(Dolen Perkins-Valdez, hardback). From the title you might think this is a book about the s-x word. It’s not. By a long shot. But the story, set in about 1852, is about a black slave woman, and her somewhat misguided “love” for her master. About the children she bore him, under the eagle eye of the master’s wife. But it’s all tied together with a yearly journey made to a place called Tawawa House, a rural inn of sorts in southern Ohio (a free State), that for some years allowed white slave owners to stay at the resort in rustic cottages with their black slaves, as couples. This place existed, according to the author’s afterword, and finally closed because some of the regulars (white couples who stayed in the main house) didn’t fancy this concubine business going on out in the woods. It’s about Lizzie’s relationships with the other slave women, about their desire to run to safety through the local underground, about them secretly meeting some free blacks, finding out more about abolition, and about the hardships all these black mistresses endured, and how little their lives were valued. A real stunning book. (I was sent this book as a perk from Harper Collins – because I had mentioned The Help. No strings attached – I could choose to mention this book, or not, here on my blog. I’m glad to because it’s a very good read.)
(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, an excellent read); 
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition, eh); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition, good book); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition, very good read)
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(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
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Multi-vegetable soup, Italian style, with some rough torn bread croutons on top. Missing from the photo: the tendrils of fresh basil and cilantro that were supposed to be sprinkled all over the top.
Ribollita. Sounds like it ought to be a girl’s name. The Italian word actually means “reboiled.” So if you lived in Italy you certainly wouldn’t want to be named Ribollita! Historically it’s a Tuscan soup – a method of re-serving minestrone soup – the next day – and making it different with the bread, beans and greens. Ribollita always contains cannellini beans and some greens like kale or Swiss chard. I’ve had this at restaurants now and then, but wanted to make my own. My friend Linda stopped by for dinner after having a crown put in, and she wanted something she didn’t have to chew. This fit that need very well. And it’s very healthy (only 14 grams of fat for a 1 1/2 cup serving). Mostly it’s vegetables, although I added in some ham cubes because I had them. You could also make this without the meat.
The preparation – you could probably make this soup in less than 30 minutes if you had all the vegetables ready to go. There is a bit of chopping and mincing involved (onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, kale, Swiss chard, mushrooms, zucchini). I used my handy-dandy Alligator Dicer
The result? It’s worth the work. I read a variety of recipes for this soup and discovered that you can just about do your own thing. So I did. I added oregano – next time I’d add some rosemary, or maybe some Herbs de Provence. I added the ham and kale. I’d read a recipe in an old Sunset Magazine for this soup and it showed the rough torn bread cubes floating on top of the soup, so I decided to do it that way too. This may not wow your audience, but it was certainly delicious and healthy. The bread cubes are essential, so don’t eliminate that part – they provide aesthetics and some crunchy texture. I had ample to send a small care package home with Linda and enough for two portions to go into my freezer’s “soup library.”
Ribollita (Italian Vegetable and Bread Soup)
Recipe By: My own concoction
Serving Size: 8
NOTES: buy a ciabatta loaf and roughly tear off pieces of it (large bite size) and toast in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes (use broiler if you can watch it carefully). If you want a more flavorful soup, add some rosemary, a Bay leaf, and some thyme. You can also use Parmesan cheese rinds in a soup like this (you do save them, right?). They merely flavor the soup – don’t eat them. You can also add more beans to this, and/or some rice. In the authentic version you slice off a piece of bread and put it in the bottom of the bowl and pour the soup on top. This version uses less bread and you just toast the cubes and plop them on top. The croutons don’t get totally soaked in the soup. The quantities of the vegetables are approximate – add more or less of things if it suits you or you don’t have sufficient amounts.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 medium white onions — chopped
4 cloves garlic — minced
2 whole leeks — cleaned and chopped
3 stalks celery — chopped
3 whole carrots — peeled, chopped
2 cups ham cubes — (or use 2-3 slices of minced bacon)
32 ounces canned tomatoes — (including juice)
8 cups chicken broth — (or Penzey’s chicken soup base + water)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 medium zucchini — chopped
4 ounces mushrooms — sliced
4 cups Swiss chard — chopped
4 cups kale — chopped
3 cups Savoy cabbage — chopped
15 ounces canned cannelini beans — drained, rinsed Salt and pepper to taste
TOPPINGS:
2 cups croutons
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese — shaved in shards
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil — to drizzle on top
1/4 cup fresh basil — sliced
1/4 cup cilantro — chopped
1. In a large, heavy pot heat the olive oil. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes until it’s wilted but not browned. Add garlic and leeks and continue cooking until leeks have begun to soften. Add celery and carrots. Add ham, tomatoes, chicken broth and oregano and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes until carrots are cooked. Add zucchini and mushrooms and continue simmering for about 5 minutes. Then add canned beans, Swiss chard, kale and cabbage. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the greens are just tender. Taste for seasoning.
2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 and toast the roughly torn bread cubes – using the broiler if necessary to brown them.
3. Have all the topping ingredients ready. Scoop about 1 1/2 cups of the soup into a wide soup bowl. Top with the Parmesan, basil, cilantro and the toasty-hot bread cubes and serve.
Per Serving: 347 Calories; 14g Fat (35.0% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 1678mg Sodium.
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A year ago: Guacamole
Two years ago: Orange Jalapeno Vinaigrette
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