I Fell in Love with A Man Called Ove

The Book

Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for “old people”. Or maybe it’s because I love and miss my own grandparents so dearly. Or maybe it’s because I’m drawn to people, and characters, whose crotchety exteriors disguise a mushy-gushy, soft underbelly. Whatever the reason, mere words are not adequate to describe how deeply I fell in love with Ove.

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman, a novel about a cranky, crotchety, old codger navigating a major loss and forced, earlier-than-expected retirement, is simultaneously hilarious, touching, quirky, sad, charming, and wistful. Oh, yeah, and chock-a-block full of love. Please do yourself the favour of reading this charm-your-pants-off book.

Speaking of love, there were some beautiful turns of phrase in the English translation by Henning Koch. I’m sure that some of the idiomatic expression is lost in translation but Koch did a great job (with my absolutely zero percent knowledge of the Swedish language) in allowing the emotions to vibrate right off the page.

The narrator describes the relationship between Ove and his wife thusly, “People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.“ And, pitter pat, my heart tumbled a little bit. (I must be getting soft in my old age.) What, my friends, is not to love about Ove and this book?

The Bite

A long, long time ago, for some school project, I selected the option of preparing Swedish meatballs for my class. As I read A Man Called Ove, I kept thinking that despite his orneriness I could “convince” Ove to like my Swedish meatballs. Ove was a self-described meat and potatoes kind of man and Swedish meatballs are, after all, made of meat. Now that I’m thinking about it, they’re probably just called meatballs in Sweden, no? Ahem, my apologies. They’re kottbullar. I still don’t think the Swedes would call them Swedish meatballs though? Although we do say American cheese… (Things that make this nerd go hmmm as I’m off to google to find the answer.)

Anyhoo, here’s a delicious recipe for Swedish meatballs found here. My preference is to serve them over egg noodles because the gravy is delish.

Image courtesy of Wendy Zitzman

INGREDIENTS: 2 slices day-old white bread, crumbled 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon butter 1 small onion, minced 2/3 pound ground beef 1/3 pound finely ground pork 1 egg 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (optional) 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 cup chicken broth 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or as needed 2 cups beef broth, or as needed 1/2 (8 ounce) container sour cream DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. Place the bread crumbs into a small bowl, and mix in the cream. Allow to stand until crumbs absorb the cream, about 10 minutes. While the bread is soaking, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until it turns light brown, about 10 minutes. Place onion into a mixing bowl; mix with the ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. Lightly mix in the bread crumbs and cream. 3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, and form into balls. Place the meatballs into the skillet, and cook just until the outsides are brown, about 5 minutes, turning the meatballs often. Insides of the meatballs will still be pink. Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and cover with foil. 4. Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove meatballs to a serving dish. 5. To make brown gravy, pour pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the pan drippings until smooth, and gradually whisk in enough beef broth to total about 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Bring the gravy to a simmer, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve the gravy with the meatballs.

My Love Letter

The Book

I normally don’t write about a book until I’m finished reading it. I’m not sure why, something about momentum, or superstition, who’s to say. However, every now and then, the author’s writing makes me literally stop in my tracks and reread a particular passage or turn of phrase over and over. Dean Koontz does this to me all the time with his writing.

This time, however, it’s E. Lockhart who’s made me pause long enough to talk about it first. I’m reading We Were Liars and it’s the first of her novels that I’ve read. I find her writing to be poignant and lyrical and I came across this passage written by the teenage protagonist, Cadence, recounting a love “note” she received from her first love, Gat (p. 30).

“Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.
Also, here is a green toothbrush tied in a ribbon.
It expresses my feelings inadequately.

Better than chocolate, being with you last night.
Silly me, I thought that nothing was better than chocolate.
In a profound, symbolic gesture, I am giving you this bar of Vosges I got when we all went to Edgartown. You can eat it, or just sit next to it and feel superior.”

I just love this love “note”. I love the youthful innocence and earnestness. I love the sincerity. And, I love the feeling of that first love magnitude. Nothing was better than chocolate, then came you. Reminds me of that feeling, that first love that you knew with the certainty of the tides would last forever. The rush. The pull. The buoyancy.

And, I’m not even a chocolate lover. But, I’ll spare Cadence the prediction of what’s to come.

Soon to come… The Bite. (No pun intended.)

A Visit to France via a Nightingale

  

The Book

Ordinarily, I steer clear of war movies and/or war books. I just find them to be too depressing or too full of details about the exact military operations that I don’t find particularly interesting or fun to read. However, from time to time, I do enjoy picking up books and reading them without reading the blurb on the back so that the book will be a complete surprise to me.

This was the case with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. All I knew about this book before reading it was that it had an extraordinarily high average rating on Amazon, which was enough to seal the deal for me. However, as I began reading it, I realized that it was about much more than the war. It was equally about love – tremendous loves – during a time of incredible loss and grief. It was about bonds that solidified and punctuated those loves in a way that defied space, time, distance, and, yes, even bombs. It was about bravery and courage and hope in the face of indescribable hatred and violence and agony. It was about family. The Nightingale was a beautiful, heart-achingly devastating novel.

The Bite

In the beginning of The Nightingale, before the scourge of wartime rationing begins, Vianne cooks for her family in their little French countryside cottage. The romantic in me could totally picture it just like every French chateau in every movie ever made. (*wink*) But, this passage made me drool all over my book’s pages:

“She wrapped a pink pork tenderloin in thick-cut bacon, tied it in twine, and browned it in hot oil…[she] set down the platter. A delicious fragrance wafted upward – roasted pork and crispy bacon and apples glazed in a rich wine sauce, resting on a bed of browned potatoes. Beside it was a bowl of fresh peas, swimming in butter seasoned with tarragon from the garden. And of course there was the baguette…” (p. 10)

This is what I pictured in my head (thank you to Glutenfreespinner for the beautiful photo):

Here’s a simple recipe I found for you (and by you,  I mean me – someday) to try! Don’t forget to invite me over when it’s ready. 🙂

Welcome to my world!

Ever since I can remember, two of my absolute favourite things to do in life were eat and read. And the pleasure I derive from these two activities has not diminished in the least as I’ve gotten older. In fact, it’s probably grown exponentially. I’ve found that the more I share my enthusiasm of eating and reading with my friends and family, the more I find people seeking me out for recommendations on either subject or both.

So, I’ve started this little blog to share with you in the hopes that you will find, in my own passions, at least a fraction of the enjoyment that I’ve found.

A couple things that I’d like to add to the blog as I get settled here are: food and book tie-ins, where I will share recipes inspired by a particular book; and, books and bites on-the-go, sharing books and bites related to places that I visit.

I hope you enjoy the blog! Drop me a line if you’d like to say hi, share your favourite books or bites, or have any questions!

-J.