Book: Secret Son by Laila Lalami

Both a page turner and an insider's take on a stratified Moroccan world, the novel Secret Son leaves the reader yearning for more. It is a story which chronicles many lives, their decisions, aspirations, and despairs. The big drawback is that Secret Son unfolds at a breakneck speed, so while there are some passages which take take the time to elaborate on characters' emotions or histories, these are rare moments. This reader finds herself wanting to linger and learn more, only to be pushed forward for the sake of a pressing plot line. Ironically, the line itself abruptly breaks off, and this reader wonders, "Is my book missing pages, or is this really how the author ends it?" Significantly, the quality of the writing suffers from the lack of detail and inquiry. Perhaps the reader will have to look to Lalami's second novel, a sequel to Secret Son, to have her desire for an extended treatment of character and scene satisfied--and to know the fates of the people she was forced to abandon at crucial moments of their lives.

Scrambled Eggs with Basil; Potatoes With Garam Masala; Pea Shoots with Lemon Drizzle

June 13, 2009



Saturday Morning. Breakfast. A quick pick-us-up meal to go with coffee and juice is what we needed to get the weekend started.

So I cut up some organic potatoes, leaving the skin on. Microwaved them until they were just soft.
In a cast iron pan, melted butter. Added sea salt. Added the potatoes. Sprinkled some Mexican chili powder and garam masala. Took the pan off the stove when the potatoes were slightly browned.


In another cast iron pan, heated up a tad of olive oil with a tad of butter. Cracked a few eggs in and sea salt. Scrambled the eggs around and just before they were cooked (I like them on the soft side), I added some chopped basil leaves.

Places the potatoes and eggs together on each serving dish. Garnished with organic pea shoots (from Trader Joe's), drizzled with a bit of lemon and sprinkled with, yes, sea salt.

Quick Tofu with Zucchini

June 9, 2009

It was 7:30 in the evening, and I had not yet made dinner.
The family was valiantly but quietly staving off hunger by munching
chips and bananas and eating spoons of cream cheese.
It was time to throw together a meal, or everyone would be going
straight for the Bread and Circus (sold by Whole Foods) package
of vegan chocolate cupcakes, which are just yummy but which were
really for dessert.

So I pulled out for 4 servings: a cup of basmati rice, two packets of firm organic tofu (diced), three medium sized zucchinis, 3/4 teaspoon garlic paste, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, sesame oil, 1/2 a lemon, crushed red pepper and a teaspoon of sugar.

After getting the rice cooking, I threw all of the other ingredients together and at once in a heavy pot. I simmered the mix for about 12 minutes, or until the zucchini began to get soft. I served the tofu and veggie over a bed of warm basmati rice. There, a quick and nutritious meal, and not so heavy that we couldn't reach for the great cupcakes afterwards.

Vegetarian Carbonara

Monday, June 8 2009

I had done my grocery shopping over the weekend and had a packet of 6 slices of portabello mushroom and 6-8 oz of organic spinach, both from Whole Foods, which I wanted use before they were no longer fresh. I had also picked up some wonderfully fragrant basil leaves from Trader Joes, as well as a pint of red, plump grape tomatoes (with about 1/4 pint left) and a bag of two bake-at-home baguettes.

Grated parmesan, olive oil, 2 eggs, 3/4 lb of angel hair pasta, sea salt, two tablespoons butter, 1/2 of a sweet or Vidalia onion, and crushed red pepper were already in the pantry and fridge at home.

While there was some bacon in the fridge with which to make a traditional carbonara dish, I wanted the family to go vegetarian for dinner, in an attempt to make up for our having eaten for two meals on the weekend.

The recipe (for 3-4 servings) I came up with is:

1. In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, heat the three tablespoons of olive oil and the two tablespoons of butter until the butter melts.

2. Add: the onion, thinly sliced, the mushrooms, the 1/4 pint of grape tomatoes (cut in half), a 1/4 tsp of sea salt. Saute over low heat.

3. When the tomatoes are little soft (but not watery, falling out of their peels), add the spinach.
Saute over the low heat. When the spinach is limp, turn the heat off.

4. Set the water boiling for the pasta. Heat the oven or toaster oven to 375 for the baguettes.

5. Meanwhile, in a large pasta serving bowl, whisk together the eggs and parmesan.

6. When the water is ready, put in the angel hair and cook for 2 min 30 sec. At the same time, put the baguettes into bake, following the directions on the bag.

7. Drain the pasta. Put the skillet back on low.

8. Stir the pasta into the veggie mixture in the skillet.

9. Pour the entire contents of the skillet into the pasta bowl with the egg and parmesan.

10. Using two utensils, toss and mix the pasta so that all the egg is cooked by its heat.

11. Garnish with basil leaves and red crushed pepper. Serve with baguette.

Dessert Suggestion: Blueberries and strawberries, with a sprinkle of brown sugar. Pretty good berries are now available at both Whole Foods and Trader Joes.