Kitchens of the Great Midwest, J. Ryan Stradal

Kitchens of the Great Midwest, by J. Ryan Stradal, is the story of a meal, and ultimately a life. It follows, both up close and from afar, the story of Eva Thorvald who becomes a world renowned chef. Each chapter takes you through moments in her life, but not necessarily by focusing on her. The storyline felt a bit like a boomerang, starting with an infant Eva, spiraling out to those who flit in and out of her life, before coming back to Eva in the present day.

I felt connected to Eva even as the story focused on people who seemed far from her sphere of influence. Perhaps this connection was because she was born roughly the same time I was and so I could measure my life by hers (and regret that I didn't start growing peppers at eleven years old).

What would I eat with this book? Pat Prager’s Blue Ribbon-Winning Peanut Butter Bars, of course!

2 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

1 cup melted Grade A butter (I used Grade AA)

1 cup peanut butter

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup milk chocolate chips with 1 tsp Grade A butter (Again, Grade AA, and I used the entire bag)

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Pat into a greased 9-by-13 inch pan. Melt the chips and butter and spread them on top of of the bars. Set in the refrigerator until firm. Cut into bars.

After an enjoyable family outing to see Ant-Man (which was fun, but distracting in that it seemed to star Michael Douglas rather than Paul Rudd), I embarked on this recipe. A lifelong baker, this is the first time I have ever left the refrigerator do the work, and so I was worried about giving the bars enough time to sit.

What I should have been worried about was the chocolate. I know semi-sweet chocolate is not the same as milk chocolate... and yet I still made a valiant attempt to substitute one for the other. After that failure, I ran out in the rain and got the milk stuff.

Melting chocolate is much more complicated that it seems. The difference between melted and burnt is the width of a hair. I tried the microwave once with the semi-sweet and then I used a jimmied double-boiler for the milk chocolate. One cup of chocolate? Hardly spread over half the pan. I used the whole bag.

The verdict? A delicious and very sugary peanut butter cup. Better than a peanut butter cup? Melting chocolate is hard, so not necessarily.

Who would I give this book to? Forget the beach bum and give it to a recent graduate.

"She suddenly felt sorry for these people, for perverting the food of their childhood, the food of their mothers and grandmothers, and rejecting its unconditional love in favor of what? What? Pat did not understand." -- Kitchens of the Great Midwest

Book Review: The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker

Good evening,

The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker, tells multiple stories of immigration to America during the turn of the century, and most specifically, New York City. But the two main characters have an additional culture shock in store for them: they are all born of legend and myth far older than this new land, and indeed the borders of the countries they have come from.

The Golem, or Chava as she becomes known as, is a Jewish creature made of clay created solely to obey. My understanding of golems also paralleled what is told in the story, which is that words have a profound effect on their actions, and especially whether they live or die. But shortly after being born, Chava is set adrift, without a master, alone in New York City where even people of her native culture would shun and likely destroy her if they discovered her true nature.

The Jinni, Ahmed, has been transported from the Syrian desert in a copper flask and is released by a tinsmith in the heart of Lower Manhattan. The concept of a master is utterly repugnant to Ahmed, and I imagine the Disney Genie in Aladdin, hilarious but biddable, would insult him. He must also keep hidden because his powers, even limited as they are by captivity in human form, would be a huge draw to power seekers.

Therefore, it's easy to see where The Golem and the Jinni excel: the characters. As a lover of magical realism, I was immediately hooked by this blend of fantasy and history. Wecker creates beautiful characters, full of "real-world" problems, and problems born of something else. In the interest of not revealing more, Chava and the Ahmed are only two of the wonderful characters developed seamlessly in the story. I never felt drawn away from the focus of the story by the "secondary" characters that nevertheless brought New York, and the new life people and cultures were trying to weave, alive.

Chava and Ahmed also represent a dichotomy on multiple levels. Despite being somewhat "spiritual" as creatures, their philosophies clash on the very idea of spirituality. And despite being pieces of two cultures that the modern world often considers at odds, that is never really a factor in their relationship. I can't say more, though I'd love to.

It was during my reveling in the characters, the original paths they take, and the darker elements some represent, that I realized that I was about three hundred pages in and not terribly much had happened to any of them. There's plenty of activity, and plenty of back story which can be a bit wearisome when one of the main characters is only months old. As exciting as the opening pages are, upon reflection I wonder if the story should have begun farther in the past and some of the description in New York removed. There were a few events that lacked significance, even if they were wonderfully crafted. And I feel like in this case I would have preferred to leap forward years rather than constantly be dragged back generations.

And after three hundred pages of very little happening, an extraordinary flurry of activity occurs in the last fifty pages. While reading, I wondered if Wecker was setting me up for a second book... and as delightful as it was, I realized if she hadn't finished the story, I probably wouldn't have bothered with another book. The story could fit in one volume.

If you love fantasy and history, this is a great read. It feels new and fresh and explores things like obedience, conscience, religion and change. But the book felt a bit longer than it needed to be and therefore less important than it could be. However, this is Wecker's first novel and I am definitely looking forward to her next one.