Books and Cooking

I recently read a book of short stories by Richard Russo called “The Whore’s Child." I’ve also read his books Empire Falls and Straight Man. All of his stories are about people who realize they’ve gotten trapped in lives they never wanted. Many of his protagonists decided to settle on something at one point, with every intent of fixing life later, but instead they stay in a non-fulfilling existence. His stories are scary because it’s easy to see how easy it is to lose control of your life. His novels are a bit cheerier because they’re longer, and his characters get a chance to change and create a new life.

Yesterday I read all of Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia and like Russo’s characters, Julie realizes she’s stuck in a life she doesn’t want. She hates her job and will probably never become an actress even though that why she lives in New York.. Plus she has a ticking maternal clock and a syndrome that makes it difficult for her to get pregnant.

So she turns to cooking. With support from her husband, brother, and friends, she cooks every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One within the next year MtAoFC has 524 recipes. That’s a lot of cooking.

All that cooking was a true challenge. She probably used 200 pounds of butter while cooking organs, boning a duck, and vivisecting a lobster. There were many tears as aspics refused to gel and bone marrow did not easily leave the bone. Yet she seemed happier at the end. Even if she didn’t enjoy her secretary job, every night she what home and worked on a personal goal, one whose rewards included a full stomach and happy bystanders.

This book made me want to try new foods. For the first time in my life I felt a craving for liver and bone marrow. Seven considered asparagus. Maybe I’ll find myself a copy of MtAoFC and cook some new foods. I should be able find a reputable butcher in Ithaca My fellow students can either be entranced or repulsed my food adventurism.