Notes From My Kitchen Table

For my upcoming birthday my lovely mommy bought me a copy of "Notes From My Kitchen Table" by Gwyneth Paltrow (which I picked out). I don't usually buy or use cookbooks - mainly because im what I like to call a "simple cook" & most recipes you can find online anyway -  but this one I wanted.

Initially Gwyneth Paltrow's face got me curious about the book, but as soon as I browsed through it,  I saw quite a few recipes I wanted to try and I liked how it's not written by an actual chef.

Since my mom has insisted on wrapping it and giving it to me this weekend (which is closer to my actual birthday), I have not had a chance to read the book properly. I am really looking forward to trying some of the recipes soon and sharing them on my main blog.

Here is a bit about this cookbook (via Waterstones.com):
The Academy-Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is an icon of style and taste around the world. But for her, family comes above everything, and cooking and eating together are the key ingredients of a happy home. Now she has put her passion for food into her first cookbook which is full of 150 fresh, original and practical recipes (both healthy and indulgent) that all the family will love. Both accessible and inspiring, this beautifully illustrated and easy-to-use cookbook is full of lavish photographs, many featuring Gwyneth's family and friends. This is Gwyneth Paltrow as you have never seen her before - a busy working mum who understands the time pressures on all of us as well as the desire to cook delicious and original food. Inspired by precious memories of cooking with her father, it is a truly personal book that celebrates cooking with - and for - the ones you love.

*UPDATE - I have the book at home with me, finally, and I am loving it. Gwyneth favours very interesting ingredients, does not seem to eat red meat (she prefers Turkey, fish & chicken) and even embraces vegan cooking sometimes. I have found a few great recipes that I am dying to try (mainly because the recipes all sound healthy and yum). Check my main blog for recipes.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

A review by Kelly
(She can also be found  here and here)

A bit about the book:

Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important memoir that will transform your perspective of parenting forever.

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it’s like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I’ve done it…

Amy Chua’s daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu) were polite, interesting and helpful, they had perfect school marks and exceptional musical abilities. The Chinese-parenting model certainly seemed to produce results. But what happens when you do not tolerate disobedience and are confronted by a screaming child who would sooner freeze outside in the cold than be forced to play the piano?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it’s about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old.

Read an Excerpt from Amy Chau's  book over here

My Review:

How great is this book’s cover treatment? Simple, Clean and Bright. It stands out on the shelf and definitely on my list of Things to Read. I am not a mother, nor do I have the urge start learning parenting skills just yet (Yes Dad you can wipe your brow). I picked this book up purely because of its cover (ok and because I was hearing such wonderful things about it), the wonder of this book lies purely in Amy’s writing. She displays her family out for you to see and do with what you please (well make assumptions, pass judgement & marvel at). You can see Amy loves her family with every fiber, bone, piece of skin & nerve of her body and soul. She before you situations of any family, but the catch is that she is telling you how she raised her children the ‘Chinese way’. The Chinese way? Yup! The musical-talent-mathematician-hard-worker-self-disciplined-genius baby maker model of parenting. A no nonsense way to allowing your children to be who they want to and discover their talents.

I have to admit Amy’s methods seem a tad extreme and, in some parts, flawed. I didn’t say it – she did. That is what is so great about this story – everything is a learning curve. Amy did what she, the Chinese mother, could do for her children and accepted the hardships and cuddles that came with it. Hard lessons are learnt in this book; lessons that encourage Western parents to accept only mediocre from their kids because of the fear of damaging them. Amy also points that it sometimes doesn’t work, but only once out of twice.

I loved this book, filled with wit, laughter, tradition, excruciating fights (I am all too familiar with) and family.

The April / May book list

After much thought here are the books that made my April/May reading list (click title to read more about the book):

1. The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards

2. Ape House by Sara Gruen

3. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

4. Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Finished & starting: Sarah Addison Allen

Since discovering Sarah Addison Allen, a year or two ago, I have been smitten with her style of writing and the way she interweaves the real with the magical (much like my other favourite author, Alice Hoffman does).

Recently I finished The Girl Who Chased The Moon, the third novel by Sarah Addison Allen, and absolutely loved it.
In a nutshell - it's a very sweet tale about a girl who, after her mother passes away, moves to a new town to live with her almost giant-sized grandfather. While on her search to discover more about her mother's past, she befriends a boy with an unusual family secret and a woman who hopes her baking will bring lost loves back to her. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a sweet and whimsical read.

This week I ordered her latest novel, The Peach Keeper, online (note: it will be available in South Africa from April). I really cannot wait to read it and have read nothing but good reviews about it. Heres a tiny bit about the book :
"At 30, Willa Jackson returns to her small Southern hometown, Walls of Water, N.C., in the wake of a failed marriage to her college sweetheart. She's determined now to lead the quiet life she believes her father wants her to have, but is soon derailed by the wealthy and powerful Osgoods, the family that shaped her high school experience." - Barnesandnoble.com

Books are...

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends;

they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers." - Charles W. Eliot

Review: Murder is as easy as clockwork

A review by Sally Partridge (writer)

Margie Orford's Like Clockwork is a gritty crime novel set in the Cape Town most tourists don't get to see: the underground.

A serial killer is murdering young girls and arranging their bodies publicly in grotesque poses meant to shock. The police call on the expertise of part-time profiler and journalist Dr Clare Hart, but she's already way ahead of them, and is about to crack the lid on a human trafficking ring that could be the answer to the whole mystery.

 The book is structured like a cat and mouse chase, with Clare and her on-again-off-again squeeze Captain Riedwaan Faizal racing after a killer before he murders someone else. There's a also a juicy back story between the pair that's hinted at throughout the novel, as well as Clare's own mysterious past that is inextricably linked to the case. Ms Orford is a terrible tease. These tasty titbits are designed to make the reader reach for the next in the series to find out more.

The book delivers a glimpse into the inner workings of the local sex trade which is nothing like the glitzy billboards you see on national roads. Even the V&A Waterfront is shown to have a shady side, and whether its fact or fiction is anyone’s guess. It also offers a unique insight on the challenges faced by the South African police force on a daily basis which I’m sure will challenge many preconceptions.

Like Clockwork is definitely recommended as a holiday guilty-pleasure read, especially if you're in Cape Town and want to read more about the places you're seeing, whether a murder took place there or not.

Five reasons to read Margie Orford

1. She's South Africa's queen of crime
Margie Orford is something of a legend. She's a Cape Town local cum crime writer extraordinaire with international book deals coming out of her ears. She's also fabulous, never attending a function without dressing the part.

2. It’s not overly gratuitous
Any fan of crime novels will know that serial killers do some nasty things to their female victims. Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is testament to this fact. Orford's murders are just as violent, but they're not as grisly as the more established crime novels out there, which read like they’re extensions of the movie Saw.

3. Its like a tour of Cape Town
Like Clockwork is set in Cape Town and if you look past all the crime scenes and gangsters, there's some lovely descriptions of the Mother City. Look out for the V&A Waterfront, Sea Point Promenade and even Century City.

4. Because chicks rule
Dr Clare Hart is an awesome. She's a tough-as-nails hardened journalist and criminal profiler, but she's also sexy. She keeps her body toned with morning runs and never hesitates to show it off when the rugged Riedwaan is around.

5. It's the first of three
If you hate that depressed slump that comes after finishing a good book, fear not. Like Clockwork is only the first in a series of crime novels featuring Dr Clare Hart. When you're done with this one, get straight into Blood Rose and then Daddy's Girl.

The February / March book list

Here are the books that made the feb/March book list....

1. The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

2. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

3. The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

4. Room by Emma Donoghue

* click on book title for more info