I Blame Maggie Montgomery...

Once I was all about the words. Now, it's about the words, but also about the food.

I blame Maggie. And of course, indirectly, KAXE. What with the food and the kitchen and all that.

You know Maggie, our fearless leader in all foods local. Maggie's Wednesday Morning Show segments and daily meals in the KAXE kitchen have pushed me to not only cook more but eat (and enjoy) local foods like cheese and butter and milk and meat all from local producers. I even tried goat meat for crying out loud.

But lately I've moved into a whole new realm. I'm addicted to the food channel.... and I wrote a Lake Country Journal article about some local restaurants I enjoy. I have even started reading "foodie" books. Here's a couple I've been working on and will be featuring on upcoming episodes of Realgoodwords.

"Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef's Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood, and the Family Meal" by Gillian Clark. I really enjoyed reading this - and I had no idea how much stress was involved in being a chef....how much politics play into the job and how HUNGRY I could get, reading a book!!

Gillian includes many recipes in the book, like:

Carrot-Sage Soup

Note: The amounts below are halved from the original recipe, which yields
1/2 gallon of soup. If you're game for a large pot of soup, double the amounts.

Ingredients
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 bunches (about 1/8 pound) fresh sage, tied with kitchen twine
salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a large pot, sweat the onions in the oil. When onions are soft and
translucent, add carrots. Cook carrots and onions together, stirring constantly.
Do not let carrots brown, but cook them until they glisten -- about 5 minutes.
Add white wine and simmer until it is almost gone.
Add water and boil the
mixture until you can easily slide a sharp paring knife into the fattest piece
of carrot. Do not cook until carrots fall apart; they should be just tender.
Puree mixture in a blender on the highest speed.

Return soup to pot and add cream. Tie sage to pot handle so that the sage
leaves are immersed in the pot.

Let soup simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and
pepper taste. Discard the sage.

Makes about 1 quart of soup.

I heard a great podcast with Michele Anna Jordan about the book she edited along with Susan Brady called "The World is A Kitchen - Cooking Your Way Through Culture Stories, Recipes, and Resources". I'm just getting into the book - which includes writing about food, recipes and ideas for culinary travel. I'll let you know what I think.

Mother's Day

This week on Realgoodwords I talk with Minnesota poet and editor Kathryn Kysar. She's put together a really wonderful and surprising book of stories by Midwest women writers about their moms. The anthology includes some of my favorite writers like Alison McGhee, Faith Sullivan and Sandra Benitez.

These highly personal yet often universal stories offer windows into those influential mother-daughter moments that have forever shaped the lives and perspectives of the writers, powerful women—authors, spokespeople, scholars, teachers, and some mothers themselves.

As a writer, I was really impressed by how these women really captured their mothers. The book is not just a tribute to mothers, but it gets at the complex relationship.

In a review on Mnartists.org Shannon Gibney wrote a of "Riding Shotgun"....

But finding a book which actually looks, feels, and tastes truly representative of our complex state is, even now, a strange and wonderful occurrence. Riding Shotgun is the real thing, with writers from rural and urban Minnesota—who are Black, Native, Hmong American, Korean American, White, Latina, queer and straight—all weighing in on the difficult, inspiring relationship between mothers and daughters. This diversity of voices, coupled with the high quality of the writing throughout, makes Riding Shotgun a great read.

Diane Glancy’s poetic short “M(other),” likewise, offers insight into the huge emotional distances that often exist between mothers and daughters: “My mother was the other in the house. She was something of which I was not part. I was left alone with her in the house until my father came home and my brother was born. A child is an island. A child is a spot on the distant sea. My mother was in the house as I was. A dimmer light. An unwanted smot.”

I asked Kathryn about how she was able to solicit this kind of writing - how we as writers could push ourselves to really write about our mothers. She suggested starting out with a tribute. After that you are free to look at the complexity, the fascination of the bond betweeen mothers and daughters. In a way, writing about our moms can really tells us a lot about ourselves.

How would you describe your mother? Do you have a story about your mother? Did she put raisins in the spaghetti or burn the birthday cake? Did your mom make toast with butter and bring you warm gingerale when you were sick? Maybe your mom baked the perfect bread. Email us or comment here!

Tune in this Wednesday (May 7th at 6pm) or Sunday (May 11th at 9am) for our conversations. If you miss the live audio stream you can also check the archives.

See more information at Kathryn Kysar's website, www.kysar.com.

May 8th is the 60th anniversary of Israel

Coming up next week on Realgoodwords (May 7th & 11th) you'll hear my conversation with Donna Rosenthal. Donna has rereleased her book "The Israelis - Ordinary People in an Ordinary Land" for the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of Israel on May 8th, 2008.

In putting together this book, Donna made a rule for herself to talk to REAL people, not politicians. As she said to me, "Politicians are like diapers you should change both of them frequently and for the same reason".

She also wanted to talk with women (half the interviews are with women) and young people. She said, "I tried to keep the average age young because I think to understand to understand ANY country it is important to go into the playgrounds, bedrooms, boardrooms, classrooms and in Israel the army barracks."

More about "The Israelis":

The Israelis finally shows these spectacularly diverse people as they see themselves: trying to lead ordinary lives in an abnormal country. They live with exploding buses, but Israeli youth are also the worlds' biggest MTV fans and their heroes are former soldiers who've built the world's second Silicon Valley. You'll meet the Israeli Bill Gates and the third wife of a Bedouin who watches Oprah. Then there are the women combat officers who serve in the world's only country that drafts women. You'll see firsthand what's it like taking your children to the mall - first to shop at Toys R Us and then to be fitted for larger gas masks. And meet the newlywed whose Ethiopian-born parents dislike her husband, not because he's white - but because he's not Jewish enough.

Donna told me about going to discos and clubs in Israel so she could meet younger people. "Discos don't explode like you get a feeling that they do every night when you watch the CNN. Most of them open at 11 o'clock at night and Israelis of all religious backgrounds dance until dawn. You get this feeling that Israel is a very dangerous place and yet the murder rate in Israel has been less for the last three years than the first five months of the year in Washington D.C. "

Tune in for our conversation.

The Travels of a T-Shirt

Never underestimate the power of a reader. Or a book group. Or a librarian. I'll stop now, but you get my point, people read books - they talk about it to others - they get together to discuss - and it makes a difference. Reading, participating in something, it is important. We start thinking about topics we had never entertained before. We ask questions. And maybe we read the tag on that t-shirt we bought, wondering how it got into our hands.

Yes, I'm a word nerd who values reading, but more on that some other time....

Jeff Wartchow from the Grand Rapids Men's Reading Group joined me in KAXE's studios today to tape an interview with Georgetown University professor and author Pietra Rivoli about her book "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy - An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade" (that fuzzy book I'm holding). You can hear it tonight on Realgoodwords as well as Sunday morning or in the archive.

Pietra's book encompasses the global economy but it also gets to the fundamental questions of where do we spend our money? Does it matter if we buy clothes at Wal-Mart or buy food from the farmer's markets? How does it all affect the global economy?

Do these questions interest you? What questions do you have? What is your bookclub reading?

The KAXE Bookclub is getting together next Wednesday May 7th at 4pm to talk about Pietra's book, everyone is invited. If you want, bring a snack to share!

National Public Radio's Adam Davidson followed Pietra on her travels and you can read about and hear the series here.

Phil and Jackie Solem

Phil and Jackie Solem were in to talk about their life and the book they wrote about it, "Such a Road: Autobiography of a Marriage". Phil was a priest and Jackie was a nun when they met. What impressed me about them was their commitment to their community. How service to a community became a part of who they were as a couple. I also took to heart their take on work. Some time ago they made a commitment to work only 20 hours a week. They were willing to give up monetarily in order to gain spiritually and emotionally.

Tune in to Realgoodwords on Sunday April 27th at 9am for our conversation - or check the Realgoodwords archives. Phil and Jackie will speak on their life at the Grand Rapids Area Library on Tuesday April 29th at 7pm. It is free and open to the public. For information on how to get the book see their website www.sucharoad.com.

This Week's Show

I'm getting ready for Realgoodwords (from 6-7pm, CST, streaming at http://www.kaxe.org/) this morning, thinking about the guests that will be featured.

Up first is Steve Keillor - he's a Minnesota History professor at Bethel University in St. Paul and the author of a new book that is part of Minnesota's Sesquecentennial celebration called "Shaping Minnesota's Identity: 150 Years of State History". Steve and I talked yesterday about some of the things that make Minnesota what it is. One in particular is the geography and climate of the land of Minnesota.

I really took that to heart - especially this time of year. I always think of this as the "grateful" time of year. When you walk outside and sigh, smell and feel lucky that the seasons are finally beginning to change. Everything seems possible this time of year - things might actually grow from the land, trees will bud and lakes will open up.

It is part of what makes us Minnesotans I think, living through such drastic change. It goes beyond the land - the gratefulness. Right now is a time in my life that I'm especially grateful for the family that I have. What are you grateful for?

Minnesota Book Award Winners

From the Star Tribune

Awards honor Minnesota authors
Among this year's Minnesota Book Awards winners were a beer brewer, a daughter of St. Paul and a daughter of Beijing.
By SARAH T. WILLIAMS, Star Tribune
Last update: April 13, 2008 - 12:14 AM

Judges for the 20th annual Minnesota Book Awards celebrated the state's immigrants, its teachers and scholars, its prime crime writers and, well, its beer brewers on Saturday night.
About 700 people attended the ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront, sponsored by the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and hosted by TPT and MPR's Cathy Wurzer.

"These are not the Oscars," said Deborah Keenan, winner of the poetry award, in a nod to her fellow finalists. "Comparing one book to another is like walking in a blessed orchard."

Here are the winners in eight categories:
Children's literature: "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat," by Lynne Jonell (Holt). A girl discovers that she and her parents are being drugged by her nasty nanny, and she and her animal friends must foil the plot. What the judges said: "Lots of fine details and great sympathetic characters -- even the mean ones."

General nonfiction: "The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot," by Charles Baxter (Graywolf). The acclaimed fiction writer and essayist explores the hidden overtones and undertones in fiction. What the judges said: "Absolutely stellar explication of texts."

Genre fiction: "Thunder Bay," by William Kent Krueger (Atria). The seventh book in the Cork O'Connor series takes the protagonist into Canada, where he tries to locate the son of his friend, an Ojibwe healer. What the judges said: "Beautiful book that resonates after reading."

Memoir and creative nonfiction: "The Florist's Daughter," by Patricia Hampl (Harcourt). The author revisits her childhood as she experiences her mother's death. What the judges said: "Eloquent, bittersweet and consistently well-written."

Minnesota: "Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota," by Doug Hoverson (University of Minnesota Press). The certified beer judge and award-winning homebrewer tells the story of the state's beer industry. What the judges said: "Combines entertaining style and attractive, high-quality design."

Novel and short story: "The Last Communist Virgin," by Wang Ping (Coffee House). A window into the rapid transformation of an ancient culture, from New York City's Chinatown to the streets of Beijing. What the judges said: "Stories are compelling and balance social, cultural as well as literary appeal."

Poetry: "Willow Room, Green Door," by Deborah Keenan (Milkweed). Three decades of the poet's work, addressing love and rage, vulnerability and authority, distraction and focus. What the judges said: "Genuine, honest and original, the poems build on one another."

Young-adult literature: "Defect," by Will Weaver (Farrar, Straus and Giroux): A boy deals with features he was born with that are terrifying to some and magical to others. What the judges said: "Memorable imagery combined with a tender-hearted view of an underrepresented voice."
Other honors: Don Leeper, founder and president of BookMobile, won the Kay Sexton Award for lifelong contributions to Minnesota's literary community; Jill Kalz won the Readers' Choice Award (by a vote of more than 7,000) for "Farmer Cap" (Picture Window), an illustrated children's tale of an eccentric farmer who likes to plant spaghetti and popsicles, and Jody Williams won the Book Artist Award for excellence throughout a body of work (showing at St. Paul Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., through April 20).

The annual awards program is a project of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, along with the library and mayor's office. For more information on the judging process, other sponsors and a complete list of finalists and winners since 1988, go to http://www.thefriends.org/.
Sarah T. Williams is the Star Tribune books editor