful, although I let Amber eat pretty much what she wanted. The Whole30 rules in the most basic form are easy to understand. YES: Eat meat, seafood, eggs, vegetable, fruit and natural fats. DO: Do not consume sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes or dairy. Do not consume baked goods or "treats." Do not weight or measure yourself. I know it seems pretty restrictive, but like they say, "keep in mind that the Whole30 was intended to be a short-term reset and learning experience, not a permanent plan." I will admit that I "cheated a couple of times" and made a delicious apple breakfast cake that fit the rules. I also weighed myself. The...

1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton

January 16, 2015January 19, 2015 by Carol9 Comments

I like lists. I don't make too many myself, just a few here and there, but I love reading other peoples'. 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die is a list of fabulous, or odd, foods and a tour of the world all in one. I really enjoyed looking through it. I may have to pick up a traditional copy, instead of the digital version, so I can cross things off. Some of the foods in it I've actually already had, believe it or not. I expected a list of outrageous foods that you can only get in restaurants on the other side of the world but that are delicious. It is that, but there are also foods that we consider fairly common, but only because we live here. For a lot of the foods, she lists restaurants where you can have the best. Yes some are in Greece or Japan, but some are also here in the US. Many of the entries...