book review: Gather Around My Table by Kay Chun

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 5/5

Thank you Knopf for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Gather Around My Table by Kay Chun is exactly what I needed to get my cooking to a whole new level of flavor. 

Lately, I’ve been adding new staples into my pantry and learning how to incorporate them into my routine - fish sauce, soba/udon noodles and broth, miso, anchovies, tinned fish, and seaweed have quickly become favorites. Now that I’ve gotten comfortable with those and am ready for the next level, this book seems like the perfect guide to expand my arsenal of ingredients, flavor profiles, and techniques. Thanks to Chun, my upcoming shopping list now includes clam juice, capers, perilla leaves, bonito flakes, dried fernbrake, and gochujang.

The standout recipes I’m starting with first include:
- Salads: The Everyday Greens Salad with wakame, and a Crunchy Cabbage and Sprout Salad with Tomato Nuoc Cham.
- Dips & Small Plates: A brandade made with smoked whitefish and labneh, a seasonal Smoky Eggplant Dip with Parsley-Dill Oil, and Blistered Beans and Okra.
- Hearty Dishes: Doenjang-Smothered Collards and Cabbage, and Mung Bean Pancakes with sprouts and scallions.
- Drinks: The Green Juice Cucumber Cooler (though I might wait until next summer for this one!).

As a lover of anything fermented and pickled myself, it was interesting to read how a traditional Korean meal uses a spread of these items to complement the main dishes. I walked away from that chapter with some very intriguing recipes so I can offer a spread as well—like caraway and soy pickled garlic, star anise pickled peanuts, soy-glazed seaweed, and smoky, jammy marinated eggs.

Another chapter I was excited to see was devoted entirely to tofu. Chun learned from her grandmother that tofu adds moisture and texture to meat, so she blends it into sausage for meatballs, a breakfast sausage roll, and hamburger sliders. This section also includes an eggless mayo using tofu and detailed instructions on how to make dumplings, which I have always wanted to try my hand at.

If you’re someone who is eager to branch out in the kitchen, I would highly recommend this book. While some of the ingredients might not be as familiar and may require an extra shopping trip or online order, so far in my journey that is half the fun of cooking! And once you’ve got the ingredients, the recipes look to be fairly quick and straightforward. Being in the kitchen with her grandmother, growing up in NYC, and learning French foundations in culinary school all melded into Chun’s unique perspective. That fresh approach, which mixes the familiar with the unfamiliar, is an incredibly approachable way for readers to foray into new territory.

book review: The Lives of Immigrants and Refugees: Tales of Migration, Hope, Grief, and Finding Home in Nebraska edited by Matthew F. Bokovoy, Lisa Guill, Michelle Carr Hassler, Joy Castro, and Emira Ibrahimpašic

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4/5

Thank you University of Nebraska Press for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

My eyes and heart have been opened wider after reading The Lives of Immigrants and Refugees: Tales of Migration, Hope, Grief, and Finding Home in Nebraska. 

In this moving collection, thirty-one of the immigrants and refugees residing in Lincoln, Nebraska, share their journeys through personal essays. What I loved most was the lack of a rigid format; the contributors were allowed to write about what spoke most to their individual experiences, in their own voices. The editors who compiled the pieces are deeply embedded in the community, hosting monthly storytelling and writing workshops for two years to help the authors shape their narratives. For those who felt more comfortable speaking, their spoken words were carefully transcribed and transformed into print. 

The accounts come from a remarkably diverse group of individuals spanning many different countries, ages, and eras of arrival in the US. I learned so much from the first hand experiences of people who have survived political unrest, wartime, and constrained upward mobility. Yet, whether they were actively fleeing these harsh conditions or arrived through other circumstances, threads of hope, perseverance, and tenacity were always present. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning more about the world through authentic, personal accounts.

most interesting vol. 6

A few interesting articles I read lately as well as an investigation into free movie and tv show viewing options.

1) Wasps, wasps, wasps:

This Summer in Minnesota, there were no flies or mosquitoes...only wasps. When I was on walks it would be multiple wasps flying around me as if they were flies. I thought it so strange, yet figured I was exaggerating since both myself and my dog had been stung by yellow jackets last Summer and maybe I was just not wanting that to happen again. However...my feelings were validated by this Washington Post article! It states that "the Midwest had a fast start to Spring, with warmer-than-average temperatures in March and April. Those conditions met wasps' nest-building criteria, so they had more time to lay more eggs, according to experts." One exterminator mentioned in the article said his company's call volume increased 30 percent starting this Spring.

2) A climate-resistant small house:

How cute is this small house designed by architect Hafsa Burt!? It is an actual structure built as a private home in Jackson, California. But acts as "a prototype and a thought experiment towards achieving climate-resilient architecture." 

(Image credit: Douglas Friedman)

3) Free show and movie options:

I've been a Netflix subscriber since the beginning. Sadly this past week I cancelled my service. This past year with the addition of podcasts and games and not the same high quality movies in the past, I felt like I was starting and stopping multiple shows before I found something good to watch, or maybe never would and had to give up. And, I've also been reading before bed instead of watching tv. Between both of these things it was time.

I've got some free alternates to use when I do want to watch something...

My library has a large selection on Cloud Library. Unlike Hoopla, there is no daily limit per library, nor is there a limit on how many I can watch in a month. I have not tried Kanopy out as of yet, but this is another free option through my library. 

YouTube, of course, is a great option. I don't find the ads too bothersome so I don't pay to remove them. Same goes for Tubi. There are a few other options I haven't tried, but would like to, including Plex, Crackle, and Pluto TV. 

I love shows from Denmark, Germany, Poland, etc. So, I have investigated paying for international and indie options like MHzChoice, Mubi, Criterion, Acorn TV, or Brit Box.

Do you have any favorite viewing options?