Lessons In Chemistry Round-up

Welcome the the recap of recipes posted for Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.  This novel was my pick for the April/May edition of Cook the Books.  

Image from Barnes & Noble.

To recap the novel, Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant and beautiful chemist in the 1960s* and has to fight for the right to pursue her career and passion.  Instead of a lab, she finds herself in a television studio hosting Supper at Six.  There she doles out mini-chemistry lessons and challenges children to help their mothers.   While the book tackles some heavy themes of sexism, sexual harassment and abuse, and domestic violence, it also has a fantastical feel.  Garmus creates not only strong female characters (in Zott, her friend Harriet, and even her one time nemesis, Miss Frask), but also showcases an empathetic dog and a genius 5-year-old.  There's a lot going on in this novel.  

Wendy was first to post and was prompted to make a casserole, a staple of the 1960s kitchen. 

Casseroles were very high in popularity during the 60's and Elizabeth made many of them on her show.  However, she did not use all those convenience foods that were so popular during this time much to the chagrin of her producers who were looking to woo sponsors.

Her Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole forgoes the canned soup and uses a homemade cream sauce.  

Next up was Amy's Cooking Adventures.   Amy took the whole chemistry thing seriously and created her own popping boba (or more specifically, she focused on spherification).

While Amy was prepared to not like the book and even went as far to say, "I mentally gird myself for a preachy, self congratulatory book," she did find it enjoyable.    Instead of a preachy book, Amy viewed the quirky Elizabeth as working to change the status quo by just authentically being herself (which encourages those around her to emulate her).    She rated the book 4 out of 5 stars.  Her boba experiment looks like it was a success!

Delaware Girl Eats posted something savory:  Goat Cheese Muffins with Rosemary.  Her recipe also features chives and is yogurt based.  LOVE.  Usually Cathy will morph a family recipe and make it fit the theme.    Instead, she branched out.

In the book, a reviewer says about her program Supper at Six, ”it’s a 30 minute, five day a week lesson in life.  And not in who we are or what we’re made of, but rather who we are capable of becoming”.  I liked the “becoming” part because clearly Elizabeth became someone she didn’t start out to be. 

So, in translating that to my cooking I chose a recipe I had never made before to prepare for a neighborhood gathering.

 Simona of briciole was up next with a Onion and Fava Bean Soup.  Simona doubts that Elizabeth would have featured this recipe on Supper at Six, but if she had "she could have explained to her audience about favism4 (favismo) a severe reaction to consumption of fava beans that occurs in people affected by deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and could have expanded on the role enzymes play in chemical reactions. Once diagnosed, people affected by the genetic condition avoid ingesting fava beans."

I can totally envision Elizabeth giving this lesson.  

Claudia from Honey from Rock featured a couple of different experiments of her own.    One was for Bursting Bubbles (similar to Amy's experiment).   

Claudia is also working on extracting coconut oil.  

We have lots of coconuts here, which I'm sad to admit, have mostly just been dropping to the ground.  Opening and preparing them is a lot of work.  Somewhat like cacao, but with chocolate we have made the time and extended the energy!  So, upon engaging a bit of help (gardener and reluctant Bob) we have begun that oil project.

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen made a delicious sounding and inventive Artichoke Risotto.  

Deb gushed about the book:

I really loved this novel, it's a charming and smartly written book and a debut novel which is hard to believe, it's so good. I loved Elizabeth Zott, she is just quirky enough of a character to be endearing without overdoing it. Intelligent, strong, funny and dealing with so much making her way as a chemist and a woman in the 1950-60s. The supporting characters were fun--my absolute favorite was Six-Thirty. I could keep talking about the book, it will go down as one of my favorites for the year, but it's been a long day and really, you should just go read it (or listen to it) if you haven't already. I am also in half excitement, half fear that Apple TV+ will be doing the series but the end of the audiobook was an interview with the author and she seems to think it's in good hands, so, fingers crossed... 

I focused on CH₃COOH  which is how Elizabeth refers to vinegar.   While I didn't make my own vinegar, I shared some tips for infusing vinegar and a recipe for a Spicy Italian version.   

I loved the novel and here's my summation:

This is a rambling tale about love, loss, death, extreme sexism, female empowerment, single motherhood, geniuses, the power of friendship, second (and third) chances, and dog love. I know that sounds like a lot, but Garmus makes it work. I’m not sure another author could have tackled the issues, created the quirky characters, AND have it all come together in a totally readable tale. You have no idea where the story is going but when you get to the end, you say, “Yes.  I see. That worked.”

Thanks to all that read along.

*I'm a bit confused about the time setting of this novel.  The book blurbs say the 60s.  Some searches on the "interweb" say the 50s.   I read that the television series will be set in the 1950s.  Regardless, it was a different time and place (for most things)....

I've already started the June/July edition,  Food Americana by David Page (May 2021).   Simona (briciole) is hosting.   Look for her formal announcement soon!

Cheers! 

Debra
Eliot's Eats

April/May Selection: Lessons in Chemistry

I'm anxious to dive into Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel  by Bonnie Garmus, the April/May selection here at Cook the Books.  I've had this book for almost a year and a half but have only cracked the first few pages.   I liked what I read but other commitments have gotten in the way.   I'll be diving in with the rest of the CTB members.

Image from Barnes & Noble.

About the book:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show. • LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY COMING FALL 2023 TO APPLE TV+

This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” (The New York Times Book Review) and “witty, sometimes hilarious...the Catch-22 of early feminism.” (Stephen King, via Twitter)

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

I can't wait to get to the meat of this novel and I cannot wait to see what some of the more adventurous and creative members will cook up.  (No names, but you know who I mean.)  :)

Drop a line in the chat on this post with your link when you post.  Deadline for posting is May 31, 2023.    

Happy reading!

Debra

Eliot's Eats

The Kitchen Front: A Roundup

We certainly had a most enlightening and delightful read with this book, both from a culinary perspective as well as the cultural one.  And, from everyone participating, there was a good representation of period sensitive meals, as we put ourselves into the shoes of those living through the rationing and shortages of WWII. Thank you all for jumping in and taking part in this round.  Just snippets here to lead into the main events.  Please visit everyone's posts and check out the full stories by clicking onto their links.

 Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, came in first with her Mashed Potato Dinner Rolls, which immediately went on my To Make list!  She notes, "This historical fiction novel looked at World War II from a totally different perspective and I enjoyed it very much. When I was making these dinner rolls, using leftovers from the night before, I thought they would have made a perfect recipe to share during the broadcast."  Not to mention sharing with all of us!

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures arrived next and brought us a very tempting supper of Chicken Cacciatore, which was likely a daring dish for WWII English families, though in the book, it came courtesy of an Italian POW.  Amy said; "This was a great take on WWII from the perspective of ordinary women who needed to survive on the home front, especially in the kitchen with food rationing in place... I always love it when novels include recipes! It’s a great way to focus culinary inspiration. The recipes in the novel appeared to take WWII rationing into account."

Simona, the author of the blog, Briciole brought us a very unusual dish, Red Beet Pakhali, made of beets and walnuts with a piquant mix of spices. She mentioned that "The book includes the competition recipes and a few others. It is interesting to read the alternatives people devised for ingredients that were in short supply, like sugar...  Red beets are mentioned several times in the book using their British name, beetroots. Audrey grows them in her garden and they are featured in a couple of the recipes provided in the book. I don't grow them, but like to get them at the farmers market." Alternative sweets from the plant world!

Next came Camilla of Culinary Cam, bringing us Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Love it!  Just about my favorite soup! As Cam notes, "Contestants needed to create an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert using their ration books and things that they can easily forage or find. While the food is both interesting and awful - I mean, think cake without sugar or eggs. Ugh. - it's the contestants and their relationships that are the star of this book." So true, though we don't necessarily relate to some of the food, we do to the people!

Cathy from Delaware Girl Eats also prepared that fabulous stew, Chicken Cacciatore.  Oh boy! I want some like right now! As she recounts her inspiration, "In the book,.... The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan this dish plays an ongoing role. One of the leading characters, Nell, is taught to make it by the Italian POW Paolo who is among prisoners near the estate where Nell lives. For him the dish is a loving preparation and he becomes her love interest. She prepares it for the cooking contest which is central to the book." Cathy says the recipe she gives "isn’t exactly his but an adaptation based on my own preparation."

 

Next to arrive at The Kitchen Front was Marge, The Intrepid Reader and Baker, bringing her version of Gwendoline's Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake.  I like her comment that she ended up sticking in her swim lane!  Desserts!  Marge remarked that, "I enjoyed watching the relationships between the women evolve; and another highlight for me was the fact that there really was a show called The Kitchen Front on the radio in WWII, and there really were cooking competitions which were designed to help lift morale." 

Debra from Eliot's Eats brought us dessert too, an Eggless Honey-Apple Cake!  Can one ever have too many desserts on hand?  She said "I enjoyed the dynamics between the four characters (or five if you count Mrs. Quince). This is a fun and light read and I enjoyed seeing them find friendship, hope and success in the kitchen during dire times in England."

 Lastly, Claudia of Honey from Rock, moi, came to the festivities with Audrey's Cornish Pasties.  Helped out with some of our wild caught pig!  I truly loved this novel, and became immersed in that World War II period, putting myself in the shoes of those who had to make do in war time, with rations, foraging and bartering. 

I believe that's it folks, with all posts in and accounted for.  Deb of Kahakai Kitchen was unable to join us for this round, and our prayers and best wishes go out to her in all that she's been going through, health wise, loss of her dear kitty companion and with a job changeover to top it all!  Take heart Deb! Things can only improve!

Watch for our upcoming selection announcement.  For the April / May 2023 edition, Debra (Eliot's Eats) has chosen Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (April 2022). I hope you all will join us for that reading round.

February/March Selection: The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Well, just a tad under the wire, like everything else in my life at the moment, here is our Cook the Books Club February-March selection, Jennifer Ryan's The Kitchen Front.  Her previous books have been truly delightful, and when I caught up with this one last year it immediately stood out as being perfect for our Cook the Books group. During World War II the stressful times at home called up food innovation and creativity from resourceful women and men too.

From the publishers

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest—and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

For a young widow, it’s a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. For a kitchen maid, it’s a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For a lady of the manor, it’s a chance to escape her wealthy husband’s increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it’s a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.

These four women are giving the competition their all—even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together only serve to break it apart?

This novel is an inspiring one for sure, and with lots of retro food ideas that translate into our own times.  I'm looking forward to what meals everyone comes up with.  I loved Ryan's book and hopefully you all will enjoy it as well.  

If you are new to Cook the Books, what we do is read the current selection, then cook something inspired by the book and post it with our thoughts.  You can check out our Information page here.  Deadline for contributing your post is Friday, March 31, 2023.  Please comment with a link to your post when complete.

Aloha,
Claudia, Honey From Rock

Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies: The Roundup

Thanks to everyone who cooked along with Cecily, Kate and us this round of Cook the Books! It's time to roundup the entries inspired by Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies by Vicky Zimmerman. I think most of us enjoyed the book, and I certainly enjoyed all of the delicious food it inspired. Get your drool cloths ready, because here we go!

First up is Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm found the book  "a delightful novel about accepting yourself, taking care of yourself and believing in yourself." Kudos to Wendy for joining us this month as she finished the book in the hospital after being hit by a car on a walk. She says, "I finished this book during that stint in the hospital.  When I returned home to continue my rehabilitation, my husband who had taken over all the household duties, was the perfect caregiver of all my needs, including meals. ... One night he made these chili lime chicken skewers, steamed rice and stir fry vegetables.  It was a delicious dinner and I thought that, if I were Miss Cecily, I would add it to my cookbook as "A Meal to Serve When Someone Comes Home from the Hospital After Being Smashed by a Truck."

Next was Camilla of Culinary Cam who stoped reading the book soon after starting, annoyed by Kate. She says, ..."Then, when I saw it pop back up in my calendar to post about the book, I picked it up again. And I'm glad I persisted, but because it ended up being a delightful read about friendship. And the recipes were quite inspiring!" For her dish Camilla says, "I read more about this new-to-me dish called Sole Véronique. Oh, and before anyone screams that this isn't a traditional Sole Véronique, I know. It's my take on the recipe with what I had on-hand.I will admit it's a rare evening when all three of my food critics (that's husband and two boys) agree that a dish is fantastic. This was one of those dishes. But you really can't go wrong with fresh fish, butter, cream, herbs, and roasted grapes! "

Cathy of Delaware Girl Eats said, 'I especially enjoyed the excerpts from the Food for Thought book such as “A cookbook should be equally at home on the kitchen shelf as the bedside table.  This cookbook was written not for those heroic housewives who, having produced a cordon bleu dinner for twenty, emerge from their kitchens triumphant.  I address, rather, the more easily dismayed to whom a gastronomic occasion is a challenge and a dilemma.”" And it inspired her Cheesy Baked Pasta Casserole, "This passage spurred thoughts of what I could make for the kids and was a great lead-in for a simple dinner of roasted asparagus and a pasta casserole laden with mushrooms. As it turned out, they enjoyed the meal so much that they all took “to go” bags home with them.Yea for grandma! Hope you enjoy too."

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures said, "Cecily's book and recipes within are definitely the highlight of the story. In the afterward, we find that Cecily inspired by the author's own grandmother and the the (out of print) cookbook did exist. I have to wonder what the real Cecily's family thinks about this since the author admits that book Cecily is far meaner than her real life counterpart. I really wish I could get my hands on the real cookbook and that seems like it would be a worthwhile read!" For her dish Amy says, "I had several recipes marked to try, but decided to stretch myself with Potatoes Pave, which sounded fancy and delicious. I tried the recipe a couple months back and failed epically... I almost left it at that and posted my failure (by this time, the book was back at the library, so I didn’t have a back up plan for something to make). ...And yet…I just couldn’t let that failure sit and decided to give it another shot and I’m so glad I did. ...the potatoes were great! They reminded me of hashbrowns - which are always a hit in this house!"

Co-Host Debra of Eliot's Eats said, "I was a bit skeptical from the title (and I do think an alternate title would have been better) but I loved this novel. It’s a foodie book, sort of a realistic romance (meaning it’s not sappy) and a tale of female friendship that spans generations." For her book-inspired dish Debra said, "I loved how Cecily titled her menu selections and one night I was just inspired (or actually not so much). In a total homage to Cecily and partially inspired by Kate’s “Pasta on Pasta” meal, I present the following. “When there’s no protein in the house and you’re not going to the store yet you don’t want to make plain spaghetti with red sauce (and you have mushrooms to use)” Her Tomato Two-Times Easy Pasta w/ Mushrooms turned out well, "Delicious and easy. The toasted almonds just adds the right amount of crunchiness. The basil adds the right freshness."

Co-Host Simona of briciole said, "The story shines a light on the importance of mentors in one's life. Miss Cecily is not an easy one, but Kate perseveres, understanding that the elderly woman's sometimes sharp words come from a place of affection and wisdom." For her dish Simona says that ... "Kate could prepare this Avocado Salad for Ben whom in the story she scolds for buying store-bought guacamole instead of preparing it fresh. The salad was inspired by the avocado salsa cruda recipe in The Latin Table by Isabel Cruz. The main ingredient change I made is the use of arugula (rucola) instead of cilantro (coriandolo)."

Co-Host Claudia of Honey From Rock deserves kudos for posting while still recovering from a bad fall, says, "I for one was in complete sympathy with the grumpy old lady, Miss Cecily. After a bad fall in early November, spending the last few months in recovery and not able to get around as before, sob, sob. Well, I'm back at my computer at least, which is also acting wonky. And, at the absolute deadline for the book post. On the plus side, Bob has been stalwart throughout, my chauffeur and really big help and companion, as well as a great sous chef for the relatively simple meals we put together." For her dish Claudia says, "Kate, for her newly inaugurated Supper Club offers two pastas, against all tradition: tagliarini with crab, followed by pappardelle with cream, pancetta and new season's asparagus. With, Prosecco served for all. As it turns out, the grocer didn't have enough asparagus, so she subbed in green peas. There you have it. ... I was inspired to put a pasta dish together with the fresh green pea pods we had picked up from the market.Nothing too fussy, but I think in sync with the book. Especially with a nice glass of Prosecco. Meal For a Recovering Invalid and Her Sous Chef. He's very good at chopping things and stirring!"

Finally, at Kahakai Kitchen, I started out unsure of my book pick because I wasn't a fan of either Kate or Cecily, but they both won me over and I enjoyed the book --especially the recipe titles from the cookbook. Having another not-so-great couple of months with health flareups and crazy work schedule, I went for a Quick & Easy Shrimp Scampi Pasta, inspired by the fried scampi Kate cooks for the jerky Nick and the pastas Kate cooks for her pop-up dinner party. Informally this dish could be called:A Quick But Indulgent Dinner When You are Tired as Hell. I enjoyed it in a bowl with chopsticks, consumed on the couch after work while binging a new tv show. I highly recommend both the pasta and the show. 

I think I have posted all of the tasty entries for this round, but please let me know if I missed anyone. 

I will now turn things over to Claudia of Honey From Rock with our February/March selection, The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. 

Happy Reading and Cooking!

Aloha, 

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen