11.285
16 (Fri) October 2020
Orange Creamy Dip with Brown Specks in It
2.5
by me
at home
-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
with the Family
Newbery 100 Medals, 100 Meals (9)
Endeavoring to read the 99 books that have been awarded the annual Newbery Medal since 1922 – leading up to the 100th winner to be announced next year – I will also attempt to create one dish for every book, a dish that is directly referenced in or indirectly inspired by the events of the book. Food plays a strong role in many of the stories; not surprising as the characters in most of the books are faced with adversity of some sort, including poverty, so they’re often very hungry and thus grateful whenever they get a bite to eat – as we all should be at every meal, literally give us this day our daily bread. The dishes will be featured as posts on Give Me This Day.
(For additional posts relating to Newbery Medal books, see NEWBERY)
The Crossover (2015) by Kwame Alexander. The book tells the coming-of-age story of Josh Bell, aka Filthy McNasty (after the song by Horace Silver), and his struggles with school, basketball, sibling rivalry, and family illness. It’s written in verse, each chapter a poem, uniquely structured to reflect an action or an issue or an emotion. I loved this book, never read anything like it, so dynamic, so alive, so compelling, so fun. I also appreciated the author’s masterful skill in conveying a clear African-American perspective without relying on obvious, stereotypical black tropes – aside from basketball, which is a critical element of the story.
[paraphrased in part]
Mom calls me into the kitchen
after we get home from beating
St Francis. Normally she wants
me to sample the macaroni and cheese
to make sure it’s cheesy enough,
or the oven-baked fried chicken
to make sure it’s not greasy and
stuff, but today on the table
is some gross-looking
orange creamy dip with brown specks in it.
Maybe Mom is having one of
her book club meetings.
Sit down, she says. I sit as far
away from the dip as possible.
Our family has a history
of heart problems, she says,
so we’re going to start eating better.
Especially Dad. And we’re going to
start tonight with
some hummus,
Understand?”
I understand more than she thinks I do.
But is hummus really the answer?
To make the hummus orange, as per the description in the book, I added sun-dried tomato.
The book mentions pita bread, but I served the hummus with cucumber spears and sliced baguette.
(For more details re food, see WHAT)
(For more details re venue, see WHERE IN KOREA)