Maame

Synopsis: Maddie, a British-Ghanian woman in her mid-twenties, is the “Maame” of her family. Maame, meaning woman, or perhaps adult. Her father is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and Maddie is his primary caretaker. Mom is off in Ghana most of the time living a different life (though still manages to be overbearing) and her older brother James has crafted an absentee life that carefully avoids any family responsibilities. Meanwhile, she’s trying to work a full time job, forge a career, and figure out how to proceed into adulthood. Thankfully, Mum returns from Ghana, allowing Maddie the opportunity to try out a lot of “firsts”: first apartment, first drinks after work, internet dating. The novel explores themes of being torn between family and adulthood, split between two different cultures, and coming of age.

Review: This was a random purchase for me, one of those stroll through the bookstore and get sucked in by the “recommended by our staff” displays. What a delight! It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. Maddie was a complex character that actually felt quite believable to me. She’s a people pleaser, lacking confidence, and struggles with panic attacks. She’s dutiful and loyal, but also gullible, impulsive and easy to push around. Life is complicated, and the novel doesn’t try to hard to wrap it all up with a bow which I liked. It is billed as “new adult” reading? A category I’m not that familiar with, but maybe YA with sex. Honestly, unless you’re a kid, we’ve all been 20-something in our lives, so it seems like an artificial category. Many of the characters were a bit unlikeable, but maybe that’s why it seemed so realistic! I enjoyed it, and was totally rooting for Maddie’s success.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: On one of Maddie’s first dates, Ben invites her to his house for a home cooked meal of mushroom risotto, and she is SO impressed. In fairness, risotto is a labor of love, a lot of stirring and hands on time, so the effort for a first date is impressive.

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pound mixed mushrooms, chopped

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/2 cup arborio rice

2/3 cup dry white wine

5 cups warmed vegetable broth

1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

chopped parsley for garnish

1) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until soft and browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2) Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onion, and remaing salt. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, thyme and rice. Let cook for 1 minute, then add the wine and cook 1-3 minutes until the wine cooks down.

3) Add the broth 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to absorb before adding more. With the final addition of broth, add 2/3 of the sauteed mushrooms into the risotto. cook until creamy and the rice has an al dente bite. Stir in the cheese and season to taste.

4) Top with remaining mushrooms, garnish with parsley, and serve with more grated cheese if desired.