Breath

Synopsis: James Nestor wants to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. You think that breathing is the most natural thing in the world, but apparently not. He undertakes a project to understand why we can’t breathe, and how to fix the problem.

Review: This was a DNF for me. I rarely stop a book before the end, but I think I got the message pretty quickly. To prevent you from wasting hours of time, I can tell you the message is that it is better for our health to breathe slowly and calmly through our noses, and that mouth breathing is highly detrimental. Fine, seems reasonable and very plausible. However, I was turned off by his reporting which is heavy on anecdotes and very light on science. If you are swayed by wildly overstated claims, an author who experiments on his own body, and citations from dubious sources, then you might be part of the global misinformation pandemic.

Rating: 2/5

Recipe: The word souffle is derived from the French verb souffler, which means “to breathe”, or “to inflate.” The beauty of a soufflé is that the technique can be used for either savory or sweet dishes, and is quite versatile. This Mark Bittman recipe is rich, fluffy and very easy.

Lemon Souffle

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter for the dish

1 cup sugar, plus some for the dish

6 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon grated lemon for orange zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice, or Grand Marnier.

pinch salt

1) Butter a 2 quart souffle or other deep baking dish. sprinkle with sugar, invert it and tap out the excess sugar. Set aside and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar until light and very thick. Beat in the flavorings and set aside.

2) Beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold soft peaks. Continue to beat, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until they are very stiff but still glossy. Stir a good scoop of them thoroughly into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, using a rubber spatula.

3) Transfer to the prepared souffle dish and bake until the center is nearly set, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately.

News of the World

Synopsis: It’s 1870, and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is traveling through north Texas, giving live readings of the news to the local citizens. For a dime, they are entertained by a dramatic reading, and hearing the “news of the world” that is so hard to come by. A widower, the Captain has lived through three wars, and fought in two, and now enjoys his solitary, rootless life. In Wichita Falls he is offered a $50 dollar gold piece to return a young orphan girl to her relatives in San Antonio. Johanna had been kidnapped by Kiowa raiders four years earlier, while the remainder of her family was killed. She is then “rescued” from her native home by the US Army, and the Captain is persuaded to take her on the 400 mile journey to her aunt and uncle.

Review: This was not a long book, but it certainly covers a lot of territory both literally and figuratively. When the Captain takes on the duty of escorting Johanna to her aunt and uncle, he does not realize that she has forgotten how to speak English, will try to escape at any chance, and is defiant about trying to keep her new identity as a Kiowa. Gradually though, they build a bond of trust and a relationship akin to grandfather and granddaughter. What an odd buddy/road trip story! Naturally, they encounter lots of dangerous situations: brigands, white slavers, unfriendly natural elements and such. They manage to evade all this, and at times Johanna is as much his savior as Captain is hers. The growth of their relationship is the real story here, and it’s masterfully told. Johanna begins to see his kindness and wisdom, and the Captain learns to see her strength and intelligence. I was seriously moved by this novel, and if you are the type that is prone to tears, get your Kleenex ready. Paulette Jiles did an exceptional job of conjuring a place and time. If you like historical fiction, this was fantastic.

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: I’m taking some liberties with this selection, because Captain Kidd certainly did not have aluminum foil to cook things in over a campfire! But if he did, he and Johanna would certainly have enjoyed this Tex-Mex foil pack dinner.

Ingredients:

3 small chicken breasts

1 cup quick cooking rice

1 cup water

1 packet taco seasoning

1/3 cup salsa

1/2 cup mozzarella or cheddar cheese

1 cup bell pepper slice into thin strips

1/4 cup sliced onion

1/2 cup black beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

lime cut into wedges

1) combine the rice, water and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning in a medium bowl and let soak for 5 minutes.

2) Divide between 3 sheets of foil

3) Pound chicken breast thin, and season with taco seasoning. Place chicken on top of the rice. top with a few tablespoons of salsa and a sprinkle of cheese.

4). Add the vegetables and beans on the sides of the chicken.

5) Drizzle with olive oil and fold up the foil packet, sealing tightly.

6) Cook over campfire/grill for 30-35 minutes, or in a 400 degree oven if you prefer.

7) Chicken is done when internal temp is 165 degrees. Squeeze with fresh lime juice and serve with sour cream, cilantro or garnish of your choice.

Blacktop Wasteland

Synopsis: Beauregard Montage once used to be the sought after getaway driver for people on the wrong side of the law. Now, he’s turned his back on that life of risk and crime to make a living as a car mechanic. He has a wife, two sons, and an older daughter Ariel, and he wants to provide the means for Ariel to go to college, to pay his mother’s nursing home bills, and to provide for the essential needs of his sons. Kids! If it’s not braces, it’s glasses, they always need something! He’s struggling to compete with a rival business, and when his old buddies Ronnie and Reggie Sessions try to entice him with one last heist, it’s hard to resist.

Review: Another solid thriller from S.A. Cosby! He has again done a masterful job of creating full, complex characters with conflicts and contradictions. Beauregard, or Bug as he is known, wants to live a law abiding life and support his family. But, when he’s honest about it, he can acknowledge that he misses the thrilling rush of the getaway. He’s haunted by the memories of the father who left him at a young age. His father left him a classic car, and Bug can’t help but think of him each time he takes the wheel. Cosby is ambiguous about whether Bug is motivated by circumstances, or just an adrenaline junkie, but his success is in making you root for Bug and his family in spite of the questionable choices he makes. In fairness, I didn’t like this one QUITE as much as Razorblade Tears, but it was still very entertaining.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Cosby sets his novels in Virginia, and there are so many southern classic foods to choose from, but how can you go wrong with deviled eggs? I make them as often as I have a chance!

Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1) Slice eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out yolks

2) Mix with remaining ingredients until smooth

3) Pipe into the egg white and garnish with paprika, chopped chives, or whatever you fancy.

How to Stop Time

Synopsis: Tom Hazard looks like your average 40-something year old guy, but actually has a rare condition that causes him to age much slower than normal humans. He is, in fact, about 400 years old, and expects to live hundreds of years more. He teaches history to high school students in London and spends most of his time moping around about his loneliness, and reminiscing about his early life. There are others with his affliction, with a secret society that supposedly helps them to navigate the challenges of longevity. Will Tom be able to find true love again?

Review: Oh my. This is not a time travel novel, but certainly is a time SPANNING novel, as Tom lives through the witch trials in England, working for Shakespeare at the Globe Theater, sailing with Captain Cook, having a shoot out in the American West, among other events. That sounds interesting, right? Except that’s kind of the whole thing. There really isn’t much of a story beyond Tom wallowing in self pity about how hard it is to live longer than your peers. The general theme is that everything changes with time, but nothing REALLY changes with time. Said over and over again in different ways. This book definitely reminded me a lot of the previous Matt Haig book I read, The Midnight Library. This author seems to specialize in depressed, whiny, self absorbed protagonists who can’t learn from experience. This also has a similar riff on living multiple different lives in an effort to find your one true destiny. Maybe Tom could find happiness with Nora? For me, this was just OK. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. Just meh.

Rating: 3/5

Recipe: Tom can’t seem to get past the idea of the hardships caused by his slow, slow aging. I get it, longer isn’t necessarily better. But, when it comes to pulled pork, or cooking a pork shoulder, longer is definitely better, and I always use a slow cooker for that. This recipe calls for cooking the pork 14 to 16 hours! That is not a typo. This uses Italian seasonings, but you could easily use BBQ spices, a middle Eastern blend or whatever you like.

Ingredients:

5-7 pound Boston butt

4 cloves garlic cut into slivers

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon Italian herb blend

2 teaspoons ground pepper

1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1) Pat the pork dry, cut small slits in it with a sharp knife and insert the garlic in the slits

2) Combine the remaining ingredients, then rub the dry spice blend all over the pork, working it into the nooks and crannies

3) Put in slow cooker, cook on low for 14 to 16 hours.

4) Half way through cooking, pour off the accumulated liquid, you can use it later for a sauce if you want.

5) When done, shred with two forks, mixing the outside crusty bits with the tender meat.

In Sickness: A Memoir

Synopsis: Imagine knowing that your wife has breast cancer, but doesn’t want to seek care for it. Then imagine that she requests/demands you remain silent about it. You never talk about it, until four years later when she suffers a nearly fatal pulmonary embolism and the fungating tumor growing on her chest can no longer remain hidden. NOW imagine that you are both cancer specialists employed at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This bizarre scenario is the background for Dr. Barrett Rollins’ memoir about his marriage, his wife’s illness, and their last year together before her death.

Review: Wow wow wow. This was a crazy ride! Jane Weeks was talented, charismatic, and famous, at least in the world of oncology. She made a career out of research into healthcare outcomes, some of this being directly related to the value of cancer screening tests like mammograms. Yet, she never, ever went to the doctor—or dentist! Ew. Dr. Rollins is basically inviting us to be armchair psychiatrists in this raw, revealing memoir. How on earth did she let this happen? How on earth did HE let this happen? It’s just next level crazy! Based on Dr. Rollin’s description of her, she was a manipulative narcissist, while he himself was a pathologic enabler. She was apparently admired and well regarded, but I couldn’t care for her. I mean, she wasn’t nice to her own mother, and placed many roadblocks in the way of Dr. Rollins relationship with his daughter from his first marriage. Not a flattering portrait! But in his defense, he presents himself as an equally unlikeable doormat. In fairness, I realize that I am part of a very small unique audience for this sad tale. As a medical oncologist who regularly refers to the Farber, I literally could not put this down. It was a well written, compulsively readable story which I cannot stop thinking about.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese was described as being a regular request in Jane’s last months. This recipe by Eric Kim is an homage to Stouffer’s. It isn’t my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, but it certainly mimics Stouffer’s quite well.

Ingredients:

1 lb cavatappi

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

6 cups whole milk

1 pound sharp or extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

8 ounces Velvet, torn in pieces

4 ounces Pecorino romano, coarsely grated (1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon dry mustaard

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

pinch of cayenne

freshly ground black pepper

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees

2) Cook pasta until al dente and set aside.

3) Melt butter in the same pot, add flour and cook, whisking until smooth, about 1 minute.

4) Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer, cook until slightly thickened. Take off the heat.

5) Add the cheeses and spices, season generously with salt and pepper and whisk until melted and smooth (it will look like nacho cheese sauce). Add the drained pasta and stir until evenly coated.

6) Transfer to a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake until bubbling, about 15-20 minutes.

The Reading List

Synopsis: Mukesh is a lonely widower in Wembley. He lost his beloved wife Naina to cancer two years ago, and he has withdrawn into a solitary life ruled by routine. Mukesh is not a reader, but Naina was, and he finds a copy of The Time Traveler’s Wife taken out of the local library by his wife. He reads it and discovers Naina within it. The story speaks to him about his life for Naina and the heartrending experience of losing her to cancer. This leads Mukesh to the library to return the book, where he has an unpleasant encounter with seventeen year old Aleisha. She has her own issues to deal with! However, the two do ultimately forge a bond. Aleisha finds a crumpled reading list and they begin to read and discuss the books and the surprising impact they make on their lives.

Just in case you need it

To Kill a Mockingbird

Rebecca

The Kite Runner

Life of Pi

Pride and Prejudice

Little Women

Beloved

A Suitable Boy

Review: This charming debut novel really pulled me in! Sad at times, a little too sweet at times, but it really pulls on your literary heart and your actual heart. It’s a story of how books can help you to hide and escape from the world, but also can help you heal. It’s about families, the ones you are related to and the ones you create. It’s a lovely ode to the joys of reading—how we find comfort in the stories similar to our own, gratitude for our own families after reading about others, and the satisfying stretch of considering a different perspective other than your own. If you have read the books on the reading list, it might bring back great memories of your previous reading pleasure. If you haven’t read them, it might inspire you! I had read all but A Suitable Boy, so look for that in a future blog post. Well, maybe, it’s 1500 pages!! That’s a lot of reading. I was initially slow to warm up to this book, but after the first few chapters I became a fan.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Mukesh is struggling a bit in the kitchen. It’s implied that his wife did most of the cooking, and his daughters worry that all he is eating is mung beans. I’ll admit, I’m not familiar with mung beans. They are cultivated mainly in East, Southeast, and South Asia, and not that familiar to us in the US. Split peas or lentils would make a good substitute. And friends, we will not be surprised that like all things, they are available on Amazon.

Ingredients

t tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds

3 tablespoons crushed garlic

14 oz crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 cups water

1 cup mung beans

14 oz can coconut milk

1-2 medium limes, juiced

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1) In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and cook for about 1 minute, until they just start to darken.

2) Add the garlic, sauce 3-4 minutes

3) Add the crushed tomatoes, ginger, coriander, turmeric, salt and cayenne and stir to combine. Sauce for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4) Add the water and the mung beans. Increase the heat, bring to a boil, the reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

5) Once the beans are cooked, stir in the coconut milk. Raise heat to medium until it just comes to a boil. then turn heat off, add cilantro and the juice of one lime.

The Marriage Portrait

Synopsis: Lucrezia de’Medici, 3rd daughter and fifth chid of the Duke of Florence lives the life for which she was fated. Specifically, she is a pawn in the dynastic chess board of medieval Italy. Betrothed at 13, and married to the Duke of Ferrara at 15, she fulfills her father’s wish for an alliance between the two city-states. Her death at the age of 16 was ostensibly from tuberculosis, though almost immediately there were rumors she had been poisoned on the orders of her husband. O’Farrell’s novel imagines the life and mysterious death of this young princess.

Review: This novel was inspired by Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess, itself inspired by a portrait of Lucrezia. We are aware from the first page that Alfonso intends to murder Lucrezia, and she is aware of it too. The story is told in a series of flashbacks describing her childhood, and the early days of her short marriage, which works very well in building the suspense. O’Farrell succeeds in suffusing the reader with a terrible sense of dread. Alfonso is mercurial—charming and loving one minute, cruel and menacing the next. If you’ve seen Sleeping with the Enemy, you are familiar with the type! You know what is going to happen yet you STILL hope for her to figure out a way to avoid it. I loved O’Farrell’s previous novel Hamnet, which made me eager for this work as well. I liked it, but perhaps not as much. The writing was a little too flowery at times, lots of lush atmospherics that got a little overwhelming. Still, even though I didn’t absolutely love this novel, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates historical fiction.

Rating: 3.5/5

Recipe: Osso buco is a northern Italian classic. This recipe from Ina Garten makes enough for a crowd, but be prepared: Veal shanks aren’t a budget item! But if you are the Duke of Ferrara, that’s not a concern.

Ingredients:

8 pieces of veal shank, 2 inches thick, tied

1/12 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 medium celery stalks, medium diced

2 carrots, medium diced

2 leeks, cleaned and medium diced

1 medium yellow onion, medium diced

4 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

5 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen string

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups chicken stock

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees

2) Pat veal shanks dry. Combine flour, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper. toss the veal shanks in the flour and shake off excess.

3) In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat, brown the veal shanks on all sides

4) Wipe out the pot and melt the butter. Add celery, carrots, leeks and onion and sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and lemon zest and cook 1 more minute.

5) Add the thyme, wine, chicken stock, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, scraping the pot to incorporate browned bits. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a simmer.

6) Cover the pot tightly and place in the oven for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until tender. Serve the shanks hot with the sauce. Mashed potatoes are a great way to soak up all the delicious sauce!

Night of the Living Rez

Synopsis: This collection of short stories is set on the Penobscot Indian Nation reservation in Maine, where the author ws raised. At the center of the collection is David, a Penobscot boy living on the Rez, as we read different vignettes of his life from youth to adulthood. Stories explore everything from runaway daughters to infant loss and cancer, from beer runs to porcupine hunts.

Review: I have a fondness for this style of book. The twelve stories could stand alone, but together they provide a novel-like portrait of David’s life on the rez. Talty has an incredible ability to take seemingly disparate events in David’s life, but demonstrate how interconnected they are. Intergenerational trauma is the tie that binds. This is modern life on a reservation, with poverty, addiction, and trauma, but also community, friendships and love. There’s a fascinating blend of traditional and modern worldviews in these tales.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: A central theme of this book is the tension between preserving cultural traditions and living in the 21st century. Frick, David’s mother’s boyfriend, portrays himself as a “medicine man” and wants to teach David to hunt, but doesn’t really try that hard. I guess the local Shop and Save is just easier. Traditional Penobscot foods of course included game such as venison and moose. This recipe for venison steak could be adapted for any kind of protein.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups olive oil

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons dry mustard

2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 lb venison loin or leg, cut into 6 steaks

1) Combine all ingredients except venison in a large bowl. Put venison into the marinade and refrigerate 8-12 hours

2) Remove from marinade, and season with salt and pepper. Grill until medium rare, 4-5 minutes per side. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

A God in Ruins

Synopsis: Kate Atkinson has written a novel she describes as a “companion piece” to her previous novel Life After Life. A God In Ruins focuses on the youngest son of the Todd family—would be poet, RAF bomber pilot in World War II, husband and father—as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. Teddy Todd is a decorated war hero, marries his childhood sweetheart and has one daughter, Viola, who despises him. The changes of the 20th century come at an alarming pace, as Teddy tries to keep up and live the life he never expected to have.

Review: I had a bit of trepidation starting this book. I adored Life After Life. It is probably one of my favorite books EVER. So I knew it was going to be hard to live up to that! A God in Ruins did not surpass it, but I still ended up liking it a lot. In this novel, Teddy survives WWII, which he didn’t expect. He has been given a gift, life, and he tries to figure out how to live it, which he does to a ripe old age. He is blessed with a wife, a deliciously obnoxious daughter, and ultimately two grandchildren who help to usher him into the new century. Viola, a self absorbed creature, manages to provide a lot of the humor, and the scene where she encounters a “hen-do” in York is one to read one and over if you need a laugh. The ending was a twist that I did NOT see coming, but on reflection, probably should have. Kate Atkinson is such a talented writer, I think I would read anything she writes.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: I love the way the English have curious names for things. Toad in the hole? Doesn’t necessarily sound like something you want to eat, but it’s a classic of crispy sausages in a Yorkshire pudding base. I believe it’s often served with onion gravy.

Ingredients:

8 sausage links

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups all purpose flour

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a 9 x 9 baking dish. Place the sausages in the dish in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes.

3) whisk flour, eggs and 1/2 cup milk in a medium bowl. Gradually add th rest of the milk and season with slat and pepper.

4) Take the sausages out of the oven and pour the batter over them, covering them 3/4 of the way. Place back in the oven and bake another 35 minutes until the center has risen and turned golden brown.

The Friend

Synopsis: Our heroine, an unnamed female writer, is mourning the suicide of a close friend, mentor, and fellow writer. She reluctantly agrees to take in his traumatized, bereft dog, a massive, arthritic Great Dane. He stinks up her tiny Manhattan apartment and threatens her rent-stabilized lease (no dogs allowed!). Our writer becomes obsessed with care of the dog, and almost comes a bit undone herself as they both struggle with grief and loss.

Review: A short, very interesting novel. Is it a letter to her dead colleague and friend? Is it a journal she is keeping for herself? It’s not that clear, but ultimately not really that important to determine. Our heroine is mourning, and so is Apollo—interesting that the only character with a name is the dog. In 200 pages, we meander through her thoughts, the past, her frustration with her students grasp of the English language and her growing fondness for Apollo. As time passes, she and Apollo both begin to work through things. Clever and darkly amusing, the novel also reflects quite a bit on the writing life. The author takes direct aim at the backstabbing, status-obsessed literary world, critiquing writers and all their discontents. Winner of the National Book Award in 2018, this is set for movie adaptation starring Naomi Watts. If you have ever been in love with a dog, I think you could relate.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Early in the novel, a group of writers gather at a memorial for the deceased novelist. I don’t know if the term “funeral potatoes” is used in New York, but it’s a classic comfort food. Probably not sophisticated enough for the Big Apple, but millions love them.

Ingredients:

2 lb bag of frozen diced or shredded potatoes

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 small diced onion

2-3 cups corn flakes, crushed

1/2 cup melted butter

1) Let potatoes thaw

2) Combine sour cream, soup and butter in a bowl, mix well.

3) Add salt, onion, and cheese to this mixture and mix

4) Add potatoes and stir to combined

5) Place in 13 x 9 inch pan

6) Mix crushed corn flakes with the other 1/2 cup melted butter and sprinkle on top.

7) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

I Shall Live

Synopsis: I Shall Live tells the true story of a Jewish family in Poland and Russia as the Nazi party gain power in Germany. When Henry Orenstein and his siblings end up in a series of concentration camps, Orenstein’s bravery and quick thinking help him to save himself and his brothers from execution by playing a role in a tremendous hoax.

Review: If it wasn't real, you’d think this might be an episode of Hogan’s Heroes. How does a young prisoner have the chutzpah to convince Nazis that he (AND all his siblings) are scientists and mathematicians capable of building a super weapon? Thus, the fake Chemical Commando unit was born. It’s truly an amazing story, a profound personal account of the struggle to survive against all odds. And no, in spite of the tongue-in-cheek reference to Hogan’s Heroes, this is not a funny book. Spoiler alert: Orenstein survives, and ultimately emigrates to the United States where he became a toy inventor—Transformers!—and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Honestly, you can’t make this up. My one complaint is that I really had as much interest in his life after the war, yet this was relegated to a fascinating epilogue. How does one go through such a horrific experience, and then go on to have such an interesting, productive and fulfilling life? Truly an amazing man. Confronting the ugly side of humanity makes it a tough book to read in many respects, but Mr. Orenstein deserves 5 stars for a life well lived.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: It’s hard to think much about food in the context of so much torture and deprivation. Still, the Orensteins were a relatively wealthy Polish family before the war, and I’m sure enjoyed traditional Polish cuisine. Sausage and sauerkraut seems like something his family would have enjoyed.

Ingredients

2 pounds saurkraut

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 diced apple

1/2 pound of bacon cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 pounds kielbasa, cut into 1 inch slices

1) Place sauerkraut, caraway seeds, brown sugar and apple into a large saucepan over medium low heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

2) Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray

3) Cook bacon and onion in a skillet over medium heat and cook until bacon is almost crisp and onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir into the sauerkraut.

4) Brown kielbasa in the same skillet until it begins to brown, 10-15 minutes, then stir into saurkraut.

5) Spoon sauerkraut mixture into the prepared baking dish.

6) Bake until bubbling, about 1 hour.

Everything I Never Told You

Synopsis: Lydia Lee is the middle child of Marilyn and James Lee. She is found dead, drowned in a nearby lake. Her family is left reeling with unanswered questions and the realization that they didn’t know as much about her as they had thought. Her death prompts the entire family to reflect on their lives and how to move forward. The Lees are an interracial family. James is of Chinese descent, an American history professor at a midwestern college. Marilyn had hoped to be a doctor, but gave up her ambitions to raise her family. This is a sensitively written story about an imperfect but well-meaning family coping with setbacks and grief, with a few mysteries thrown in for good measure.

Review: I decided to read this book after recently finishing Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Everything I Never Told You is Ng’s 2014 debut novel, and while relatively short, I thought packed a pretty powerful punch. Ng is very skillful at creating multi-faceted characters that are relatable and very human. James, born of Chinese immigrant parents, marries a white woman, in some measure as part of his effort to assimilate and fit in. His area of expertise, as a professor of American history, is the American West, basically a cowboy expert! It truly doesn’t get much more American than that. In contrast, Marilyn wanted to stand out. Her professional aspirations of becoming a doctor were thwarted by family expectations (this is the 1970’s), and now she is hyper focused on forcing her own lost dreams on their favored child Lydia. This is not a feel good kind of book. It made me sad, and a bit mad, yet it’s full of small details that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. The scene where Marilyn decides to read Lydia’s diaries in an effort to understand her death is chilling to the core. It really makes you think about how hard it is to truly know another person.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: The Betty Crocker cookbook features in this novel as a symbol of Marilyn’s frustration and failures. Her tense relationship with her mother was in part due to Marilyn’s desire to escape the restrictive role of a housewife, while her mother Doris (a Home Ec teacher!) valued the domestic arts. The only thing that reminds Marilyn of her mother is the cookbook, which she saves and later reads, shedding a few tears along the way. A full cookie jar might not lead to domestic bliss, but it doesn’t hurt. This recipe for rosemary-lemon shortbread cookies is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Icing: 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 1 lemon zested and juiced

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil and lightly butter

2) Pulse the sugar with the lemon zest and rosemary in a food processor until well combined. Remove 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture and reserve.

3) Add the butter, salt, and vanilla to the food processor and pulse until combined. Add the flour, about a cup at a time, pulsing to combine after each addition. continue to pulse until a dough comes together.

4) Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press it evenly into the pan. Poke the dough all over with a fork and sprinkle with the reserved sugar.

5) Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is golden, about 25 minutes. As soon as it is out of the oven, cut into 1 x 3 “ pieces. cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove using the foil as handles. cool completely on a rack.

6) Combine confectioner’s sugar and lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of water or more if needed for the desired thickness.

7) Drizzle the icing over the cookies and allow to set.

Black Cake

Synopsis: Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares secrets from her past and challenges everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage, their family, and themselves. The estranged siblings must grapple with these revelations and decide if they can reclaim their once close relationship.

Review: There’s a lot to juggle here: multiple POV, multiple generations, multiple continents, and multiple multiple issues. Family issues, resentment, sexuality, cultural diaspora, secrets, racism, environmental protection and…. PHEW. However, to the author’s credit, it was handled skillfully. I don’t care to be lectured at, and happily, this was no lecture. I’m not sure how much of the story was intended to be a surprise, but the foreshadowing was fairly heavy. Still it was a well written and well crafted story that really came together in the end, and I would absolutely recommend it .

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Caribbean black cake, of course.

Ingredients:

1 pound pitted prunes

1 pound raisins

1 pound dried currants

1 pound dried cherries

4 oz mixed dried citrus peel

2 cups cherry brandy (Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine is an apt substitute)

1 quart dark rum

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1 pound unsalted butter

1 pound dark brown sugar

10 eggs

2 limes, zested

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1). In a large air tight container combine the prunes, raisins, currants, cherries, citrus peel, brandy and 3 cups of the rum. Stir to combine and set aside for at least 3 days, and up to 3 months.

2) When ready to bake, working in batches, place the alcohol saturated fruit in a food processor. Slowly pulse to a rough paste, ensuring that she of the fruit remains intact. If needed, add more brandy to thin the consistency. continue until all of the fruit has been processed. Set aside.

3) In a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat, add the granulated sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until it has melted. continue stirring until the sugar darkens. It will indeed smoke. When the sugar is almost black, carefully stir in the boiling water. Take caution because it will splatter. Turn off the heat.

4) Prepare cake pans with butter and a double layer of parchment paper. Heat oven to 250 degrees.

5) Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs, then the lime zest, extracts, and bitters. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir in the fruit and 1/4 cup of the browning. the batter should be dark brown. If it’s too light, add in more of the browning, a tablespoon at a time.

6) Divide batter between 3 prepared 9 inch cake pans. the batter will not rise much. Bake for one hour, then reduce heat to 225 degrees. Continue to bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours longer. When a cake tester comes out clean, they are done. Allow to cool on a rake

7) Ten minutes after removing from the oven, brush the top with more rum and allow it to soak in. continue this process about every 30 minutes while the cakes cool.

8) To store, wrap them in wax paper first, then wrap in foil. These cakes keep for up to a month in a cool, dry place.

Demon Copperhead

Synopsis: Set in southwest Virginia in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Damon Fields is born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer. An attitude problem earns him the nickname of Demon, with Copperhead based on his red hair. This is an acknowledged close retelling of Charles Dickens “David Copperfield,” When Mom overdoses, Demon becomes a ward of the state, sparking a tragic odyssey through the foster care system. Demon tells his story with humor, and wistful insight. It is a chain of tragedies, with minor victories interspersed, and (thank goodness) an ending that is more hopeful than you might expect.

Review: I love Barbara Kingsolver as an author for many reasons. I am equally a fan of her non fiction as well as fiction. Each book is unique and brings it’s own charms, but Demon Copperhead will rank as my favorite of her books by far. Demon is brought into the world in difficult circumstances—certainly not his fault!—but the wider world is not really prepared to help. Kingsolver provides a perspective on poverty, rural dispossession, the inadequacies of our public education and welfare system, but saves her sharpest criticism for the Sackler owned Purdue Pharma. By now, we know the story of how this family owned company had a specific policy of targeting vulnerable populations, and Kingsolver uses her prodigious literary arsenal to lay them bare. You certainly don’t need to have read David Copperfield to enjoy this novel, but if you have read it you might (like me) find some joy in the re-invention of certain beloved characters. Mrs. Peggoty, Emily, the Micawbers and Aunt Betsey come to life in a modern version that I think Charles Dickens would enjoy. This was definitely one of my top reads of the year.

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: Virginia lays claim as the original home of Brunswick stew, a motley mix of tomatoes, corn, beans and shredded meat. In it’s original form, it utilized small game like possum, squirrel or rabbit, but for most, chicken is the logical substitute.

Ingredients:

2 large onions, diced

4 bay leaves

4 teaspoons celery seeds

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 pounds plum tomatoes, diced

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 teaspoons sugar

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, 2 inch dice

1 quart chicken stock

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut in half

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

2 cups fresh or frozen lima beans

1) In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil to coat bottom of the pot. Add onion, season with salt and pepper and sauce until soft and translucent, 12-15 minutes. Stir in bay leaves, celery seeds and cayenne, cook until fragrant, just a few seconds.

2) Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are softened, 7-9 minutes.

3) Stir in the potatoes and chicken stock, and bering to a boil. Reduce e heat to a simmer, cover and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, about one hour.

4) Add the chicken, corn and lima beans. Continue simmering, uncovered, until the chicken is soft and easily shreddable, about 1 hours.

5). Remove the chicken from the pot, shred with two forks and return to the pot.

Winter Stroll

Synopsis: Elin Hilderbrand takes us back to Nantucket and the Quinn family for another Christmas. Kelley Quinn, the proprietor of the Winter Street Inn, is preparing for his first Christmas without his wife Mitzi who left him last year for the Inn’s Santa Clause. His oldest son Patrick is now in prison for insider trading, wife Jennifer has developed a pill problem. Kevin is preparing for the baptism of his baby daughter and Ava still can’t make up her mind between two suitors. His youngest son Bart joined the Marines at the end of the last book and went missing in the first 24 hours of his tour of duty, leaving the whole family to fret and worry. Phew, it’s a lot of drama!

Review: Predictable. Average writing, with a lot of “said Kelley,” and “said Ava.” Events that seem a bit soap opera-ish with exaggerated emotional reactions, or simply unbelievable. I mean, you discover your wife has had a 12 year affair with George (aka Santa Claus), she leaves for a year, and comes back the next Christmas and moves right back in like nothing happened? I don’t think so! And yet…. I liked it? That surprises even me! The Quinns definitely drink a lot, and have complicated lives, so maybe that makes me feel better by comparison. It’s like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie: not high art, but it gets you in the holiday mood. There are two more books in this series, so I’ll probably plan book #3 for next Christmas.

Rating: 3/5

Recipe: It’s Nantucket, so of course the family goes out to lunch to a seafood restaurant after the baptism of baby Genevieve. Apparently, Kelley is quite the fan of the lobster bisque and reminds the entire family of it regularly.

Ingredients:

Two 2 lb steamed lobsters

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

kosher salt

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1) Remove meat from the lobsters, reserve the shells. Coarsely chop the meat to measure about 2 1/2 cups, transfer to a bowl, cover and chill.

2) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a dutch oven. Add shells and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook 2 minutes, add the celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Pour lobster stock through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids.

3) Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms, tomato paste, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and add reserved lobster stock. Simmer until reduced to about 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

4) Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Add the lobster meat, reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.

5) To serve, ladle the bisque into bowls and top with reserved lobster meat and chives.

Mad Honey

Synopsis: Olivia McAfee is ready to start over. She thought she had a picture perfect marriage to a cardiac surgeon in Boston and a beautiful son. Then her husband reveals a dark side, prompting a divorce, and a move back home to a small town in New Hampshire where Olivia takes over her father’s bee keeping business. Lily Campanella is also ready to for a new beginning. She’s the new girl at school, and she and Olivia’s son Asher start dating and fall in love. Then Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned for her murder.

Review: In many ways this a typical Jodi Picoult novel: multiple POV, a hot button social topic, and a mystery to be solved. In this case, she had a co-writer, Jennifer Finney Boylan. One author wrote the chapters from Olivia’s POV, the other writing the chapters told from Lily’s POV. A surprising success, as the style was quite seamless, and I would have been hard pressed to know there was more than one hand at work here. Kudos to them both for making that work. Jodi Picoult has a very distinctive style and from her perspective, I guess if it’s successful, why change? I have found that for me, my enjoyment of her books has waned over time due to the predictable pattern. The proselytizing nature of her novels is wearing a bit thin for me. Still, this was pleasant and entertaining enough.

Rating: 3/5

Recipe: This assignment couldn’t have been easier, as there are included recipes at the conclusion of the book! All involve honey, of course. Beekeeper’s Granola looks delicious.

Ingredients:

32 ounces Bob’s Red Mill GF Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup canola oil

1) Heat oven to 225 degrees.

2) Spray a large baking sheet (21 x 15 inches) with cooking spray.

3) In a large bowl, combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, and almonds. Pour honey and oil over the mixture and toss lightly, making sure the oat mixture is covered.

4) Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 90 minutes, cool on a wire rack

Keeps for several weeks in a sealed container.

Sigh Gone

Synopsis: Phuc Tran writes a moving and humorous memoir about his childhood. In 1975, when just a toddler, Phuc and his extended family flee the fall of Saigon. They spent time in a refugee camp and, then, thanks to outreach by the Lutheran church, they were relocated to the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There the Trans take on their new collective identity as THE Vietnamese family in town. As Tran writes, “Random strangers had saved us. And random strangers were cruel to us, too.” Tran’s mother found work in an apple orchard, and his father, a lawyer in South Vietnam, was hired at the tire plant. And Tran himself? Well, with a first name like Phuc, you can imagine what middle school was like.

Review: This refreshing memoir is both specific and universal: specific in that most of us don’t have first generation immigrant families or overt racism to contend with, but also universal in the longing to fit in, find your tribe and have clarity of purpose. Tran made a very specific use of literature in his youth as a way to establish his intellectual bone fides. Yet, he also clearly understood at a young age that the beauty of great literature is the commonality of it’s themes of striving and finding meaning in life. He clearly can relate to some of the misfit characters he reads about—Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis, anyone? It was funny, sad, hopeful, and everything in between. Punk music is another way he finds a tribe to belong to, but it’s still tough to be a teenager! How do you be true to yourself when you don’t even know who you are? I listened to the author read this on audio, and think it was a rare instance of the author being the perfect person to do the audio book. It took a bit longer on audio than it would to read, because I enjoyed passages so much I kept rewinding to listen again.

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: I guess I just have a thing for meatballs! Bun Cha is a traditional Vietnamese pork dish that’s apparently a common street food. These squished meatballs are served along rice noodles with other vegetables.

Meatball Ingredients:

10 oz ground pork

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1/3 cup minced scallions

1 clove minced garlic

2 tsp finely chopped lemongrass

Sauce:

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/3 cup water

1 birds eye chili

3 cloves minced garlic

1) Mix all sauce ingredients and set aside

2) Shape meatball ingredients into 6 balls or mini patties

3) Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook meatballs

4) Serve meatballs with rice noodles, sauce, beansprouts and herbs.

Homegoing

Synopsis: Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel is an exploration of the legacy of the West African slave trade through a multi-generational family story. Each chapter in the novel follows a different descendant of an Asante woman named Maame. Maame has two daughters, half sisters who are born in different villages in eighteenth century Ghana. The sisters are separated by circumstance: Effia marries Janes Collins, the British governor in charge of Cape Coast Castle, and lives in comfort in the palatial residence. Her half sister Esi is held captive in the dungeons below, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade and shipped off to America where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. Subsequent chapters follow the lives of both sisters’ children and following generations.

Review: The concept of this novel is ambitious in the extreme: Fourteen chapters from the POV of fourteen unique storytellers, spanning seven generations! The story tracks the cultural change in both Ghana and America—through colonialism, racism and attitudes to slavery. It’s nothing short of remarkable how the author was able to create such rich characters, cover so much history and tell a complex and compelling story in only 300 pages. If I have any complaint, it’s that I really wanted to spend more time with some of the narrators and alas, not enough time in this march through history. Any novel about slavery is going to be difficult to read at times, but Gyasi’s writing is a balm, and the ending hopeful.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Earl Grey Chocolate ice cream—the marriage of Ghana’s biggest export and British colonialism.

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup 2% milk

8 oz dark chocolate

1/4 cup Dutch cocoa

2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves

4 medium egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped

1) Heat chocolate and 1/2 cup heavy cream in a double boiler until melted and smooth

2) In a heavy saucepan, combine remaining heavy cream, milk, salt and 1/2 cup sugar.

3) Heat to a gentle simmer and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4) Add the tea leaves and let it steep for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5). Whisk in the Dutch cocoa until smooth, and then the melted chocolate until smooth.

6) Whisk yolks and remaining sugar in heat proof bowl, set aside.

7) After tempering, whisk the hot cream mixture into the eggs until smooth.

8) Add the cream-egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened.

9) Strain into a clean container and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.

10) Make ice cream in your machine following manufacturers directions, 20-25 minutes.

Verity

Synopsis: Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts an unexpected job offer. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books of a successful series his wife is unable to finish due to medical reasons. Lowen moves into the Crawford mansion to review Verity’s notes. Verity is in some ill defined catatonic state, and Lowen also discovers that the couple’s twin daughters died in the months preceding Verity’s auto accident. Naturally, Lowen and Jeremy become attracted leading to complications.

Review: Where does one begin? I hated this book on so many levels it actually kept me up at night. The writing was weak, the characters implausible, and the sad, worn romance novel tropes infuriating. It’s not terribly long and not terribly challenging , so it actually was a fairly quick read, and thankfully so. The plot had enormous holes that did not make sense, and the “twist” at the end was a lazy plot device in my opinion. Was I supposed to be shocked? It just made me roll my eyes. SPOILER: Verity “fakes” her condition. Doctors, nurses, specialists, brain scans, and tests, and no one could tell she was just lying really really still?! Excuse me. I didn’t like ANY of the characters, and the romance between Lowen and Jeremy was not only completely predictable, but bewildering in the lack of emotional foundation. Jeremy had all the depth and complexity of cream of wheat. There was a lot of sex in this book, and it was just boring. This was my first Colleen Hoover book and it is also, emphatically, my last.

Rating: 1/5

Recipe: Here’s something millions of people love, and I despise—a Rice Krispie treat.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

10 ounce package of marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispies

1) In a large saucepan melt butter over low hear. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat

2) Stir in Rice Krispies

3) Press into 9 x 13 pan coated with cooking spray. Cool and cut into squares.

Our Missing Hearts

Synopsis: Bird Gardner is a 12 year old Chinese American living with his father in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother is a fugitive, on the run for writing a supposedly subversive poem. The poem, titled All Our Missing Hearts, has become the rallying cry of a resistance movement fighting against a government program called PACT: Preserving American Culture and Traditions act. PACT was born of anti-Chinese sentiment and is the legal basis for government censorship of “anti-American” activities—and people. When Bird is given a clue as to his mother’s whereabouts, he goes in search of her, a classic hero’s journey.

Review: The definition of “dystopia” in the OED is right to the point: an imaginary place where everything is as bad as possible. This near-future depiction of a dystopian United States is relatively mild compared to other dystopian literature, but this makes it all the more chilling, because it is oh so believable. This novel is steeped in realism, drawing on anti-Asian bigotry, competitive patriotism, book banning culture, and a government using child separation as a form of suppressing it’s citizens. All of these things have some basis in American history which make it both very real and very disturbing. I am becoming a huge fan of Celeste Ng. This was not a light book, but her writing is both poignant and powerful. The fact that librarians are key to this resistance is enough to rate five stars!

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps—not exactly Chinese, but not traditionally American. This dish, made popular at P.F. Changs, first appeared on the menu at The Mandarin, a San Francisco restaurant that aimed to introduce traditional Chinese cuisine to the U.S. in the 1970’s. Philip Chiang, son of the owner of The Mandarin, naturally included them on the menu of his own restaurant.

For the chicken:

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

1 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the noodles:

2 bundles cellophane noodles

Peanut oil for frying

For the stir fry:

4 tablespoons peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

4 scallions, 2 minced and 2 cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 pound Shitake mushrooms, stemmed and diced

3/4 cup diced water chestnuts

small lettuce leaves, for serving

soy sauce, chili paste, and/or hot mustard, for serving

1) Prepare the chicken: which the egg white, cornstarch, and rice wine in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

2) Make the stir fry sauce: whisk 1/3 cup water, the oyster, hoisin and soy sauces, the rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl, then mix in the cornstarch until dissolved.

3) Fry the noodles: Pull the noodles apart into sections. Heat 3/4 inch peanut oil in a medium saucepan until a deep fry thermometer registers 380 degrees. Working in batches, press the noodles into the oil until they puff, 5-10 seconds, then drain on paper towels.

4) Make the stir fry: Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook on medium high heat 2-3 minuets. Remove, then add 2 more tablespoons oil, stir in garlic, ginger, jalapeño and minced scallions, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and sugar and stir fry 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallion pieces and stir fry 2 more minutes. Add the stir fry sauce and chicken, combine for one minute.

5) Make a bed of noodles on a platter and top with the chicken mixture. Serve the noodles and stir fry with lettuce leaves and soy sauce for dipping.