Covid Cooking

I had never intended this to become a cooking blog, and it really isn't. If I share recipes, it's because I have a plan which I'll explain later.

Recently, a friend and I read and discussed the book, "Recipe for A Perfect Wife,"  by Karma Brown. The author describes the lives of two housewives, one from the 50's and one from present day, both of whom occupied the same home during their marriages. Their stories intersect when the current inhabitant of the house, a hopeful author-wife, discovers the other's recipes which were left behind in the basement.

Although my friend and I originally discussed dressing up and recreating some of the recipes, this idea was soon abandoned, well, except for the dressing up part. She made the meat loaf and didn't like it. I made the chocolate chip cookies and they were good. We gave up after that...just as well, since neither of us were remembering 50's-60's type food with fond memories.

This did give me an idea, however.  I know that almost anything is available on the internet nowadays, but, old recipes, especially family favourites, or mom's versions, are not always easy to find. In fact, my children have been known to ask for ingredients and techniques to create certain dishes that they remember and always enjoyed.

With my daughter now married and living far away, I had an idea for her next birthday. I decided to  create a book of recipes and ship it to her. I thought about the various forms this could take...recipe cards, hand written pages by mom (do I have that much time left in my life?), and so on. Finally, I concluded that if I take photos of things that I cook, and write up the recipes on the computer, I could print them, add little messages/asides/jokes, and compile them into plastic protectors in a binder with a "catchy" front cover. So that's my plan. That's why every now and again, tried and true or even experimental recipes that turned out well might show up on my blog.

Books can be different things to different people. They can be educational,  riveting, thought provoking, shocking, suspenseful, or inspirational. I thank the author of this book, Karma Brown for the inspiration to leave a piece of myself, in the form of "Mom's Favourite Recipes", for my child.
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Elf on a Shelf - Christmas Tradition or Clever Gimmick?

I had to research something I've seen appearing on store shelves around Christmas and have noticed for a number of years now. It hasn't always existed. I know that for a fact because I have pretty much always existed.

On the internet, Elf on a Shelf  is called a "Christmas Tradition". Really? To me, and to Merriam Webster, a tradition is custom or belief handed down from generation to generation. How many generations have there been since 2005? This is when the elf first appeared in a story by Carol Aebersold.

As the story goes, the elf watches children in their home and reports back to Santa each night. Then he flies back and shows up someplace else in the house the next day, creating a game of hide and go seek for the family. Families can also adopt their elf by giving him a name and writing it and the adoption date on the back of the box. The marketing has certainly proved brilliant. There are all kinds of secondary items available for purchase including new outfits for your adopted elf...shades of the old cabbage patch doll.

Over the years, this item has received as many accolades (book of the year, toy of the year) as it has criticisms. It has been suggested that this toy creates a "big brother is watching" type of environment and causes children to become acclimatized to, and unbothered by being spied on.

To me, this is a bit of a ridiculous exaggeration and fear mongering. First of all, how is it different from "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake"? It certainly is no worse than terrorizing children with Krampus. (more on that in another upcoming blog)

I don't object to new toys or new ideas. I don't even mind if this eventually becomes a tradition in families. Just don't call it a tradition after only ten years in existence. Next thing we know it'll be called an "iconic" toy.

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A number of years after the beginnings of the elf on the shelf, came another toy, this time for the Jewish population. It started as a joke between Neal Hoffman (creator) and his wife. It was called "Mensch on a Bench".

Apparently, Mensch stays up to watch over the menorah, but if kids misbehave, he will hold on to the centre candle and not allow them any gifts. I believe this even made an episode of Shark Tank which helped to launch the toy. Who wouldn't want one of these adorable Menschies after seeing it?

There was a humorous editorial cartoon in the Northumberland News about a year ago. It kind of describes the end result of all this extraneous "tradition" perfectly. Kind of makes me glad I'm well beyond these seasonal pressures with my children or am I?

Apologies to the cartoonist. I can't make out the name and have googled until my eyes fell out
but I am unable to locate the original or the owner of this
cartoon in order to give credit.

642 Things to Write About

Some time ago, I received a book with the title, "642 Things to Write About". I was appreciative to have this as a guideline to help me formulate some creative ideas and possibly overcome writer's block. After all, what could be easier than to flick open a page, get a topic, and start to write?

I soon discovered that the ideas were a bit unusual. For example, on page number ....well, there are no page numbers. Nonetheless, I could not imagine writing a story taking place in Argentina in 1932 where a teacup plays an important role. First of all, that sounded like it required a lot of research. What did I know about South America, the 30's, or china for that matter? I flicked to another page."Your favorite jeans". I don't wear jeans, hence no favorites. Actually, there was a blank rectangular box under this heading, no lines. Perhaps I was supposed to draw a picture? I put the book away and didn't look at it again until yesterday.

As I revisited this book, I wondered. Why did I think the ideas were odd back then? They suddenly looked like fun things to write about. The only drawback was that the spaces were a bit small and my handwriting is very large. I suppose that's what computers and blogs are for.

My first effort was in reponse to this offering.

"Think about a person you despise. Now describe all the wonderful things about that person."

I don't really despise anyone I thought. I broadened the spectrum. Perhaps I should go for dislike, disapprove, or disrespect. It didn't take long. Here is my description. I'm not certain it's all that wonderful, but it's the best I could do. Can you guess who it is?

- is a Canadian
- knows how hold onto a high paying job and has for many years
- is able to spell "prorogue"
- has influential, powerful, and wealthy friends
- knows the Bush family of the U.S.
- photographs well, speaks fairly clearly
- lives in a nice house in Ottawa
- has a good wardrobe
- says kind things about someone else's hair

 Now, let me flick to another page in this book and see if I can come up with a more creative writing topic for my next blog.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Today I finished the book, "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry". I began to read it yesterday. It's simple, it's short, and it's different. By the time I'd completed the story, I also found myself with a five page booklist and about half a dozen google worthy topics which I'm interested in researching further.

A friend of mine visited the World's Biggest Bookstore before it closed its doors for good last year. At that time, we shared a lengthy discussion about the future of books and bookstores in their current form. Part of this story explores that issue. In fact, The Washington Post review describes, "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" as ..."optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both."

Each chapter is given the title of a story, the date it was published, and the author's name. There's a brief comment or synopsis along with  A.J. Fikry's take on how it somehow relates to his current situation.

The novel moves quickly and spans a large amount of time, sixteen years I believe, in it's short 258 pages.  A.J. Fikry is the proprieter of a small book shop on Alice Island near Hyannis. At age 39, he is angry, anti social, and despondent over circumstances in his life. When he appears to be at his lowest point, something unusual happens. He develops an unlikely friendship with the police chief and is left with an even more incredible responsibility in his life.

I thought there was a bit of a slow start and a gap in development of characters at the beginning of the book. For a long time, I didn't feel I had enough information to visualize the protagonists as I like to do.  I couldn't think of a single friend, relative, movie star etc. that could portray these people for me as I read. I tried, but failed. Nonetheless, I read on. A few of the early situations seemed too simplistic and easily solved. Having said all that, I like to think that I'm a great predictor of potential outcomes. For some reason, this book caught me by surprise as I was slammed with a gasp-worthy event at the end of part one. It made sense, but for some reason, I didn't see it coming.

As a summary, I can say that this book is at times depressing, humorous, and thought provoking. It's not always predictable. The solutions are not always happy, but satisfactory. There are many references to both adult and young adult literature. I would recommend it for a quick, light read. Having said all that, since it's a New York Times best seller, can a movie be far behind? I hope that's the case because I'd really like to see which actors would be portraying the characters that I can't seem to envision.

Fifty Shades of Incredible Marketing

I began writing this blog some time ago and debated whether or not to finish it. Even though I decided that this particular book deserves no further recognition, I will share my opinion.

I got tired of hearing comments and innuendos about the book "Fifty Shades of Grey". Even the ladies of "The View" kept mentioning it on their t.v. show. Finally, I picked it up to see what the hype was all about. This action has now become one of the regrets of my life.

I'm not a literary snob. I like to relax with the occasional easy read fiction just like the next person. If  is a well told story, contains a good a mystery, a romance or is written with some humour, I can enjoy it. When the book "Fifty Shades Of Grey" received notoriety, I glanced at it and ignored it. A number of people mentioned the book and said it was a "must" read. They assured me that it was simply an erotic romance. I saw it disappearing from store shelves everywhere. I heard there was a movie in the works. What harm could there be? After all, I have enjoyed most books recommended to me.

Essentially this story is about a college graduate who is so smitten with a wealthy businessman that she immediately signs a contract agreeing to a relationship involving all his aberrant sexual preferences.

This novel is some kind of fantasy penned by a woman who made big money writing offensive, demeaning trash about a sick, manipulative, good looking billionaire who buys whatever he wants. At no time did I like this male character. He was never developed into anything more than a sicko psycho with some dark, mysterious past. I don't care about his past. My biggest problem, aside from the boredom factor, is that this might appeal to youngish women who don't need to be reading this sort of thing and accepting it as normal human behaviour.

I put the book down several times and finally gave up after suffering through just over half. As if the subject matter and attempt at a story line weren't bad enough, the writing is abhorrent. If I ever hear the phrases, "you must eat", "stop biting that lip", "pants hanging from hips" ,"down there" or "wicked smile" again, I'm fairly certain I will be forced to gauge out and stomp on my own cochleae.  It occurred to me to count how many times these phrases were repetitively used, but frankly, I didn't want to waste any more time.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" has obviously appealed to a lot of people. It's been on the best seller list for half a year. It accounts for one in five books currently sold. There are two sequels. If this is the sort of thing people enjoy, it's their prerogative.

On the other hand, I wonder how much of the excitement has been brought about by the brilliant ways the novel has been promoted. It's constantly mentioned, snickered about, joked about and written about. After all, when there are specially designed "covers" advertised to disguise a book so that "nobody knows what you're reading",wouldn't you be curious? In case you find yourself tempted, please resist. Trust me when I say, all you need to see is this youtube video by Ellen Degeneres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on3JCwnwHbU

What I Think....Book & Movie

As a child, I remember hearing things on the news. I heard the terms riots, Klu Klux Klan, civil rights, beatings and murders. I had no idea what exactly was happening, but I knew instinctively that there was something seriously wrong. I became more aware of the issues, worse in some parts of the south, as a teen. Then came the shocking assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

In my "almost" adult years, I had a doctor whose secretary had a distinctly southern accent. One day, I asked her about it. She said she and her husband had moved to Canada from the U.S. I inquired whether there was any particular reason and she responded, "My husband is black."  I looked at her quizzically wondering how this could possibly be an adequate explanation. I was still young. Eventually I learned. I realized how serious and unbelievable circumstances were during my generation.

This summer, I read the book, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. It describes life in Jackson, Mississippi during the 60's through the eyes of black maids who worked for wealthy families. I found it rivetting, insightful and disturbing. It's hard to believe that the story was rejected 60 times before it was finally published, only to become a New York Times best seller. This was different from my normal reading fare. I'm glad I picked it up and I highly recommend it.

The plot centres around several black maids who were asked by one young woman, an aspiring author and member of a group of wealthy, educated white friends, to risk their lives by telling their stories. The request was that they describe their treatment by the families for which they worked. They hesitated at first, fearing retribution. Despite their fears, one by one they came onboard with the idea.

When the movie version was to be released, I was worried. I have rarely seen a well done film version of a book. Then, I read some reviewer comments and saw previews which suggested that the story was a comedy. How could this be? How could they make light of such a serious topic? I finally went to find out for myself. I was surprised to discover that the movie was extremely well done and followed the story closely. Of course, there were liberties taken and there were omissions of details, as is necessary when shortening a lengthy novel to two viewing hours. This did not, however affect the overall content. There were humourous incidents, but the story was presented seriously. The acting was superb. It fully described the snobbishness and the manipulations of the weak by those who considered themselves superior. It showed the attempts by one woman to improve her status and the struggles by a newbie to the community who just wanted to belong. Then of course, it showed the maids, their lives, their work and their child rearing expertise. It demonstrated forms of racism and abuse tolerated by the black community in order to retain their menial jobs. The maids, were in fact more down to earth, loving, understanding and competent than many of their employers.

My only criticism would be that the movie didn't fully present the frightening aspects and the danger of the meetings. The sneaking around and the lengths taken by the author and the maids to maintain secrecy were much more intense in the book than in the movie.

I am rarely interested in attending a movie twice. I would go to see this one again. The first time, I was so engrossed in the acting and the story, that I didn't get to enjoy the efforts by the filmaker to replicate life in the 60's. Part way through the film, I noticed the background details. I saw a box of the all too familiar "Breeze" laundry detergent used by my mom when I was a child. I'm certain that there are more props that I would like to see and reminisce about. It's a strange reason to go to a movie a second time, but nonetheless, I would.

I think the main message of the story is obvious. People are people. The maids wanted was what everyone wants. They wanted to improve their conditions, feel safe and make life better for their own children.