Lilac & Ivy

Synopsis:
When Molly Wizenberg’s father died of cancer, everyone told her to go easy on herself, to hold off on making any major decisions for a while. But when she tried going back to her apartment in Seattle and returning to graduate school, she knew it wasn’t possible to resume life as though nothing had happened. So she went to Paris, a city that held vivid memories of a childhood trip with her father, of early morning walks on the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter and the taste of her first pain au chocolat. She was supposed to be doing research for her dissertation, but more often, she found herself peering through the windows of chocolate shops, trekking across town to try a new pâtisserie, or tasting cheeses at outdoor markets, until one evening when she sat in the Luxembourg Gardens reading cookbooks until it was too dark to see, she realized that her heart was not in her studies but in the kitchen.

At first, it wasn’t clear where this epiphany might lead. Like her long letters home describing the details of every meal and market, Molly’s blog Orangette started out merely as a pleasant pastime. But it wasn’t long before her writing and recipes developed an international following. Every week, devoted readers logged on to find out what Molly was cooking, eating, reading, and thinking, and it seemed she had finally found her passion. But the story wasn’t over: one reader in particular, a curly-haired, food-loving composer from New York, found himself enchanted by the redhead in Seattle, and their email correspondence blossomed into a long-distance romance.

In A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother’s pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won’t be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story or to head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.

Review:
I wanted to love this book because of the sheer fact it was written by a blogger and I was so proud of her for getting a book deal. And, I can’t say that I hated it. I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. For starters, the whole book was read in my head with the voice of Amy Adams. I’m not sure why, other than that for some reason I kept relating the book back to the movie Julie & Julia. So, that being the case, in my head, I constantly heard that whining voice. Just like in the movie.

Beyond this, I did enjoy the format of short memoirs paired with the relating recipe. But, I do wish that there were some easier recipes and ones that were a bit healthier. Everything printed seemed to be for the more advanced cook and seemed to be very heavy either with cream or lots of sugar or tons of butter. Nothing that I’d cook on a regular basis.

Overall, I would recommend the book if you’re looking for a light, quick read and love cuisine.

***1/2 out of 5 stars

This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Read. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.