Reading
If you’d like to be convinced of Henry Oliver’s “Ten reasons to read great literature in 2026” I’d suggest Sleepwalker in a Fog by Tatyana Tolstaya for the first two… “particular pleasure” and “the force of language”. I mean, sure, read any great literature you would like, but having just surfaced from this one, this slim volume of short stories, I feel a little like laughing along with the jollity of her descriptions, I feel like I’ve been awash in the brilliance and control of her use of words. Here are two quotations:
People assert themselves, sink their hooks in, refuse to go - it's only natural! Take the recording of a concert, for example. A hush falls over the hall, the piano thunders, the keys flash like lozenges gone berserk, lickety-split, hand over fist, wilder and wilder; the sweet tornado swirls, the heart can't stand it, it'll pop right out, it quivers on the last strand, and suddenly: ahem. Ahe he kherr hem. Khu khu khu. Someone coughed. A real solid, throaty cough. And that's that. The concert is branded from birth with a juicy, influenza stamp, multiplied on millions of black suns, dispersed in all possible directions. The heavenly bodies will burn out, the earth will become crusted in ice, and the planet will move along inscrutable stellar paths like a frozen lump for all time, but that smart aleck's cough won't be erased, it won't disappear, it will be forever inscribed on the diamond tablets of immortal music - after all, music is immortal, isn't it? - like a rusty nail hammered into eternity; the resourceful fellow asserted himself, scribbled his name in oil paint on the cupola, splashed sulfuric acid on the divine features. [From the title story, “Sleepwalker in a Fog”]
Having company in the country - it's not like having company in the city. There's a pleasant lack of obligation. In the city a guest won't just drop in, he'll phone first to say, I'd like to come by and visit you. The hostess will glance quickly at the floor: is there a lot of dust? - she'll do a mental check: is the bed still unmade? - she'll give a nervous thought to the refrigerator shelves - all in all, it makes for tension. Stress. But in the country none of that matters: what to sit on, what to drink, or from what cups. And it's no disaster if you leave a guest alone for five minutes - in the city that's a cardinal sin, but not in the country. It's a different type of hospitality. The guest lounges in a wicker armchair, has a smoke or just sits quietly, gazing out the window at the view, at the sky, and there's a sunset playing through all its colors - it'll give off a red or lilac stripe, then a golden crust will flare on a cloud, or everything will be tinged with a frosty green or lemon - a star will sparkle... Better than television. [From a story titled “Heavenly Flame”]
Eating
Last Sunday, I made this Sheet Pan Chicken with Tomatoes and Chickpeas by Carla Lalli Music and it was well liked!
I was very happy to receive The Big Book of Bread (see here) as a gift on my birthday and chose, as a first recipe, Knackebrot to feature in a platter. It’s an intriguing bread, flat and seedy, but, as the recipe’s introduction says, it is flavourful and lightly sweet.
The New Year’s Eve spread at a friend’s house looked like this:
Photo credit: Sébastien Forest
It reminds me that I should mention a fruit dip we really like… Contrary to most fruit dip recipes found online, this one doesn’t feature cream cheese. I suspect it’s consequently a bit lighter. I hadn’t kept the little cookbook it came in, called Rookie Cook, from the Company’s Coming series, and I regretted that decision just for this recipe. Fortunately, the Internet Archive has a copy you can borrow and because of that, I had the pleasure of being able to serve it to the kids and share in their enjoyment of it!
Cool Fruit Dip
From Jean Paré’s cookbook Rookie Cook (p. 23)
¾ cup marshmallow crème
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
Beat marshmallow crème, sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla together in medium bowl until blended and brown sugar is dissolved.
Fold in whipped topping. Makes 2½ cups.
Happy Sunday!