Dear Michael Pollan

Dear Michael Pollan (of Food Rules and other food introspection fame),

I was hungry enough to eat an apple.

But I chose vegan gingerbread cake with chocolate chips instead.

Love,

Tegan

Escarole: the party dress of veggies

At the grocery store the other day, escarole caught my eye. Amidst the tough-skinned cukes, the crocodile-like texture of the hearty kale, and the rubbery solidity of cabbages, escarole looked like a party dress. It was white with green edges-- like piping! It had frills! I had no idea how to cook it, but I knew I wanted to eat it.

(Crazy blogger aside: Talented people would certainly make a gorgeous dress out of escarole. Have you seen what they can do with toilet paper?)

I braised it up. We ate the whole bunch in one sitting.

How to cook party dress escarole:

Heat oil, diced garlic, and chili flakes in a pan.

Rinse your pretty escarole well. Slice into strips. (Some will be frillier than others.) It's ok if some of the stems get in there.

Add your escarole strips to the hot pan. Let it cook down for a few minutes. Your escarole will start to wilt. It won't be as spring-green. Do not be sad! It will taste better this way.

Add water, salt, a teaspoon of sugar, and some thin slivers of lemon. Turn down the heat. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

Keep peeking. Stir. Don't let it burn! Add more water if you need. Sample it. Add more of whatever you want. (Sequins? No, they don't taste good. Maybe just more pepper.)

I'm smitten with escarole. It felt like comfort food, but I'm pretty sure it had some good nutrients, even after I cooked the hell out of it.

PNBA Awards are announced!

I can finally stop keeping secrets!

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2011 Book Awards are out!

The winners are:

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr

River House by Sarahlee Lawrence

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

and a lifetime achievement award to Nancy Pearl.

What a great list, and what a fun process!

Here is the official list, with commentary:

http://www.pnba.org/2011bookawards.html

Happy New Year!

For the first time in several years, I return from the holiday shenanigans without the urgent need for self-imposed detox. I'm crediting my quasi-veganism!

While a great new year's resolution would be to add to this blog more, I'm going to go easy on myself. Writing for the store's newsletter, examiner.com, the neighborhood blog, the book, and my new pet project (shh, it's secret so far!)-- that's all keeping me pretty busy.

But I will continue to post here when I can, with food and book updates.

For your list-browsing pleasure, I do herewith include a link to my Top Ten of 2010 list:

Adult books (You know, for grown-ups! Get your mind out of the gutter!)

Teen books

Kid books

As of this post, my commentary is not yet up, but I'm sure my dedicated coworker Lil and I will get to that soon!

Vegan Thai noodles

Yum! After falling off the wagon vegan-wise (for one must eat Danish meatballs at a Danish Christmas lunch), I felt the need for something very comforting yet fresh-tasting.

Ta-da: Thai noodles!

Rice noodles, boiled

peanut oil

One onion, sliced

as much ginger root as you care to peel and dice

orange bell pepper, chopped in big pieces

grated carrots and broccoli (sold as "broccoli slaw" at Trader Joe's)

fresh cilantro

light coconut milk

juice of half a lime

a sprinkle of salt

spicy dried chilis (optional)

Cook the onion, ginger and bell pepper until they just start to get soft. Add about 2/3 of the can of coconut milk (add it all if you're not still reeling from all the fat in the butter you ate on Danish bread or if you're just really up for coconut) and the chilis. Simmer. Add as much broccoli slaw as you want, lime juice, and cilantro. Salt to taste.

Use the sauce to cover your rice noodles. Top with chopped peanuts if you have them. Eat with chopsticks if it feels right.

Serve with cleansing green tea for a real pick-me up!

Why so quiet?

Yes, it's been a while, but I blame my non-blogging behavior on my bad secret-keeping skills. This year I served on the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award committee, and while I was reading the oodles of books nominated, I didn't feel right blogging because I was afraid I'd let something slip about the award.

The awards are given in January, but I can breathe easier-- and blog!-- because the shortlist has been revealed. Phew-- now I can just direct you to our shortlist announcement and stop worrying.

I think I can also tell you that my write-ups were used for the committee comments for The Atlas of Love, Shell Games, and What We Are. I loved many other books on the list, but fellow committee members beat me to the recommendations on those. (There's also one I hated, but I'm trying to take a page out of Nancy Pearl's book and never put anything mean about a book in writing, so that title will stay my dirty little secret.)

Another reason I've been quiet on the blogging front is that book writing and agent-seeking have been on the front burner. Oh, and this little thing in retail we like to call The Christmas Season has also been taking some time.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope to make the blog worth bookmarking now that I'm over my secrecy anxieties.

The Memory Bank

The Memory Bank by Carolyn Coman, illustrated by Rob Shepperson

This is a magical, wondrous book for middle readers.

Like Hugo Cabret, some of the story is told through striking full-page illustrations. The pictures heartrendingly depict the tender love of Hope for her little sister Honey and both girls’ despair when their “truly awful” parents abandon Honey by the side of the road after she gets messy and laughs one too many times. Lyrical words (with sophisticated vocabulary) tell how Hope gets banished to the garage and gives into her sorrow by sleeping her life away so she can be closer to Honey in her dreams. Before things get too distressing, Hope is collected by a good-hearted, big man who is in charge of pick-ups and deliveries for the mysterious World Wide Memory Bank (WWMB). Suddenly Hope is surrounded by adults kinder than any she’s known, and by a world more fascinating than anything she ever dreamed.

As Hope explores the vault of dreams, the nursery for first memories, and the extraordinary safe deposit boxes for Eternal Memories, her awe doesn’t overpower her determination to find her sister. Her dreams (shown in pictures) focus on Honey, while illustrated segments wordlessly reveal Honey’s frolics with a rollicking band of wild children and a loving, carefree woman leading the gang.

The plot allows Hope to be a hero and a child: innocent, brave, and finally, safe and loved. I would have read and reread this book as a kid; something about it reminds me of Momo by Michael Ende. It is appropriate for a read-aloud to younger listeners (as young as kindergarten), but will be treasured and enjoyed by imaginative readers throughout their elementary years-- and maybe rediscovered with a gasp of wonder much later in life. This is definitely one to inscribe to someone special! Scholastic gave me a free advance reader's copy, but I'm buying myself a hardcover because I love it so much.