writing

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Writer: Richard Auffrey

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Writer Richard AuffreyIf you’re a food blogger or writer in the Boston area, you may have already met Richard Auffrey at a food event around the city.

He is a familiar face that I always enjoy seeing in a crowd. Richard’s blog, The Passionate Foodie, is aptly named, because as a writer, he has a true love for food and drink. He also strives to bring more inclusiveness to the food blogger community and celebrates its diversity.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy learning more about Richard as he answers questions for the second part in the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
I make a simple Teriyaki sauce. Simply add 7 parts Sake, 7 parts Mirin, 7 parts Soy Sauce & 1 part Sugar to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil under a medium heat, stirring constantly until all the sugar dissolves. And that’s it! Once it cools, you can bottle and refrigerate it for future use. If you want, you can also add minced garlic.

What is a favorite dessert?
I love a well made Bread Pudding, though it can’t have raisins. I think it is also a versatile dessert and I’m surprised that no bakery has chosen to specialize in Bread Pudding. Forget all these cupcake shops, give me a Bread Pudding bakery.

What is a favorite quote?
“O what an ugly sight the man who thinks he’s wise and never drinks sake!”
–Otomo no Tabito (c. 662-731)

What is a favorite food movie?
Ratatouille, the animated film about a rat who becomes a chef. Besides being a fun movie, it has so many excellent lines such as “Good food is like music you can taste, color you can smell. There is excellence all around you. You need only to be aware to stop and savor it.”

What is a favorite childhood food memory?
My mother’s Cinnamon Rolls, especially when they are still hot and fresh out of the oven. They always brought me joy and I saw them as a sign of my mother’s love. And after all these years, my mom still makes those Cinnamon Rolls, with the same recipe, and they immediately bring me back to my childhood and they also still are a sign of her love.

Halloween Nightmare at Fenway Tipsy SenseiTell me about your book.
Halloween Nightmare At Fenway is my third novel in the Tipsy Sensei series, which centers on a Boston-based Sake expert who learns that the supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore are real. In this latest novel, the darkest element of Japan from World War 2 spawns supernatural creatures which now threaten Boston, choosing Fenway Park during the World Series as the site of their primary threat. Nate, the Sake expert, must stop the threat, assisted by an immortal Japanese samurai and a homicide detective, a woman of color. As the novel occurs in Boston, I also mention some of my favorite restaurants. The Tipsy Sensei series is a way for me to share my passion for Sake and to tell a thrilling tale.

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Thank you so much for participating Richard!

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Photos provided by Writer Richard Auffrey.

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Writer: Anastacia Marx de Salcedo

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Anastacia Salcedo © Jorge SalcedoHappy September! Since it’s the first day of a new month and back to school time, it seems like the perfect day to begin something new. You Pick Six is a new interview series where I email several questions to interesting New Englanders and let them decide the six questions that they would like to answer.

There are so many fascinating people in the New England area. With this new type of interview, I hope to learn a few things and share some of these people with you.

Let’s get this first interview started with writer Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, who has a new book out called Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
I don’t have a favorite recipe; I have a favorite way—actually ways—to turn vegetables delectable, and those rely on two workhouse appliances, the toaster-oven and the blender. The toaster-oven is great for roasting. I cut all sorts of things— cauliflower, eggplant, okra, peppers, Brussel sprouts, zucchini—into bite-size chunks, toss with olive oil and sea salt, and cook at 400 °F for anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. I serve these at parties as finger foods and people can’t stop eating them. My other infallible vegetable cookery method is a smidge more complicated, which is to braise in water or stock such standards as asparagus, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms; make a white sauce (aka New England soul food); puree the vegetables in the blender; and then mix everything together in a soup pot. Great winter night fare!

What brings you peace every day?
Running. Laughing with my kids. Being in bed with my husband.

What is some of the best advice you’ve ever received?
When you can’t solve something, keeping reading. Thanks, Dad!

What three people do you admire most?
I admire many ordinary people, drawing from them a collection of the qualities that seem necessary to live a good life. Some of those are courage, optimism, and dedication. Personally, I’m always asking myself if I’m being a good role model for my children. If I’m behaving in a way that I’d like them to emulate, I feel good about my decisions.

What is the best meal you ever had and where was it?
Tiny, just-dug, hot potatoes sprinkled with kosher salt eaten from a plastic sandwich bag; a hard-boiled egg (undoubtedly laid that day), also with kosher salt; and sweet coffee eaten in a small, Ecuadorian mountain village at sunrise. Why was it the best? I was hungry. I was happy. It was a moment of purity.

Combat-Ready Kitchen - coverTell me about your book.
My book untangles the profound influence the US military has had on American food science and processed foods. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be writing about this topic, I would have been very surprised. But one day I started thinking about a sandwich—specifically that its components all had a rather long shelf-life—and that led me down a rabbit hole into the military’s involvement in our food system. The book’s got a lot of important 20th century food science in it, although it’s been digested by me, the ultimate layperson and written in lay terms. Writing about it made me realize how scarily little we humanities types often understand about how the material world works. Time to change that, y’all!

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Thank you so much for participating Anastacia!

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Photos provided by Anastacia Marx de Salcedo. Credit: © Jorge Salcedo.

Recently Read: Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste

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Book Cover, Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American TasteWhile looking at the new books section of the library, I happened to see Provence, 1970. The names immediately struck me and I was intrigued. The synopsis convinced me it would be good.

Provence, 1970 is about a singular historic moment. In the winter of that year, more or less coincidentally, the iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney, Simone Beck, and Judith Jones found themselves together in the South of France. They cooked and ate, talked and argued, about the future of food in America, the meaning of taste, and the limits of snobbery. Without quite realizing it, they were shaping today’s tastes and culture, the way we eat now. The conversations among this group were chronicled by M.F.K. Fisher in journals and letters—some of which were later discovered by Luke Barr, her great-nephew. In Provence, 1970, he captures this seminal season, set against a stunning backdrop in cinematic scope—complete with gossip, drama, and contemporary relevance.

Great change never happens in a vacuum and no one person does it alone. So it was especially interesting to read about how these great food writers all knew one another. They worked together and socialized together.  As I was finishing up the book last night, I put on the TV to see what was on and happened to catch the last hour of Julie & Julia. What serendipity!

The book discusses how this rarefied circle of friends sometimes were not so friendly. We also see how the torch was passed with the introduction of Alice Waters toward the end. As I thought about my recent blog post on food writers of color, it made me consider how many food stories have yet to be written about.

One of the things that I found especially sad and surprising about the book is how James Beard was described. When I think of James Beard, I think of the awards and picture a very large and smiling figure. Everyone was worried about him. His love of food was killing him. He was trying to lose weight and was under a doctor’s care. His legs were swollen and his mobility was greatly impacted. Beard is so famous for the food he cooked and wrote about, but he suffered for it.

If you love food and food writing, then I highly recommend the book. Or even if you’re just interested in a slice of life piece. Learning about a very distinct period of time in a particular place.

We probably all can remember a certain time and place with good friends that we will never forget. That forever may have changed who we were at the time and led us to become who we are now. Or maybe was just a good time that now serves as a beautiful memory when we need it.

While the book describes a lot of food, there are no specific recipes. However, towards the very end, there is a very delicious sounding cocktail, on page 282, that is mentioned. I’d like to try it. Maybe you would too. So below is an excerpt in which the author describes part of his July 2010 trip to Provence.

Yet another old friend — we had a full house, even after my father and grandmother had departed the previous week — joined us in the kitchen and announced that he would be making a cocktail, a new invention in fact. It would be called “The Plascassier.” Into the blender went a basket of raspberries, fresh mint, lemon juice, and vodka. This liquid was poured judiciously into the bottoms of glasses, and then topped with Laurent-Perrier champagne.

It’s still pretty cold outside, but this sounds like a cool and refreshing summer drink that I can imagine adapting to suit my taste. Believe me. It will be blogged.

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Photo Credit: Amazon

Your Guide To Diverse Food Writers

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plated dessertsOften I don’t plan on writing serious blog posts. But then after certain events take place, combined with reading a series of articles, comments and other blog posts,  I can’t help but respond.

Listening to the #blacklivesmatter discussions over the past few months, it made me think that white men with black partners need to organize.

They are part of the power structure based on their race and gender, but have a unique perspective based on love. As part of the same group, it might be easier for them to talk to other white men, white women and others who may mistakenly believe that we are living in a post-racial America.

This past weekend, I read an article on LinkedIn about how PwC is specifically focusing a diversity initiative on white men. One of the goals, according to the article, is getting white men to acknowledge that they have a race and gender. While I don’t know how well the program actually works, it seems like a good start.

Yesterday, I read a blog post by Tim of Lottie + Doof discussing the need for more diverse voices in food writing. See an excerpt below.

Food media mostly exists as a circle of white, liberal arts grads with enough financial security to have interned for free during college, live in Brooklyn, and eat out every night. Everyone is friends, it’s how you get jobs. …

The results of this culture are far more serious than just the armies of whiteness staring back at us from mastheads. It is creating an insular, homogenous, and out-of-touch world that does not reflect our actual world and excludes many people. …

Diversity (in all its forms) should be embraced because diversity is what makes the world interesting. … The world of food is so much more interesting than any mainstream media (and most independent media) would have us believe. The view is so narrow. I’m happy to hear what a bunch of 20-something white women are cooking, but where is everyone else?

Tim’s post brought up many different issues. Not just race, but class, education and age as well. While the question “where is everyone else” may be rhetorical, I gave a real answer in the comments.

Just in case anyone is looking for food writers of color, the Kwanzaa Culinarians website is a great resource. It’s not just about Kwanzaa. The site is a way for those of us who are of African descent to find each other, gather together in a single space and write about what we love — food. There are wonderful food stories and links to our personal blogs and websites.

After leaving my comment, I still hadn’t planned to write this blog post, but then I read another comment. Part of it is below.

Definitely a fuzzy line on diversity, because those who can afford nice cameras and the time to cook and blog are (probably) not low-income single parents of color and we as readers probably should take more responsibility in demanding different and diverse content.

I was reminded of the TED Talk by Chimamanda Adichie, “The danger of a single story.” In the talk, she says, “Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again and that is what they become.”

When the writer of the comment and maybe many others think of diversity, is that what they think of? A low-income single parent of color?

The danger of a single story. Diversity = a low-income single parent of color.

Yes, there are low-income single parents of color. However, not all people of color are low income or single parents.

There can be diversity in food writing with people of color who may or may not be part of this single story. We are African-American. We are Latina. We are Caribbean. We are educated. We are middle class. We are amazing writers. We are many things. We are not a single story.

Quote of the Week: Anne Lamott

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headlights at nightFor those of you participating in NaNoWriMo this month, you could probably use a bit of inspiration right about now. Well, here is a quote below on novel writing, with a slight edit for clarity.

“E.L. Doctorow said once that ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you.” ~ Anne Lamott

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Flickr Photo: Out of nowhere by Soumyadeep Paul