Welcome to Litsy!

What a sad and hard week this has been. But also one with joyful moments for me as my students put their all into final assignments, shared what our course meant to them, some graduated, etc. Another bright spot was finding this at our nearest Little Free Library. Not sure why anyone would want to part with this (signed! 😮) lovely, but I look forward to paging through and revisiting my own (limited but special) Chez Panisse memories.

I have mixed feeling about this book. Will my student care? We are not Chez Panisse clientele. The shoe eating scene is fascinating, but I think the book would have been more interesting with chapters. I think this story is in the wrong format. My students would be more interested in the story about the edible school yard. I'm glad the author included evidence of the character's privilege: her parents invested in her idea.

One of my favorite recent nonfiction reads about strong, intelligent, impactful women. #internationalwomensday

I‘m excited to start this book about four women who shaped a cultural shift from valuing industry back to nature. And I love the cover! #readingwomen

#bookspin I‘m excited to try this for the first time in June. My towering pile of books barely fits in the pic! Great idea @TheAromaofBooks

My feminist book club chose Alice Waters‘ memoir last month & since I‘d already read it, I picked up this small collection of essays and recipes instead. It‘s a joy to read—better than her memoir—plus includes ink wash illustrations by her daughter Fanny Singer. Waters writes: “Sometimes the best dishes are the simplest.” That can apply to #cookbooks also. I‘m very pleased with the three things I made from this book.

Three things from this book all turned out great: vin d‘orange; candied orange peel (made from the fruit strained out of the fortified wine); and panpepato (made using some of the candied orange peel). #cookbook

I have two different Alice Waters cookbooks out from the library at the moment. They were published only 3 years apart, so I‘m surprised about the many changes in her recipe for candied citrus peel. I have never made this, so I don‘t know which instructions to follow: cook to 220F stage (The Art of Simple Food II) or to the thread stage—230-234F (tagged book). I‘m going to have to research this online. Littens, please jump in with advice. 🍊

“My pantry is always changing. I get exposed to flavours I‘ve never tasted before, and my pantry has to adjust.”

I‘m trying a new recipe: vin d‘orange. It‘s an aperitif made with white wine, oranges, grain spirit, sugar and vanilla. In a month, when it‘s ready, I will let you know how it is. 🍊🍹