Sidebar Updates

It recently occurred to me that I ought to discuss my sundry additions and renovations to the sidebar. Right now this is a fivefold topic:

1) Thanks to my recent obsession with goodreads, I made a "favorite food books" shelf and added the correlating widget at the top of my links. You can scroll over the books to see my review (disclaimer: I haven't read/finished all of them), and click on them to get more information. I'll try to write reviews for all of them over the next couple weeks.

2) Related to that, I recently finished Laura Esquival's Like Water for Chocolate. What a delightful book! And I fittingly read it on the brink of Three Kings' Day -- it chronicles the life of Tita, a young Mexican girl who essentially grows up in the kitchen. Each chapter begins with a recipe, which leads into the narrative following developments in Tita's life. I loved the many ways Esquivel found to extend various food metaphors and similes, and her writing is compelling and poignant throughout. I especially loved the idea that food transmits the energy and emotion of the cook to the people who consume the feast, an enthralling thought that resonates with many of my experiences. Definitely a recommendation for anyone passionate about food.

3) I added a few links under the "Food in SF" heading since I'm starting to make concrete plans for the big move, and related to that have been discovering a few of the foodie joys in the Bay Area. The "slow foods" movement pretty much started here, with Alice Walkers and co./Chez Panisse. So there are a couple links to slow foods events and info in SF. Also, two of the best-known vegan/vegetarian restaurants in the city, which have both been highly recommended by reputable sources. I'll post again when I actually try them out myself!

4) I also joined and linked the Foodie Blogroll, a (self-explanatory) collection of food blog links. Scroll through and check some out if you have time, there's a lot of really good cooking and eating going on out there. I think it's great that people are taking steps to unite the various foodies colonizing the internet as of late. And it's nice to be a part of it all :)

5) Finally, over the past couple weeks I've added links to the waiterrant, 101cookbooks, and Cheesy and Queasy blogs -- all highly entertaining and enjoyable.