Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
Fine book to have in the kitchen. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson
From November 4 to 11, Miami will become the centre of the literary world while hundreds of 'bookies' infiltrate the city attending seminars, book readings and signings of prize-winning books by international authors as they attend the Miami Book Fair International.
Divided into the Festival of Authors, the Street Fair and the International Pavilions Village, this exciting fair should be of great interest to all Jamaicans who flock to their own annual Calabash Literary Festival. The Street Fair weekend will see over 250 publishers and booksellers exhibiting, selling and trying to woo patrons into the old but oft forgotten art of reading and collecting of books. There's a Children's Alley where activities will include book-inspired theatre and arts and craft. The Antiquarians Annex will showcase rare books, signed first editions, original manuscripts and many other collectibles. During the Festival of Authors which opens on Saturday and Sunday, more than 350 authors will present their works. There is a packed itinerary and anyone wanting to find out more can visit their website at www.miamibookfair.com.
Food books
A book I just love is Last Chance to Eat - the Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World by Gina Mallet. My favourite Food Network foodie traveller and author of Kitchen Confidential and Cook's Tour, who I had the pleasure to meet at SOBE 2006, Anthony Bourdain, says of this book "An invaluable antidote to the dark forces who want to deprive us of the good stuff." Gina Mallet is a journalist, restaurant reviewer and a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Chatelaine and Maclean's. Gina says that food is memory, and she has never forgotten the tastes of her childhood that have gradually vanished as life brought her from England to Connecticut and then Toronto.
She talks about, 'tantalising memories of forgotten tastes' tracing the history and predicament of five popular foods. In her book she writes: "The art of cooking is dying. Once, it was the heart of home and evoked a dense web of feeling. But now the communal family meal has dissolved into individual eating units." Luckily for Jamaica, and the other islands, many people still sit and eat with family, meals cooked by the best home cooks ever.
But there's no doubt that with the advent of the fast food generation, this basic idea is being sadly lost. Time to bring it back. The sad realisation that people are developing so many horrible deathly diseases contributed largely by 'pesticidal' farms and the then obnoxious preparation of daily meals that leave 'clean' looking like a dirty word, is frightening.
Southern Homecoming Traditions, Recipes and Remembrances by Carolyn Quick Tillery is "both a cookbook and a celebration of the five historic black colleges and universities that comprise the Atlanta University Centre." Carolyn uses the power of food to take one back to where so many great African-American leaders were educated, and into the heart of the region's food where fabulous dishes were created. With over 200 great down-home recipes, a moving powerful history and remembrance, this book is, table-laden with memories, pride and pleasure. In the scheme of things, some of the recipes are not far from those I remember having at home so many years ago brought up by a mother who cooked delicious meals from local produce. Meals that we all sat together and ate.
We were never allowed to have what we wanted, we had to eat what was put before us with a smile on our face and a graciousness in the way we handled ourselves at the table. Sometimes I balk when I go to dinner at homes in the Caribbean and see the way children are allowed to denigrate the meal before them, complaining that, "me nah like dis" or "is KFC me going to"; or even using their knives and forks as weapons of mass destruction as they flay all over the place during the meal.
Behaviour like that in our home would have brought such stern looks from both parents.
Author Padma Lakshmi says "Cook with your heart, because cooking is celebration and food is love." Host of Bravo's Top Chef, Padma takes the mystique of cooking gourmet foods at home. His international dishes are simple to prepare but at the same time will have your lunch or dinner guest screaming for more. His life-long connection to cooking began with a mother who was a great cook. Her boyfriend at the time was a Barbadian who introduced into the household Caribbean flavours. He had playmates who were Philipinos down the hall where the aromas of spices and all good things from those islands were tasted. Padma has put together a beautiful book of memories, great recipes and superb photography.
Rosemary Parkinson was last seen booking her flight to Miami!
A book filled with truths and much humour.
