Book picks similar to
With or Without Beans: An Informal Biography of Chili by Joe E. Cooper
food
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Famous Nathan: A Family Saga of Coney Island, the American Dream, and the Search for the Perfect Hot Dog
Lloyd Handwerker - 2016
An Eastern European Jewish immigrant who left the small provincial world he knew for a fresh start in America, Nathan arrived at Ellis Island speaking not a word of English, unable to read or write, and with twenty-five dollars hidden in his shoes. He had a simple goal: work hard and carve out a piece of the American dream. But history had bigger plans for Nathan.Beginning in 1916, with just five feet of counter space on Coney Island’s Surf Avenue, Nathan sells his frankfurters for five cents. As New York booms, bringing trains and patrons to the seashore, so too does Nathan’s humble frankfurter stand. Soon Nathan’s Famous takes over the whole block, and Nathan gathers around him a dedicated core of workers (many who stay for decades) who help launch the hot dog as an American food staple.Even as the business soars, Nathan remains fiercely loyal to what matters most: his customers, workers, and family. There’s Ida, the wife he fell in love with because no one could peel an onion faster; Sammy, the counterman who could serve an astonishing sixty franks per minute; and then there are the heirs to the empire, Murray and Sol, whose differing visions for the future lead to clashes with their eternally demanding father. Success brings difficulties, and as the two sons vie over control of the family business, a universal story of success and ambition plays out, mirroring the corporatization of the American food industry.Written by Nathan’s own grandson, and at once a portrait of a man, a family, and the changing face of a nation through a century of promise and progress, Famous Nathan is a dog's tale that snaps and satisfies with every page.
Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms
Greg Marley - 2010
Are fungi food or medicine, beneficial decomposers or deadly toadstools ready to kill anyone foolhardy enough to eat them? In fact, there is truth in all these statements. In Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares, author Greg Marley reveals some of the wonders and mysteries of mushrooms, and our conflicting human reactions to them.With tales from around the world, Marley, a seasoned mushroom expert, explains that some cultures are mycophilic (mushroom-loving), like those of Russia and Eastern Europe, while others are intensely mycophobic (mushroom-fearing), including, the US. He shares stories from China, Japan, and Korea-where mushrooms are interwoven into the fabric of daily life as food, medicine, fable, and folklore-and from Slavic countries where whole families leave villages and cities during rainy periods of the late summer and fall and traipse into the forests for mushroom-collecting excursions.From the famous Amanita phalloides (aka the Death Cap), reputed killer of Emperor Claudius in the first century AD, to the beloved chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius) known by at least eighty-nine different common names in almost twenty-five languages, Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares explores the ways that mushrooms have shaped societies all over the globe.This fascinating and fresh look at mushrooms-their natural history, their uses and abuses, their pleasures and dangers-is a splendid introduction to both fungi themselves and to our human fascination with them. From useful descriptions of the most foolproof edible species to revealing stories about hallucinogenic or poisonous, yet often beautiful, fungi, Marley's long and passionate experience will inform and inspire readers with the stories of these dark and mysterious denizens of our forest floor.
Dinner at Fiorello's
Rick R. Reed - 2015
As a recent high school graduate and the son of a wealthy family in one of Chicago’s affluent North Shore suburbs, his life is laid out for him. Unfortunately, though, he’s being forced to follow in the footsteps of his successful attorney father instead of living his dream of being a chef. When an opportunity comes his way to work in a real kitchen the summer after graduation, at a little Italian joint called Fiorello’s, Henry jumps at the chance, putting his future in jeopardy.Years ago, life was a plentiful buffet for Vito Carelli. But a tragic turn of events now keeps the young chef at Fiorello’s quiet and secretive, preferring to let his amazing Italian peasant cuisine do his talking. When the two cooks meet over an open flame, sparks fly. Both need a taste of something more—something real, something true—to separate the good from the bad and find the love—and the hope—that just might be their salvation.
All It Took Was One Look
Robokitt - 2012
aiden is what most people would like to call a 'closet gay' for his own personal reasons. He's goes through high school being what he knows best; being invisable. But everything changes when his cousin comes to stay while his parents are on some sort of business trip together which could be weeks even months. Now his whole world is turning upside down... Again and the only person that can help him is Liam Jacobs the star quarterback and most popular and most straightest guy in school. Theres NO WAY!But what aiden doesn't know is that liam has a secret and he's trying his best to fight it but how long will that last?
Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism
Timothy Denevi - 2018
Thompson's crusade against Richard Nixon and the threat of fascism in America--and the devastating price he paid for it Hunter S. Thompson is often misremembered as a wise-cracking, drug-addled cartoon character. This book reclaims him for what he truly was: a fearless opponent of corruption and fascism, one who sacrificed his future well-being to fight against it, rewriting the rules of journalism and political satire in the process. This skillfully told and dramatic story shows how Thompson saw through Richard Nixon's treacherous populism and embarked on a life-defining campaign to stop it. In his fevered effort to expose institutional injustice, Thompson pushed himself far beyond his natural limits, sustained by drugs, mania, and little else. For ten years, he cast aside his old ambitions, troubled his family, and likely hastened his own decline, along the way producing some of the best political writing in our history. This timely biography recalls a period of anger and derangement in American politics, and one writer with the guts to tell the truth.
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Evelyn Piper - 1957
There were no records of her registration... no clothes in the apartment where she was supposed to have lived... nothing at all to convince the police that there ever really was a Bunny Lake...The basis for the Otto Preminger movie starring Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea, Martita Hunt, Anna Massey, The Zombies, and Noël Coward.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes Cookbook: Easy, Fast, Healthy and Delicious Recipes
Emma Watson - 2017
It is just a single kitchen device but it is able to cover the work of many other devices: pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute-pan, yogurt-maker etc. The stainless steel interior of each Instant Pot is perfect for cooking. No other materials (like plastic ot Teflon) are touching the food except the stainless steel. It’s also very easy to clean. Compared to a slow cooker or a crock pot, the Instant Pot is much faster and efficient. For example, an 8 hour slow cooker dinner recipe will be ready in just 40 minutes when using the Instant Pot. And the programmable features of each Instant Pot make this device the best gadget that can be found in each kitchen. This book will deliver some very healthy and delicious Instant Pot recipes which will be very easy and simple to cook
The Wind Whales of Ishmael
Philip José Farmer - 1971
Ishmael, lone survivor of the doomed whaling ship Pequod, falls through a rift in time and space to a future Earth—an Earth of blood-sucking vegetation and a blood-red sun, of barren canyons where once the Pacific Ocean roared.Here too there are whales to hunt—but whales that soar through a dark blue sky....Hugo Award-winner Philip José Farmer has spun a fascinating tale of whaling ships and seamen of the sky in a bizarre future world where there are no seas to sail and no safe harbor to call home....
Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing
Arthur M. Melzer - 2014
The famous Encyclopédie of Diderot, for instance, not only discusses this practice in over twenty different articles, but admits to employing it itself. The history of Western thought contains hundreds of such statements by major philosophers testifying to the use of esoteric writing in their own work or others’. Despite this long and well-documented history, however, esotericism is often dismissed today as a rare occurrence. But by ignoring esotericism, we risk cutting ourselves off from a full understanding of Western philosophical thought. Arthur M. Melzer serves as our deeply knowledgeable guide in this capacious and engaging history of philosophical esotericism. Walking readers through both an ancient (Plato) and a modern (Machiavelli) esoteric work, he explains what esotericism is—and is not. It relies not on secret codes, but simply on a more intensive use of familiar rhetorical techniques like metaphor, irony, and insinuation. Melzer explores the various motives that led thinkers in different times and places to engage in this strange practice, while also exploring the motives that lead more recent thinkers not only to dislike and avoid this practice but to deny its very existence. In the book’s final section, “A Beginner’s Guide to Esoteric Reading,” Melzer turns to how we might once again cultivate the long-forgotten art of reading esoteric works.Philosophy Between the Lines is the first comprehensive, book-length study of the history and theoretical basis of philosophical esotericism, and it provides a crucial guide to how many major writings—philosophical, but also theological, political, and literary—were composed prior to the nineteenth century.
Zero's Familiar Omnibus 1-3
Noboru Yamaguchi - 2013
Now, whether they like it or not, Louise and her unwilling servant, Saito, are bound to each other by the laws of magic for all eternity!
Davy
Edgar Pangborn - 1964
In a land turned upside-down and backwards by the results of scientific unwisdom, Davy and his fellow Ramblers are carefree outcasts, whose bawdy, joyous adventures among the dead ashes of Old-Time culture make a novel which has been hailed as "a frightening, ribald, poignant look at the imaginary future," as "this chilling and fascinating book," as "superb entertainment - unique," as "so unusual as the make it both refreshing and thought provoking."
Prophecies Awakening
Peter Koevari - 2009
In exchange for her soul, Kassina obtains power to become the most feared sorceress in all the lands, and vows to exact her revenge on the people for the deaths of her parents. Granted eternal life, Kassina and her evil are never far away. For many years, the humans and elves of the mystical world of Marithia have lived in an age of peace. But that peace is shattered when King Arman is slain by his own son, a pawn of the vampire sorceress Kassina. Arman’s murder sparks the most brutal and bloody war ever seen between the Forces of Darkness and the peaceful Marithians. In the midst of the conflict, Vartan, a young knight wrongfully outcast from King Arman’s court, reluctantly discovers he is the subject of a prophecy involving the fabled weapon, Talonsphere. In alliance with the legendary dragons, he finds himself with the opportunity to rid the world of Kassina and her dark armies forever, and finally return Marithia to an era of peace.
Luring the Pack
Cleo Peitsche - 2015
No cliffhangers.Twenty-one-year-old Emmalina knows all about trouble even before her addict sister signs their house over to the local wolf pack.Desperate, Emmalina tarts herself up and ventures into wolf territory.Her plan is simple: offer to lure the pack. Playing bait for a bunch of hot shifters is better than being homeless.The wolves are even more brutal—and more refined—than rumored. Especially the cruel, dark-eyed alpha who looks into Emmalina’s soul and reads all her secret hopes. Armand is the most powerful alpha the pack has ever had, and it’s not in his nature to let her off easy.But Emmalina’s hot, mysterious neighbors don’t approve of what she’s doing, and for good reason. What they’re hiding could save Emmalina’s life… or get her killed.This book includes: Four hunky heroes, one heroine, dark forests and darker secrets.
Big Nate and Friends
Lincoln Peirce - 2011
. . with a little help from his friends! His best buddies, Francis and Teddy, stick with Nate through thick and thin—usually thin. They've seen it all. Nate's disastrous love life, his chess tournament trash talking, even his misguided attempt to be a "bad boy." Along the way, Nate and his pals are joined by Artur, the gentle exchange student who's popular with almost everyone. And don't forget Gina, the teacher's pet who gets an "A" for annoying. They're all here in this collection of cartoons, featuring highlights from Nate's most hilarious adventures.Now in full-color!
Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution
Jonathan Silvertown - 2017
Indeed, ponder the genesis of your breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and you’ll soon realize that everything we eat and drink has an evolutionary history. In Dinner with Darwin, join Jonathan Silvertown for a multicourse meal of evolutionary gastronomy, a tantalizing tour of human taste that helps us to understand the origins of our diets and the foods that have been central to them for millennia—from spices to spirits. A delectable concoction of coevolution and cookery, gut microbiomes and microherbs, and both the chicken and its egg, Dinner with Darwin reveals that our shopping lists, recipe cards, and restaurant menus don’t just contain the ingredients for culinary delight. They also tell a fascinating story about natural selection and its influence on our plates—and palates. Digging deeper, Silvertown’s repast includes entrées into GMOs and hybrids, and looks at the science of our sensory interactions with foods and cooking—the sights, aromas, and tastes we experience in our kitchens and dining rooms. As is the wont of any true chef, Silvertown packs his menu with eclectic components, dishing on everything from Charles Darwin’s intestinal maladies to taste bud anatomy and turducken. Our evolutionary relationship with food and drink stretches from the days of cooking cave dwellers to contemporary crêperies and beyond, and Dinner with Darwin serves up scintillating insight into the entire, awesome span. This feast of soup, science, and human society is one to savor. With a wit as dry as a fine pinot noir and a cache of evolutionary knowledge as vast as the most discerning connoisseur’s wine cellar, Silvertown whets our appetites—and leaves us hungry for more.