The other day I was with a friend who has a deep love for good food as do I. She chose a perfect place to go and we shared plates and mmm-ed our way through the brunch. Not only do I love the act of eating good food, I love reading about food too– fiction, nonfiction, essays, you name it. Here is a roundup of some recently-read favorites in no specific order.
This quick nonfiction book is just a little different in that it’s not really about celebrating food, but instead broadening the horizons of what can be used as food because of the changing climate. Specifically how insects are good protein sources and some weeds are actually great on a sandwich. Right before Thanksgiving I was treated to an insect quesadilla by our AP Environmental teacher who does “Bugsgiving” before the break for students to try alternative protein sources in food. I had recently recommended he read Messner’s Chirp and he sent me down that delightful treat. Food.
I’ve already blogged about this book and Danyal’s love of cooking even when it means his parents disapproval is heartwarming and fierce. Cooking and/or baking is many things to many people: let it be a career or let it be a hobby, but no one should tell you not to pursue a passion you have and this YA book sends that message.
While not really centered on food, Mila moving to the farm in order to tutor and find respite does have more than one foray into the appreciation of farm-fresh food and flowers which helps her heal. The family sells flowers and food at the farmer’s market each week and the farmhouse table in which all of the adopted kids, “employees”, and adults sit for meals is cozy and heartfelt in how sharing both the ritual of making food and breaking bread is a healing balm.
I never knew I needed a tea pet to keep me company while sipping tea until I read Teatime Around the World. It shares rituals and cultural ways to prepare tea around the world with brightly colored scenes and sparing narrative. I learned more about my lifeblood: tea and new ways to prepare and enjoy it.
What happens when there’s a friendly (not so friendly) food competition in school as a way to get back at your ex? That’s half of the story of The Secret Recipe for Moving On. Ellie has just had a hard breakup with her boyfriend who has moved on, but she needs a reason to do just that and putting her energy into the misfit group she’s assigned in Home Ec is just the recipe.
Two girls come together in a shared mission to get their mothers together and create the best dish to enter into a competition even when their initial meeting was tepid at best. Sarah and Elizabeth are from two different cultures and if they place their trust in each other, the best kind of dish can emerge. It’s about friendship and food with the most romantic and delightful title.
This is only a handful. I love how food seeps into many stories be it picture books or ones for adult audiences. Do you have a recent favorite that references food?
Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed with an additional thirteen contributors is a short story collection centered around the Eid celebration and going in to Ramadan, I can’t think of a better day to talk about it than today though the book doesn’t officially release until May 5th. I was able to get my hands on an early copy but look forward to purchasing my own copy (and dozens for my library) because there will be finalized artwork including G. Willow Wilson’s short story that is formatted as a comic.
On Saturday, April 25th and Sunday, April 26th, they will be putting on virtual panels, smackdowns, and keynotes that you can 
Moving on to an informative picture book, this one details the life of Ruth Wakefield, inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. Ford provides the three versions of how people think the cookie was created and has fun providing you with a well-rounded tale of her passion for food and how her toll house became part of the “Nestle’s Toll House Cookie” recipe stamped on each chocolate chip bag you buy.
Faruqi and Shovan are publishing A Place At the Table next month and I couldn’t be happier that this book exists. When I read it, I felt a warmth for the characters and the food that filled me up with love. Sara is Pakistani American and Elizabeth is Jewish and they both end up in the Southeast Asian cooking class run by Sara’s mother after Sara moves to the school. They befriend one another and find that their connections run a bit deeper as both of their mothers are not naturalized American citizens. But as the title implies, the girls work through typical middle grade angst by finding a place for each other at the table.
And last is an adult title that was recommended to me by a friend. While the book is over ten years old, it will resonate with those who can appreciate all the ways that food affects our lives be it romance or in mourning, friendship or solitude. It’s a series of vignettes that are all centered around Lillian’s cooking school “The School of Essential Ingredients” that she runs on Monday nights. It follows the attendees in various parts of their lives and how they all came to be together in the class. The languid storytelling is part of the appeal, like savoring a meal, and enriches the understanding. I also found myself pausing and re-reading lines that hit me to my core as a cook, baker, lover of food. As said by two participants in the class: “Here’s to kitchens. And here’s to what comes out of them.”
Maybe it’s because I’m a woman or maybe it’s because I’m a librarian, but either way, I want to take a moment to celebrate books about periods. They’ve been kind of having a moment. And I knew I wanted to share a post about periods two days ago when I finished Lily Williams and Karen Schneeman’s graphic novel published by First Second this past January called Go With the Flow. It’s a celebration of menstruation and friendship alongside actively advocating for rights.
But let’s also give it up for the most memorable scene where Sasha’s blood-stained pants are showing as the girls usher her to the bathroom and why the book works so well in its graphic novel format. Most can empathize or sympathize with her situation and it’s the kind of thing that is discussed in other books discussing periods: the truthful portrayal.
Fat Tuesday is also Paczki Day. Paczkis are Polish doughnuts usually with jelly filling and rolled in either powdered sugar or granulated sugar. They’re made on Fat Tuesday in preparation for the Lenten season’s austerity. This past Monday, I homemade them and was excited to share them with my family, colleagues, and neighbors who all know my love for baking.
Here were some of my favorites to discuss:
Readers Be Advised 