Amy and Tolstoi

I think it’s time I give a little review on a couple of books I’ve read recently. I know I’ve never done this before, but I feel these two deserve a mention!
The first one was Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy. I’m including this one because a couple of you were interested to hear what I thought of it. I read this in February/ early March, so it’s not exactly fresh in my mind. I thought it was an enjoyable read and made me chuckle a couple of times. You have to read of bit of background to really get it (info provided by Persephone and Wikipedia was plenty by the way, no need for serious research!), and having some basic knowledge of Jewish culture might help as well. Anyway, I thought it was an easy read, a fast one too, which was nice for me as I was in between big books. The storyline? Well I don’t want to give anything away, but it’ll surprise you right until the end. All in all, a pleasant read, nothing too strenuous for the mind, but really quite enjoyable.

The second book I’d like to talk about is Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina. I’ve just finished this (literally yesterday during my lunch break!) and unfortunately I have mixed feelings about it. First of all, I was a little put off at first because it resembles a brick. 816 pages, not that anyone’s counting… and a page at the start listing out all the different characters and how you should pronounce their names properly. That totally freaked me out, I thought I’d have to start drawing family trees or something (this has been done during my school days!).

But actually, I was pleasantly surprised by the book. The translation I read was really very good. I was worried the language might be a bit old fashioned, but not at all, it was really enjoyable. Characters were introduced slowly, which meant you had time to get your head around who’s who, and how people are related. The book is divided into 8 Books too, each sub-divided into smaller chapters (at most 4 pages long), which made reading this on the train very practical indeed.

In the end, I must say I really enjoyed reading this book, it was really interesting and very different from anything I’ve read before. I did get lost occasionally in discussions about agriculture, but overall, it gets a thumbs up. Not two though, because I wasn’t really taken by the ending. Didn’t really do it for me. I’d preferred it if Tolstoi had carried on focusing on the main plot. But then who am I to criticise Tolstoi?!!

So there, my last two books. What’s next? I’m not sure really, maybe one of the two Persephone books I bought at the same time as Ruben Sachs, maybe a little bit of a reading break and some train crafting instead!

Cheap as chips

In these times of increasing food prices and economic uncertainty, everyone is trying to tighten their belt slightly. People are conscious that weekly food bills are reaching ridiculous levels, and we for one are trying to do something about it. The Petit Filoux household has a much loved subscription to a monthly food magazine, but most recipes do involve buying new ingredients, or items we seldom use. Even though this is good in the sense that it broadens our culinary experience and shakes us out of a food rut we occasionally find ourselves stuck in, it does mean our food bill goes up accordingly.

I feel strongly about animal welfare, and even though I'm not extreme about it, I do think that when it comes down to food, you should be careful about what you buy. Since seeing footage about chicken farms in particular, I have stopped buying cheap chicken. I feel that if you cannot afford good quality chicken, you shouldn't just buy the cheaper alternative (which in all cases will not provide as many nutrients and far more rubbish which they inject in the meat to make it look more plump/ juicier etc). Just buy the good stuff, only less often. Surely that's not unreasonable? One chef in particular always goes on about going to your local butcher's to buy cheap meat. However, you don't have to buy cheaper cuts to get a good deal. We went to ours at the weekend and noticed they still sell rabbits at £4.50. That's for a whole rabbit, already prepared for you (skinned, gutted, jointed). A rabbit, even though small in size, does have a lot of meat on it, and really, you can't get more free range than that! (They 're caught by ferrets during the corn harvest).

A while back we bought a couple and stuck them in the freezer. Now, rabbit isn't to every one's taste and I accept that. Personally, I love it, especially in a cream and mustard sauce. But it can be fiddly, and if you only ever eat chicken breast, you might find it too strong in taste. If you're up for a challenge though, or simply something slightly different, and good for your wallet, this is a dead simple recipe which will leave you with a smile on your face. And a full belly more importantly!

Ingredients:

• 2 shoulders and 2 legs (the saddle is best kept to enjoy in all its glory with a cream and mustard sauce)
• a large handful of mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 carrot, cut in chunks
• 1/2 leek, thickly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• a good slug of red wine (I used red wine ice cubes I'd made with a bottle we weren't too keen on but which would still be perfect for cooking)
• 2tsp herbes de provence
• 3tbsp single cream
• 2tsp mustard
• stock

Method:

• Brown the rabbit in a little olive oil in a large pot.
• Add the onions and mix around.
• Add the mushroom, carrot, leek and garlic and leave to cook for 5min. Add the herbs and freshly ground pepper.
• Add the red wine, turn the heat up to evaporate the alcohol, then add enough stock to cover the meat and veg.
• Place in the oven at 150degrees C for 1 1/2 hours.
• Take the pot out of the oven, take the meat out and place on a plate. Take the veg out with a slotted spoon and place in a pie dish/ whatever you have at hand.
• Boil off the remaining stock if there's too much there, but keep a good enough amount, about 300ml, then pour in your dish over the veg.
• Now shred the meat off the bones,  it should come off very easily.
• Place the meat in the pie dish, then add the cream mixed in with a little mustard.
• Roll some puff pastry on top then place in the oven for 30min at 200degrees C.
• Serve with some roast potatoes.

Reading treat

Bank balance: checked.

Pay day: end of this week.

Wanties level: through the roof.

Do you see where I'm getting at? Yep, I'd seen something I wanted and I desperately wanted to get my little grubby mitts on it. Last Friday provided the perfect opportunity to indulge. And indulge I did.

I left work at a reasonable hour, and enjoyed walking to this lovely little bookshop not too far away. The sun was low in the sky, the air was cold but invigorating. I was feeling happy and inspired. I thought I could go there and treat myself to one book. The second I walked in, I knew this would not do. Bookshelves explored and tiny snippets of information about each book read, I walked out with three. I don't know what came over me but I can tell you one thing: I felt happy. Content. Satisfied. And a little bit guilty too.

I've just finished reading Dickens' Great Expectations, and feel like I need a little break, something a little lighter (and shorter) before embarking on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. So I shall be reading Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy first. Practically, this book seems nice and manageable in size. More importantly, I know it will be fascinating: the author has been described as the Jewish Jane Austen, and she is a feminist.

Now, as soon as I've finished flicking through last month's Good Food and Olive magazines, and my latest Making mag too, I'll make a start on it. My brain needs a little distraction after spending one on one time with Dickens. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Reading

Last year was the year of knitting. I started teaching myself in December 2008, so 2009 was full of experimenting and getting ridiculously excited about yarn. Now don't get me wrong, the excitement for yarn has definitely not died down, far from it, but I've decided to make more room for another hobby of mine, which was sadly put to one side to make more room for the almighty knitting: reading.

I used to read on my commute into London. As I started knitting, the reading slowly faded away. I also found that nothing except knitting actually kept me awake on my evening commute. I'm such a sleeper, put me on a train for more than five minutes and my eyes can't help but close. I'm terrible. Same in cars. Anyway, digressing as usual.

For Christmas, my mum asked me if I wanted anything in particular. She had some ideas of her own, but needed a little help I guess. I asked for some books by Emile Zola. He wrote an amazing number of books which deal with various classes of society across various ages, the Rougon-Macquart series. I read several of these books while at school and then went on to read the few which my local library had in stock. But then it all came to a standstill. So there, I have three new books to read. The books I'd read in the past I'd done in various orders. I want to read these in the order in which they were written. So I'll be starting with La Curée, followed by La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret and finally Le Rêve. I'm excited just thinking about it!!! I know some of you have got reading lists on the go already. What will you be reading in 2010? xx