Always Home: A Daughter's Recipes and Stories

As her chef/food activist mother Alice Waters writes in the foreword, Always Home by Fanny Singer is "a story about the universal power of real food--how it knits us together, and how deeply our lives....can be enriched by the ways in which we nourish ourselves." Ever since my college years I have loved visiting Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Eating at Chez Panisse is a sensual experience not just a tasty meal, and Singer's story draws the reader into Waters’ visionary spirit. “The first guests arrive to the scent of woodsmoke and grilling bread...the handmade mozzarella still warm from the brine, the splash of green olive oil.... “ So much of what Singer relays about herself and Waters, resonates with my own values for fresh organic and sustainably raised food items, a European sensibility in food prep and decor, and an appreciation for aesthetic beauty, art, love and human connection. (I wanted to send her a list of songs and pieces to play while preparing and eating her food to complete the sensory engagement!) This book inspired me to take more time with my own food preparation. Some of the included recipes I skipped over (sadly I can’t eat sugar), but most were very enlightening. Singer gives the whys and hows of her recipes so that they make sense in a context. I can't wait to try roasting a chicken and making a lobster salad according to her instructions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how people connect through food. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on Good Reads/Ripe Reads Hardcover 336 pages, Audiobook 8 hours 41 minutes