My longtime friend, Chef Jean Denham has a new book with the intriguing title, I Have Leftovers . . . What Do I Do Now? Chef Jean is a frequent contributor to this blog and I’m pleased to offer the following interview and one of her special recipes. Be sure to visit her website: http://achefsjourney.com. Her other books are: Share a Recipe, a Chef’s Journey…Home, Pizza Pizza Pizza! and Black Beans and Corn.

So, Jean, this is cookbook #5. I know you came to your culinary career later in life, as I did with my fiction-writing career. Way back when, did you ever imagine you’d be the author of numerous cookbooks?

Never in a million years did I see myself writing cookbooks for the public. I have done several over the years for different age groups (youngsters just starting to cook, college age students, and a couple of cookbooks for newlyweds), but those were all gifts to family and friends. The only big dream for my life was to go to culinary school before I died. My bucket list still has some goodies in it, but I have accomplished my one huge dream.

2.    Your husband really hit the jackpot food-wise. He’s married to a woman who is not only a gourmet cook, but also writes books about the experience. I’m trying to imagine what your life is like when you’re testing recipes for a new book. Tell us about a typical day.

Imagine a zoo….that’s what it can become. I have a large island in my kitchen and our best recipe tastings are done gathered around this island which is covered in food. When I was working on the pizza book, we would sometimes have 6 or 8 testers and 6 to 8 different pizzas and/or crusts to test and rate.  I’m fortunate that most of my neighbors are foodies and love to come help us. When I’m not doing tastings in my kitchen, I will cook up 3 or 4 dishes and distribute around the neighborhood.  When we first moved here, I’m sure they all wondered about the crazy lady sending food to them every two or three days – but now, they love the food and they love to critique and they are all great at it.

In addition, I have the greatest support group online, we came together about 6 years ago on a cooking forum and we all bonded and they are the greatest help I could ask for. No matter what S.O.S. I send out, whether it’s a questions about what goes with ‘this’ or have you ever tried this method,  or where can I find something that my little town has never heard of – they are all right there ready with ideas, support and even sympathy when called for.

3.    The title of your new book is I Have Leftovers  . . . What Do I Do Now? How did the idea for this book come about?

We raised 4 children and in addition, my husband had 4 children from a previous marriage, so leftovers have been a large part of my life forever! In fact, I love to work with leftovers as much as starting from scratch.  For years I didn’t write the ideas down and I would have to tell the family, “Sorry, no way can I ever make this again”.  Then I got smart and started keeping notes and journals of ideas. Even now, though, without the exact same leftovers handy in the frig, a lot of the dishes can never be recreated exactly.

The above is how I feel about leftovers, but the reason for the book, is testing so  many recipes for previous books, I ended up with 2 freezers full of leftovers, and of course with the economy the way it is, my need to empty freezers and the country’s need to be thrifty came together in, I Have LEFTOVERS…What do I do Now?

4.    How do you promote your cookbooks?

We travel often in our trailer and my husband, Roy, is the ‘smoozer’  in the family. He loves to talk to strangers. We always have a supply of books with us when he stops at shops, farmers markets, any little store we run across that carry books. Very few have told him no and they were places that I just wouldn’t fit in, so we’ve been very lucky.  All the local bookstores in our hometown of Port Angeles and nearby Sequim carry my books.

As to promoting, I’m not real good at that side of the business, but I do religiously accept every friend request on Face book, hoping when I post my pictures and recipes, they will get wider exposure. We do also have a website, achefsjourney.com where the books can be purchased and may I add, Roy has joined me in selling boutique items on the site. He is a wonderful wood craftsman and is now selling a line of pepper grinders and salt mills that are just beautiful.  So, we’re covering all the bases – season food from my book with his pepper grinders and enjoy a dish while reading Marliee’s books.

5.    Would you please share a recipe from your new book with Book Blather readers?

I'd be glad to – this recipe is a wonderfully easy and fast soup to make on a busy week night.

Tomato Soup with Meatballs

                                        

Making use of leftover meatballs.

For a quick dinner, you can use commercial soup such as Campbell’s Cream of Tomato or Pacific Natural Foods Creamy Tomato, both are tasty alternatives. But, making this soup from scratch is so easy and fast that you might not mind spending the extra few minutes to have all the flavour offered in it. Combining the dry milk with 2% milk gives you a creamy texture without the fat of a heavy cream, plus it ups the calcium.

28 oz. diced tomatoes or 3 cups fresh          

1 cup chicken broth                                            

2 Tablespoons butter                                             

3 Tablespoons chopped onion            

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups 2% milk mixed with 1/2 cup dry milk powder, heated

20 leftover meatballs.

                          

In a soup pot, combine the tomatoes, broth, butter, onion and baking soda; simmer 30 minutes. If you want a smoother soup, remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes then pour into a food processor, blender or use an immersion blender, and process until it is the smoothness you prefer. Return to the soup pot and add the milk mixture along with the meatballs; simmer just until hot, don’t allow to boil. Makes 5 servings

Sailing to the Far Horizons

I'm not exactly what you would call sea-worthy. While in Hawaii, I became seasick snorkeling in calm waters. Swings and merry-go-rounds . . . forget it! That's one of the reasons I find our next guest so interesting. Pam Bitterman was part owner and crew member of the sailing ship, Sophia, and spent several years circumnavigating the globe until disaster struck. Her book, Sailing to the Far Horizon, chronicles her life aboard the Sophia. Welcome to Book Blather, Pam.

You waited thirty years to write Sailing to the Far Horizon. Why so long?

 When we were sailing our proud old tall ship, we considered that we were simply living our life, such as it was. There were those of us long-termers on board who were fond of saying we’d be the first to sail around the world, and NOT write a book about it. When I finally decided to write the book, I was going through an emotionally difficult time in my life. After 25 years, no one had yet told her story, and I feared no one else ever would. Sophia was known and loved by thousands across the globe. I could not bear to think her legacy might be forgotten. The writing became cathartic. While revisiting the adventure and remembering the brave gal I’d been at the time, it became transformational. The fact that the story could be told in such vivid detail after so many years was due entirely to the fact that my parents kept every soggy letter, worn journal entry, faded photograph, ancient trade good and artifact, newspaper and magazine article, and official Coast Guard document that I sent home from an endless succession of foreign ports all around the world. It is from these archives (and my husbands amazing memory of actual events!) that the story came to life.

 Tell us how you became part of the crew on the tall ship, Sophia?

 I learned about the existence of the Schooner Sofia while I was living in Mendocino, California, working as the Resident Naturalist for the Jug-Handle Farm, a 180-acre Nature and Wildlife Preserve. While there, I wrote a grant proposal for an Outdoor Education Program that would target the youths of the community who were struggling in a traditional academic setting. The funds were intended to help the Nature Preserve support itself. My grant was approved and the monies were to come from CETA [Comprehensive Employment and Training Act]. Then Ronald Reagan was elected president, and CETA, and  other government funded programs like it were quickly axed. Suddenly I had no grant, no funds, and would soon have no job and no place to live. While leafing lethargically through a publication called Co-Evolution Quarterly, I found, in a small blub on the back page, the advertisement for the 60 year old Co-Operatively owned and run 123 foot gaff-topsail Schooner Sofia, that was sailing into the east coast of the U.S. to participate in the bi-centennial tall ship parade in New York Harbor, and to enlist crew for her second circumnavigation. $2,800 would make me a full owner. “No experience necessary!” I gave away all my belongings, travelled cross-country, jumped aboard the ship at Lincoln Wharf in Boston’s Italian North End, and so began my sailing saga.

 How long was the journey to last?

There was no official time anyone’s passage was to last. Once I was an “owner” I could theoretically sail aboard the ship indefinitely (There were no passengers. We were all “working crew.”)  I could leave her, come back, and always be guaranteed free passage, a bunk, and three meals a day, wherever she happened to be, anywhere in the world. I was fortunate enough to feel an immediate kinship with the ship and the remarkable life that she would afford me, as long as I were willing and able to make that initial leap of faith. And as it turned out, in spite of the inherent hardships and dangers, I was probably one of those rare few who were born to it, and would have likely been involved in her life – and her in mine - in some manner, for many years to come. The ship had been sailing as a co-operative since the early 60’s. As long as there were a handful of dedicated sailors like myself aboard her at any given time, it was hoped that she would continue on as such indefinitely. Sadly, that was not to be her fate.

 Were you the only woman on board?

 No. Women were always in the minority, as the living and working conditions aboard the vessel were admittedly rough. But there was always a solid female complement to the crew; all brave, strong, capable multi-generational and multi-national women who were out there breaking convention, challenging stereotypes, testing themselves, having an adventure, and seeing the world. If you stayed long enough and you loved it fully enough, you invariably worked your way up the hazy hierarchy of our flexible chain of command. I was a grunt swabbie know-nothing when I boarded the vessel. Within a year I had become ship’s Boatswain, the crew member responsible for maintaining the traditional Marlinspike rigging – on our old girl; 16 sails, 5,000 square feet of canvas, 156 lines of running rigging, steel stays, wooden spars, block and tackle, shackles, splices, oakum, pine and coal tar. I learned to take the helm, navigate by the stars, run our ancient diesel engine, stand and record a watch at sea, and ultimately take responsibility for organizing and helping to command a crew. By the time of the final fateful passage, I was Acting First Mate, second in command. 

 When you signed on, the last thing you expected was a disaster at sea. What happened?

 Actually, I think I fully expected disasters. The nature of the adventure had that possibility written all over it. Maybe that was part of the draw. Going into the venture without that realization would have been naïve, and ultimately self-defeating. And so it was for many I witnessed in my term of residency that came and in due course turned tail and left. And in fact, my maiden voyage out of Boston en rout to the island of Martinique in the Caribbean, sailed us straight into what would develop into a horrendously violent, life-threatening storm – Hurricane Kendra.  We survived that, and eons more real and potential disasters during the nearly four years during which I sailed aboard her. The event that finally claimed her was a gale off the North Cape of New Zealand that was, under normal circumstances, not the worst weather she had sailed through and endured. However, there were other prevailing circumstances that marked that particular passage that were anything but normal.

 After the sinking of the Sophia, was it difficult to continue sailing?

 The sinking of the ship, the loss of a crewmember and the near-death life raft survival episode that heralded the potential loss of the rest of us, is still a hard memory to revisit. However, I don’t think I ever seriously entertained the idea that I would never again return to sailing. The sea had been my home, sailing my element, and both overwhelmingly had been exceptionally good to me. So much so that even the tragedy of her loss, the loss of life, and the near loss of my own life was not enough to dissuade me from chomping at the bit to charge back out there. Most of my fellow survivors continued to sail and many sail to this day. My closest fellow survivor, my husband and father of our miraculous children – the happy result of a poignant life raft marriage proposal when we were certain that we were going to die – and I together returned to America and in short order bought a small tall ship of our own. We lived aboard her for many years while raising our own kids, always with the intention that we would someday sail away to introduce them to the wondrous big world that we had been lucky enough to have already discovered.

 What is your current project?

 I am presently chin-deep in marketing my three published books (Not my favorite activity. A necessary evil, nonetheless…), while concurrently creating two new projects; a new children’s book about make-believe, and an adult fiction that is evolving into far less actual “fiction” than I’d initially intended. These are still “works in progress” - as am I. I recently travelled solo to work in Africa and wrote two books about that adventure: One, my nonfiction, MUZUNGU; A-frican Lost Soul’s Reality Check, and a children’s book; WHEN THIS IS OVER, I WILL GO TO SCHOOL, AND I WILL LEARN TO READ; A Story of Hope and Friendship for One Young Kenyan Orphan. MUZUNGU is the Swahili word for white folk. Literally translated it means “confused person wandering around.” Astute. Quite a revealing and shocking adventure story! Not what I expected to find over there. Not what anyone else will expect, either. The children’s book is also true; the protagonist is a real little boy who is the voice of all the Kenyan children. The village youngsters created the illustrations for the book. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book are promised back to them. They trusted me, and they wait. I have also had a homily, a sort of inspirational prayer, titled, CHILD, YOU ARE MIRACLE, published by World Vision.

 Please leave us with a snippet from Sailing to the Far Horizon.

 “I boarded the tall ship in Boston on August 20, 1978. We left the harbor bound for the Caribbean in the early dawn of October 25, marking the beginning of my maiden voyage aboard the Sofia. Those introductory months in port had proved interesting if not illuminating, productive without the benefit of certainty. I was there, but I did not yet belong. Had I not spent so much of my early life marching chin high, shoulders squared through unfamiliar territory in which I felt no semblance of belonging, I might have bolted for somewhere safe and something accustomed. But as before, the magnetic attraction of the unknown ignited my resolve to face that interminable feeling of aloneness…

I keep reminding myself that I have seen the pictures, heard the stories, read countless books. There is an exotic world out there comprised of brilliant wonders and fascinating cultures, promising endless horizons and illuminating adventures, enducing me with wholly unique challenges, and daring me to accomplish awesome leaps of faith. The Sofia is my ticket.”

Please visit www.pamelasismanbitterman.com. for links to very moving photos-to-music book trailers, story summaries, reviews, my bio, and the sites where the books can be purchased.

Meet Patricia Lapidus

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1. So, you think hippies are a thing of the past? Wrong! It is my pleasure to welcome Patricia Lapidus to Book Blather.Trish has published a memoir of her life in a community of spiritual hippies, Sweet Potato Suppers: A Yankee Woman Finds Salvation in a Hippie Village.  She has published poems in a number of literary magazines, including Green Hills Literary Lantern, Off the Coast, and Peregrine.  She writes articles for ezine@articles.com and for hubpages.  Swamp Walking Woman, a modern mythic fairy tale, and Gideon’s River, a novel, are available from amazon and as eBooks from Smashwords.  Red Hen's Daughter, a book of poems about a farm childhood and more is also available from Amazon.

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Trish lives with her husband in New Haven, CT, where she hikes the beautiful trails of West Rock Ridge State Park, writes, and gives workshops at the New Haven Public Library.  She is an encourager of writers and a strong advocate for parents and children and for the dignity of all persons.  

Reading, Writing, and Adventure

My parents filled our farm home with books.  It was assumed we would be readers.  Dad urged us to read Come Spring, a novel by Ben Ames Williams about settlers in early Maine.  Based on actual people, it was the sort of story that put you right there in the middle of barn-raisings, moose hunts, trips by canoe downriver to the corn meal mill, and winters in the loft of a cabin.

One of Dad's favorite books was The Virginian, published in 1902 by Owen Wister.  I love the scene where the new school teacher Molly coyly pretends she doesn’t remember the man who rescued her from a stagecoach stuck in a swirling river.  The Virginian gently chides her,                                      

“You are a grown woman, a responsible woman.  You’ve come…to a rough country to instruct young children that play games,--tag, and hide-and-seek, and fooleries they’ll have to quit when they get old.  Don’t you think pretendin’ yu’ don’t know a man,--his name’s nothin’, but him,--a man whom you were glad enough to let assist yu’ when somebody was needed,--don’t you think that’s mighty close to hide-and-seek them children plays?”

Here was an early description of social dishonesty as playing games, and a model of honest exchange.  One could build a useful philosophy of how best to live ones life from the thoughts and actions of the Virginian, in whom playfulness mixes with a dignity surpassing any honor conferred by class or education.  This book is far more than a western.  It is a carefully created world where all that is genuine and strong in human nature is set forth with intelligence and humor. 

The genres into which we divide our literature often don't do such great books justice.  Our best romance novels, for example, remind us of what matters most in our love relationships.  They show us the heroism that is possible when love in on the line.  A well-written book makes us feel that what we do in life matters and that we can do what matters most.

My parents had not planned on my becoming a writer.  My father's attitude toward my published books seems to be a sort of bemused pride.  My mother worries I've told family secrets.  I have.  How could I have written Sweet Potato Suppers, my memoir of a personal journey while living among spiritual hippies, without mentioning the spankings and strictures of a Yankee Baptist childhood? 

Gideon's River is a novel about a mother and son who play out the ancient drama of the bully and the wimp. How could I have written it without reference to the family dramas I have witnessed? But, Mom gets her share of credit too. Here is a scene from Sweet Potato Suppers:

Birthday Party in a Box

Benjamin’s grandmother thought of a way to provide, long distance, a party for his birthday.  A package arrived at The Farm Post Office.  Michael picked it up on his way in from The Farm Market.

Benjamin, he said, coming in through the little woodshed that was our front entrance, I got a package here has your name on it.

The kids gathered round.  The grownups stood back.  With his pocketknife Don cut the tape and string.

Benjamin opened the cover.  On top were six little winter hats in different colors, a stripe around the fold of each one.  He gave one to Seth and one to Emily, one to Naomi, one to Violet, one to Chester.  That left one for him.

Next he passed out six pairs of white crew socks, one to each kid.  Under these articles of clothing was a smaller box, carefully cushioned in newspaper.  He opened the box and passed out six pieces of homemade chocolate fudge.  The kids munched while the grownups grinned.  No one worried fudge would spoil any suppers.

On the bottom of the box were six fire trucks, each about ten inches long, in different designs.  A chief’s car, a red pickup truck, a tool van, a hose truck, and two ladder trucks.

One for you.  One for you.  One for you.

Soon six kids were running trucks across the worn linoleum, around the wood stove, through the path by the sink and stove, and back to the living area.

How did your mother know to do that? asked Rita in wonder.

Now that’s a grandmother who pays attention, said Maureen.  She knew how many kids we have here and she knew what we needed.

One of the themes of my work is that parents do all they can to benefit their children—and often end up harming them as well.  By the time we understand what methods might have worked better, such as more kindness and less criticism, it to too late to put our wisdom into practice.  Our children are grown and we can only hope to pass on some support and guidance to the next generation of parents.  I have enjoyed writing books that illustrate the middle ground between the strict upbringing I experienced and the permissive upbringing I gave my children.  Trying to hold our children just loose enough, well, that is (as they say on The Farm) a yoga.

Trish maintains several blogs related to her writing and her family.

http://patricialapidus.com/walkingtalltalespress/

http://www.swampwalkingwoman.blogspot.com/