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| This flamming plum pudding was the end of a beautiful Christmas dinner at Nat's house. |
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| Nat, carving the roast |
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| Len, Nat, Carol, Adam, and Kaywin at the table. |
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| Miriam sent me this photo of Christmas Eve with Hayden's family. |
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| Evelyn, Tom, and Alice had the traditional Bavarian Weisswurst on Christmas Eve. Alice sent me a photo of her plate. |
At Christmas time, street art becomes something new as many families decorate their homes with lights, wreaths and other greens, and lawn decorations.
I always enjoy good street art, especially murals and imaginative (but not destructive) graffiti, and I like to share my finds with other lovers of outdoor art work, which I've done this week with these Christmas houses decorated all around me. Each week Sami at the blog COLOURFUL WORLD offers us all a chance to see a wide and global variety of street art at MONDAY MURALS. Sami's blog event is cancelled for the last two weeks of the year, but I'm still sharing my street art — that is, Christmas houses — this weekend, and sending a thank you to Sami and all the participants.
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| In 1953, Isaac Asimov’s Sci-Fi-Detective story “The Caves of Steel” was set in the distant future when space travel to colonized planets would be the norm. Many authors set detective fiction in rather exotic places: this one is extreme! (source) |
Jean-Luc Bannalec is an author I’ve been reading recently, and I thought he was French. Nope. Turns out that Banalec is a pen name, and his real name is Jörg Bong. He is German. Bannaluc’s Brittany mystery series about Commissaire Dupin is his big international success. His police officer, Dupin, is from Paris, so we are seeing Brittany from the point of view of an outsider, but not a German! Dupin loves Breton food, which is described in every novel as part of the local color.
Thinking about this made me consider how many other detective fictions are set in places not native to their authors, about detectives from very different backgrounds from their own. I’ve also noticed that in creating their exotic settings, many of these authors use local foods to create atmosphere and provide a background for the action — in several cases, cookbooks have been written to show what the detectives ate and how it was prepared. I’ve enjoyed reading books from each of these series, and recommend them all!
Martin Walker, born in Scotland, was a journalist who became a crime-fiction writer. His Bruno books are written in English about the Perigord area of France, where he and his wife have lived for some time. Bruno is an amazing cook. Walker has also written a cookbook about the fantastic French country cuisine that is described in every novel — I’ve been exploring his recipes.
Georges Simenon, author of a renowned series of police procedural novels, was actually from Belgium. His famous Inspector Maigret lives in Paris and works for the Paris police. Madam Maigret is a fantastic cook — and yes, there’s a Madam Maigret cookbook.
Donna Leon, inventor of Guido Brunetti of the Venice police force, was born in New Jersey. All thirty-two of her novels were written in English and have never been translated into Italian. Brunetti is another policeman who loves good food — and yes, there’s a cookbook.
Tony Hillerman invented the Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. He lived not far from the reservation, but no way was he a Native American. Hillerman’s daughter has continued the series after his death. She’s also written guides — including restaurant guides — to the New Mexico area, though food is not as central in these books as in many others. Her book Santa Fe Flavors isn’t connected to the detective novels.
Jason Goodwin has written five novels about Investigator Yashim, set in Istanbul in the 1830s. Goodwin, who was born in England, identifies himself as "a novelist, historian and columnist; host, dragoman and hierophant." Yashim, while in the course of solving a crime, often spends time buying food at the market and then preparing it, which is described in great detail. Goodwin has published a collection of recipes titled Yashim Cooks Istanbul. (Note: a hierophant is a priest of esoteric mysteries.)
Louise Penny, born in Toronto, Canada, was a radio host; she is the much-loved author of a series of books set in Quebec, featuring French-speaking detective Armand Gamache. Yes, there is food: Penny has written a short cookbook titled The Nature of the Feast, which is available online from her publisher.
Sujata Massey, born in Sussex, England, grew up in St. Paul Minnesota from the age of five. She has written two series of novels featuring amateur women detectives. The first series is set in Bombay, India, in the early 1920s with detective Perveen Mistry. The second is set in Tokyo and Washington, DC, with a Japanese-American detective named Rei Shimura. Every one of these novels offers lots of food descriptions that create atmosphere and help define the characters.
Edgar Allen Poe was one of the first ever detective writers, and his most famous story is “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” He never actually visited Paris. (Note that his detective, who also appeared in two other stories, was also named Dupin!)
Robert van Gulik may be the creator of a detective with the most totally different cultural background from his own. Van Gulik’s character, Judge Dee, based on a semi-fictitious Tang Dynasty government official, investigates a series of murders in various parts of China in the seventh century. Van Gulik was born in the Netherlands, and wrote both in Dutch and English. He got the idea for his series from a 19th century treatment of the character, but invented new plots and stories.
Blog post © 2023 mae sander
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| Birding allows me to enjoy the beauty of the natural world. Yet anyone who appreciates the natural world has a lot to worry about. This bird, the kingfisher, has long been a symbol of calm weather, peace, and love. |
What is important to me this year? Global human and natural welfare are fragile. The future looks uncertain. My focus leans towards the US because that’s where I live, and I see many causes for concern, serious concern. Many of the issues that I worry about are closely linked to one another. And there are so many of them!
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| Sunrise on one of the shortest days of the year. We hope things will start to look better. |
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| I've also reread a mystical novel based on Jewish traditions and folklore: The World to Come by Dara Horn. Reading good books: another cosolation. |
A classic French Tarte Tatin is a sweet pastry made with apples: a renowned dish where cooked apples are baked under a lid of flaky pastry and then flipped over for serving, so that the crust remains crisp. Walker explains that “it occurred to Bruno … that the method might be applied just as successfully to most vegetables.” Specifically, Bruno used this idea for baking with the abundant red onions that he grew in his garden. We were lucky to find beautiful red onions at Whole Foods, as we don’t have a garden — anyway, it’s fun to read fiction about one’s dinner. (p. 22)
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| Grating butter for the pastry to make Bruno’s onion tart. |
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| Roasting the onions — first on the stove-top, then in the oven. |
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| Top the roasted onions with the pastry. |
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| Beautifully brown, just out of the oven. The pastry is crisp and flaky. |
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| Before serving, this tart is inverted on a plate, so that the onions are on top of the pastry, and it’s garnished with goat cheese. The red onions become very dark, but are not charred. |
“The simple question of who had a material benefit after a murder case – everyone always wanted to deflect it of course – might have seemed old-fashioned, but it was still elementary. Who got something out of the death? And what, exactly? ‘Traditional’ motives for murder still ruled the world: envy, humiliations and hurts, revenge, jealousy and greed dominated all statistics by a wide margin.” (Murder on Brittany Shores by Jean-Luc Bannalec, p. 148)
“It was true he loved Breton cuisine and the Amiral had all of the delicious Breton specialities, but nothing to Dupin’s mind, absolutely nothing, could beat entrecôte with chips (the real national dish of the Grande Nation – Dupin thought they should be very proud of it). There was nothing like it. Nothing even close after a day like that. And red wine to wash it down, a deep red Languedoc. Rich, velvety and smooth.” (Death in Brittany, p. 97)
He also finds good food in other restaurants as he investigates a series of crimes. Sometimes he enjoys these meals alone, sometimes with his fellow policemen:
“Madame Mendu had been looking after them, feeding them regional specialities: rillettes (scallop rillettes were Dupin’s favourite), paté, Breton goat’s cheese, various types of mustard, baguettes and a bottle of red Faugères. Dupin sat down and ate with them.” (Death in Brittany, p. 154)
I read these two books a couple of years ago, and decided to read them again. I must admit that I didn’t remember the details of either plot, so I enjoyed the suspense as Dupin questions the witnesses and suspects in the matter of multiple murders, while evading the demands of his more politically-oriented superiors. The atmosphere of the fishing villages and small-town life in both books is delightfully portrayed. I think I’ll read more of this series.
One more unbearably delicious description of a dish you can eat only if you are on the Breton coast:
“The fish stew – you could never say fish soup – smelt indescribable. Dupin recognised all of his favourite fish: angler fish, sea bass, red mullet, gilt head, pollack, cod, hake and sole, his favourite shellfish: praires, scallops, blue mussels, palourdes grises and even better – palourdes roses – along with langoustines of various sizes and crab. It was in fact a huge, deep soup bowl with an impressive mountain towering upwards. More hurriedly than he’d intended, he poured the sauce over the fish and the potatoes. And ate. He tasted the whole sea. Incredible – the fish, but especially the broth, a concentrate that had been reduced for hours and hours.” (Murder on Brittany Shores, p. 316)
Blog post © 2023 mae sander
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| Crunchy and full of oats, nuts, and dried fruit. |
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| In the oven |
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| A few of the many recalled products, including the one we returned. |
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