Maddi's Fridge

Best friends Sofia and Maddi play at the park and commiserate over their little brothers. One day Maddi invites Sofia over. When they go to the fridge for a snack, Sofia is shocked to see that it's empty apart from a bottle of milk. After promising not to tell, Sofia attempts to share the contents of her fridge with her friend. However, she soon discovers that however healthy fish and eggs may be, they aren’t very portable in her backpack. 

How can she help her friend without revealing her secret? As it turns out, some secrets aren’t meant to be kept.  

Great for any age, Maddi’s Fridge (written by Lois Brandt and illustrated by Vin Vogel) reminds us that hunger can be present where we least expect it. But it also emphasizes the importance of true friendship. When friends are hurting, we shouldn't stay silent.   

Giving Thanks for Vegetarian Cookbooks

Since we've lived in Washington, Thanksgiving has been a meal for four. I'm still vegetarian, but I'm outnumbered three to one. This year I'm looking forward to perusing the recipes of Half Baked Harvest - a cookbook I eventually hope add to my collection - for a dish that will appeal to the pickiest among us.

This week's post harkens back to something I originally posted in November of 2008.

As Thanksgiving approaches my husband and I are faced once again with the vegetarian’s dilemma of what dish to bring to the family feast. We strive to make something that contains protein, serves more than four people, and is not too odd as to freak out the carnivores (we’re probably not going to show up with Curried Tofu Scramble). Since we’ll be traveling this year, the dish or ingredients should also be portable or simple enough to make in someone else’s kitchen. I’ve perused three vegetarian cookbooks worthy of meeting the challenge.

Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates by The Moosewood Collective

I have to add this book to my collection. It has both vegetarian and vegan menu ideas for Thanksgiving. It also contains the most recipes that appeal to traditional palates. Contenders include: Lentil Salad, Harvest Stuffed Squash, Mushroom Filo Pastries, Crisp Autumn Salad, Roasted Squash with Corn and Beans, and Gingered Carrots with Hijiki (this one probably won’t make the cut since hijiki - Japanese seaweed - has high freak-out potential).

Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

I also borrowed this one from the library, but it’s on my wish list for the pomegranate reds, grainy golden yellows, and spinach greens that pop out from the photographs accompanying the recipes. Even more impressive is these photos were taken by the cookbook’s author. Although these dishes probably wouldn’t meet any of our criteria, I’ve bookmarked the Risotto Style Barley, Otsu (a soba and tofu dish), and Hijiki and Edamame Salad. Ok, so I like hijiki.

Three Bowl Cookbook by David Scott and Tom Pappas

My Buddhist priest friend sent me this book after I returned from Japan. I received it just in time for that year’s Thanksgiving, so I made the Rutabaga, Leek, and Sweet Potato Puree. Once I procured the ingredients (I had to have the Whole Foods produce guy show me where to find both the rutabagas and leeks), I had little trouble making this tasty alternative to traditional milk and butter mashed potatoes. Other recipes I’m considering: Carrot and Parsnip Puree with Fresh Tarragon and Green Beans with Ginger, Corn, and Miso.

“I don’t dislike him, I just don’t like him. Which is quite different.”

Maybe, like me, you still haven’t seen The Movie. At this point, I’ve resigned myself to wait for it to stream. 

In the meantime, I’m revisiting some of the Downton-esque reads I created for this list compiled in October of 2015.

Atonement by Ian McEwan after multiple readings never disappoints.  Briony, age 13, misinterprets a brief scene she witnesses in the library and changes lives in ways even the impending war cannot.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton shifts between 1924 and 1999. When a modern filmmaker decides to make a movie about the Hartford sisters, she finds a primary source in former housemaid Grace Bradley. As Grace thinks back to her years in service, she remembers not the glamour of the times, but the craftily concealed deceit. 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton opens in 1913 with a four-year-old wandering aboard a ship bound for Australia. The little girl grows up with her adopted family and decade after decade discovers another part of her mysterious past. When she dies, she bestows a house to her grieving granddaughter. Tracing her grandmother’s steps, she fits the pieces together for the reader.   

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters looks at a once stately household now fallen into disrepair. The Ayres family is befriended by a lonely country doctor. He soon discovers that their ailments are hauntingly difficult to diagnose.

Music Memoirs

Maybe it’s my selective listening of podcasts lately, but I’ve come across several music memoirs that sound intriguing.

Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley by Sybil Rosen

The Beautiful Ones by Prince

Janis: Her Life and Music by Holly George-Warren

High School by Tegan and Sara Quin

What’s your favorite musician memoir or biography?