Of Love and Books

I'm not normally a Valentine's Day sentimentalist, but last night I went to an event celebrating my friend Lee Woodruff's new book. More on that in another post, but she said something in her presentation that truly struck a chord with me. She was talking about her family: "Storytelling brings us together."

As she spoke, I thought of how storytelling has made our little triangle even tighter over the years. We've read many books together, but there is one series that will always make me sentimental, and that's Harry Potter.
My daughter was almost exactly the same age as Harry when the first book came out, and we decided to read it together as a family. Every night I would read a chapter, or two, or three ... until we realized how late we were staying up.
The second book came out and we again read it aloud together, and by the third in the series we had ourselves a fun family habit, and some serious bonding time. We laughed, we cried, and I even tried to do all of the voices. I must say I am quite a good Dobby.
By this time, we knew we could have gotten the books on CD (or cassette as it was then, sigh). But all three of us were having way too much fun. The books were a very good excuse to sit together and just ... enjoy.
The fourth book broke us, but in a good way. We bought the book just before a trip to Florida, and spent the nine-hour drive down, and the nine hours back, with my husband driving, my daughter leaning forward in the back seat to catch every word, and with me hissing my way through some Parseltongue (look it up).
We drove into the driveway of our home and sat there for the last 10 pages, not wanting to move until I croaked out the very last word ... the book literally killed my voice. I will always remember the three of us looking at each other as I closed the book, still bound together by Harry's spell, and thinking "I love this."
We grew too old to read them together by the fifth book, but the magic didn't stop. We stayed up late to be in the bookstore at midnight for the release of those last three books, and we saw every single movie together.
I confess that we were too impatient to wait for each other to finish reading, so I always had to buy three copies of each release, one for each of us. When we finished, we would keep one and donate the others.
There are so many memories tied up in Harry Potter for me, many that have nothing to do with the plotlines. So on this day of love, I will confess that I love a boy named Harry Potter, a storyteller name Rowling who wove a wonderful web around my family, and I love the two people who share their stories with me every day.

A Book That Changed (Family) History

We're doing something a little different with this post. Today there won't be a recipe, and this isn't your normal "review." This is going to be a more personal story about a shocker of a book ― at least it was a shocker to my family.

All my life, I've been fascinated by a woman that my family saw as a kind of godmother, a woman who became an extension of our family and who was beloved by the small community my mother grew up in.
Her name was Flora Beatrice Farnham. She led (we thought) a quiet existence. That doesn't mean she wasn't interesting...she definitely was. She had traveled all over the world, she was an accomplished painter and sculptor whose work is displayed in various buildings around the country, and she gave a lot of her wealth to the Catholic church.
She loved to inspire young girls to "make something" of themselves, and even helped my mother through college. She painted a mural in the church where my grandparents worshipped, and became a part of the rural Virginia community. And Miss Bea (that's how I always think of her) lived to be 103. I'll never forget how she took part in the Bicentennial celebrations in 1976 as if it was her own birthday party. And in a way, it was. She turned 100 that year.
Interesting? Yes. Earth shattering. Maybe not.
And then I heard the news about a book called John Otto: Trials and Trails. The author, Alan Kania, called my family to find out if the Beatrice Farnham in his book was the same woman that we knew.
When we heard his story, we thought there was no way they could be the same person. But we were wrong. So now, here is what I know about "my" Bea Farnham from his book (and trust me, we're all in shock):

1. We were always told that Miss Bea never married and that she was once engaged to a Navy lieutenant who died in the Spanish-American Civil War. But evidently, she was married to John Otto, a famous eccentric who forged trails in the wilds of Colorado, and even named Independence Monument and Liberty Cap.
2. People speculated that Otto and Bea only met once or twice before they married in 1911 at the foot of Independence Monument. He always maintained that they had known each other in California.
3. Bea was ahead of her time because she and Otto requested that the word "obey" be removed from the wedding vows, which turned out to be a sign of things to come.
4. Bea became famous around the country, with newspapers referring to her as a renowned artist and philanthropist who was disgusted with modern society and had gone West to live a more civilized and sane life.
5. One month after the wedding, Bea went back to her hometown in Massachusetts, supposedly to close up her estate and to return in six weeks. She never went back. She said later, "I tried hard to live his way, but I could not do it."
6. Within a few years, Otto finally filed for divorce and was rewarded an alimony of $2,000 from Bea. See the newspaper article below from the 1914 Pittsburgh Press. It shows an amazing photo of Bea in her Western regalia.
7. By March 1915, Bea was married again (!), this time to a cowboy and ranch foreman named Dallas Benson. Evidently, she went to the ranch to paint Western scenes and cowboys and ended up falling in love. She and Benson performed tricks on horses together, including one called "chasing the bride" that had Bea leaping from her horse and landing in Benson's arms.

Okay, at this point, I can tell you my family was beyond flabbergasted.
Many of the facts completely sync up. For example, Bea was an accomplished artist who painted many frescoes, including those that covered the walls of her small home hidden in the woods near my grandparents' house.
She was originally from Massachusetts and she did live with her mother for a time in California. One of my favorite paintings that she created was of the swallows returning to Capistrano.
And then compare the photos below. Hmmmm.
There are just too many similarities between the two Beas for them not to be (sorry) the same person.
The strange history of Bea Farnham in the book John Otto ends with her cowboy adventure. But how did she get from that ranch in Kansas to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia? When did the Catholic church become so important to her? And why was she so secretive about it all?
Those are mysteries that I'll have to dig into over the coming months. Stay tuned...

Bea Farnham and John Otto at their wedding ceremony, held at the base of Independence Monument in Colorado. Bea is wearing her grandmother's wedding dress, veil, and scarf.

Pittsburgh Press, 1914

The obituary card for "my" Bea Farnham.

Wednesday Cookbook: Family First

My Family Table

by John Besh
With the holidays just around the corner, we are being inundated with turkey recipes and celebration-themed cookbooks. But I think the most important part of Thanksgiving isn't the pumpkin pie, it's the part where everyone sits down at the same table for a meal. We do that far too rarely anymore.
That's the impetus for a new cookbook from James Beard-award-winning chef John Besh. Rather than over-preaching about fast food and the evils of sugar, though, Besh takes a different tack. He sympathizes with the fact that we are an over-scheduled society and that it can be overwhelming to plan every single meal. So his first chapter (Kitchen Focus) is about organizing your kitchen and having basic ingredients on hand at all times.
From that base, Besh builds simple and inviting recipes, with strong encouragement to have any and all members of the family involved in the cooking process. I like that philosophy.
Other chapters provide recipes for everyday occasions like Sunday Supper, School Nights, and Breakfast with My Boys, as well as chapters devoted to basics like Fried Chicken and Barbecue Basics.
We should add this to all the slow-food and local movements ― eat VERY local, like in your own house with your own cooking. (2011 - Andrew McMeel Publishing)

Review and an Author's Recipe

My thanks to Mary Alice Monroe for providing me with a recipe to accompany this book review; and for giving me the inside scoop that her new novel Beach House Memories will be published in May! Scroll to the bottom of the post for more photos.

Review: The Butterfly's Daughter

by Mary Alice Monroe
From ancient Greek and Aztec myths to Christian and pagan beliefs, the butterfly has been an enduring symbol of transition, resurrection, the passage of time, and the soul. Anyone who has ever seen a migration of butterflies, with hundreds of them in flight, has felt that sense of awe and an appreciation of the journey they are undertaking.
The Butterfly's Daughter uses those very themes ― and even a journey ― to illustrate a story of love, loss, and family.
When Luz Avila's grandmother is inspired to buy an old VW bug, Luz wonders if the older woman has lost her mind.
Things seem even more out of kilter when her grandmother insists that the two of them must journey to Mexico, following the path of the migrating monarch butterflies, and that they must arrive by Nov. 1, the Day of the Dead. Luz refuses to give in to what she considers a crazy scheme, but after her grandmother's death Luz's guilt forces her to take the trip so she can spread her grandmother's ashes at the very place where generations of Avila women, and the butterflies, have gathered in the Mexican sun. Luz is also compelled by the thought that her mother Mariposa, who the family believed died years ago, might be alive.
Along the way, Luz is joined by other women who have their own journeys to make, both emotionally and physically. Each of them is in search of a transformation of sorts, and each stop on their trip offers its own hidden lessons.
Mary Alice Monroe's work is often described as environmental fiction, but I think that almost does it a disservice. The Butterfly's Daughter is about the migration of monarchs, yes, but the true heart of the book is an examination of the spirit that ties us all, whether through friendship or family. (2011 - Gallery Books)

Author Recipe: Refritos
from Mary Alice Monroe
In a first for Read.Eat.Think., I asked the author of today's featured book to send me one of her favorite recipes, one that would fit The Butterfly's Daughter. I was so pleased that Mary Alice Monroe agreed, and sent me a recipe that she makes often for her family, friends, and her own book club in South Carolina. My test kitchen (aka my mom) reports that this is particularly delicious served in tortillas. Can't wait to make it myself!

Mary Alice Monroe

2 cups raw pinto beans
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup minced green pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon coriander (optional)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Cook beans (over-cooking is desirable). Reduce liquid. Mash beans with a potato masher. Heat oil in skillet. Add onions, garlic, and peppers and cook till translucent. Add cumin, salt, and pepper at the beginning of cooking. Add mashed beans to veggies and seasoning, and mix well. If too soupy, may be reduced over low heat at this point. Serve hot. Feeds 4-6 people.

Mary Alice Monroe releasing a butterfly in her yard.

Wednesday's Cookbook: A Perfect Fit

One Big Table 

by Molly O'Neill

"Recipes are family stories." Although that could be the tagline for this blog, it's part of the introduction to One Big Table, a massive new cookbook that is as much fun to read as it is to use for recipes.

Molly O'Neill, a former food columnist for The New York Times, was concerned that super-sized convenience foods and fast-paced living were creating a country of non-cooks. She decided to set out on the road to discover if anyone in this country still makes their own meals. In 10 years, she traveled 300,000 miles and gathered 20,000 family recipes from 25 geographic areas.

What she discovered along the way is that the recipes also represent a family narrative and the ties between us, and that they preserve our history in their ingredients. Those stories, and those connections through food and celebration, are also the entire genesis for this blog.

As O'Neill made her way across America, she discovered native foods and regional cooks, many of whom brought exotic ingredients from other lands. Each part of the country offered up its own heritage and culture in food, and each cook provided his or her own spice of life.

The 600 recipes she eventually chose for the book were often handed down from generation to generation. When she asked cooks to submit a recipe, she told them to provide the one that would embody who they are, the one recipe that they would want to pass down to their children or grandchildren. And in a nod to that recipe telling a story, One Big Table includes a biographies of the chefs, family anecdotes, and family photos.

Chapter titles offer clever twists on the usual fare, from "Nibbles, Noshes, and Tasty Little Plates" to "The Sweet Life." My fave is "Everything But the Squeal: Beef, Buffalo, Game, Lamb, Pork."
Added into the mix are quick sidebars like "A History of Bread" and "A Social History of American Stoves," along with historical factory photos, old agricultural posters, and timelines like "Significant Events in Popcorn."
I never thought I'd want to curl up with a good cookbook in the evening, much less one this hefty, but One Good Table makes it worth your while. (2010 - Simon & Schuster) 

Friday: Review and Recipe

Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

by Lisa See
I imagine it must be difficult to bring a book to life on screen. There are so many disparate readers with their own ideas of how characters should look, and what has to be included, or left out of, a story.
From what I've heard, The Help is an example of the best books on film (I'm seeing it this weekend). Unfortunately, another very good book didn't receive the same treatment. You may not want to see the new movie Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but definitely read the novel.
Author Lisa See is a deft hand at weaving together themes of history, family, women, and friendship. I first discovered her through her earlier mystery series set in 1990s urban China (see recommended books below).
I was intrigued when she changed genres with this novel, set in 19th century rural China. No matter the time period, though, See remains true to her strengths, focusing on ties that bind women around the world and throughout history.
Despite the title, Lily is the central figure in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. She is a girl whose bound feet are a symbol of her life - bound by rules, by men, by the strictures of her culture. Women of Lily's time were confined to their homes, rarely able to venture outdoors due to their inability to walk normally, their world as narrow and small as their feet. See's description of the tortuous foot-binding process - and its aftermath - is horrifying, and ironic given that men of that time believed women were the weaker sex.
Lily's new "beautifully formed feet" give her an opportunity to rise in the world, to leave her middle-class family and move into a high-status marriage. She also is offered the chance to have a laotong, or "old-same" friendship, with Snow Flower in a ceremony that binds them to each other for eternity.
As Lily and Snow Flower enter their new marriages - with Snow Flower taking a different path and marrying beneath her status - the two old-sames must communicate through nu shu, a secret phonetic code that women have used for over 1,000 years in China. Messages were sent on embroidery, paintings, fan decorations, and carvings, which gave the women a way to communicate despite their confinement. However, the very fact that the messages were coded and hidden occasionally led to confusion and misunderstandings.
As Lily gains power in her family and community, she becomes prideful and bitterly protective of her rank and status. She and Snow Flower survive war, epidemic, and loss, but it is one of those misunderstood nu shu messages that divides the laotongs, in an event that Lily comes to regret. (2005 - Random House)
Other Recommended Books by Lisa See: Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love, Flower Net, Interior, Dragon Bones

Recipe: Bok Choy Salad
Bok choy is a Chinese cabbage that was first used for medicinal purposes in ancient China, but quickly became a popular ingredient in stir-frys and salads. Like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, this recipe is a good combination of complex and simple, sweet and salty.
1 pkg. ramen noodles                                  1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup slivered almonds                             1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil                                            1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbs. soy sauce                                          
6 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups bok choy (can substitute or supplement with spinach)
Remove flavor packet from ramen and set aside for something else. Crumble dry noodles onto baking pan, and combine with seeds and almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Set aside. Combine sugar, olive oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool thoroughly. Combine greens and onions, sprinkle with dressing and toss. Add noodle/nut mixture and toss. Serve immediately. (Recipe courtesy of Anne Taylor)