First Book Club for Siren's Feast

     Leave it to the Armenian sisters to host the first official book club for Siren's Feast.  And what a feast it was.  Not only did everyone dress in costumes of some of the countries I wrote about, but the spread was fit for a Queen--several recipes prepared from my culinary memoir.  We had mango lassi (p.142) no less than three mouth-watering eggplant dishes, hummous,

 baba ghanouj (p.196), kibbeh, vosp kufta (p.207),

muhammara (p.197), lebneh, olives and feta, pickles and bread--all delicious.  After all of that we still found room for Armenian pastries, Moroccan mint tea (pg. 37) and 

Armenian coffee for dessert. And then the gifted and lovely Anita actually read our coffee cups.  It was good fortunes for all.

     I brought along some artifacts and photos.  The gals were interested in what Alejandro, my first love, looked like.  I never got permission from the Scavullo estate to use the photo taken in 1969 but brought along a copy taken from one of Scavullo's photo books and also the little beaded tapestry my grandfather made when he was in a Turkish dungeon.  I loved hearing the ladies' reactions to my story.  Hours passed and it felt like minutes.  And the Odyssey continues.  

Yes We Will

Guacamole Paradise

In the midst of book promotion for the Feast, the economy and roof repair, it hasn't been easy to get away for new adventures, yet I managed recently to travel to a remote island off the coast of the Yucatan for a wedding. A 5 hour flight to Cancun, 2 1/2 hour drive through the jungle to a little village where we caught a ferry to Paradise with mosquitoes. Nothing is perfect, even in Paradise. The birds in the photo are the magnificent frigate birds. I watched them every morning while I had my delicious Mexican coffee on the beach.

How Rowan and Emilie got over 100 family members and friends to take a week off to participate in their nuptials was a feat that is a testament to them. I managed to gain 6 lbs. by gorging on chips and guacamole, every kind of ceviche fresh from the sea, margaritas, pina coladas and Aztec soup. I promptly lost all 6 lbs. on my return home, thank God. (I promise the Aztec soup recipe as soon as I work it out and a signed copy of Siren's Feast, An Edible Odyssey, to anyone who correctly identifies the island.)

Writing for the Sun Community Newspapers

Recently my favorite local newspaper where I was a columnist for over three years has had to close down its presses.  Another sign of why we need change we can believe in.  This story is being repeated all over the country at a time when we need more than ever to connect.

Below are some links to columns about a few of my favorite people.

Herman Leonard - Photographer

Gerri Dalzell - Artist

Gordon Parks - Renaissance Man

Best Chicken Soup, Happy Dogs

So many people lately have requested my recipe for Armenian chicken soup and complained when they couldn't find it in Siren's Feast, I have been compelled to post it on my blog. An old friend even tracked me down after 15 years because she really really wanted to make that soup. It is delicious and it's quite simple. So here goes. Notice photo of happy dogs, Cisco and Buddha, who had also recently complained that their photos hadn't yet made it on my blog. The real reason they're so happy is that they get all the chicken that doesn't make it into the soup.

Nancy's Special Armenian Chicken Soup

1 whole frying chicken (approx. 4 lbs., organic if possible)
3 quarts water
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup white rice (jasmine, calrose, or your favorite)
2 eggs, beaten
juice of 2 lemons, strained
few sprigs parsley, chopped finely, for garnish

Put chicken into large stock pot, add the 3 quarts water, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from pot and allow to cool.
Remove breast meat from the bones, discarding all skin, fat and gristle. Then strain broth into a clean pot and bring to a boil.

Add onion, celery, salt, pepper and rice, cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Add lemon juice to beaten eggs, along with a little of the hot soup, then slowly add to the pot. The lemon juice "bleaches" the soup, turning it into a lovely, creamy white. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. Everyone LOVES this soup, and how easy was that?

Stairway to heaven

At the end of the odyssey that took me around the world, in search of love and enlightenment, I found both in the very place I grew up, in the form of a beautiful, petite Japanese American named Mary Burmeister. I spent 14 years studying with this living master of Jin Shin Jyutsu, the ancient Japanese healing art I have practiced for the past 33 years. Mary and the art of Jin Shin Jyutsu have been my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The last time I saw her I said, "There's not a day that passes that I don't think of you, with gratitude in my heart, for the life I've had because of Jin Shin."
Mary held out her hands. "Well," she responded, "God is the strength in my hands now. When He's 100% I'll be able to go home."
Mary returned home as peacefully as she lived on Jan. 27th, 2008, at the age of 89, leaving behind thousands of students and thousands more who have benefitted and been blessed by the healing graces of the precious art of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

A Feast for the Senses

My culinary memoir SIREN'S FEAST got off to a tantalizing start when over 140 people showed up to celebrate the launch with me at Ca del Sole, a fabulous Mediterranean restaurant in Toluca Lake. One of my closest friends, Coco Conn, and my goddaughter Lauren Conn, helped me roll 400 stuffed grape leaves. Scrumptious paklava came from Oasis Bakery in Glendale, some of the best I've ever had, and Ca del Sole supplied the rest of the delicious cuisine. Guests were standing in line to have their Tarot cards and palms read and the place caught fire when Neena and Veena, the Belly Twins, performed. And yes, they are identical twins. Personally, I've never hugged so many people in one evening.

I'm blown away by the response to SIREN'S FEAST, AN EDIBLE ODYSSEY. People are already cooking the recipes and I've heard from several folks that they couldn't put the book down and have been ordering more copies for friends, in the words of one, "to share the delicious pleasure." It feels like a new odyssey is just beginning.