Cooking to savor and reflect

Untangling my Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto by Victoria Abbott Riccardi

Ms. Riccardi writes a fun and entertaining memoir of her time spent studying tea kaiseki in Kyoto, Japan. Tea kaiseki is a specialized meal that accompanies Japan’s highly ritualized tea ceremony. Rife with subtle meaning and composed of seasonal foods, tea kaiseki is designed to bring the participants closer in communication with nature, and, as it comes from Buddhism, ultimately to attain enlightenment.

Riccardi loved Japan and had dreamed of going there as a child. After attending college and hating her job, Riccardi decides she needs a change and head out to fulfill her dream. She teaches English to make ends meet and pay for her expensive tea kaiseki classes. She is taken in by a lovely Japanese couple who give her the opportunity to participate in real Japanese life. She also encounters the good fortune of having an English-speaking classmate who translates all the tea kaiseki classes for her and allows her to help him create several tea kaiseki meals for the ceremonies he holds in his backyard tea house. Riccardi ultimately finds that tea kaiseki teaches her patience and the ability to savor the present moment, as well as the delight of longing for more.

I enjoyed reading this book, mostly because the subject matter fascinates me, as it is part of my cultural heritage. I would love to someday have the opportunity to study Japanese traditional arts -- especially flower arranging and pottery – and I hope to become good at cooking Japanese food. This book is wonderful because Ms. Riccardi includes several recipes at the end of each cooking session. I plan to re-create several of these soon.

An aspect of the book that I did not enjoy was that Ms. Riccardi described a few of the people who were so kind to her in rather unflattering terms. I found this to be ungrateful, -- regardless of how true these observations may have been -- and it seemed to me that she could have omitted this, or put a different spin on it. If I was one of these people, and happened to read her book, I would feel hurt.

All in all, it is worth reading if you love Japan, cooking, or enjoy reading ex-pat memoirs. 

Toil and Trouble

A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth’s Castle by Liza Campbell

Liza Campbell, second daughter to the 25^th Thane of Cawdor, tells the story of her Grimm’s fairytale life – complete with castles, servants, evil charms, evil stepmothers and Beauty-and-the-Beast-style father. It is detailed look at the world of the nobility, immersed in bygone ways and traditions. Steeped in history as a child, Campbell knew how to do the Scottish reel before she attended parties with peers her own age and could explain the history of the area while knowing little of current events.

Liza Campbell's memoir depicts a privileged and tortured childhood made terrifying by her unpredictable and power-drunk father, Hugh Campbell, who didn’t know how to communicate love, except in letters. She describes her father's decline as he struggles with great responsibility and fear of living up to his family name by philandering, drinking, doing drugs, and selling family heirlooms. Although she was obviously scarred by her experiences, Campbell manages to portray her father with some sympathy. His parents did not teach him how to handle emotions, prepare him to handle his huge estate or show him how to be a good husband and father. His role models were always those who showed off their power, hurting those around them. Scared of the great responsibility to live up to his title and bearing the weight of generations, Hugh Campbell avoids it with every effort. At his death, he deals a blow to his successors that they are still dealing with today.

This is definitely a tell-all book, designed to bolster the position 26^th Thane of Cawdor and his siblings in their feud over heirlooms with their stepmother. It is a fascinating story – I barely put it down over the 6 hours I read it – and I ended feeling fired up, wanting to send a letter to the Dowager Countess, demanding that she return all property to her stepchildren. This sort of story has sadly become more common as families split, remarry and make wills that run counter to expectations. It is my opinion that widows should be provided for, but that all family property and heirlooms should always follow family lines -- maybe reverting to them after her death -- unless they give up all claims to it. But, as Liza Campbell herself notes at the beginning of the memoir, “My story is only one slender wedge of the pie.”

 For further reading check out the following websites:

Life of the current Thane and his wife 

Cawdor castle website

The feud continues here and here.

Liza Campbell's website. She is an artist!