a gypsy caravan

happy autumn trails

 

 

an everlasting meal and a giveaway

I've been enjoying a wonderful cooking book called An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler. 

From the dust jacket description:

"Reviving the inspiring message of M. F. K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf— written in 1942 during wartime shortages—An Everlasting Meal shows that cooking is the path to better eating.

Through the insightful essays in An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler issues a rallying cry to home cooks.

In chapters about boiling water, cooking eggs and beans, and summoning respectable meals from empty cupboards, Tamar weaves philosophy and instruction into approachable lessons on instinctive cooking. Tamar shows how to make the most of everything you buy, demonstrating what the world’s great chefs know: that great meals rely on the bones and peels and ends of meals before them.

She explains how to smarten up simple food and gives advice for fixing dishes gone awry. She recommends turning to neglected onions, celery, and potatoes for inexpensive meals that taste full of fresh vegetables, and cooking meat and fish resourcefully.

By wresting cooking from doctrine and doldrums, Tamar encourages readers to begin from wherever they are, with whatever they have. An Everlasting Meal is elegant testimony to the value of cooking and an empowering, indispensable tool for eaters today."

(That'd be my smudgy, olive oil covered fingerprint on the cover. :)

What I love most about this book is, that while it is most definitely a cookbook full of recipes, it is written as a series of comfortable, narrative essays. Hearing Adler's voice through her writing is similar to being taught to cook by one's mother or grandmother in a gentle, conversational, no-nonsense way.  

In the author's words, "This book contains what I know of boiling and cooking eggs.  It contains my strategies for cooking vegetables and meat, which rely on the fortuitous truth that both are best bought whole and cooked ahead, and the ways I have of making each earn its keep.  It doesn't contain "perfect" or "professional" ways to do anything, because we don't need to be professionals to cook well, any more than we need to be doctors to treat bruises and scrapes: we don't need to shop like chefs or cook like chefs; we need to shop and cook like people learning to cook, like what we are--people who are hungry."

An Everlasting Meal reminds us that much can be done with little, that many meals can be squeaked out of the stems, roots and leaves of vegetables.  For more flavor, we can add some meat and a little bit of bread. While the book teaches frugality and economy in using what is available, it does not scrimp on taste. The recipes are simple yet delicious and earthy. I made a most simple pot of boiled broccoli last night as a sidedish and it tasted so much more delicious than usual, following Tamar's suggestions. 

Because I've enjoyed this book ever so much, I'd like to give away a copy.   :)

Leave a message in the comment section to be included in the drawing.  Also, if you'd like, tell us about your favorite comfort food from your childhood (or adulthood for that matter). 

I will pull a name from the comments on Friday evening.    Thanks for visiting!

a few of my favorite things: baby rubberband wrists

a few of my favorite things: my piggy bank

It has a bit of a gypsy flair to it, don't you think? :)

a few of my favorite things

Sometimes, as I go about my days, I realize there are things around my home and life that I am fond of and that I'd like to share with you.  So I've decided to post them one at a time and share the stories behind them...sort of like an online "Show and Tell". When I was a little girl in elementary school, we had Show and Tell on Fridays.  So, in keeping with that tradition, I will post one of my favorite things each Friday.  It would be nice if you'd like to do it too.  I don't have a clue how to make a blog button or use a Mr. Linky. But if I did, it would be fun to collect all of our posts in one place so we could have Show and Tell together.  

The first thing I'd like to share with you is a photograph of my grandfather's tool and die shop.  

I think this photo was taken around 1935-1940.  The man on the far left is my paternal great- grandfather, Johann, who immigrated from what was then Austria-Hungary.  He spoke seven languages fluently and came from a family of Hungarian gypsies, hence the name of this blog. When he came to America, he founded the General Die and Tool Corporation which thrived in the Cleveland area for decades before closing in the 1960s. When my great-grandfather passed away, my grandfather, John, took over the business.  John is second from right in the photograph, wearing the vest and tie.  His younger brother, Bill, is on his right.  My father often worked there as a young boy, sweeping the floor and learning drafting skills.

My grandfather John lived in a large brick house near a pond.  He and I often walked down to the pond to feed the beautiful swans that made it their home.  His home and property was a magical place to me with so many happy memories and places to explore.  My grandfather's people were very musical and he was no exception. I vividly remember him walking around his home serenading me with his violin or accordion.  He allowed me to sit on the bench beside him while he played the organ.  He often played Strauss on his old Victrola.  He wore his ever-present three piece suit and I stood on his feet while we danced to the music. 

I have the photo of the tool and die shop on display in my home.  It is in a wooden frame which has a pencil glued to the bottom. I found the pencil in my father's apartment when he died.  It reads: "Don't Settle for Less, Get the Best at General Die and Tool Co., Quality, Service, Satisfaction."   It also has the company's phone and address.  The building no longer stands at that address.  It was razed in the 1970s. 

I remember my grandfather often using those leftover company pencils when I was a little girl.  He sharpened them with his pocket knife over a metal waste paper basket.  I am so glad I still have one in my possession.  Together with the photograph, they are a little glimpse into my family's history.

Thanks for visiting me today and sharing some of my favorite things!