The Magical Power of Books

Recipe: A simple rice dish for tired nights that makes use of leftovers

When I was a little kid, I deeply wanted magical powers. I played this game with my nephews when they were little, asking them what magical powers they would wish for—to fly, fight evil, have water fountains made of chocolate (loved that one) and so on—my answer, when they asked me in return, remained the same as when I was a kid: I wanted to time/space travel, as in snap my fingers and appear somewhere, not so much going backwards or forwards in time. And I wanted to magnetically bring things into my hand, like a glass of water across the room without moving or beckon something from another room into my lap. I think this speaks to my desire for comfort and ease at all times. It was also highly influenced by watching an excessive amount of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie reruns as a kid. To be able to wiggle my nose like Samantha was a dream of mine, and I truly believed it might happen as I can wiggle my ears, so I reasoned that was a similar skill set. (I even wanted to name my nonexistent twin daughters Tabatha and Samantha.).

It was also likely due to the amount of fantasy books I read as a child: all of the Roald Dahl books, Chronicles of Narnia, something about a mouse in a castle that I loved but cannot remember the name, lots of Greek mythology, and so on. I’m sharing this memory because I just finished a book called The Wishing Game about a children’s fantasy book writer that was full of hope, wishes and magical thinking. It was not a book I would have necessarily picked up, but my sister gave me the thoughtful Christmas gift of Book of the Month Club. I enjoyed receiving my first box so much that I wrote the editorial director a thank you and then politely suggested she also include cookbooks, with the reasoning that a good cookbook, much like a good novel, is a way to escape the world and enter into someone else’s. I haven’t heard back.

This book was one of their picks (more on that below). It was delightful. Simple to read and full of light-hearted, heartwarming joy. Plus, it reminded me how fun it was to live in a child’s mind and about the wonderful people who create these fantastical worlds that both kids and adults can escape to.

I think, on some level, that’s why I’m so drawn to travel. It feels like a dormant part of me comes alive, and life feels like an adventure, and I have no idea what’s going to happen next, almost like a player in a video game. Whenever I land in a new country/city, I kind of love that uncomfortable yet exciting thrill of being completely out of my element. I usually spend the first few days getting lost as I observe and learn the pace and rhythm of the place, slowly navigating my way around the streets, finding the coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores I like. Not to mention the people I meet. So often, travel helps shed these barriers and layers of protection that we have around ourselves, and I can’t tell you the number of fascinating and fun conversations that I’ve had with people I’ve sat next to in a restaurant bar or in a cafe. I find that’s often when kindness appears in many ways, too (though, I will say I’ve also had my fair share of travel disasters, so it’s not always this romantic, exciting time, but I think that’s also part of life. Forever ups and downs.)

This brings me to today’s recipe, which I learned from a young man that I met while in Gili Air, Indonesia, when I was actually working a book proposal that eventually became my new book. We were sitting on a wooden picnic bench at an open air cafe, and, when our food came, we started chatting about food and travel. He was from India, so we talked about the differences in regional cuisine around the country and, I’m assuming I decided to share my love of ghee, which is how we segued into this dish. It’s something he said he makes often, mixing ghee with rice and a type of pickled relish when he’s tired and hungry (he and I have stayed in touch on Instagram, and he’s a traveling man! Always making me envious with his trips around the world).

RECIPE

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Once with leftover salmon crisped in a pan and once just as is.

It’s a simple recipe, one that I now make often when I’m tired and also craving something quick and easy to eat. The other is to steam a whole head of broccoli until very soft , drizzle it with olive oil and salt, then pick it apart like artichoke leaves, tearing the florets off the stem, to dip them in Dijon mustard.

Note: You can make however much rice you’d like. I usually make 1 or 2 cups so I have leftovers to eat through the week.

Toppings: Leftover cooked vegetables, leftover salmon (or freshly made—I usually do 400 degrees for 12-18 minutes depending on the thickness), sliced scallions, spoonful of labneh. Your favorite dressing would be good too, at the silent retreat, they had a great ginger-tamari dressing that I spooned over white rice, but a carrot-ginger dressing would be delicious, too. 

Serves 2

• 1 cup basmati or other long-grain rice

• Salt

• 1 to 2 teaspoons Ghee or butter, at room temperature

• 1 heaping spoon pickled lime relish or achaar

• 1 to 2 packed cups baby spinach (optional)

• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine the rice with 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and let cook until the water is absorbed and rice tender, about 10 minutes more. Fluff with a fork.

In the bottom of your individual bowl, add the ghee and a handful of spinach, then spoon the hot rice over it to soften the spinach and melt the ghee, stirring to coat the rice and adding more as needed. Top with the relish and herbs, if using. 

Recent Book Reads

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I found the photo of my birthday cake shaped like a book! And some recent books, the top three I'm bringing with me

I have been reading a fair amount recently, mostly because I’m trying to not watch TV. I haven’t had my own TV in over 10 years, but, before you think I’m some kind of martyr, I have a computer and can stream, so I have been watching things. I mostly didn’t like how easy it was to come home when I’m tired, turn on the TV, get distracted for an hour and still feel tired and hungry without having really done anything or feeling any better. Now, I can watch, but there is an extra step involved. Plus, I didn’t love how my living room was centered around the TV.

I haven’t watched anything during the month of January (granted I was on a silent retreat for 12 days so it doesn’t fully count) other than Saltburn. I liked it and felt mildly disturbed by it as it gave me crazy/scary dreams for two nights. I think maybe because I hadn’t watched movies in so long and also because someone invading my life like that is a nightmare—not that I have a castle or anything like that but the concept. If you ever watched the romantic comedy Housesitter with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin, I felt equally as strongly about that as a child. Yes, it might have ended well, and I can see now why it’s funny, but discovering someone else living in my house, pretending to be my spouse, would freak me out.

Truthfully, and I hope you don’t judge me for this, I don’t read much else other than books and cookbooks. For media, it’s the New York Times and The New Yorker, some newsletters and that’s pretty much it. I don’t really read food media anymore, other than sections in the above publications, which also probably sounds bad. I feel like there’s so much noise out there that it’s hard to think, and I like to stay informed but not be overwhelmed or distracted. Instagram doesn’t help with this at all, as I still find myself mindlessly scrolling, so it all feels a bit like putting your hand over a fire hose to stop the water. It’s kind of like me watching things on my computer but not having a TV. (She shrugs.)

Anyway, I’m heading to Argentina next week, which I’m super excited about and my friend Leslie, who runs the wine and culture tour in Mendoza that I’m going on, thoughtfully included a list of books about the country, so I’m looking forward to digging into those. As always, I truly would love to hear any books you’ve read recently and loved!

Some recent reads…

Any Human Heart by William Boyd—I can’t tell if I actually recommend this book. It tells the story of a man’s life from start to finish, and halfway (it’s around 400+ pages), I thought, am I still reading this? But at the end, I thought, what a lovely way to capture a life. The ups and downs, all the losses and loves, it was really heartwarming in a way. It’s mostly set in England with some appearances from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (the abdicated king) and the literary crowd in the 1920s (like Ernest Hemingway) and such. I also feel that books set in this time period tend to involve a lot of drinking. For example, we had a bottle or two at lunch, then a bottle of claret at dinner and so on. Were they always drunk? Or tipsy? It all sounds romantic while reading it, but unclear what the reality is/was.

Slow Horses (and Dead Lions) by Mick Herron–MI5 stories that are similar in a way to John le Carré books, though I think his are bit better. They are fun and easy to get into it with the twists and turns. I did like the first one and raced through it, and thought the second was OK, but that might have just been because I read them back to back, which I think is always tricky as you start to pick up on the writer’s habits and none of it felt quite as exciting. Binging books doesn’t work for a series! Or, for me at least. This is also a TV show, which I haven’t watched.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston—a BOTM club pick. One that I probably wouldn’t have picked unless they made me (which they did), but it was fun to read. Light and engaging with some good plot twists and had a bit of the spy element.

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer—This is the fantastical book that was very easy to read, something lovely before bed.

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati—Like Circe, which I enjoyed, it’s historical fiction set in ancient Greece, and it has a serious tale of revenge. I also really loved reading the author’s acknowledgments to her parents, very sweet! I got it from BOTM, but it was recommended by my friend as was the Slow Horse series. It also made me wonder if Game Of Thrones was inspired by Greek mythology as there was some overlap. I’ve only seen the show and haven’t read the books.

Happy reading and eating!! xx