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Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

December 12, 2014

Friday Favorites for December…

friday_favorites_header1

Here are a few of my favorite things recently. Enjoy!

For aspiring cooks . . .

This “edible cookbook” is the first cookbook you can actually read, cook, and eat. I think this might be the kind of foolproof cooking I need . . . Edible Cookbook

For my fellow grammarians . . .

If you’ve ever found yourself amused by unnecessary and often ironic quotation mark usage, you’ll get a kick out of this. The 30 Most Unnecessary Uses of Quotation Marks in History

For anyone who likes an encoded message . . .

Did you know that FedEx, Amazon, and Tour de France all have secret messages embedded in their logos? 11 Hidden Messages in Company Logos

For the word lovers . . .

Do you know what golem and claymore mean? How about taffeta and decoupage? If not, it might be because you’re the wrong gender. The 24 Words That Are Most Known Only to Men or Women

For anyone desiring true community . . .

“Vulnerability is less like a sweet golden retriever, all directness and love, and more like a cat—unpredictable, reserved.” Be Brave Enough to Make a Mess

1 Comment Filed Under: Friday Favorites Tagged With: community, cooking, grammar, Shauna Niequist
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February 26, 2014

Virtual Book Club: Cooked

Cooked by Michael PollanHave you read Cooked by Michael Pollan? We’ll be discussing it as part of the virtual book club series on Tuesday! Hope you can join us. If you enter a comment, you’ll have a chance to win a free book!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Book Club Tagged With: Book Club, book discussion, Cooked, cooking, food, free book, giveaway, Michael Pollan
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January 31, 2014

Virtual Book Discusson: Cooked

cooked_by_michael_pollanThanks to everyone who joined us for our virtual book club for January. This month we’re discussing Cooked by Michael Pollan.

Here’s how it works: I’ll throw out a few topics for discussion, and you can write your responses about these topics (or others you’d like to discuss) in the comment section.

Discussion #1: Cooking with the Elements
I thought the author’s structure for the book was fascinating. I’d never considered how different types of cooking fit into the categories of fire, water, air, and earth, and it made for an intriguing setup. I also enjoyed the way he showed his own progression from kitchen amateur to apprentice to blossoming cook. I felt like I could relate since he didn’t start out as an expert, and I appreciated his willingness to jump in to various types of cooking with both feet.

Did you have a favorite section? Which of the elements are you most comfortable in when it comes to cooking? Which elements are you least comfortable in?

Discussion #2: Cooking and Community
I really appreciated the author’s observations about how the way we cook and the way we eat effect how communal we are as a society. I was especially intrigued by his theory that the style of the cooking itself impacts the way we consume meals. When people prepared food around a fire, they cooked and ate together as an entire community. Then when people started cooking with an oven in individual households, cooking and eating became family-centric events. Now, as microwaves and fast food become the meal-prepping tools of choice, the focus is on the individual. One of my favorite parts of the book was seeing how the author’s various cooking experiments brought his family together and resulted not only in edible rewards but also in intangible gifts, such as bonding and conversations with his wife and teenage son.

As our cooking and eating become more individualized, do you think we’re in danger of losing a sense of community and family? Is there anything we can do to promote these values in our own homes?

Discussion #3: Intentional Food Choices
One of the things I appreciated most about this book was the way it opened my eyes to the underlying ramifications of the choices we make about food, cooking, and eating. When we mindlessly stick something in the microwave, pick up dinner at the drive-thru, or prioritize other activities over “scratch cooking,” there are consequences—both for us as individuals and for us as a culture. Although I haven’t necessarily revamped my approach to cooking after reading this book, it certainly has made me more aware and more thoughtful about the choices I make to get dinner on the table. I wasn’t nearly as ambitious as the author (no whole-hog barbecue or beer brewing for me), and I didn’t try any of his recipes, but this book did inspire a few modest “from scratch” attempts. My biggest success was my bread-baking adventure (the first time I cooked with yeast!). I wasn’t ambitious enough to make a starter and baby it for weeks like the author did, but it felt like a step in the right direction.

Did this book cause you to reevaluate any of your cooking/eating choices? Have you ever attempted any cooking experiments similar to what the author describes in this book?

Rating ★ ★ ★ ★
I’d give this book 4 stars. It made me think about food choices in a new way, and I appreciated the author’s style. He was at once knowledgeable and brilliant (I was impressed with the historical context and scientific background he offered throughout), but he was also accessible and an engaging storyteller.

How many stars would you give this book (out of five)?
As a side note, if you liked this book, I’d recommend Bread and Wine, which we discussed here.

{Remember: there will be a free book giveaway for one lucky commenter!}

 

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Book Club, book review Tagged With: Book Club, book giveaway, community, Cooked, cooking, eating, food, food choices, free book, Literature, Michael Pollan, recipes
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January 7, 2014

Announcing the Virtual Book Club Selection for January

cooked_by_michael_pollanCongratulations to Cindy, who won the free book giveaway for December!

And now, the first book of the month for 2014 is . . . Cooked by Michael Pollan.

Here’s the description from the back of the book:

In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth—to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer.

Each section of Cooked tracks Pollan’s effort to master a single classic recipe using one of the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue pit master tutors him in the primal magic of fire; a Chez Panisse–trained cook schools him in the art of braising; a celebrated baker teaches him how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread; and finally, several mad-genius “fermentos” (a tribe that includes brewers, cheese makers, and all kinds of picklers) reveal how fungi and bacteria can perform the most amazing alchemies of all. The reader learns alongside Pollan, but the lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships. Cooking, above all, connects us.

The effects of not cooking are similarly far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food means we consume large quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.

Join us to discuss the book the Boston Globe calls “important, possibly life-altering, reading for every living, breathing human being.”

{Remember: There will be a free book giveaway for one lucky commenter!}

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Book Club Tagged With: Book Club, book discussion, Cooked, cooking, food, free book, free book giveaway, free giveaway, Michael Pollan
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