Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain

I picked up Get Jiro! because a graphic novel written Bourdain sounded to interesting to pass up. I really enjoyed this very bloody romp.

Yes, this is the Jiro from Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Jiro has a small sushi bar in Los Angeles. Los Angles has become split by two rival food ideologies, the purists and the locavore. I loved how Bourdain skewers food culture.  People are waiting years to dine at some restaurants, Getting into fist fights to get into restaurants. The two heads of each faction acting like mafia bosses. It's all very funny and tongue in cheek. But it's also very bloody. It is like a mafia movie. Lots of feeding people to the pigs. It is very bloody and violent, definitely not for the squeamish.

I found the story interesting but the characters were a little flat. I need to read more by Bourdian. He;s funny. Others who shared their thoughts on Get Jiro!:Well Preserved, Kei's Kitchen, and iFanboy.
This is my eighth read of the Foodies Read Challenge.

Unprocessed by Megan Kimble

I added Unprocessed to my library queue because I liked the idea of eating unprocessed. Kimble did it while trying to live a normal life. She did't move to a farm or start a garden on her terrace. So I wanted to see how she did it, living her normal life. Overall, I enjoyed Unprocessed and gained some good knowledge from it.

Kimble lives in Tuscon, Az, works part time and is a student part time. As a single woman, she has some time to devote to food making (baking bread, making chocolate, making plant-based milks). She has no rush to get meals on the table other than her own hungry stomach and no need to create full meals for just herself. I did find the information she found out (how milk is made, how flour is made) illuminating and have incorporated that knowledge into how I shop and cook. Sometimes her unhurried, casual way of making food drove me nuts. I don't have that kind of time. Grr.

Also Kimble is a young white woman with an upper middle class background. In the last chapter she does the SNAP challenge. This chapter alone changed the way I saw Kimble. She acknowledged that she had never been hungry or worried that she wouldn't eat. She went grocery shopping in a lower income neighborhood and watched families struggle to decide what to buy. I know that sometimes cost comes before health and often you choose the cheapest option, not the most nutritious. I wish that more of the conversation I heard about changing our food systems wasn't from white people. I think there are a lot of other voices out there I'm not hearing. I'll continue to look.

Overall Unprocessed gave me a lot to think about. I'll  be making some changes to what I buy and attempt to buy more locally. I'll also be looking for ways to continue the conversation and include more people. Others who shared their thoughts on Unprocessed: Walking On Travels, Living Upp, and A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss.
This is my sixth read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

American Catch by Paul Greenberg

I picked up American Catch because food related non-fiction is my favorite. I especially love learning about foods I like. I eat salmon weekly, oysters when I can and shrimp often (anywhere from weekly to monthly depending on the season). I eat a lot of local oysters. But I knew the shrimp and salmon was frequently not local. I didn't know American Catch was going give me so much information that would make it hard for me to buy cheap foreign shrimp again.

Greenberg tells the stories of the New York oyster, the Louisiana brown shrimp, the Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. I knew Manhattan had stopped having oysters in their waters a long time ago but I didn't really know why. The reason its hard or impossible to find local seafood is because man is destroying much of America's coastline. Shrimp and oysters thrive in those marshy areas on the coastline. Salmon is being negatively impacted by mining. Half the time, I kept murmuring what can I do? So much has already been done. Well, I can stop buying foreign shrimp and salmon. Choose wild salmon and shrimp. Stop buying farmed fish and shrimp. It's going to be hard a lot of our American seafood goes to foreign countries because they'll pay more than we will. We get the cheaper seafood from foreign countries. The process is hurting both sides. Americans prefer farmed fish and shrimp  but it's hurting our health (farmed fish can have dangerous chemicals and it can be less nutritious) and our coastlines. And in the countries that farm our fish, the farms have a negative impact on the land and agriculture of the country. Also tell your congresspeople to vote no on bills and laws that could damage our seafood supply and destroy our coastlines.

American Catch was very informative but not in a preachy way. I would read  more of Greenberg's work. He's very knowledgeable and passionate about fish.
This is my fifth read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

July Book Tally

Birthday Gift by Courtney Milan
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
Glory: The Complete Saga by Joe Keatinge
Alex + Ada vol 2 by Jonathan Luna
Bento Box In The Heartland by Linda Furiya
Stella by Starlight by Sharon M Draper
Thor's Serpents by KL Armstrong and MA Marr
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Fables vol 4 by Bill Willingham
Armada by Ernest Cline

Not a bad month. I hit #100. Cruising right along to my goal of 150. July was a busy month so I didn't read as much. August looks just as busy so I expect to read about the same in August.

Stats:

What's In A Name Challenge: this month: 1 (Lost Lake ) YTD: 5

Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge: this month: 3 (Glory, Alex + Ada vol 2, Fables vol 4) YTD :38

Historical Reading Challenge: this month: 1 ( Birthday Gift) YTD: 11

Foodies Read Challenge this month: 1 (Bento Box In The Heartland) YTD: 4

Total: 104

Weekend Cooking: Bento Box in The Heartland by Linda Furiya

I picked up Bento Box in the Heartland for a couple of reasons. I love Japanese food and I like immigrant stories. Furiya was born in the US but her parent's immigrated from Japan. I enjoyed the stories Furiya told as well as all the recipes and food related tidbits.

Furiya grew up in small town Indiana in the mid 60's to late 70's. Her stories show the prejudice she faced and some of the hardships she and her family endured. I enjoyed the stories about her parents and how she was raised. I loved the stories about her favorite foods and how her mom prepared them. Furiya has 2 brothers but they are mostly mentioned in passing.

Furiya not only talks about the food but some of the traditions her parents brought with them. I liked the fact that her parents tried hard to bring a little bit of Japan to their small Indiana town. I also loved the relationship between her parents. Her mom was especially funny but her dad was kind.

A lot of the book talks about the foods her parents made and took them to eat. I loved her trip to Japan and all the yummy food details she includes. Japanese food wasn't easy to find in the Midwest when Furiya's parents arrived, They had to trek to big cities like Chicago to find ingredients. They would go every couple of weeks to stock up and even then her parents worried they would run out of ingredients. Her parents hoarded food and worried when they might not be able to make it an Asian grocery store.

Furiya includes a recipe at the end of each chapter. I decided to make gyoza. Her recipe is very similar to this one.

 I made a batch of just pork and cabbage and another batch with pork and kimchi (just mixed chopped up kimchi with the pork and a little sake).

First batch ready to be cooked.

The finished product!

I've never made gyoza before. It was a lot of work. I made 120 gyoza in about 4 hours. The cooking part took the longest. But they were delicious. Everyone loved them.

Furiya has another book about her time in China, How To Cook A Dragon. I might pick that one up too. Others who shared their thoughts on Bento Box In The Heartland: You Think Too Much, Shelf Life, and What Did You Eat?.

This is my fourth read for The Foodies Read Challenge.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Mid Year Book Review

So let's talk about how I'm doing in my challenges since I have less than 6 months to wrap up my challenges.

What's In A Name Challenge:

I have 2 categories left to finish: body of water and family relationship. Doing well and I think I'll finish this one soon.

Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge:

I've aleady surpassed my goal on this one. I said I'd read and review 24 and I've read and reviewed 35 so far. I'm going to try to ease off the graphic novels and read the ones I'm most interested in.

Foodies Read Challenge:

I've read three books for this challenge and I said I'd read 14-18. I have my work cut out for me!

Historical Reading Challenge:

Usually this is the challenge I finish the first but I've only read 10 for the year so far. I need to read five more to make it to my goal.

And how am I doing on my Goodreads challenge to read 150 books this year? According to Goodreads I'm ahead 17 books with 93 read for the year. Yeah, I think I'll make it.

How are you doing on your goals and challenges this year?

Weekend Cooking: Harvest: Field Notes from a Far Flung Pursuit of Real Food by Max Watman

I often joke with Tai that I'm thisclose to being on an episode of Portlandia. Especially when it comes to me and food. I've walked out of restaurants based on where their bread is made. I've asked cattle ranchers to describe the feed they supply to their animals. I've gotten into lengthy discussions about eggs. I have opinions on salts. I'm often times ridiculous in my interest of food. But I have zero interest in growing my own food. I enjoy making some things from hand when I have the time but overall I buy the majority of my food from someone else. This is where Max Watman and I differ. Max is just as passionate as me about real food but he wants to grow it himself. While Harvest was a story about being involved with food, it was more than I wanted to do.

Max lives with his wife and their son in New York. He has some land but not enough to raise a steer. He does have a garden and a pizza oven. Harvest talks about how he attempts to learn how to make his own cheese, raise his own beef, make his own hot dogs, and instill those values into his son. I enjoyed learning about the different types of cheese Max tried to make but I had no interest in running into the kitchen and trying my hand. Same goes for the making of the hot dogs. Fascinating but not something I want to try.

Overall, Harvest was an interesting read. Especially for the food obsessed. Others who shared their thoughts on Harvest: Popdust, Real Food Kitchens, and The Iron You.
This is my third read for Foodies Read Challenge.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson

I first heard of Marcus Samuelsson when we saw him on Chopped All Stars. We watch a lot of cooking shows at home but Marcus blew us away. He was an amazing chef to watch. I know that the majority of the chefs on there are better cooks than me but he was by far and away the best chef I've ever seen work. For weeks, we kept watching to see if he popped up again. Around that time, I saw he'd published a book, Yes, Chef. I kept getting it from the library but it always had to be returned before I could read it. This time, I made sure to read it. And I'm so glad I did.

Yes, Chef is more than the story about how Marcus became a chef. It's a story about a man trying to help connect people through food and make sure food history isn't lost. Yes, Chef made me like Marcus more than I already did.

Marcus was born in Ethiopia, adopted by Swedish parents, trained as a chef in Switzerland and France, and now lives in New York. I loved how Marcus was led around the world by his tongue. Not only did he want to learn cooking techniques, Marcus wanted to learn about flavors. He's always seeking to be better, to learn more. And he would learn from anyone, not just the master chefs. He had a great story about learning how to make injera from a woman in Ethiopia. In fact some of his best stories were about him, learning to make food from regular folks, not professional chefs.

Marcus' commitment to bring good food to everyone made my heart sing. Food inequality and food deserts are a huge problem for people of all ages. I would love to get more involved with the movements helping bring fresh foods to those living in poverty but it's not in the cards for me right now. I love knowing how's he's helping bring real food to those who have been without.

The only downside is that there are no recipes! Marcus speaks so lovingly about so many foods. I wish there had been recipes but I understand this was not a cookbook. This book will make you hungry and you will want to wander through Manhattan, eating or head to kitchen to play with your food. Others who share their thoughts on Yes, Chef: Pen and Fork, Write Meg, and The Well-Read Redhead.
This is my second read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

January Book Tally

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics edited by Diana Schutz
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long
Snow by Tracy Lynn
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner
The Duchess War by Courtney Milan
Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase
Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman
The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson

A good start to the year. I've read some good books and finally finished listening to Coraline on audio!

Stats:

What's In A Name Challenge: this month: 1 (Romancing The Duke) YTD: 1

Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge: this month: 3 (Noir, The Silence of Our Friends, and The Shadow Hero) YTD: 3

Historical Reading Challenge: this month: 2 ( The Duchess War, and Scandal Wears Satin) YTD: 2

Foodies Read Challenge this month: 1 (The Zen of Fish) YTD: 1

Total: 11

Weekend Cooking: The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson

I added The Zen of Fish to my library queue because I love reading about my favorite foods. I really enjoy sushi and, after reading The Zen of Fish, I feel I'll be a more confident sushi eater.

Corson follows a group of students at The California Sushi Academy. Along with their training, he intersperses the history of sushi. I enjoyed the interactions of the students and their teachers but I really liked the history. In some ways it reminded me of Salt: A World History. I could see how the student stories might get on some people's nerves but I thought they added context and helped break up the historical facts. Salt was a much more history focused story where as The Zen of Fish talked about how people influenced the way sushi developed. Corson spent a lot of time talking about how sushi came to the United States which I liked. I also enjoyed learning the differences between American sushi and Japanese sushi. I won't be nearly as surprised if I ever go to Japan and eat sushi.
Sushi rolls like California rolls developed in the States and aren't common in Japan.

The Zen of Fish also made me hungry! It was hard to read and not want to rush out and eat sushi all the time. I can't wait for our next sushi visit! Others who shared their thoughts on The Zen of Fish: Historica Canada and The Wine Dark Sea.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

This was my first read for the Foodies Read Challenge.

Foodies Read 2015

I skipped the Foodies Read challenge for the last two years (?) but I missed it so I'm back. Plus foodie books are really the only nonfiction I read. I'm looking forward to this one. I'm going for the Chef de Cuisine level (14-18 books)! I think I can do it.