Hi everyone!
I missed yesterday's walk but Cass, Barb, Mary and Christie walked out near Christie's house in Louisville - they met up with Jan at Dragonfly Cafe for coffee. Sorry I missed being with you but Jack and I went to a family gathering out in Woodland Park, CO, just east of Colorado Springs.
Book Report:
I am on the last pages of a book that I am just loving. It is a written and photographic journey into Jewish Cuba called An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba by Ruth Behar and Humberto Mayol. Behar was actually born in Cuba herself and with her family left for the United States shortly after Castro came into power in 1959. It is a fascinating look at how the Jewish culture has survived in Cuba under very difficult circumstances. Behar is actually an anthropologist who has focused her study on Jews in Cuba but this is a very personal story for her. It is quite a beautiful book with black and photography that expresses the emotions of the people she interviews throughout the book
From Publishers Weekly
A professor at the University of Michigan, Behar seeks a better understanding of her roots and of the Jewish experience in her native Cuba. Traversing the island, Behar becomes a confidante to myriad Jewish strangers. Through one-on-one interviews and black-and-white images taken by her photographer, Humberto Mayol, she uncovers the diasporic thread that connects Cuban Jews. Familial stories of wandering beginning in the 1920s tell of displaced Polish and German Jews—escapees from anti-Semitism and Auschwitz—opening mom-and-pop shops in La Habana Vieja, becoming peddlers, replacing Yiddish with Spanish and settling into Latino life only to be uprooted within decades. An estimated 16,500 Jews lived in Cuba in the late 1950s, when a mass exodus to Miami and New York took place—a reaction to Castro's budding communist revolution. This diligent recounting and pictorial collage of interviews with adolescents, the aging, the impoverished and the political by Behar preserves in memory the people and places that make up Cuba's Jewish story.
Website of the Week: http://www.globalgiving.com/index.html
Podcast of the Week: http://www.c-span.org/podcast/ - C-span Podcasts
Vocabulary Word of the Week: acculturation
ac·cul·tur·a·tion [uh-kuhl-chuh-rey-shuhn]
1. the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group.
2. the result of this process.
Cooking and Dining Report:
As promised, I tried out a few recipes this week and repeated a favorite dessert recipe that Jack requested:
From Gourmet Magazine, Pasta Puttanesca - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PASTA-PUTTANESCA-242590 - this a spicy and hearty dish that is a favorite of ours.
Also from Gourmet Magazine, Porterhouse Steak with Pan-Seared Cherry Tomatoes - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PORTERHOUSE-STEAK-WITH-PAN-SEARED-CHERRY-TOMATOES-242859 - really beautiful presentation and absolutely delicious!
From Bon Appetit, Roasted Cod on Large Garlic Croutons - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ROASTED-COD-ON-LARGE-GARLIC-CROUTONS-242490 - kind of a seafood bruschetta but definitely a main course.
Also from Bon Appetit, Lemon-Almond Buttermilk Loaf with Balsamic Strawberries - great for a group and a wonderful blend of flavors - I would say that the lemon glaze on the top is optional.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/LEMON-ALMOND-BUTTERMILK-LOAF-WITH-BALSAMIC-STRAWBERRIES-101367
Quote of the Week: from Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, "Be Yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be."
That's it for now - have a great week - Jack and I are off for a weekend getaway to Steamboat this Friday!
Love,
Susan
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