book review

What She Ate #2: Rosa Lewis + Southern-Style Grits Waffles

March 3, 2019 by Megan Leave a Comment

Welcome to the second feature focusing on the women within What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro. (If you missed the introduction and first feature, you can find it here.)

This time we’ll meet Rosa Lewis, a prominent English caterer. She was born in Essex in 1867, left school at the age of 12, and after starting in domestic service worked her way up to cook. Rosa had a strong Cockney accent, which she retained despite it being considered “insufferably vulgar” and offensive. Instead, it became her trademark. She commanded respect and her cooking even caught the attention of King Edward VII, which pushed her catering services into high demand.

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The Map of Salt and Stars + Pistachio Ice Cream

February 27, 2019 by Megan 2 Comments

When The Map of Salt and Stars was released last May, there was a lot of buzz around it. It’s captivating cover meant it was all over bookstagram. But, aside from judging the book by its cover, the “what” of the story sounded captivating as well. Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar weaves together two coming-of-age stories to create her novel.

The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

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The Wangs vs. the World + Sichuan Boiled Fish

February 19, 2019 by Megan Leave a Comment

Jade Chang’s debut novel The Wangs vs. the World first came to my attention a couple of years ago when I won a signed copy in a giveaway from a fellow blogger. It’s been on my shelf ever since. This year, I’m trying to do a better job of reading my shelves -- though I’m only doing an okay job due to the many new releases I just can’t stop requesting from the library -- and so recently, while waiting for some holds to come in, I decided to give this one a try.

The blurb promises hilarity, and I was looking forward to some laughs. And, in full disclosure, I thought it might contain some interesting food I could make for a post. It didn’t quite deliver on the laughs, but it certainly did make for an interesting food experience (but more on that later).

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What She Ate #1: Dorothy Wordsworth + Mini Pork Pies

February 16, 2019 by Megan 3 Comments

As a lover of food memoirs, culinary news and food in general, Laura Shapiro’s nonfiction What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories has been on my TBR since it’s release two years ago. I have been meaning to do a review-recipe series on it for far too long, and that day has finally come! This post is the first in the series, so I’ll give a brief overview of the book before diving into the first woman’s story.

As the blurb says, “everyone eats, and food touches on every aspect of our lives—social and cultural, personal and political. Yet most biographers pay little attention to people’s attitudes toward food.” Those of you who enjoy food memoirs like me know that, while food plays an important part in the storytelling, those memoirs are rarely just about food. They are about the human experience. So much insight can be drawn from not only what people eat, but how and why.

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Show Us Your Books - February 2019

February 12, 2019 by Megan 15 Comments

I’ve read a lot more books so far this year than I expected to, and I’m happy to report I’m halfway done with the Book Challenge by Erin (which I’m taking at a more normal pace than I did last time). I still haven’t read my first book for the Reading Women Challenge, but I’m hoping to remedy that with this month’s TBR.

Here’s a look at what I read over the last month and what I’m reading right now.

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Life on the Leash + Cran-Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

February 9, 2019 by Megan 1 Comment

Prior to Victoria Schade’s Life on the Leash, I’ve suffered through two 1-star dog-centric reads.* Thank goodness this light-hearted rom com of a novel has broken my mini-streak of disappointing books about dogs!

Cora is the owner of a successful dog training business in D.C. She loves filling her days with tricks, treats and training before coming home to her own loveable pup and an amazing supportive roommate. In growing her business (and smarting from a painful breakup), Cora isn’t exactly looking for love.

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