Sunday, June 30, 2024

June Food Stories in My Life

Food in Film and Fiction

Pixar’s “Bao”

A fun kitchen movie we watched this month: “Bao,” made by Pixar in 2018.

Bao, of course, are Chinese steamed buns — super delicious!

These bao are from a small lunch place downtown where they also show the movie over and over!
I’ve mentioned this restaurant several times, and it’s quite a favorite. Bao and a coke: perfect!

In the movie one of the bao turns into a living human-like creature.

Sherlock Holmes’s Breakfast

From Neil Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes monster tale.

From a Murakami Tale

A mysterious business owner’s dinner in “Birthday Girl” one of the Murakami Manga.

Chinese Food from The Murder of Mr. Ma

A recent crime novel by co-authors SJ Rozan and John Shen Yen Nee features several Chinese inhabitants of 1924 London, including a reborn version of the ancient Chinese detective Judge Dee. They eat well, and I wished I could join them; for example:

“Dee and Jimmy Fingers contentedly devoured the spring rolls with copious amounts of hot mustard and, following those, a plate of steamed pork buns. The turnip cake and pan-fried noodles had arrived together … .Dee ordered a dish of clay-pot rice with sausage.”

Sweet treats from Madame Bovary

What were sweets like in France in the 1850s? The Bovary family received the following gift:

“Six boxes of jujubes, a whole jar of racahout, three cakes of marshmallow paste, and six sticks of sugar-candy … .”

Explanation:
  • Racahout was a paste made from acorns and sugar, and used to make a hot drink or a porridge. 
  • Jujubes are a fruit, also called red dates (not related to normal dates) — a candy made from this fruit had been invented in the 18th century. The modern candy called Jujubes does not contain this fruit.
  • Marshmallows back then were made from a gelatinous substance produced by the plant called marsh mallow. The recipe for modern marshmallows made from sugar and artificial (or animal) gelatin is an imitation of this natural plant gelatin.

Fairy wine from Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

“Like the food, the wine smelled lovely, of sugared apples and cloves, but it slid eerily within the ice, more like oil than wine.”

From Our Own Kitchen this Month

Len did most of the cooking this month. This swordfish was a really delicious dish!


A Julia Child recipe: Gratin Savoyard, or potatoes cooked in stock and topped with cheese.


We worked together on this recipe, which was tasty. We chose it because we had the ingredients on hand:
pork, green lentils, onions, carrots, and tomatoes with some interesting spices.




Of the dishes depicted here, this is the only one that I cooked.

Food Elsewhere

At Sweetwaters’ Cafe. An espresso with a classic donut.


Ice cream at the Dexter Creamery.


Blog post © 2024 mae sander
Shared with Sherry’s In My Kitchen and  Elizabeth’s Tea Party.

19 comments:

My name is Erika. said...

You always make me hungry with your monthly food posts. It all looks so good! And I need check out Bao. I haven't heard of that one. Happy last day of June. hugs-Erika

R's Rue said...

All the food looks delicious.

Jeanie said...

You're such a wonderful food writer! And I must try that gratin -- it looks fabulous!

Divers and Sundry said...

Food in film is not as common as one might expect -in my experience, anyway. I haven't seen Bao. I'll look it up. Thanks!

Jo Tracey said...

Those bao look amazing. I remember reading that passage about the fairy wine and thinking it sounded delightful.

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

oh wow, that's a cool idea to track food in the books we read...

Sherry's Pickings said...

Racahout? Never heard of that one. Fascinating. Swordfish is a fab dense fish for eating. I always check that it's sustainable tho. Potato gratin? I'm in! That last photo was funny - shakes cheeses lattes. Lots of good food in your life Mae. Thanks for joining in this month as ever. I appreciate it!
cheers
sherry

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

I am going to make the Gratin Savoyard tonight as it looks so delicious! Hope you have a good July Mae :)

Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid said...

Those bao look sooo good - I wish someone would invent snack-a-vision. That lentil stew looks super wholesome - what a delicious month you've had.

eileeninmd said...

Happy July Mae,
Great food post, it all looks delicious.
I would like to try the bao, they do look yummy.
The gratin and bread also look delicious.
Have a great day and happy new week!

Lori said...

Everything looks so delicious. That is a really cute movie. I hope July is a good month for you as well.

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

Nice assortment of cooked and enjoyed out! Those strawberries are beautiful! I will have to suggest that movie for our next dinner and a movie night with the grandson. Melynda @scratchmadefood!

Sharon Madson said...

Your food all looks delicious! Ihave had swordfish a couple of times and loved it. The Chinese steamed bun looks delicious, too. I think I am hungry, time for supper! We are having spaghetti and hubby is fixing it, that is the best part. LOL. Happy T Day!

Carola Bartz said...

I haven't seen the movie, but while living in Taiwan I had many delicious baozi. There's quite a variety and you can have them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All your food looks very delicious. Have a good week - Carola

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I was hungry when I got here and now I'm even hungrier. That Bao looks good. I love any Asian food.

I want to try the pomegranate tofu. It sounds delicious. So does Len's bread.

Thanks for sharing your meals, snacks, and sweets with us for T this week, dear Mae. I must find something to eat now.

You commented "Too bad that you have one more worry about the way your computer is behaving! I hope you’ll be able to find your photos soon." I KNOW where my photos are. Blogger wont allow me to upload them to the blog because they are on a virtual box on my computer. My computer isn't the problem. Blogger is.



Iris Flavia said...

Now I want to see that movie - what a fun idea to have it running in that restaurant!
And so much yummiest food! All I have in plan for today is peas and carrots and now I feel a bit sad ;-)

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

All of the food from your kitchen looks delicious but I'm intrigued by the pomegranate tofu! So nice thatLen shares in the cooking. My husband only knows how to slice tomatoes and cucumbers for salads!! (haha )

Johanna GGG said...

The food in film and fiction is fun - I love those beautiful bao buns. But I have not heard of the movie but apparently my daughter has watched it a lot. Spicy sweet pomegranate tofu sounds interesting and the cinnamon raisin walnut bread looks amazing. And good to see you getting out and about to eat some fun food.

Liz said...

Bao buns are a treat. Sadly, there are no Chinese restaurants on the coast, although I have seen bao buns in the freezer section. I am curious to know how good they are. We loved that movie; it was such fun. Beautiful things in your kitchen, and you didn't need to do the cooking. Well done.