Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers

Price: $22.00 - $12.50
(as of Feb 15, 2024 01:28:34 UTC – Details)

Named a Best Cookbook of the Year by Martha Stewart Living

“Magnificent illustrations add spirit to recipes and heartfelt narratives. Plan to buy two copies—one for you and one for your best foodie friend.” —Taste of Home

This collection of intimate, illustrated essays by some of America’s most well–regarded literary writers explores how comfort food can help us cope with dark times—be it the loss of a parent, the loneliness of a move, or the pain of heartache.

Lev Grossman explains how he survived on “sweet, sour, spicy, salty, unabashedly gluey” General Tso’s tofu after his divorce. Carmen Maria Machado describes her growing pains as she learned to feed and care for herself during her twenties. Claire Messud tries to understand how her mother gave up dreams of being a lawyer to make “a dressed salad of tiny shrimp and avocado, followed by prune–stuffed pork tenderloin.” What makes each tale so moving is not only the deeply personal revelations from celebrated writers, but also the compassion and healing behind the story: the taste of hope.

“If you’ve ever felt a deep, emotional connection to a recipe or been comforted by food during a dark time, you’ll fall in love with these stories.”—Martha Stewart Living

“Eat Joy is the most lovely food essay book . . . This is the perfect gift.” —Joy Wilson (Joy the Baker)

From the Publisher

Fide’s Jollof Rice

from “Sierra Leone, 1997” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Add tomatoes and peppers to a mixer or blender and purée until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.

In a medium-sized pot, heat your oil on medium-high heat. Then add the onions and fry them until they start to turn a golden brown. Once the onions have turned golden, pour in the blended tomato and pepper sauce, cook for a few minutes, then add the curry powder,cayenne powder, bay leaves, thyme, and chicken or beef broth. Bring this mixture to a low boil, then reduce heat to low.

Add the rice and mix well.

Cover the pot so that the rice steams and doesn’t burn while the sauce gets absorbed. Stir occasionally and let it simmer on low heat.

After 25 minutes, check on the rice: if there’s still a lot of sauce, remove the lid to prevent burning; if it’s dry, add more broth.

When the liquid has mostly dried up, stir once more, then turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Garnish with parsley and serve alongside peppery tilapia, fried plantains, and coleslaw.

Spice Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons saltfreshly ground pepper to taste 1 teaspoon Nigerian curry powder1 teaspoon cayenne powder2 bay leaves1 tablespoon dried thyme

Ingredients 2 medium tomatoes, chopped finely (or substitute a small can of crushed tomatoes) ½ medium Scotch bonnet pepper (or use a habanero pepper), stem removed ½ medium Scotch bonnet pepper (or use a habanero pepper), stem removed ½ cup groundnut oil or olive oil ½ large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/3 cups) 1 cup chicken or beef broth, plus more as needed 2 ½ cups medium-grain rice parsley, chopped as garnish (optional)

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Catapult (October 29, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1936787792
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1936787791
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.18 x 0.92 x 8.25 inches