Tag: On my Shelf

On My Shelf: Season to Taste

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Season to Taste by Molly BirnbaumThe book for this month’s On My Shelf and Kitchen Reader post is Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum (this month is was my pick!). As you may guess from the title, this is not your typical culinary memoir. Food is at the core of the story, but Birnbaum isn’t here to tell us how backbreaking being a chef is, or recount her adventures eating around the world (although you get the sense that, had things turned out differently, that may have been the book she’d written). Although she is working as a restaurant dishwasher and about to begin culinary school when the book begins, that all changes when she is hit by a car and loses her sense of smell.

 

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On My Shelf: A Homemade Life, Plus Banana Bread

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A Homemade Life by Molly WizenbergHappy leap year everyone! How are you enjoying this extra day? I’m sure you are familiar with Orangette, the wildly popular food blog written by the immensely talented Molly Wizenberg. If not, well, you should be. And you should also probably read her book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table (Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009). It was the selection for this month’s Kitchen Reader Book Club (you should join!), chosen by Jules of Stone Soup and I am so glad I finally got around to reading it. Continue reading “On My Shelf: A Homemade Life, Plus Banana Bread” →

On My Shelf: Life, On the Line

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Life, on the LineThe title says it all. Life, on the Line: A Chef’s Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas is really a book in three parts. It’s the memoir of an ambitious kid who worked his way from his parents’ diner to The French Laundry to breaking out on his own. It’s also the tale of Alinea – one of the best restaurants in the country – complete with the nitty gritty details of what it really takes to build a restaurant from scratch. Finally, the book is about a personal battle with cancer, as well as a chef’s struggle with losing his sense of taste. Life, on the Line is a story of perseverance, determination, and excellence. Continue reading “On My Shelf: Life, On the Line” →

On My Shelf: Eat Where You Live

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For this month’s Kitchen Reader book club (get more info here if you’d like to join!) we had a choice of two books: either Eat Where You Live: How to Find and Enjoy Fantastic Local and Sustainable Food No Matter Where You Live by Lou Bendrick or Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly by James E McWilliams (chosen by Julie of Savvy Eats). Although I was leaning at first towards Just Food, after reading the reviews on Amazon it seemed like this book might frustrate more than enlighten me so I opted for the much shorter, lighter read, Eat Where You Live. If you are brand new to the concept of eating local and interested but intimidated by the concept, then this is a good primer. But it’s just that: a very basic primer. Continue reading “On My Shelf: Eat Where You Live” →

On My Shelf: Spiced

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I have been wanting to start this series for some time now. I’ve had the name – On My Shelf – picked out and ready. The idea was to start writing reviews and reflections on all of the cookbooks and food-related books that I read. Lord knows I read enough of them! But it took joining The Kitchen Reader to whip me into shape and actually start posting. The Kitchen Reader is an online book club made up of over 30 bloggers. Each month one member selects a food-related book to read and, rather than discussing it, everyone posts their reviews and responses at the end of the month. This is my first month and I am so excited to take part! Continue reading “On My Shelf: Spiced” →