TOP TEN TUESDAY: Food in Books

The topic this week is Food in Books. It could be cookbooks, a particularly good food in a book, or a book with food or cooking in it. I've gone for a mishmash of all the ideas - some nonfiction books about eating, books with caterers/cooks as main characters, and actual cookbooks. Check out The Broke and the Bookish for a link of all the lists, and for future topics.

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker

I listened to this in the last few months - great, interesting read looking at the science and development of food technology.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver and her family decide to live off their land for one year, eating and producing their own food in season. Not possible for most people, but a very interesting experiment.

Pomegranage Soup and Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran

I loved these two books about Iranian sisters who move to Ireland and open a bakery. Just wonderful, a very underrated and little known book. Mehran died at age 36 in 2015.

The Best of the Best by the Best of Bridge girls

Way back in 1976, a group of friends in Calgary played bridge together and the food each evening became the focal point. They published their first book, The Best of Bridge, and then went on to publish at least six main cookbooks. This one, The Best of the Best is exactly what it says - The Best. This is practically the only cookbook I use, finding most other things on Pinterest now. My family was in on The B of B from the start because my uncle dated one of the authors (and later another one, but that's another story)  I can count on any recipe in this book to be company ready without trying it before, and while mostly simple, there are ingredients that raise them to another level. There are at least 10-15 recipes that are good ole standbys in our house from this book.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Each chapter follows a different character who is attending a cooking school but they are all somewhat connected. It's a trope that always works for me. Good, easy read.

My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

A graphic novel memoir based in a kitchen. 

 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Strange little book, where each family member has an unusual talent that sends this book into magical realism territory. 

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen writes some of the only books with magical realism that I consistently like. Southern characters with special skills and people helping each other heal. Interesting that food and magical realism are often connected in books.

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Classic kids book about a dare gone wrong. I loved this book when I was in elementary school.

Here's a few books about cooking or food I would like to read:
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julia Powell
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart