Amazing Discovery of the Week!
3-2-1 Cake
Yes, you can make a cupcake in the microwave!
My friend showed me this great after school snack that's as easy as 1-2-3, I mean, 3-2-1.
 |
| No, it doesn't look like this when it comes out of the microwave. |
Combine the two dry cake mixes (no other ingredients added) and store in a container in the pantry or cupboard.
When you (or your munchkin) want a treat, merely mix, in an ungreased cup or cereal bowl:
3 Tbs of the combined cake mix
2 Tbs of water
And
1 minute in the microwave later, you can have your cake and eat it, too.
So, I'm not sure why all my Amazing Discoveries in recent weeks revolve around food instead of writing, but I figured for today’s post, why let a good fixation go to waste (waist?).
My friend recently admitted to me that she has a guilty pleasure in reading. She loves stories with descriptions of food. To be honest, never in my life have I really thought about food in literature. It even took a minute to think back to a time when reading about food really impacted my life. Here it is:
In my church on the first Sunday of the month we fast (don’t eat or drink) for two meals and donate the money we would have spent on food to the needy. As a kid, I was not nearly as altruistic as I am now (cough cough) and it felt fairly excruciating to ‘starve, literally starve!’ – or so I told my mom. (this wasn’t forced on us at all, I could have eaten, but the expectation was there in my family, and it was stronger than my desire for food). Anyway, my favorite pastime to while away the hours till dinnertime was reading cookbooks. I know, I know, like pouring salt on a wound. But I still remember devouring those pages with my eyes, especially the pictures of desserts until I could almost taste them.
In real life, food is hardly ever just fuel for our bodies. It can be a reward, a threat, a friend, an enemy, a gift, solace or dozens of other things. In literature, food can also be a powerful tool in a writer’s arsenal. A character’s relationship to food can explain so much of how he or she sees the world, can give so much background, in so few words. The following are a few examples that came to mind.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
“But the real star of the evening was the food…Whole roasted cows and pigs
and goats still turning on spits. Huge platters of fowl stuffed with savory
fruits and nuts. Ocean creatures drizzled in sauces or begging to be dipped in
spicy concoctions. Countless cheese, breads, vegetables, sweets, waterfalls of
wine, and streams of spirits that flicker with flames.”
“’You go along, thinking you can deal with it, thinking maybe they’re not so
bad, and then you -‘ he cuts himself
off.
“All I can think of is the emaciated bodies of the children on our kitchen
table as my mother prescribes what parents can’t give. More food.” (Catching
Fire, by Suzanne Collins, pp79-80)
Suddenly Peeta and Katniss are thrown out of the glamorous world of the Capitol
and realize that they will never be able to forget or leave behind who they are
and where they came from. The symbolism of food as decadence is a turning point
in their attitude about the rebellion.
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Throughout the novel, a great deal is made of the procession of people into dinner. In regency times the order of precedence was quite strict with the most important members of the dinner party going in first. Jane is continually shunted to the end of the line and made to walk alone, in large part because she was not their ‘usual customer’ (someone wealthy enough to be a repeat client to Austenland).
“Glum, glum, glum. That was the sound her feet made as she descended to the
drawing room that evening. Glum, glum, as she walked alone at the back of the
line of precedence into the dining room. It sure felt cold back there. She
sniffed and rubbed her arms…
“Jane click-clacked her fork on her plate, pushing her food around. Her
mother would’ve been shocked. It was not often that Jane was truly and
absolutely despondent, and tonight she felt enslaved by the word. It shouldn’t
matter what they thought of her, she reminded herself. This was her game, and
when she won it would be her victory. She just had to dig in her heels and keep
playing. But the reality of the men being bored by her, paid to pretend to like
her, intruded too much on her fun tonight, coupled with the dread that she
wouldn’t be able to conquer her obsession before her time in Austenland was up.”
(Austenland, by Shannon Hale, p149)
Her discontent is so perfectly mirrored in the dinner arrangements that when a certain snug-britched fellow (who shall remain nameless in case you haven’t read the book), breaks precedence just to be with her, it’s huge, and awesome and ahhh. You know?
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Princess Elisa’s story begins:
“…Today is the day of my wedding. It is also my sixteen birthday.
“I usually avoid mirrors, but the day is momentous enough that I risk a
look. I can’t see very well; the lead glass ripples, my head aches, and I am
dizzy from hunger. But even blurred, the wedding terno is beautiful, made of
silk like water with tiny glass beads that shimmer when I move. Embroidered
roses circle the hem and the flared cuffs of my sleeves. It’s a masterpiece,
given its rushed stitching.
“But I know the terno’s beauty will be much diminished when buttoned…
"‘Done!' (her attendants) announce together, and step back, one on each side
to admire their handiwork…
“I shake my head. ‘I am a sausage,’ I gasp. ‘A big, bloated sausage in a
white silk casing.’ I want to cry. Or laugh. It’s hard to decide.” (Girl of
Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, p1-2)
If you hadn’t guessed, Elisa’s refuge from the pressures of palace life is in the kitchens. The kindly kitchen master always has a pastry or two for her and a comfortable seat where she won’t be judged. Throughout the novel, her descriptions of food and her changing relationship with it mirror so acutely her own transformation into someone confident, powerful and whole that it is really a masterpiece of symbolism.
In what ways have you noticed food used in literature, or better yet, incorporated it into your own stories?
Happy writing!
~ Susan
I read Austenland the same week that I read Twilight...I remember because I was on vacation in Florida. I really didn't like Austenland at all, but so many people loved it that I'm wondering if I should revisit it now that the Twilight halo has faded.
ReplyDeleteYou already know how much I loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns. You really nailed one of the things I loved so much about it--the way her perception of food evolved as her own sense of empowerment grew.
I haven't used food at all as far as I can remember--well, there is one scene where a fire fairy tricks Jenny into eating some super hot peppers, but I don't know if that counts. Given my own scary relationship with food, this seems like a huge oversight on my part.
I now have to read A Girl of Fire and Thorns. That's how you do a hook.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed C.S. Lewis focuses on food in his Narnia books. The characters are often sitting down to eat, and he goes into a lot of detail about all the different kinds of food. In fact, Aslan's entire downfall started with some Turkish Delight.
I've noticed now in several YA books, that the characters never stop to eat, or eat just a quick bite before going off to kill the bad guy, or make out with a mythological creature.
That's so not truthful. If I had to go several days without food, I think that's about all I would think about, and I'd be grumpy, and sleepy, and weak.
And probably much thinner than I am.
Now, I'm off to go eat lunch like a regular person, and then maybe later I'll save the world before grabbing some fast food. I'm just saying.
Melanie, go reread Austenland, right now. I didn't like it so much on the first reading, because I didn't know who to root for, but since you now know which cute boy she ends up with, go and read it. It'll be so much better the second time.
I love that book.
Great post
One minute and you have your cupcake? That is too easy which, considering how much I like cupcakes, is not good. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know I've never paid much attention to food in books before. Although, I do remember that scene from Catching Fire. I do have my characters eat only because eating is so essential to life. I never thought of using food for characterization before. But it is a great advice considering really how much food plays a role in real life.
Great Post!