Weekend Cooking: Vintage by David Baker

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

_______

Quick take: David Baker's Vintage is a fun romp through the world of wine as a down-and-out food writer makes a last-ditch effort to save his career and his marriage by attempting to track down a bottle of one the rarest vintages from a small French vineyard.

General plot: Bruno Tannenbaum--a Chicago food journalist--was once a crack reporter and successful book author; however, it's been years since he's felt the spark and confidence to write well. It doesn't help that he drinks a little bit more than he should and that he just can't seem to stick to budget, especially when it comes to food.

After he's been fired from his newspaper job, his friend Aleksei offers Bruno a job cataloging a wine cellar that has recently come into his possession. Bruno knows better than to ask Aleksei how he acquired the wine and happily takes on the task.

But checking out the wine is far from simple. After a series of zany and unfortunate events, Bruno finds himself on the search for a rare bottle of French wine made during the Nazi occupation. With a Russian soldier after him and a competitive reporter racing him, Bruno sets off for Europe with little more than hope and a prayer.

In the end, Bruno discovers much more than what he was looking for.

Thoughts: Vintage is a like a madcap adventure in which Bruno, a techno dinosaur, gets in to more trouble than seems possible. Fortunately, he's a charming man and makes friends easily, so he also gets out of trouble, despite a few bumps on the head. Although I liked Bruno and the story was entertaining, the best parts of the novel were the descriptions of food, cooking, and wine.

Here Bruno's telling someone how to make elk tenderloin:

Stud with garlic spears. Brush with olive oil. Good stuff. Extra, extra. Roll in fresh-cracked black pepper, not too sharp, a bit crunchy You want it seared on the outside but real pink in the middle. You're going for contrast here. Grill it. Soon as the juice is clear, you're done. Got that?

Bruno goes on to suggest serving it with grilled asparagus and wild rice and a good-quality Pommard Premier Cru or Oregon Pinot. Yummm.

Recommendation: David Baker's novel may not be the most literary you've read all year, but if you like wine, food, and a crazy adventure, then give Vintage a try. Start reading on a lazy weekend afternoon--accompanied by a glass of wine, of course--and you'll be finished just in time to cook up a lovely Bruno-inspired dinner.

Published by Touchstone, September 2015
ISBN-13: 9781501112515
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

Click for more

Le Tote Subscription Service (Clothing & Accessories): A Review

As you may remember, I've been a happy Stitch Fix subscriber for a few years now (see my Unboxing Post from last January). Although I'm still a fan, I've recently discovered a couple more subscription services that I may love even more.

Today I'm going to tell you all about Le Tote (clothes and accessories), which works differently from most other subscription services. I'm a little in love with Le Tote but am clear-headed enough to recognize some of the cons. I'll describe the service, show you my latest box, and then list the good, the bad, and the tips and recommendations.

By the way, I learned about Le Tote after seeing an Instagram photo from @Heidenkind (Tasha) and used her coupon to get my first month at about half price (you can get my coupon by clicking here, which also gives me a discount).

Le Tote is a completely different kind of clothing service from Stitch Fix. For $49 a month you can have an almost unlimited wardrobe because Le Tote is actually a rental service. Sounds weird, I know. But take a minute to see how it works.

After you sign in to the Le Tote website, you will take a short quiz about your body shape and size, your style, and your likes and dislikes. Then you'll browse through their inventory of clothing and accessories, adding items you like to your closet (making up a kind of wish list). Then a stylist puts together a tote for you, taking into consideration your closet, your quiz, and your size. Each tote contains at least three items of clothing and two accessories.

Unlike Stitch Fix, you get to see your tote before it's shipped. Once your tote is ready, you'll have twenty-four hours to swap out any items you want so you can get a box that fits your current needs. Hit the complete button, and your tote should arrive in a couple of days.

When your box comes, you get to wear the clothes. Yes, you heard me. Just go ahead and wear the items. You can keep them as long as you'd like: the whole month, a few days, a week. Then place all the items in the return bag and send them back to Le Tote. You don't have to clean them -- the laundry (and sterilization of the jewelry) is on them! Oh and you don't pay extra for shipping.

If you want to buy something, just keep it and return the other items. Whenever you buy an item, you receive an extra piece in your next tote. Like most such services, you have an opportunity to rate your tote once you've had a chance to try on the clothes and accessories.

Here's what I got in my box this week (you can click the image to see it full size): A black blazer that can be worn over jeans as easily as with a skirt or dress. A green loose T-shirt (it looks almost gray in the photo). A bright dress that has more shape to it than it looks hanging up. (I wasn't sure about it, but once I put it on, I thought it was fun and bright.) Stone/agate earrings in earthy colors. (These are perfect for perking up jeans and a T-shirt.) A batik-like blouse that fits like a dream. A pink and faux snakeskin purse that matches both the blouse and the dress.

Everything fit (really!), and although I don't think I'll buy anything from this box (don't quote me on this and see tips below), I'll definitely make sure I get the blouse, purse, and jacket in future totes. All three are super pieces that I can see wearing again and again. I really like the dress, earrings, and T-shirt too and am looking forward to wearing them this week, but I'm not sure they'll end up on my must-have-again list (but you never know).

What I love and some tips

• You can have unlimited boxes each month. Once your return envelop has been scanned into the USPS system, your stylist will begin putting together your next tote. I got four totes in my first month, keeping each one for a week.
• If you really love something but don't want to buy it, you can tell your stylist to send it again (or you can swap it back in a tote yourself). So in theory you could wear, say, a dress a couple of times of month without having to buy it.
• If you return something and begin to regret it, you can always buy it outright for the discounted membership price.
• Every once in a while Le Tote puts selected items on sale, so you can buy something you were on the fence about for an even deeper discount.
• Did I mention that you don't have to do the laundry?
• One of my most favorite things: all the clothing at Le Tote is shown on a model, and you can view the items from front, side, and behind. This means you can see how the clothing (as well as most of the accessories) look when worn. No surprises that a shirt is too sheer or a skirt is too flouncy. I loved being able to fill "my closet" this way.
• Le Tote subscribers sometimes upload photos of themselves wearing their Le Tote clothes or accessories, giving you another way to check out items before you add them to your wish list.
• Although Le Tote's quiz is shorter than the one I filled out for Stitch Fix, in four boxes, there has been only one item that didn't fit me perfectly (including dresses, sweaters, shirts, skirts, and jackets). And that shirt, though a little loose, was still wearable. This is HUGE, everything really fits.
• I like surprises just fine, but I love that I can see my tote before it ships -- just in case I want to make a swap.
• I've discovered that my opinion of clothing and jewelry can change once I've worn an item for a while. Sometimes a shirt or skirt looks great in front of the mirror but is not so great after I've worn it for six hours. So instead of buying such a garment (like I would have with Stitch Fix or in a store), I get to simply return it.

The not so good

• On the negative side: When you buy an item from Le Tote you pay a discounted price, but you are paying above and beyond your subscription fee. So to get a true cost, you have to take into consideration the money you're spending on the subscription as well as the price of the clothing.
• On the other hand, unless you simply can't live without the piece, there isn't a reason to own it. You can always rent it again.
• Although I recognized many of the brands, the quality is not high-end designer. If this is important to you, you might be disappointed. (I, however, am fine with mid-level brands for everyday garments and fashion jewelry.)

Final tips and recommendations and thoughts

• If you're used to Stitch Fix, you'll be tempted to buy something from each box (at least I was). For Le Tote to be cost-effective, you need to keep only what you absolutely MUST have. If you aren't totally in love, then let it go and rent it again.
• If you work outside your home or live in a city where you're out and about a lot, then Le Tote seems like a no-brainer. For about $50 a month you can have new-to-you clothes and accessories every single week and you won't have launder any of it.
• Although I'm sure all the clothes and jewelry I've gotten from Le Tote were pre-worn, everything looked new. The quality was good, and I recognize many of the brands.

I guess you can tell that I am whole-heartedly recommending Le Tote. I have only one reservation: because I work from home and we don't go out a lot, I'm not sure whether Le Tote is going to be a good deal for me in the long run. I plan to keep going with Le Tote for now, but I'm going to have think long and hard about it over the following months.

This is a big dilemma for me -- I really love the clothes, accessories, and service, but I'm just not sure if I'm a good candidate. If you have to look nice for work every day, Le Tote could be a life-saver. If you'd like to try a month of Le Tote for about half price, you can use my referral code (which will also give me a discount). If you do decide to try it, let me know what you think. I hope you fall in love too.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I paid for my own subscription.

Click for more

Wordless Wednesday 354

Number 4 (Denmark)

Click image to enlarge. For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Click for more

Today's Read & Giveaway: If Onions Could Spring Leeks by Paige Shelton

What if you could see ghosts? Not the spooky kind, but restless souls who have unfinished tasks and are looking for lasting peace. Isabelle (Betts) Winston is one of those people who can talk to ghosts, and she tries her best to help, whether the person in need is living or dead.

At first the mournful whistle sounded far away and lonely. I was asleep and I liked the noise, as though it were part of a sad but hopeful dream. But then it became less a part of the dream and more the thing that was waking me up.

—If Onions Could Spring Leeks by Paige Shelton (Penguin Random House / Berkley Prime Crime, 2015, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Broken Rope, Missouri, modern times and 1888
• Circumstances: Betts and her grandmother run a country cooking school, but they share more than a love of food: They both can see and talk to ghosts, who are generally harmless and are seeking assistance. This summer Betts has her hands full, helping star-crossed lovers from 1888, coping with tourists, dealing with culinary students, and solving a modern-day murder. Can living and dead get together to solve the dual mysteries?
• Characters: Betts and her grandmother, Miz; Cliff, her boyfriend; Jerome, a cute ghostly friend; Grace & Robert, ghost lovers seeking help; Jake, friend & historian; Roy, Derek, and other culinary students; various townspeople and other ghosts
• Genre: cozy mystery with paranormal elements and a culinary slant
• Themes: friendship, race relations, family, town politics
• People & mysteries: I loved Betts's personality; she's a kind, caring young woman and is a friend to both the dead and the living. Her dual boyfriends (ghost & breathing) and her relationship to her grandmother and friend Jake are fun to read about. The success of a cozy mystery rests on its characters and setting, and Shelton has done a super job with both. I felt fully invested in both mysteries and wanted things to work out for everyone involved.
• Setting: Broken Rope, Missouri, is a place of action: both now and in the past. In the 1880s, the town boasted a lively train station and today it's a tourist attraction, complete with Wild West shows. There's a lot to like about the town and its people.
• Cooking: You all already know that I love a good culinary mystery, so the cooking school aspects of the story grabbed my attention. The evening summer class at the cooking school was all about veggies, and the book includes a few recipes.
• Good to know: This is the fifth in the Country Cooking School mystery series, but the first of the books I read. Paige Shelton offered just enough background so I didn't feel lost. I'm adding her to my cozy reading list. 
• Recommendation: If you're looking for something different (in a good way) in your light mystery reading, you should give If Onions Could Spring Leeks a try. I plan on tracking down the earlier books to learn more about Betts, Miz, Jake, and the rest of the gang.

Giveaway

Thanks to Berkley Prime Crime I can offer one of my readers a copy of Paige Shelton's If Onions Could Spring Leeks (I love that title!). Because the publisher will be sending out the book, the giveaway is restricted to those of you with a U.S. mailing address. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to fill out the form. I'll pick a winner using a random number generator on August 18. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!

Click for more

Review: An Age of License and Displacement by Lucy Knisley

I loved Lucy Knisley's memoirs French Milk and Relish but for some reason fell behind reading her newest travel memoirs, An Age of License and Displacement. Her first two books were perfect for the foodie in me, and I was looking forward to more of the same. Although Knisley's latest work is a little less culinary focused, I still enjoyed the books.

An Age of License documents Knisley's trip to a Norwegian comic con, and then her continued travels to Sweden to see a guy she likes, to Germany to meet up with friends, and finally to France to visit another friend and spend a few days with her mother (who is traveling with friends).

Much of the book is about Knisley's relationship with Henrik, a young man she met in New York and then traveled with in Sweden and Germany and then later in Paris. Knisley also talks about her insecurities at her newfound fame in the comics world and her relationship with her mother and her mother's friends in France.

The second book, Displacement, is about a cruise she went on as a kind of chaperone to her aging grandparents. Knisley is quite frank about her thoughts, frustrations, and heartache when she discovers that her grands are sliding into dementia. Juxtaposed throughout her travelogue are excerpts from her grandfather's World War II diary, which she brought along hoping to use it to prompt some conversation. Instead, Knisley gains a deeper understanding of her grandfather and her own larger background.

In An Age of License, Knisley is still a self-indulgent twenty-something, enjoying the last days of freedom before settling down into her so-called real life. She is transitioning between young adulthood to true adulthood, beginning to gain a more mature outlook. In Displacement she sees some of the harder aspects of old age, and her reactions seem very real and honest, especially for a young woman still in her twenties.

The artwork in An Age of License is mostly black and white and in Knisley's trademark spare style with unbordered panels. Displacement is in full color and the art is slightly more detailed, but it is still recognizably Knisley. The excerpts from her grandfather's diary are in sepia, which works well.

Although each of these books can be read on their own, the arc of Lucy Knisley's maturation, both as a graphic memoirist and as a person, is best understood by reading all four books in order. Food lovers beware: food and eating are not the focus of either of Knisley's latest work. I enjoyed An Age of License but thought Displacement to have the stronger emotional impact.

Twenty-somethings may be able to relate more readily to Knisley's emotional turmoil than older readers, but her artwork and openness have a wide appeal.

Published by Fantagraphics, 2014 and 2015
ISBN-13: 9781606997680 and 9781606998106
Source: Bought (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

Click for more