Fel's Manteca Colora (almost)

Now Fel stood in the Nomeolvides kitchen, melting down manteca, dyeing it red with paprika and chili powder. He tore green herbs into pieces, letting them fall into the bright sauce.

. . . He sliced day-old bread and spread it over a metal sheet. He brushed it with olive oil and garlic cloves and left it in the oven until the edges browned.

As he swirled the spoon through the wide copper pot, this family and this kitchen felt so much like his that he didn't worry about the paprika staining the wooden spoon. He stirred in bay and oregano leaves, and they sank into the manteca colora. The stems gave off a low, bitter smell that made him remember the gold and orange of fall leaves. (Wild Beauty, 108-109) 

Let me begin by stating, I know this recipe is wrong. But, I'm also okay with that because from what I can tell, manteca colora is a family-by-family recipe. Even Fel and Estralla disagree on what exactly the meal consists of.

Last night, I invited a friend over to help me make Fel's version of manteca colora, as described in the quotation above. I also searched online to find a similar recipe, and found this definition:

Manteca colora (Andalusian for "red lard") is a food item prepared by adding spices (usually bay leaf and oregano) and paprika--which is what gives the dish its characteristic orange color--to lard, which is then cooked with minced or finely shopped pieces of pork. (wikipedia)

McLemore mentions that Fel pulls out day old bread, manteca, and meat, so we started there.

Day Old Bread: I must admit, I do not keep day old bread in my house, so . . . I faked it. I toasted two slices of bread then, as described above, my friend set it on a pan, brushed it with olive oil, and sprinkled on a little garlic salt. The bread was placed in the oven at 200F for about six minutes.

Manteca: I'm supremely embarrassed to tell you thatnothing. So, all I can tell you is I used a bunch of butter--probably close to two sticks or one cup. What I should have done: combine the butter/fat and spices (I used cumin, oregano, and paprika, totally overlooked the chili) in a bowl and melt in microwave or stove. Hey, I'm sure Fel would have used a microwave if he had one.
my dish was missing the main ingredient, lard. I don't keep that on hand (don't judge me, I'm a newlywed who has only just started to cook). What do I have in my kitchen to substitute? Butter. I wanted to be true to the story, so I measured

Meat: Traditional menteca colora recipes use pork, but the meat I had on hand was canned chicken. I had a total brain fart and threw everything into one bowl before melting the butter/spices. Next time, I'll follow the directions I listed above. Shred the meat and add to the manteca mixture.

Spanish rice and Manteca Colora.
Notice: mine is not a rich red color.
I believe adding chili will help with
that in the future. 

From here, I know what I made was wrong. Next time, I will let the meat simmer in the manteca to ensure it thickens a little. As Fel did, I served mine warm: a foundation of toast with the manteca colora spooned on the top. My friend and I felt something was missing, so we added cheese. As I read more about the dish, I realized it is generally served at breakfast, so I drizzled honey over mine (so incredibly amazing), but my friend chose to go without.

There you go! My failed attempt at Fel's Manteca Colora as described in Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore.

Fel spooned the manteca colora over the bread, softening the edges. He served the Nomeolvides women, grandmothers and mothers and daughters, hoping they would speak, talk to one another about anything, knowing they wouldn't He sat down with them, and they ate. The paprika's spice slid over their tongues, the herbs coming up through the red enough that they still tasted green and alive. (Wild Beauty, 110) 

Bookish Baking

About a year ago, my wonderful husband introduced be to Binging with Babish on YouTube . Babish devotes his channel to cooking recipes mentioned in movies and tv shows; then, he makes them better. Usually with the addition of alcohol (check the man out, he's amazing).  

I was cooking dinner when I told my husband that I was reviving this blog. As I gathered ingredients and pans from various cabinets around our tiny kitchen, I mentioned that I wanted to bring something different to the table--I wanted this to be more than "this is my review, blah, blah, blah". Halfway through our conversation I realized what I wanted to do: a literary version of Binging with Babish. A bookish baking blog, if you will.

Now, be warned, I AM NOT BABISH. That man is amazingly talented and has a wonderful channel. For now, there definitely won't be videos--I sound like I'm twelve when I'm recorded. Also, I'm no culinary master. Nope, just your average housewife who can generally follow and make minor changes to recipes found on Pinterest. I do love to cook and experiment . . . and binge watch all of the culinary and baking shows on Netflix.

This is to be a culinary adventure inspired by literature. Some recipes will be a success and some--I'm sure--will horribly fail; some will be reminiscent of a meal your grandma made and some will have you scratching your head because I probably made it wrong. Whatever the case, feel free to share your culinary adventures or corrections to my culinary adventures in the comments.

Until it's supper time,

Lynnae

Wild Beauty

"Readers Block" maimed me through most of 2016-2017, partly due to the aggressive pace I set for completing my graduate degree and partly due to lesson planning as a middle school English teacher. But with the completion of my course work in January, my husband encouraged me to actually read the books I had received. My sister recently began a subscription as well, and recommended I move Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore up on my TBR list. I loved several of my other OwlCrate books (reviews may come later as I play catch-up), so McLemore's text became my mid-December read.

What attracted me to the book?

To begin with, Wild Beauty  has a beautiful cover, and, isn't that what initially draws us to any book? I love flowers--even though I have a tendency to kill them--so our apartment is filled with living, dying, and faux flora.

Second, I loved the premise of a book that centered on familial relationships. The main characters are five female cousins with a powerful bond of family and friendship.

Third, I've been missing my Hispanic students since moving back from Texas and I love that this book blends Spanish vocabulary into the text and introduces the reader to some of the intimacy and delicacies of the culture.

I must be honest, this one was hard for me to get into.

The first hundred pages seemed to drag on. Yes, I said the first hundred pages, but I was determined to make it through, so I kept reading and moving my motivation Post-It fifty pages ahead. 

What made the book difficult to read?

I didn't know exactly how to put this, but when reading a random review on GoodReads, I realized I agreed with another reader: the author was too descriptive. And odd drawback, no? Especially coming from me, the girl who loves to read the amplified Bible. McLemore was so descriptive, that the reader hardly had room to imagine the space. And example of too much "show" in places. The descriptions made the story lag a bit, for me. 

The element that irritated me the most was the authors way of including an LGBT theme. While I have no problem with the inclusion of LGBT content, the content of this book--as explained in the first hundred pages--seemed forced.

* * * * * SPOILER WARNING * * * * *

 All five cousins were in love with the same girl. And they all knew it. And they all kept trinkets. I don't have five close female cousins [I was blessed to have a multiplicity of boy cousins], but I have had  many close girlfriends throughout high school and college and, let me tell you, there's is no jealously and rivalry like two girls in love with the same person. LET ALONE FIVE. McLemore painted the cousins' relationship as friendly and accepting that they were all in love with the same person, but I just couldn't buy in. 

Now, I will say, my feelings changed quite a bit at the twist in the story. McLemore nearly redeems herself with a solidly realistic explanation. 

Estralla and her cousins blessed one another's love for Bay, not only because they share it, but [also] because they considered it impossible (174).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 What redeemed the book?

There several wonderful things about Wild Beauty that allow me to comfortably recommend this to other readers, with a fair warning that it has a slow start. 

First, the enchantment of the story. Without spoiling any more of the story, the magical garden that McLemore created is truly enchanting and the curse that binds the Nomeolvides women together will keep you reading from cover to cover.

Second, the mysterious boy that appears keeps you involved because, like Estralla and the rest of the women, you want to learn more about who he is, who he was, and why the garden released him from the ground (that's no spoiler, it's on the book jacket). 

Third, the twist does exactly what the author intended: I couldn't set the book down for another few chapters because I wanted to read the twist through to the peak of the climax. 

Finally, McLemore resolves her tale beautifully. Again, I won't give away any more, but by the final paragraph, Estralla has had a true coming of age: acceptance of self, love lost and gained, and a rebirth of who she will be. 

Rating: ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐

A New Evolution

New Year, New Me, right?

I can't believe it's been five years since I last blogged, but one of my resolutions for 2018 was to get back to blogging, specifically blogging about books I'm reading.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Quick Overview:

In the past 5 years I have

• completed my undergraduate: English Ed
• taught English, theatre, yearbook, and computer applications
• completed my graduate degree: English: Creative Writing
• moved to Texas
• moved back to Missouri
• married the love of my life

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This blog started as part of a class assignment during my undergrad--my online reader's journal. From there, I shared a few books I liked, but at not consistent rate. That's about to change.

Over the past year, I had the pleasure of subscribing to a monthly book box: OwlCrate (definitely recommend). Unfortunately, I had to cancel the subscription because adulating takes money, but I hope to renew the subscription soon. Less than a week after cancelling OwlCrate, I found an ad on Intagram from another subscription box, PageHabit, looking for a new moderator for one of their book box genres. I applied.

And they accepted me!

So, how is this blog evolving? Subtly.

From Cover to Cover will still cover books I'm reading and I promise to be open about the good, the bad, and the ugly about each text. My aim is to write a literary analysis of the text. Some will be longer than others.

The main difference will be that each month you will find my review of the PageHabit book assigned to me for the previous month (head's up--I'm moderating Romance). So, expect quite a few plugs for PageHabit within posts.

But there will be other texts, too. I have several books from OwlCrate to complete and I want to read a variety of genres this year.

Here's to a new year, a new me, and a (slightly) new evolution to this blog. Come back often to see what I've been reading from Cover to Cover.