(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle); if you haven’t heard about this book, you should! It’s a novel written from the voice of the black servants and some of the people they work for, all residents of Jackson, Mississippi. In the 1950’s. The maids generally are disrespected, still have to ride in the back of the bus, and some are prevented from using the bathroom in the houses where they work. The story is about a young woman (daughter of one of the society ladies) who decides to write a book about the stories of the maids. Anonymously. But not quite, of course. So it’s not only the stories themselves, but about the society-ladies’ relationships, and about the stealth required to interview the maids and write the book. And the repercussions when it’s published. A fantastic read.
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)
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(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
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If I hadn’t put a title in there you’d likely not even know what that lump of green stuff IS! Right? Not very attractive in the photo. I think it would be best using this as a bed for something, rather than a side veggie sitting there, green and all. Or else I should have garnished it with some Italian parsley. Or something. Anything. But the taste is what it’s all about, and this DID have good flavor.
I must admit, I’ve never given much thought to turnips. I haven’t particularly liked them, cut up and served like potatoes. I think my mother would occasionally serve them with a Sunday roast. Kind of dried and shriveled. And, they have . . . uhm . . . a kind of bitter taste. And from what I read about them, once turnips get to be mature, they do develop some bitter flavors. But then, I read that turnips have a low glycemic index. They’re only like a half a carb – I think I read that a turnip has less than 10 grams of carbs. So I wondered if I could eat turnips as a sort of carb, like as a mashed potato kind of carb. But I only had two small ones. Hence I prowled in the vegetable drawer and had leeks.
Next step was glancing at some turnip recipes. I turned to Deborah Madison’s tome, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and there was a puree recipe. I decided not to follow it closely, but at least used it for preparation advice.
First I cut up the leeks and washed them. Then combined them with water and the turnip chunks and simmered them until the turnips were tender. I pulsed the batch with a bit of chicken broth (very little since the puree was thin enough as it was) and a tiny splash of milk, then some butter, and that was it. Very easy, really. Healthy as long as you don’t count the butter. Ha. Anyway, it was delicious. Really, really good. The leeks did become the predominant flavor, and I hardly knew there were turnips in this. I don’t know if that was the idea or not. In any case, I liked it and would make it again. Next time I’d drain the hot veggies for a minute or two to remove more of the fluid before whizzing up in the food processor.
Leek & Turnip Puree
Recipe: Loosely based on a recipe in Deborah Madison’s
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Servings: 3
2 medium turnips — peeled, diced
2 whole leeks — white part only, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 tablespoons milk — optional
1. Wash the leeks in several changes of water to remove all dirt.
2. Combine leeks and turnips in a large saucepan. Add water to almost cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until turnips are soft but not falling apart.
3. Drain vegetables in a colander and pour into bowl of a food processor. Puree, adding the chicken bouillion granules. Add milk only if the mixture is thick. Add salt and butter, and serve immediately. You might want to serve the vegetable in its own small bowl, as the puree is somewhat thin.
Per Serving: 116 Calories; 6g Fat (47.2% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 17mg Cholesterol; 516mg Sodium.
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