Letters From Our Messy Desk

The blog of Blue Willow Bookshop

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Joy the Baker's Delicious Cornmeal Waffles

I've followed Joy The Baker for years.  I love her recipes, her ongoing love story with New Orleans (where I was married!), and her insightful thoughts about cooking.  Whether she is baking a cake that I would never attempt because I'm too scared or talking about yummy cookies that I will make, she always makes me feel that one should be adventurous in the kitchen and in life.  

Her latest cookbook, Over Easy, is about my favorite meal of the week.  When I wake up on Sunday I feel like there is so much time ahead of me to read, relax, kick some things around the house.  Now that isn't really true, but one dip into her pages and you will be contemplating how to cook your eggs and what should go with them.

This past Sunday while Farmer Greg was cooking up the bacon and the farm eggs that he bought at Gramen Farms, I whipped up the easy peasy cornmeal waffles to go with them.  Being the carefree empty nesters that we are, we had leftovers that were perfect the next day popped in the toaster.

And to show that great minds think alike, my other favorite blog, Smitten Kitchen, featured the same recipe from Joy’s new cookbook on Sunday.

Come meet Joy next Thursday, April 6 and share the love.  And maybe, just maybe, Smitten Kitchen will come back with her new book in the fall.

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Greg and I lived in Bakersfield, CA for 5 years in the early 90′s.  There were a number of Basque restaurants that had been stalwarts in the community for years.  The Basque settled in the area because of the hilly terrain which was similar to home.  There was a number of sheep herds around the outskirts (although you had to drive slow to see them!).  We enjoyed our evenings out at the communal tables of Woolgrowers and Noriega Hotel.  The beans and salads were scrumptious.  I was never brave enough at the time to try the tongue.  Maybe I could today.

Alex Raij writes about her love affair with the Basque cuisine in The Basque Book from Ten Speed Press.  She calls it A Love Letter In Recipes.  After falling in love with a fellow chef from the region, she falls for the people, the food, and the scenery.

The chapter and recipes that Greg and I have enjoyed cooking from is Huevos.  You can find fresh eggs daily throughout the region.  Raij tells us to cook them pretty much any way you like them.  We cobbled together a few recipes to make this for dinner one night.

If you love armchair travel and easy recipes that evoke a rich ethnic heritage, you will not be disappointed.

Valerie

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Poetry Month # 2

On The Watauga

On the bank of a river

he saw a tall tree, one half

crimson fire from root to crown,

the other half green with leaves.

All night the firelight colored

the river red as a wound.

A full moon loomed as he walked

into the waist-deep water,

bathed and rugged by a current

flickering like a cold flame

until the stars dimmed like sparks,

the tall tree’s heat lit the sun,

and he staggered to the shore

white-eyed, blinded by Godlight.

Ron Rash (from Ron Rash Poems New and Selected) 2016

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April is Poetry Month:  #1

PETITION ON SANTORINI

Stephen Yenser

Mother of stone, Cybele,

Stone Mother, keep me low,

Resigned, involved, confusable

As to the novice eye the vine

With wild thyme and caper, close

To your chemic soil--

Ash, tuff, and pumice--twined

In on itself to stand

Up under summer wind

And to condense the sure, sheer mist

That plumps until night harvest

Fruit tanged with sulfur, pressed

Then to a salt-tinged must,

Oak barrel ready,

A bit acidic, wit-dry, heady.

Lovely, isn’t it?  This is a wine lover’s poem!

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Crumbs In Our Pages: The Fully Raw Diet by Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram

Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram, founder of FullyRaw, and friend of Blue Willow brings such joy to our lives with her vibrant, contagious fully raw vegan lifestyle.

Over the years, many of us at Blue Willow have enjoyed the bounty of her weekly boxes overflowing with organic fruit and veggie yumminess.

Kristina’s new book, The Fully Raw Diet, gently encourages a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise that can’t help but restore a vivacious glow and boundless energy to our lives. Kristina’s personal story of overcoming a chronic disease through her fully raw lifestyle inspires and invites us to experience amazing transformation and renewal.

Super Sweet Pink Smoothie, packed with energy of pineapples, strawberries, coconut water, and blood oranges, gets the day started, Kristina tells us, with “electrolytes and simple sugars to keep us fueled and smiling.”

Needing something savory in the evening, Spinach Soup promises to be, “a miracle – creamy, savory, and filling.” And indeed, it is.

The Fully Raw Diet Cookbook provides everything we need to know to embrace a fully or even partially raw lifestyle. From how to stock a pantry to meal planning strategies, Kristina shares her wealth of personal experience to ensure that we can turn our “good intentions into healthy habits.”

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Crumbs In Our Pages

Energy Bites by DK Publishing

packed with deliciousness and loaded with everything good to make your day zing, energy bites are grab and go miracles for your mouth

cranberries sweetened with apple juice, dried figs, whole almonds, a dash of maca powder – a mineral rich powder to boost vitality, sprinkled with a few hints of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg energize your morning

chick peas and sweet potatoes roll into a savory powerhouse that receive an extra kick from a few flakes of red pepper

essential ingredients and a five step formula encourage even the youngest cooks to create new taste sensations -- Energy Bites: power-packed tastiness for your mouth, energy-rich fuel to make your day beautiful!

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Friday High Five

Even though all of us dust and shelve and arrange, Barb is the one who makes our shelves sing.  She has a magic touch that puts together irresistible collections to make the books come alive.  Here are her current favorites:

Puppets - one of a kind, hand-made fun!

Even big kids love a dragon!

Last elf on our shelf - looking for a happy home!

Finger puppets bring a book to life.

We’ve got your gift in the bag!

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Crumbs In Our Pages: Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine by Lidia Bastianich

Chef and owner of four New York restaurants, author of Lidia’s, Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine, Lidia Bastianich teaches us everything we need to know to be a great Italian cook, just as Julia Child taught us how to be proficient French chefs.

Offering more than 400 recipes, Lidia shares advice, techniques and inspirations for everything from appetizers to desserts, from the easy to the ambitious.

Taught by her grandmother while growing up in what was northern Italy and now part of Yugoslavia, Lidia learned at an early age the “beauty of flavor” and the philosophy that “food is kind and generous”.

Lydia advises that combining the best ingredients with the best techniques insures culinary success; equipped with both, I decided to tackle risotto which has always been a sloppy, gloppy mess for me.

Not daring to leave the stove for even a split second meant that there was no time to even grab the camera except for this final shot, but Lidia gives all kinds of practical advice {“the bubbling sounds thicker” and “toasted rice will still look white but you can hear a clicking sound when you stir it”} that walked me through the recipe step by step. Buon Appetito! 

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Friday High Five

Hello Jennifer! She’s our go-to girl for a hearty laugh, fabulous YA book recommendations, and hilarious world travel stories.  Here are her five way cool picks!

Some Things I’ve Lost by Cybèle Young: way cool way to look at the everyday, a must for every art teacher!

The Whisper - written and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski: the magic of imagination - way cool!

Q & A - 365 Questions for a 4 Year Journal: even cooler if you fill it out!

Bibliophilia - 100 Literary Postcards: dash off a quick note and make someone smile -- way cool.

Duke in His Own Words - curated from his private archives: John Wayne...enough said.

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Crumbs In Our Pages: Brunch @ Bobby’s by Bobby Flay

I couldn’t let you go one more day without this symphony of smoky spiciness.

Merguez sausage starts the music playing.

Onions, garlic, paprika, and my new best friend, ras el hanout, harmonize and sing together.

Plum tomatoes, harissa, cilantro, and a bit of honey cradle the eggs and poach them to perfection.

A hearty piece of naan is a good idea for sopping up every spicy, mellow, smoky bite.

This neighborhood treasure trove of flavors made it all possible - even providing the merguez sausage.

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At the end of a long day goofiness

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Crumbs In Our Pages: Brunch @ Bobby’s by Bobby Flay

Can we just agree on one thing? Surely brunch is everyone’s *bestest* meal - including this darling of the kitchen...

Healthy decadence - that’s not an oxymoron, is it? Not if it’s layers of ever-so-good-for-you granola, fresh berry compote, a dollop of Greek yogurt, and just a sprinkling of caramelized turbinado sugar glistening on top for good measure. 

Nooks and crannies allow ample room for fluffy whipped butter and tangy sweet orange marmalade to play nicely together on homemade crumpets.  Once you’ve tasted dandies, you’ll never go back to the store-bought English muffins again.

With a 140 scrumptious recipes for everything brunch - including tasty beverages, savory egg dishes, sweet pastries, pillowy pancakes, Brunch @ Bobby’s guarantees to be your dog-eared, page-smeared, go-to, Sunday morning best friend.

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Blue Willow Bookshop’s     Friday High Five

For those who are counting, here is Cathy’s fifth pick...

Firefly Hollow by Alison McGhee with illustrations by Christopher Denise -- beautiful story, perfect for a read aloud!

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Blue Willow Bookshop’s     Friday High Five

Children’s Reading Specialist and Event Planner Extraordinaire Cathy is never at a loss for words about her favorite books.  Here are her much loved, passionately recommended, must-read picks.

Infinite in Between by Carolyn Mackler -- quite possibly my favorite book this year.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo -- Oceans 11 in an imaginary world.

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman -- a mystery anyone would love to solve.

Leo by Mac Barnett with pictures by Christian Robinson -- ghosts and friendship with remarkable illustrations.

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Crumbs In Our Pages: Simply Nigella

It’s no secret that the kitchen is our happy place. Food that comforts, family that gathers, bread that is broken provide necessary ingredients to bring life to our weary souls. Nigella Lawson offers pleasing recipes to create meals that speak to how we feel and what will bring us greatest joy.  Need something quick and calm? Try Shrimp and Avocado Lettuce Wraps.  Feeling the need to slow down and breathe deeply?  Give Slow-cooker Chickpeas with Cumin and Spinach a try.  Nigella muses, “Simply Nigella is the perfect antidote to our busy lives: a calm and glad celebration of food to soothe and uplift.”

Though Nigella declares a jar of store-bought lemon curd will do, she also offers us a recipe because homemade is truly better – I love her for that grace to choose store-bought or homemade, no judgement, just joy.

Heeding her cheerful directions, “with a light hand, a glad heart, and a spatula”, I delicately spread the lemon curd on the meringue, topped with whipped cream and toasted almonds, and “served triumphantly” to appreciative friends who declared it a new favorite.

You will be everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving guest if you bring Sweet Potato and Chickpea Dip to the table.  As Nigella shares, “I adore its harvest-festival colors and sweet earthiness and, bejeweled with pomegranate seeds at the end, it is simple but resplendent.”

When there’s been a bit too much holiday in our eating, Breakfast Bars 2.0 with a medjool date puree lightly swirled into a jumble of seeds, spices, oats, and cacao nibs provide a spectacular mingling of “crunch and chew”. Mix up a batch to have on hand for when you’re hankering for a healthy somethin’ somethin’.  

Simply Nigella keeps your happy place happy with her delightful instructions and lovely musings on the simple pleasures of food. One can’t help but have a cheerful heart while cooking with Nigella.

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Friday High Five - Staff Favorites from Blue Willow Bookshop

Find your next favorite from this week’s recommendations by world traveler, voracious reader, brilliant book reviewer, Alice.

The Givenness of Things by Marilynne Robinson -- a passionate and reverent critique of modern culture.

The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra -- powerful and profound - my favorite book this year.

Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt -- quirky, hilarious, poignant, fabulously original.

Find A Way by Diana Nyad -- you’re never too old - what an inspiration!

Kitchen Matrix by Mark Bittman -- a real idea book - with so many choices.

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Crumbs In Our Pages: The Southerner’s Cookbook

Though our foodie inboxes are stuffed full of all manner of Thanksgiving recipes for friends and family gathering around our table, those same smiling, satisfied faces will soon be clamoring for another meal just hours after we’ve dried that last dish and slumped contentedly into our favorite chair.  

Not to worry, The Southerner’s Cookbook offers a freeze now, serve later breakfast treats we can offer those who don’t abide by the notion that pie for breakfast is the preferred after Thanksgiving meal.

The savory but not too spicy combination of jalapenos and onions, browned breakfast sausage, and freshly grated pepper jack cheese tuck beautifully into pillows of the tantalizing, ever so slightly sweet yeasty dough.  The dough is an especially joyful pleasure being so pliable, so forgiving – a true delight to roll out.

A honey mustard drizzle provides the proverbial icing on the cake. Oh, by the way, double the recipe.  You’ll thank me later.

The Southerner’s Cookbook brims with dishes from Maryland to Texas: BBQ sauces from North and South Carolina, Texas, and Kentucky because we all have our tried and true favorites. Shrimp and Sausage recipes abound, Country Ham with Three Gravies, a plethora of party-style recipes including Kentucky Hot Brown, Cubanos with Marinated Pork and Muffulettas with Olive- Artichoke Relish – all with stunning photographs to entice and inspire.