Spring for more books!
A shorter newsletter this time: less chuntering on and more books. Apologies in advance to those of you who have already spent too much but it's going to be an expensive spring.
March releases:
The 100 most Jewish Foods by Alana Newhouse (Artisan Books) focuses not on the tastiest or most popular foods but the most enduring, historically and contextually. Contributions from Yotam Ottolenghi, Dr Ruth (!!!!), Phil Rosenthal, Melissa Clarke, Ruth Reichl and Joan Nathan are designed to encourage lively debate.
I've read the beautifully designed and fascinating Potato by Rebecca Earle, part of a series of single-subject books about the lives of ordinary things from Bloomsbury Academic. The potato is politically and culturally hot: think famine, nourishment and food anxiety, how society is constructed and the philosophy of the potato (happiness!). So many jumping-off points for ponderers.
Ethiopia: recipes and traditions from the Horn of Africa by Yohanis Gebreyesus (Interlink) has just been released and it's so good to see books about specific regions and countries rather than just 'Africa'. I'm enjoying learning about Islam and its history and how spiritual and cultural practices underpin Ethiopia's beautiful food. The fact that Ethiopia has never been colonised means these practices and traditions date back to ancient times. Here's another interesting site which includes links to Ethiopian cookbooks written in Amharic and the English language.
Out today is the exquisite Salt and Time by Alissa Timoshkina (Mitchell Beazley). This is truly a topographic kitchen.
I've been reading (and swooning over) Cocoa: an exploration of chocolate with recipes by Sue Quinn (Quadrille) and Sue will be appearing at Browsers Bookshop in Suffolk this spring. It's great to read a book about cocoa which is respectful about its troubled history. All too often all we get is "I love chocolate! Mmmm delicious!" which is fine but I want something more. This book is it.
April releases:
"Times of goodness and glamour in the middle of ordinary days" are Pie Lady moments writes Greta Isaac in Pie Lady: classic stories from a Mennonite cook and her friends (Herald Press). There's something especially generous about pie books (see 'Sister Pie' , Bruce Weinstein, and Cathy Barrow's Pie Squared) isn't there?
The cover alone makes me smile so I cannot wait for Taverna by Georgina Hayden (Penguin) about her Greek-Cypriot roots. Apparently. there's a section about Greek Orthodox fasting and eating rituals which is my wheelhouse right now. Her column in Delicious magazine is a delight too.
May releases:
I am curious about Breakfast: the cookbook by Emily Elyse Miller (Phaidon) despite its hefty price because I'm researching a piece about Jacqueline Susann's novels and how they influenced my teenager breakfasting. Miller's book had me at Chinese pineapple buns.
If you loved Ronni Lundy's Victuals (I did!) then Smoke, Roots, Mountain. Harvest: Recipes and stories inspired by my Appalachian home by Lauren McDuffie (Chronicle Books) treads a similar path; McDuffie's book is an odyssey into this much-misrepresented region of the USA (JD Vance being one of the cheif sinners), a region I love deeply despite having no links to it. I love the blend of folklore, tall tales (this is a region of storytelling through spoken word and song), medicinal, seasonal and local recipes.
June releases:
The Whole Okra: a seed to stem celebration by Chris Smith (Chelsea Green Publishing) has a foreword and recipe by Michael Twitty, the always-interesting culinary historian. The Whole Okra isn't just recipes though-although there are contributions from stellar southern chefs such as Vivian Howard, Meherwan Irani, and BJ Dennis- enjoy reading about lore and history, hints on growing okra, and crafts.
I adore a good food-travelogue and Felicity Cloake's One More Croissant For the Road (Mudlark) sounds perfect with 2300 km of food-related adventures. I watched this all unfold on Felicity's Instagram- it's going to be great!
I have set up a Patreon (which I am a bit embarrassed about). I want to collaborate with other writers to bring you interesting features and interviews but because I insist upon paying contributors, this is coming out of my own pocket. I don't have a problem with this and I'm not going to guilt trip anyone for reading a site for free that I created of my own free will but I would like to develop Tales From Topographic Kitchens so any contributions made will be ringfenced and not used elsewhere. Here's an example of a recent paid-for feature with KitchenWitch books in New Orleans.