Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Suffragist Carrot Salad ala All Stirred Up #LitHappens

This easy and delicious vegetable side starts with parboiled carrots instead of raw.  It was inspired by a unique cookbook that I received an early e-copy of for review purposes.  All opinions are strictly my own.

Carrot Salad

Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla invited those who wanted to join her in reviewing All Stirred Up by Laura Kumin. 

All Stirred Up

This opportunity was provided by The Book Club Cookbook and Pegasus Books.  In return for this advanced copy we agreed to post a review and/or recipe from the book and answer a couple of questions.
 
We were also supposed to take a photo of us with the dish we made but I didn't read the instructions thoroughly before I made and ate the recipe so I don't have a photo.  I wonder if I'm getting fired?  I certainly hope not.  I'm hoping this shot of me reading the book will suffice.


Woman with ebook on phone


Here is what Pegasus Press has to say about this book:

In honor of the centenary of the 19th amendment, a delectable new book that reveals a new side to the history of the suffrage movement. 

We all likely conjure up a similar image of the women’s suffrage movement: picket signs, red carnations, militant marches through the streets. But was it only these rallies that gained women the exposure and power that led them to the vote? 

Ever courageous and creative, suffragists also carried their radical message into America’s homes wrapped in food wisdom, through cookbooks, which ingenuously packaged political strategy into already existent social communities. These cookbooks gave suffragists a chance to reach out to women on their own terms, in nonthreatening and accessible ways. Cooking together, feeding people, and using social situations to put people at ease were pioneering grassroots tactics that leveraged the domestic knowledge these women already had, feeding spoonfuls of suffrage to communities through unexpected and unassuming channels. 

Kumin, the author of The Hamilton Cookbook, expands this forgotten history, she shows us that, in spite of massive opposition, these women brilliantly wove charm and wit into their message. Filled with actual historic recipes (“mix the crust with tact and velvet gloves, using no sarcasm, especially with the upper crust”) that evoke the spirited flavor of feminism and food movements, All Stirred Up re-activates the taste of an era and carries us back through time. 

Kumin shows that these suffragettes were far from the militant, stern caricatures their detractors made them out to be. Long before they had the vote, women enfranchised themselves through the subversive and savvy power of the palate.

Carrot Salad

My review is going to consist of answering a couple of questions that were posed and sharing a recipe that was adapted from the original by the author and then adapted by me to use ingredients I had on hand.

Q: 
What was your general understanding of the suffrage movement going in to this book? What did you learn from the historic parts of the narrative that were new—or that you had perhaps forgotten?

A:
I never realized that the suffrage movement went on for so long nor did I realize how little rights women had even going into the 20th century.  I was born in 1958 and women didn't even gain the right to vote until 1920!!  Further it was legal for a man to beat his wife. The wife was not allowed to have any property of her own and any she had accumulated prior to marriage became the man's property as did she the minute they said "I do".  I guess I realized that this was the case during Medievel times but it never occurred to me that it was still the case here in the USA.  I guess it is one of those facts of history that make people uncomvfortable so they just ignore it.

Q: 
The fight for equal rights, while different, is still on going. How does this book inspire you for issues you care about today?
 
A:
Oh my gosh....it was so difficult for me to read this and recognize that even after our huge battle to win equality there is still so much inequality in the world.  I was very disturbed by the fact that many of these women, who were fighting for equality with men, still believed themselves a step above a person of color.  I see this happening in today's world more than ever since the 1960"s which I remember only vaguely.  

It boggles my mind that we have grown so little as a nation and I laughed when I read the part about suffragette supporters being socialists.  It appears that any time any progressive thoughts are presented to conservatives they are immediately labeled socialists as if that is the worst insult in the world. 

Equal pay for equal work: Socialist!  Equality for all regardless of color, race, creed or religion: Socialist!  Affordable medical care and education: Socialist!  Common sense gun regulations: Socialist!  It's really quite disheartening to me.


Q:
What recipes would you like to try? In the adapted form? In the original form? Both?

A:
In answer to this question I am going to share the recipe that I did try.  There are several more that I have earmarked but I will share those at a later date.  I thought that the author did a very nice job of adapting the recipes staying as true as possible to the original so I followed her adaptation, slightly adapting it myself.

This book will be available for sale on August 4th.  I read most of it while lounging in the pool.  August is a great month for you to do so as well especially since it doesn't look like our Country should be reopening any time soon.


#salad, #carrots, #vegetablesides,
Vegetables
American
Yield: 4 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Print
Carrot Salad

Carrot Salad

This easy and delicious vegetable side starts with parboiled carrots instead of raw.
Prep time: Cook time: Total time:

Ingredients:

  • 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into chunks
  • 1 lb. carrots, scraped and cut into thin coins
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 2 T.  red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 5 large mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

  1. Place the carrot coins in a steamer over water.  Place onto high heat, bring to a boil and steam for 4-5 minutes, until crisp tender.  Immediately rinse with cold water to stop cooking and cover with ice to cool completely.
  2. Place the pepper and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely minced.  Place into a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, whisk in the olive oil and vinegar.  
  3. Drain the carrots well and pat dry with a paper towel.  Toss with the yellow pepper vinaigrette and chopped mint.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes:

Adapted from All Stirred Up by Laura Kumin

Calories

120.90

Fat (grams)

7.17

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.01

Carbs (grams)

13.77

Fiber (grams)

4.82

Net carbs

8.95

Sugar (grams)

3.92

Protein (grams)

1.86

Sodium (milligrams)

145.71

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00
Created using The Recipes Generator

5 comments:

  1. You could NEVER be fired!! Thanks for joining the fun, Wendy. I can't wait to try this carrot salad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for including me Cam. Anxious to see what others are inspired to make.

      Delete

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