I'm bringin' foodie back...

As I've stated a few times here on the blog, I have been a bit mum about food lately due to the fact that my IBS issues seemed to have amped up over the past couple of years and I have been working to get them under better control. Plus, those food issues were compounded with my return to teaching after a year off. So not only did I have to be more diligent about my eating, but I had to do so while also navigating my way back into the classroom.

Now that summer vacation is here, I feel like it's time to sample, play, and experiment again.

This post goes to show what one week of freedom can do for a person.

Last weekend my husband and I drove to Traverse City, Michigan for our anniversary. Thanks to people like Mario Batali, this city has been put on the map as a foodie destination. While we were there, we ate at a Batali-recommended restaurant called The Cooks' House, which feels much like the name describes. It is an intimate space that gives you the impression of having dinner at a friends' house rather than a restaurant, with seating for about 25 people. The food is locally-sourced and embraces the seasons, with a blackboard in the dining room displaying the names of the purveyors they patronize.

If I'm being completely honest though, most of the dishes we actually ordered at The Cooks' House did not bowl me over. The salad I ordered tasted like I just walked into the woods and started eating

Dinner at The Cooks' House: They spoiled us with their amuse bouche

plants. There was barely any dressing and there were no complementary flavors to try to balance the bitterness of the wild, foraged greens. The main dishes were all heavy and meat-centric, with no vegetarian option. The one saving grace was the appetizer of pasta carbonara we ordered, which was not only delicious and perfectly seasoned, but we could clearly tell the pasta was house-made.

While I wasn't a fan of most of our meal, what I thought The Cooks' House did amazingly well was the little amuse bouche they bring between courses. Their after dinner amuse bouche was a variety of little nibbles, but the one thing that I went gaga over was the kettle corn with ground fennel. I loved it so much that our waiter graciously brought me over a second helping.

So if I could offer The Cooks' House one suggestion, it would be to put more of the little bites on their menu and don't focus so much on the heavy meat dishes and flavorless salads.



*~*~*~*~*


Upon our return home from our anniversary weekend, my husband and I needed to go grocery shopping, but with barely any food in the house, we decided to eat out for lunch. We drove to downtown Ann Arbor since it's near the Whole Foods where we shop, and we ate a place called the

Pho and ginger tea streetside at Ginger Deli in Ann Arbor

Ginger Deli. This is where I tried pho for the first time, a Vietnamese broth and rice noodle dish. I know, I know. I shouldn't be allowed to call myself a foodie having never tried pho before, but the opportunity just never presented itself.

Having finally tried it, I now understand why it has such a cult-like discipleship. The broth! That magical broth! I don't know how to describe the beautiful balance of sweet and savory in a beef broth, but boy will I be seeking out more opportunities to have pho in the future.


*~*~*~*~*

Last night my husband and I decided to try a new restaurant in Ypsilanti called the Bona Sera Cafe. They used to be an underground supper club and turned into a brick and mortar restaurant. Overall, the experience was really positive. They have a great, funky atmosphere, as evidenced by the Elvis lamp that greets you when you walk in the door. Incidentally, the electricity went out midway through our first course, and despite this huge setback, the kitchen and waitstaff rallied and were still able to provide patrons food service.

While my husband and I weren't in love with our main entrees -- he ordered the crab mac and cheese and I ordered something called the bi bada bing, which is an Italian riff on a traditional Korean dish -- what I absolutely fell head over heels in love with was my salad and dessert.

Bona Sera Cafe: Fun and funky, with good food

I ordered the orange salad which obviously came with orange segments, it also had arugula, shaved onion, and a white balsamic vinaigrette. There's something so poetic about a perfectly executed salad and that's what this was. It was dressed to the point where you could taste the oil and vinegar but the salad wasn't dripping in it. And it was salted! Never underestimate the power of salting a salad. And this tasted like a beautifully delicate, flaky sea salt. This was the salad experience I was missing at The Cooks' House last weekend.

But let's not forget dessert. I ordered the lime tres leches cake. I am someone who will order anything on a menu if it has lime or lemon in it. I am not usually a fan of rich, heavy chocolate desserts. But I will order something light and citrusy. And the tres leches cake was everything I love in a dessert: light, citrusy, and slightly sinful. You know a tres leches cake is good when the "leche" seeps out the bottom.

Since the Bona Sera Cafe has such a fun, funky vibe and chefs who are passionate about food, I look forward to trying it again to see what their menu is like in the fall/winter. I think if they tweak a few things, they will be a hot spot in the Ann Arbor area.

Positive by Paige Rawl

If you're lucky enough to know what it's like not to be surrounded by darkness, I'm telling you, someone near you needs kindness.

Paige Rawl was born with HIV. It has always been a part of her "Normal." But one day in middle school, an offhand comment to a friend whom she was trying to comfort resulted in the entire school knowing she has HIV, something her mom wished for her daughter to keep private.

The sharing of that secret was the beginning of the end of Paige, not only because it resulted in bullying from her classmates, but also because the adults in her life, who were supposed to know better, seemed to be just a vicious.

This book is Paige's journey of trying to stay healthy while enduring endless torment at school.

Positive is a page-turning book that I couldn't put down. Paige Rawl's experience with bullying in middle school because of her HIV positive status is heart-wrenching. I couldn't help agonize of how the adults in her life wronged her so so profoundly. This would be a wonderful book to share with students about how our words and actions can leave long-lasting scars. 


Positive by Paige Rawl with Ali Benjamin
Published: August 26, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 256
Genre: Memoir
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Audiobook provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-8-15

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Last week I reviewed:

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani


I finished reading:

An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley
That settles it. I will be reading everything Lucy Knisley publishes, no questions asked. Between this book, French Milk, and Relish, I am completely smitten with her work!


I finished reading with my ears:
  
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
I have a confession to make: this is my first time reading a Sarah Dessen novel. It feels sacrilegious to say that since I'm an avid reader of YA, but they just never seemed to appeal to me for whatever reason. I'm glad I finally decided to suck it up and finally pick one up because I really enjoyed Saint Anything. It will definitely not be my last Sarah Dessen novel that's for sure.


I read one picture book last week and it was a goodie:

Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt
Cinderella, rock on with your bad self. I love the message of girl power in this futuristic version of a beloved fairy tale.


Currently reading:
 
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt 


Currently reading with my ears:
 
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman 
This book is incredibly intense. You really do experience Caden's descent into madness, especially when the narrative shifts from first to second person. 


Last week on my teaching blog:
Wherever you go, there you are 
As the school year ends, advocacy is on my mind
The universe honors love
5 things I'm celebrating today

Audiobook Review: Same Sun Here by Silas House & Neela Vaswani

Today the sun was out, and as I walked to school, I wondered if it was sunny in Kentucky, too. And then I thought to myself that it's the same sun here as it is there, and that made me feel like you're not so far away after all. 

Meena lives in New York City's Chinatown and River lives in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. On the surface, these two young people appear to have little in common, except for one thing: they were on the snail mail list for pen pals at school. So as Meena and River interact entirely through letters, they learn about each others' lives and cultures, celebrating their similarities and differences, as we watch them navigate the injustices of the world through the eyes of their wide-eyed, innocent pre-adolescence. This is one of those special books that hovers over the line between middle grade and young adult.

Told entirely in letters between two pen pals, Same Sun Here deals with heavy social justice themes with grace and sensitivity without being too heavy-handed. Candlewick graciously sent me a copy of both the book and audiobook, and while the book has some illustrations that you will miss by only listening to the audiobook, I highly recommend the audiobook anyway. Both authors narrate it and Silas House's deep southern drawl is one of the most soothing voices I have ever listened to. 

As most teachers and librarians know, reading helps build empathy, and Same Sun Here is a book that can definitely help expedite that process.


Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani
Published: February 14, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick and Brilliance Audio
Pages: 300
Audiobook Length: 5 hours, 47 minutes
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: Book and audiobook provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? 6-1-15

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

Gah! It's June already! What? Summer vacation is a mere 4 days away! #Bookaday is so close! I got a head start this weekend though by getting a lot of reading accomplished. :)


Last week I reviewed:
 
Rose Water and Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood
Solitaire by Alice Oseman


I finished reading: 

The World on a Plate: 40 Cuisines, 100 Recipes and the Stories Behind Them by Mina Holland 
Tomboy by Liz Prince 
I will be writing a review of The World on a Plate soon, which is a must-read for foodies. In Tomboy Liz Prince reminisces about her childhood and adolescence when she felt like she ever fit in anywhere because denounced all things "girly" at a young age. As a result she constantly had to defend her "being a girl" to society, as people often mistook her for a boy or a lesbian. Right off the bat, the task is thrust upon readers to examine their gender biases and expectations in this humorous and heartfelt graphic memoir. A great addition to any classroom library in grades 8 and up.


 I finished reading with my ears:

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani 
Review to come tomorrow 


Picture books worth talking about:

Emu by Claire Saxby and Graham Byrne 
Who doesn't love an love emu's inquisitive yet slightly menacing gaze? In addition to being informative, this book has evocative illustrations and beautiful writing.


The Skunk by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Patrick McDonnell
A very strange book, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Mac Barnett seems to be carving his niche in the children's lit world as the guy who writes books that leave you scratching your head, not entirely sure you "get" it, but embracing the uncertainty and coming to like it the more you think on it.  


Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Kris DiGiacomo
Born Edward Estlin Cummings, who eventually became the writer we all know as e.e. cummings, one of the most, (if not THE MOST) innovative, playful poets to ever live. This wonderful picture book biography honors that whimsical playfulness that was often found in his words.  

 Currently reading:

An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley 
I've been seeing this book on lots of people's It's Monday posts lately and since I love Lucy Knisley, I had to move it to the top of my TBR.  

Currently and still reading with my ears:
   
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
 

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

My name is Victoria Spring. I think you should know that I make up a lot of stuff in my head and then get sad about it. I like to sleep and I like to blog. I am going to die someday.

I absolutely adore Tori Spring. She's like the most likeable unlikeable protagonist I've ever encountered in a book. I say this because she tries really hard to be this misanthropic introvert, but you still can't help but love her. Right off the bat she puts you in mind of a female Holden Caulfield, which Oseman clearly foresaw readers making that comparison and even humorously addresses it at the end of the novel when Tori exasperatedly asks, "Can't any teenager be sad and, like, not be compared to that book?" 

But Oseman has written much more than the female, 21st century version of Holden Caulfield. There is a sense of plot here that, while subtle and meandering, is much more apparent in Solitaire than Catcher in the Rye. To the point where the combination of smart characters and teen-angst-filled plot make me picture this as the next big contemporary teen movie sensation. I hate to keep using John Green as the litmus test for YA literature because that is the first sign that someone doesn't know very much about YA, when they just talk about John Green all the time, but at the same time, I wouldn't hesitate to hand this book to a John Green fan. I would also recommend this book to fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which has also been compared to Catcher in the Rye.

And now I'm suddenly depressed to discover Alice Oseman is only 20 years-old... That moment you realize the author of this book was born the year you started high school ...And suddenly you wonder what it is you've been doing with your life.

The realization of Oseman's age did not come to me until midway through listening to the audiobook (which has a fabulous narrator by the way -- I highly recommend it!) and I was completely blown away. She writes like someone with much more experience and maturity, as evidenced by this hypnotizing passage toward the end of the book:

The cold has dissolved into some kind of numb ache but it barely registers and I think the tears freeze on my cheeks and I don't really know what happens but through some kind of planetary force, I find myself holding him like I don't know what else to do and he's holding me like I'm sinking and I think he kisses the top of my head but it might just be a snowflake but he definitely whispers "Nobody cries alone" or it might've been "Nobody dies alone" and I feel that as long as I stay here then there might be some kind of tiny chance that there is something remotely good in this world and the last thing I remember thinking before I pass out from the cold is that if I were to die, I would rather be a ghost than go to heaven.

Furthermore, I can't wait to share this passage with my students as an example of an effective, intentional run-on sentence.

Make no mistake, I wholeheartedly believe that Solitaire is a genius work of young adult fiction. It is both literary and accessible. It's a book that I think hasn't been given enough marketing buzz, and so I will be personally recommending it to anyone who likes a good angsty teen drama with a whip-smart, self-deprecating protagonist.


Solitaire by Alice Oseman
Published: March 30, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 368
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Audiobook provided by publisher, book purchased

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Cookbook Review: Rose Water and Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood

Maureen Abood grew up in a Lebanese family where food was the center of so many wonderful memories and stories. Rose Water and Orange Blossoms is a beautiful tribute to the food and stories from her childhood, and also of a culture she longed to know more about as she grew into adulthood.

Clean, vibrant photographs pair beautifully with mouth-watering and slightly exotic recipes such as roasted red bell pepper and walnut dip, cardamom green tea, and pomegranate rose sorbet. 

Overall, this is a gorgeous and accessible cookbook for the home cook. My main gripe with it is that the food photography, while stunning and mouth watering, does not come even close to looking like how the dish turns out in your own kitchen. I made both the roasted red bell pepper and walnut dip as well as the pomegranate and rose sorbet, and as you can see here, the colors don't come even close to the photographs in the book.


This is but a minor gripe because both dishes tasted delicious (though I thought the sorbet called for too much sugar -- the sweetness overpowered the floral taste of the rose water), but I don't want a cookbook to be so beautiful that it comes off like a song that's been overproduced, which is what people might interpret the photographs to be.

Overall I really enjoyed Rose Water and Orange Blossoms and look forward to discovering more of Maureen Abood's work in the future. As she is a fellow a Michigander, I hope she'll eventually do an event at one of my local bookstore hangouts so I can hear more of her family stories.


Rose Water and Orange Blossoms: Fresh and Classic Recipes from My Lebanese Kitchen by Maureen Abood
Published: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Running Press
Pages: 256
Genre: Cookery
Audience: Adults
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.