I'm two for two so far this year on reading really good books. First I finished Russ Parson's How to Read a French Fry which was excellent. There's quite a few recipes I want to try. I especially sympathized with the sections on pastry (it senses fear) and the comments on the snickerdoodle recipe (which is almost identical to my mom's). More interesting than the recipes though are the little essays on the science of how cooking things works. A section a frying, one on meat, etc.

Last night I finished up Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe, vol III which I'd highly recommend (along with volumes I and II). This volume covered things like the beginnings of Islam, its spread across Africa, the middle ages, the early slave trade, the Crusades, etc. Well drawn too :)
posted by Kristin Buxton at 12:25 PM