Food & Friends - A Feast of a Book

I'm reading a book I picked up on sale at a cool bookstore in Santa Cruz. The first time I went there I took a picture of the shelves full of handwritten notes by the staff. Love that.

That was when I was on our "Woman Time at the Ocean" weekend.

A couple weeks ago Cori and I went to Santa Cruz for the day and spent quite a bit of time in the bookstore. I picked up 6 books on the way from the bathroom back to where Cori was. Bookstores are dangerous locations for me.

Right now I'm reading one of those books. It's called Food & Friends, by Simone Beck. She was the co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Julia Child.

I'm really enjoying this book. I like that it's a feast for the eyes as well as a good read. Look at these details.

Look at these hand drawn illustrations. And the borders around the pages. And the different fonts. And the little decorations between the headings.

See the first letter of the chapter?

Here's one of the many recipes in the book. Pretty to look at, and I like the little personal note, "Orange-flavored chocolate cake, for Jean." (Jean was her husband.)

Even the photos are kind of old-timey and nostalgic.



























Beyond that, I'm enjoying the read. Simone was born in France before World War I. Her father was a soldier in that war. Then she lived through World War II. I'm not finished with it yet. I've read through her description of her childhood, which included recipes of foods she learned from her family's cook, Zulma, and through her first marriage, that includes recipes she learned while living in Paris. Now I'm at the part where she's divorced her first husband and has just married Jean, the love of her life.

I am looking forward to finishing the book, and also trying some of the recipes.