An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler seems a most appropriate thing to talk about right before a holiday so focused on the meal. This is the only book in recent memory that I checked out of the library, read cover to cover and then immediately purchased for myself. It is a wonderful meditation on cooking, eating and living well.
"Cooking with Economy and Grace" is the subtitle and it describes this book fully. There are eloquently written passages spelling out the wisdom of stretching the ends of one meal into the beginnings of the next and learning to truly appreciate the value of cooking.
It is about the magic of transforming the most humble of ingredients into a full and satisfying meal: Soaking a few slices of red onion in some wine vinegar with a pinch of salt transforms fresh ricotta on toast into a luscious sandwich. Add a few herbs and a drizzle of olive oil and it's heavenly. And don't throw away those onion skins or herb stems, here's what to do with them …
This is everyday cooking at its finest presented with intelligence and charm. And yet there is so much more in this book … I can't say enough about it. Read it.
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