Sun and Shadow and Spring

DIMESTORE by Lee Smith

When I was at Malaprop's on Sunday to hear my students read, I treated myself to a copy of Lee Smith's new book -- a collection of essays about her life as a writer.

The essays are full of memory-evoking detail: from her father's dimestore in Grundy, Virginia (Who else remembers pastel Easter chicks and tiny turtles with roses painted on their shells?) to her mother's recipe box (the secret ingredient in her mother's pimento cheese is Durkees!) 

 Smith recounts her early attempts at writing -- writing about stewardesses and orphans and evil twins  (I, too, have written about evil twins and I'm very sorry) until at nineteen she heard Eudora Welty read and suddenly realized that her own best subject matter was the small world she already knew.

As a long time fan of Smith's writing and as a southern woman of the same generation, I've always felt I 'knew' Lee Smith -- her writing voice is so sure, so true, so clearly based on personal experience. These essays expand that knowledge -- dealing lovingly and forthrightly with her father's bi-polar condition, her mother's 'nerves,' and her son's schizophrenia. 

Small wonder that Smith talks about writing's ability "... to give a recognizable shape to the chaos of our lives."

This is a wonderful book  -- especially for fans of Smith who'd like to see the soil from which her writing grew and for writers, in general, to give a glimpse into the process of one of our finest novelists.  And since it's Lee Smith, it's just plain downright good reading.

 (More about Lee Smith and her work HERE.)

Glorious Color Everywhere!

A Student Reading at Malaprop's

Yesterday members of my Advanced Prose class read at Malaprop's, Asheville's gem of a bookstore that recently made national news with a New York Times op-ed by its manager. Malaprop's hosts this monthly event called Writers at Home for the Great Smokies Writing Program-- as well as any number of other author events. (My class was followed later by Robert Morgan, introduced by Ron Rash.)

Reading to an audience is part of an author's  life -- if you're lucky enough to have a bookstore host you. And though these particular writers haven't published yet, this was an invaluable experience -- picking something good to read that would entertain a listener and make him want to know more -- and picking something that fits the allotted time -- six minutes, in this case. 

In some cases, this involve editing -- leaving out bits that are obscure, leaving out bits that aren't necessary. Such pruning usually results in a stronger piece.

And then there's the experience of standing up in front of strangers and presenting them with a little piece of your heart. It can be daunting.

I'm happy to say there was a good crowd and the readers acquitted themselves well. That's Tommy Hays, the director of the Great Smokies Writing Program, at the mic; the nine who read are in the front row.

May there be many, many more readings at bookstores for all of them!

Detente

Near and Far

Time to Get Busy

Time to get the chickweed and henbit out of the flower bed around the sundial . . . time to weed the asparagus . . .

Time to admire the slowly opening tree peony . . .

Time to prune back the huge forsythia that was threatening to cover up the blue bench (Kate approves.)

Time to take a hot shower and go to bed . . .  

Pink and Blue Bloomers

Strangely Interesting

Ah, HB2, the 'Bathroom Bill' again.  My friends from more enlightened areas have wondered what the big deal is.

HB2 was rushed through in a matter of hours and, by the way, it's not just about the bathrooms; it removes workplace protections against discrimination, limits a dismissed employee's right to sue, and adds more items from the Right's wish list.

 It has also aroused the ire of a growing number of corporations and individuals who value equality. One after another has  announced they are boycotting North Carolina in response to the bill. Now Governor McCrory has issued a largely meaningless Executive Order, supposedly to clear up 'confusion' and in a feeble attempt to walk back the damage already done.

What tickles me though is that at first the governor shrugged off the boycotts announced by Paypal, Deutschebank, and Bruce Springsteen among many others -- conventions cancelled, companies ceasing to consider NC for expansion. Oh no, the governor emphasized that the safety of women and children in public bathrooms was far more important than pandering to the corporate bullies.

But then, oh then, a popular on-line porn site joined the boycott and announced that they would be blocking access to their site for all NC viewers (of which, they mentioned, there were many.)

Boom! Things just got real. Executive Order coming your way. 

Coincidence? You be the judge.

From the Gardens of Wally Maria

Wally Maria's Italian Kitchen

Thanks to kind friends, I was invited to attend an Italian cooking class last Saturday, at the home of Wally Maria Mazzuco Wyatt. (More about Wally Maria and her classes HERE.) 

We were served espresso as we studied the menu we were going to prepare. . .

On the menu were: homemade ricotta ravioli in tomato cream sauce, asparagus topped with a sunny-side up egg, a salad of fennel, carrot, apple and Sambuca- soaked raisins, and an apple strudel with Grappa -soaked raisins. 

There were ten students -- most came in pairs but we introduced ourselves and quickly began to work well together.

Many hands busy chopping  . . .

Preparing the salad, the ricotta filling, the tomato sauce, the filling for the strudel . . .

The salad came together quickly and was set aside; the asparagus was tossed with olive oil in readiness for roasting . . .

Then Wally Maria brought out her homemade limoncello and other liqueurs for a refreshing little break . . . 

It would have been rude not to taste them all -- at least that's what I thought and I noticed most of the others seemed to agree. (Since the liqueurs have a base of 100 proof vodka, things grew noticeably more relaxed.)

There was elder flower and something called Golden Elixir and two different Limoncellos and Mertille (?) and I seem to have lost track of what the other was. No matter -- in my mind, the Limoncello was the best, which is to say amazingly good, but I had to have another glass just to be sure . . .

Now that we were all sufficiently relaxed, it was time to tackle the strudel -- something that I, for one, have never made. 

Strudel, you're saying, is that Italian? Well Wally Maria is from Northern Italy and the Austrian influence may be responsible. 

After whirling up the flour, salt, water, and oil in a food processor, Wally Maria proceeded to show us how to transform this lump of dough into a sheet of pastry thin enough to read a love letter through.

The floured sheet is key -- for rolling out the pastry . . .

Pretty thin, indeed!

Now for the filling: thin sliced apples, crushed amaretti cookies, a little almond flour, spices, and those Grappa-soaked raisins. (I think Grappa is unbearably bitter but it worked beautifully here to balance out the sweetness.)

I wasn't the only one taking pictures.

Rolling up the strudel . . .

Using the sheet to support the strudel as she rolls . . .

(Doesn't she have beautiful hands?)

The sheet made a useful sling to transport the finished strudel to the baking sheet.

The strudel went into the oven and now it was time to make the pasta for the ravioli -- right on the granite tabletop. 

A little pile of flour with a depression in the center, break in an egg . . .

Beat the egg, maintaining a shield wall of flour while incorporating the flour ointo the egg . . .

Four eggs will get worked into the flour bit by bit, bringing in extra flour as needed.

Next  come the kneading -- quite a lot of kneading . . .

Followed by multiple trips through the pasta maker . . .

All this while, the smell of cooking apples and pastry has been filling the kitchen and now . . .

Out comes the strudel! Beautiful!

It takes a good bit of turning but at last it's time to make the ravioli.

Little dabs of ricotta filling all along the length of the pasta . . .

Which will be topped by a second sheet of pasta . . . 

then cut into squares with a crinkly edged cutter.

Who remembers Chef Boyardee ravioli in a can? (The horror! The horror!)

Lovely little morsels awaiting the boiling water plunge . . .

And in they go -- in batches . . .

The finishing touches are put on the table . . .

The creamy tomato sauce is ladled over the cooked ravioli . . .

Some of the class have brought wine to go with our lunch -- after all, it's been a while since the limoncello . . .

As you may imagine, our appetites are keen . . .

The pasta is served first, the primo, in the Italian manner . . .

Lots of shaved asiago cheese top this delicious dish . . .

Smiles all round . . .

After the pasta dishes are removed, we have the salad and the beautiful roasted asparagus, topped by lightly fried eggs, and so good that I totally forget to take a picture as I am too busy eating.

And last of all, the strudel -- every bit as good as it looks.

It was a wonderful day which I highly recommend to anyone in the area. Wally Maria's web site (see link above) lists the various classes she offers (she also teaches Italian) both at her home and other venues.  

She also has a beautiful garden -- it was too cold on Saturday to linger long but I'll share the pictures I took  tomorrow.

Thanks to Joe and Suzy and Louise for giving me this terrific experience! And thanks to Wally Maria for sharing her expertise!