Better than Ever – The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes

You can never grow wrong with a Moosewood cookbook, but I particularly like this very contemporary one that focuses on healthy dishes that suit vegetarian and restricted diets. It is full of great recipes, food and seasoning tips, non-boring nutritional information and more.

It emphasizes the importance of cooking and eating whole, natural foods and addresses which conventionally-raised fruits and vegetables absorb the most pesticides, thus providing guidance for what organic items should be purchased and which are unnecessary and just an extra expense.

Even though I follow a low-carb diet for health reasons, I can find many options here, and with a few adjustments, make most recipes work for me. Having borrowed a copy of the book from my local library in order to see if it was suitable for me, I can't wait for my own purchased book to arrive so I can dive in and add some new dishes to my repertoire. Thank you, Moosewood Collective! 

California Dream: The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

Of the three teen novels by the beloved Beverly Cleary that I have read, this is by far my favorite. Once again, the setting is California, this time the citrus-growing region of San Sebastian. Whether this is a mythical town, or an amalgam of several, I can't be sure, but it is long on charm and rich in atmosphere. Shelley Latham is our heroine, an Oregonian who is allowed to spend a school year with family friends. It's a whole new experience for Shelley, an only child living in a conventional household, to stay with the more free-spirited Michie family, which is composed of Mavis (Shelley's mother's college roommate), her husband Tom, and their children, Luke and Katie. Mavis is a potter with her own studio, Tom is a teacher and the high school basketball coach, and their quirky older home is filled with unique items. Luke is a typical teenaged boy, whose favorite pastime is working on an old motorcycle that he's restoring, and Katie is a thirteen year old experiencing growing pains as she leaves childhood and enters adolescence. It's Mavis's hope that Shelley will be a good role model for Katie, and as time passes, they develop a close relationship.

Shelley marvels at the palm trees, orange groves and warm dry weather – so different from chilly Oregon. On her first day of school, she meets Hartley, an attractive and personable boy who sits just behind her in their alphabetically arranged homeroom, but her head is quickly turned by tall, handsome Philip, the star of the basketball team.

Shelley falls into her new routine and classes, which include biology. Philip is assigned a seat at her side, but she also meets and becomes best friends with Jeannie, a whiz at biology. The fourth in their study group is Philip's best buddy Frisbie.

Philip and Shelley become an item, much to Hartley's disappointment, though they remain friends. While Shelley does well in most of her classes, she is distracted in biology and is horrified to receive a "D" for the semester, her first ever. Philip's grade is worse, an "F", and he becomes ineligible for basketball, and his strict father cuts off his social life. Shelley feels responsible and disappointed, but she also knows she must raise her grade to repair her average as she intends to go on to college.

When her relationship flounders, Shelley is hurt and miserable. She feels sad and homesick for the first time, but in examining her relationship and taking stock of herself, she realizes that she and Philip had little in common. Conversation was often difficult and it was a struggle to find common ground.

Ultimately, Shelley and Hartley get together and as the school year winds down, they enjoy each other's company. Neither want to see it end, but with Shelley's departure looming, they know their time is short and they make the best of it. When it's time for Shelley's parent to pick up, she knows she'll always remember her time in California, the friends she made there, and most of all, Hartley. She is the luckiest girl after all.

I found this novel to have more of a universal quality that transcends the decades. There is less dependence on lifestyle activities and it is more about personal growth and gaining maturity than Cleary's Fifteen or Sister of the Bride. Shelley could be a contemporary girl and Hartley a modern boy – they were both so real and honest. All is all, The Luckiest Girl is both an enjoyable and satisfying read. I only wish they could have met again and picked up their relationship as adults...

The Joys of Young Love: Sister of the Bride by Beverly Cleary

It's hard not to be charmed by anything written by the beloved author Beverly Cleary. I've recently read or re-read several of her teen novels now, and it's fun to travel back in time to the early 1960s, my grade school years, which I remember more clearly now with these books, which are as delicious as a just opened pound box of See's chocolates. I chose See's, rather than Russell Stover or Whitman's, because these books are set in Northern California, where See's originates.

Sister of the Bride follows sixteen-year-old Barbara as she navigates the social and family waters once her eighteen-year-old sister Rosemary announces her engagement. Rosemary is a freshman at the University of California (Berkeley, presumably), and is still wearing braces on her teeth, so it's a bit much to take in. Barbara, while stunned at the announcement, immediately embarks on a series of fantasies of her upcoming role in the wedding, and of her own sometime in the unknown future. Their parents are concerned and their father, in particular, needs to be won over.

Rosemary has suddenly gone from being a fluffy impractical teenager to the verge of being a hip young woman, who now prefers handmade pottery, earthy colors and sophisticated clothing to her former style. No registering for silver or china for her – she's modern. Barbara works hard to take in this change.

At the same time Barbara is dealing with the travails of high school, trying to manage the beginning of her own love life with two boys in the picture, and squabbling with her annoying younger brother.

There are quite a few amusing yet poignant scenes in the book as Rosemary prepares for the altar, including one in which she brings Barbara to her future apartment, in a building which she and her slightly older but still young husband will manage in order to keep expenses down while they complete their studies. It's quite a dreadful, rundown student building but Rosemary is game to make it work. It somehow lacks the charm of the Greenwich Village building of the play and movie Barefoot in the Park, but it is reminiscent, being set in the same period.

The parents are won over, wedding plans are set, Rosemary falls for the traditional appeal of her grandmother's gorgeous lace veil and wears a white dress rather than the practical suit she planned on. Barbara discovers which boy is the one she wants, and it all works out in the end, with an abundance of humor and joy.

 

Voices from the Past – Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser

A memoir of an extraordinary journey in present-day Poland and into the past. Menachem Kaiser is a 30-something Jewish Canadian whose grandfather, the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust, attempted to reclaim family property in the city of Sosnowiec but was unsuccessful. The grandfather died before Menachem was born, but throughout his childhood, his father, aunt, and uncle kept alive the family's ties to their Polish origin through constant discussion.

Menachem decides to pursue the matter and travels to Poland, does what he can to assemble the required paperwork, and hires an attorney, an elderly woman known as "The Killer" who files claims with the government to go forward in the process. The result is a tale more surreal than any writing by Kafka or painting by Dalí.

The courts and the reparations process lead Menachem through an endless maze of bureaucracy, forms, and documents, and along the way he visits the building bearing the address of the one the family once owned, and meets many of its residents, some of whom have been living there more than 60 years.

Two particular things come to light in this account of endless ambiguity: the building Menachem visits turns out not to be the one his family owned, despite its having the same house number as the documentation and the address the family has always discussed; and, through one of the residents, he hears of an intriguing cult-like, loosely organized small army of treasure hunters, who are concentrating on the Nazis' Riese Tunnels, a vast underground complex in the Owl Mountains in Silesia, adjacent to Sosnowiec, built during the war by Jewish slave laborers who experienced horrendous working conditions and brutality. Rumors had spread that there were vast stores of stolen gold and other valuables hidden there, but Menachem's connection is the discovery that a cousin of his grandfather's generation, Abraham Kajzer, had written a memoir of his imprisonment that has become the stuff of legend among the fortune hunters.

Menachem's book first reads like a picaresque tale of an attempt at the righting of wrongs, but then very gray areas of morality intrude in his thoughts. While it's certainly true that the Kaiser family owned a building in Sosnowiec before the war and that they have never been compensated for what was taken from them, there are others to consider: those that live in the building who are innocent of any wrongdoing and would fear displacement from their homes. The war ended more or less 75 years ago and the world has moved on: how do we balance the wrongs of the past with the needs of those in the present? I couldn't help but think of African-Americans who seek their rightful place in our modern society after their ancestors were brought here as slaves 400 years ago, or of the factions in Israel and Palestine who are at odds over territorial rights, home ownership and ancient claims of a homeland stolen over and over through the millenniums of history. Where does it all end, and what is fair? Does anyone really have the answers to these questions?

I must mention that I was drawn to this book by the author's name and the subject matter. My family includes many named Kaiser/Keyser/Keiserman, etc., and while we didn't originate in Poland, but rather in Moldova/Ukraine, and my great-grandparents fled many decades before the Holocaust, the family suffered the effects of pogroms and other brutalities, and some distant cousins who survived World War II have recently come to light. Nothing is truly clear, and certainly nothing is simple. 

Painful Lessons in History and Social Science – Why Racism Persists: An Uncomfortable Truth by Dr. Walter V. Collier

Dr. Walter V. Collier, a doctorate in public policy analysis, has had a long career in research and strategic planning for a number of significant educational and non-profit entities.

Here he addresses one of the most pressing problems of America in our time: racism and its origins. In the preface, Dr. Collier mentions that he wrote this book during the second term of President Obama, from 2013-2016. Much of the racially-motivated antipathy towards thwarting President Obama's agenda came from the Republican Senate, including preventing his Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, a White Jewish man, from even being considered. Ironically, President Joe Biden nominated Garland as his Attorney General and Garland now serves in that influential role, where he is working to undo the sham (and shame) of the Bill Barr Justice Department, a cesspool of corruption under the aberration of President-as-Emperor Donald Trump.

Dr. Collier addresses the historical economic issues that led to the Civil War as well as economic inequality in modern America. He discusses Whiteness and White Privilege, the psychopathology of racism and racists, the persistence of racism from generation to generation, political institutions and spiritual concerns and their impact on behavior.

I can only wonder what Dr. Collier might have added about the Donald Trump years, where we saw ever more outrageous behavior by White Supremacists towards Black Americans egged on and abetted by Trump himself, in no uncertain terms, leading up to the assault on the Capitol and our legislators on January 6th of this year. Sadly, some of those very legislators refuse to acknowledge what occurred that day, when most Americans were in tears over what they witnessed in real time on TV.

In addition, another variety of racism, against Asian-Americans, which rages on, came directly from Trump when he called the COVID-19 pandemic a China virus and other derogatory terms. Thirdly, during the Trump years, there was a substantial increase in anti-Semitic acts of hate and violence, highlighted by the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and now carried forward into the Biden presidency as Trump's evil legacy.

Over the past year, in the midst of COVID-19 (a plague causing nearly 600,000 American deaths with a preponderance of bad outcomes for Black and Brown people, along with Seniors of all races, and a resulting enormous economic disaster – all of which Trump could have taken steps to combat and control), we have seen the beginnings of change, as exemplified by the outrage and protests by Americans of all colors, over the wrongful and violent deaths by police officers, of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others far too numerous to name. Even now, after the conviction of Floyd's murderer, additional cases of police brutality and suppression of the truth are coming to light and most Americans are outraged by these injustices. But whether or not we will see real progress on racial inequality towards Black Americans remains an open question. There is no quick or easy fix to undo 400 years of a history of suffering by so many.

We have a lot of work to do in the United States to confront and address these issues and nothing will get better until we face our problems and take steps to move in a positive and inclusive direction. Dr. Collier has laid out the issues and their basis of existence and now we need to act on his research and observations, and also employ what we have most recently learned.

Literary Journey: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

This was a unique, insightful, and enjoyable look into Paris during World War II, told from an unusual perspective and based on real events. A young Frenchwoman, Odile, a lover of books and reading from her earliest days, trains to become a librarian and is hired at the American Library in Paris (ALP) in 1939, just as the war begins and right before the German Occupation takes place.

Odile lives with her parents and twin brother, Rémy. Her father is a high-ranking official in the French police bureaucracy, her mother runs the household, and Rémy is something of a dreamer – until he announces he has enlisted in the army, much to the family's consternation. Odile's bourgeois parents envision her emulating her mother's role, but Odile wants more out of life. Her father is resistant to her working, and brings an array of suitable young policemen to dinner to introduce to her, but she forges ahead with her plans. At the library, she encounters a number of unique individuals, including Miss Reeder, the library director. 

Forty years later, teenage Lily lives with her mother and father in the small town of Froid, Montana. Their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Gustafson, is a widow who keeps to herself, but everyone in the town knows she arrived as a war bride from France, and her first name just happens to be Odile.

The novel is primarily Odile's story, but a good portion is devoted to Lily and the bond the two form over time. Lily has fairly typical teenage concerns, but a tragic loss sends the story of her relationship with Odile along an unexpected trajectory.

Although there have been many books, fiction and non-fiction, about Paris during the war, this novel clarifies and expands on the experiences of everyday Parisians and the others in their midst during the terror and deprivation of the war years. The author is tasteful is her descriptions of the circumstances, but they are straightforward too. She does not gloss over what happened.

All in all, this is a very satisfying and informative read. Odile and Lily are both sympathetic characters that are entirely believable, and there is a lot of history to uncover here. Four stars.

Tale à la Russe: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Moscow by Paul Gallico

When I first discovered Mrs. Harris in Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, I was throughly charmed as she was a multi-dimensional character in a delightful book enriched with wonderful drawings. Mrs. Harris is one of those characters you just don't forget, and despite the book coming out many decades ago, it transcends the years. I haven't read the two installments that follow, but from what I gather they were also very good, most likely stronger than this one. I'm sure I will get to them eventually.

This final installment is somewhat disappointing. Mrs. Harris and her friend Mrs. Butterfield are much the same, and that is part of the problem as we don't really see anything new to round out the characters any further. The other concern is the cliché-ridden account of Russia, in 1974 still the U.S.S.R. Undoubtedly, many of the details are based on facts about the spying done by the KGB, the shortages of basic items like toilet paper (loo paper to these very British characters) in the stores, the rundown buildings and drab streets, and so on. Author Paul Gallico attacked the Soviet government with a vengeance – I have to wonder about what was in his own KGB dossier.

Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Butterfield have won a package tour to Moscow and when Mrs. Harris tells her journalist client Mr. Lockwood about it, he asks her to bring a love letter to Liz, his Russian girlfriend, a tour guide for Intourist, the Russian travel service. They have not been able to communicate due to the strict rules laid down by the Soviet government. She agrees, though she knows it could be dangerous for her to carry a letter written in Russian and give it to a Soviet citizen. But, Mrs. Harris believes in love and wants to help the couple.

Mrs. Butterfield has serious reservations about the trip and once she finds out about the letter her anxiety grows. She's right to worry, as unbeknownst to Mrs. Harris, the two London ladies are incorrectly taken for spies and get into some very compromising situations. All sorts of complications eventually arise, especially once they realize their status and Liz becomes involved, much to her own peril.

Gallico's plot feels contrived, and the caricatures of the Soviet and British diplomats who intercede fall somewhat flat. Even the then-dashing, handsome Prince Philip is written in to play a small part in events (and now it's hard not to think of his recent death).

Of course, it all turns out right in the end, as to be expected. I'm somewhat sorry that this installment completed the series, but it hasn't spoiled my memory of my introduction to Mrs. Harris, who remains a memorable and unique character.

Teenage Angst, Circa 1956: Fifteen by Beverly Cleary

Revisiting Beverly Cleary, a favorite author of my youth, with a book that was about 10 years old when I first read it and already sounded like "Once Upon a Time" to a young teen immersed in the "Age of Aquarius":

Fifty or so years later, and reading with more experienced eyes, it's a true journey back in time to 1956 when this book was originally published, taking the reader to a world that is no more. We find ourselves in a close-in suburb of San Francisco where its first tract houses have just been built for the influx of newcomers and are subtly criticized for their sameness and small bare lots, where teenage girls must wait for the phone to ring with calls from boys, and wear white gloves and suits for a dinner date in the city, where there are horse meat deliveries for family dogs and pet cats pampered with lamb liver from the local butcher, and finally, boys who fix up old jalopies and wear stainless steel ID bracelets engraved with their names. The town has a single movie theater and a café (aka a malt shop/soda fountain) where all the kids go. It goes without saying that everyone is White. Aside from these obvious time-stamp references and some more subtle, the fifteen-year-old heroine Jane Purdy is much like the girl I was and how most girls have always been: yearning for romance with a likely boy, wanting to feel confident and successful in her social setting, and being embarrassed by her clothes and family in her desire to look and feel "cool".

Jane is in the midst of all this, and by chance meets a new-in-town sixteen-year-old boy, Stan Crandall, while she is babysitting for a particularly difficult child. Stan is good-looking, well-mannered, and industrious – he already has a CDL (commercial driver's license) since he drives the delivery truck for that horse meat company. Shocking period detail: when Stan makes his deliveries, he walks into the UNLOCKED homes and leaves the delivery in the kitchen if no one is there.

Stan is also resourceful enough to track down Jane via her employer, and then confident enough to call her and ask her for a date. A gentle and gradual romance begins and progresses through the school year.

There are numerous travails, awkward moments and doubts. As she gets to know him better, Jane realizes that Stan is no more sure of himself than she and with this revelation, they form a bond of mutual understanding and affection. It culminates in Stan giving Jane his ID bracelet to wear – they are now "going steady" – a happy ending for Jane and the book, though we readers, through the eyes of maturity, know that this is only the beginning of growing up.

Beverly Cleary was a beloved and renowned author of children's and young adult books, and while Fifteen is dated as to its setting and circumstances, the predicaments and hearts of teenage girls haven't changed. Cleary handles it all with insight and humor, never with condescension or preaching.