(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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The recipe came from Gourmet, a reader’s recipe, Stephanie Foley of Massapequa, Long Island, from March, 2002. It’s a bit different than many Irish Soda Bread recipes, which is why I decided to try it, back then. With the exception of the butter brushed on the loaves prior to baking, the only fat in it comes from the buttermilk, which isn’t much. I’ve made it several times since then, always getting rave reviews for it. Truly it comes together in about 7 minutes, including time to gather the ingredients. Then it bakes about 35-40 minutes. Ideally you’ll want to let it rest a bit before cutting it, but sometimes I’ve not had that luxury. But you must let it rest about 5 minutes, otherwise it’s too hot to handle. It’s heaven-on-a-bun [pun intended] with some unsalted butter spread on it, accompanying a soup.
Ready for the oven: here are the dough loaves, cut with 1/2 inch deep furrows, spread with butter.
Cook’s Notes: my flour must be drier here in Southern California, than some, because I always have to add a drizzle more buttermilk to the bowl to give the dough enough liquid to pull it together. I added walnuts to this one, but that’s optional. I’m sure it’s not traditional. Some people don’t like caraway, so eliminate it. I didn’t melt the butter to spread on top of the loaves – I just used a spreader knife and brushed it with very soft butter instead. I’ve never tried substituting some whole wheat flour, but am sure you could. Would be better for us, obviously. This recipe says it serves up to 12 people. Maybe so, if you ate only one small slice. Not in our house. Each loaf probably serves 4, but that’s max unless you have very small eaters. And, I think this bread is best eaten when it’s warm and fresh. It gets dried out if frozen.
Irish Soda Bread
Recipe: Gourmet, March, 2002
Servings: 12 [more like 8]
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds [optional]
1 cup raisins, golden raisins or currants [also optional]
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped [my addition]
1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Butter and flour a large baking sheet, knocking off excess flour.
3. Sift together 4 cups flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and stir in sugar, caraway, and raisins. Add buttermilk and stir just until dough is evenly moistened but still lumpy.
4. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and gently knead with floured hands about 8 times to form a soft but slightly less sticky dough.
5. Halve dough and form into 2 balls. Pat out each ball into a domed 6-inch round on baking sheet. Cut a 1/2-inch-deep X on top of each loaf with a sharp knife, then brush loaves with butter.
6. Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer loaves to racks to cool completely.
Per Serving: 226 Calories; 3g Fat (11.1% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 45g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 394mg Sodium.
Printer-friendly recipe, click HERE.
Posted in Breads, on February 7th, 2008.
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