June is Durga's choice which is POMEGRANATE SOUP by Marsha Mehran.



Synopsis
For the inhabitants of the damp little Irish town of Ballinacroagh, the repertoire of gastronomic delights has never extended farther than the limp meals of the local inn's carvery. But things are about to change when the beautiful Aminpour sisters - Marjan, Bahar and Layla - arrive, determined to share the magic of their kitchen with the friendly locals. Opening Babylon Cafe, right in the heart of town, they begin serving up traditional Persian dishes and soon the townsfolk is lured to the new premises by the tantalizing aroma of fresh herb kuku, lamb abgusht and elephant ear fritters, washed down with gallons of jasmine tea from the old samovar. Not everyone welcomes the three women with open arms, though. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, as they say, and the women of Ballinacroagh want their men back. Filled with recipes, mouth-watering fragrances and mysterious spices, "Pomegranate Soup" is a heart-warming tale of romance, friendship and exotic food.

I've jsut started it and I'm very interested in this choice. The print surprised me though. It's very much an adult book but with print designed for either people who need extra large print of what's normally used in children's book.

Great Choice Durga!

I'm right there! Right in the kitrchen, smelling the Rose Water and the aroma's of the garden where she 'plunges her fingers' what a wonderful, delightful non-ladylike book. I know the characters are women but at least one man is mentioned and if it were a programme on tv most people including men would happily watch.

Marc will make no differenciate between a female book which he has read some of and a male orientated book, I know that for sure He will not be bored as he will no doubt say so himself Durga.

I'm loving it! Chapter two here I come......... :reading:

Dont worry Durga, Issi informs me that it's not too feminine and it's about cooking which is something I love so I love the recipes that are at the beginning of each chapter
It's also a bit of a departure from my usual genre which is horror.

I am finishing chapter two and i have mixed feelings - colours, smells and tastes are described graetly but the story is somehow dissapearing in between it. I hope it will chnge! I love the receips before each chapter!

I'm on my way out to the bookstore to get the book.

I'll read it when Issi is finished

None of the 4 local bookstores carries the book (they do carry Mehran's newest book), so I ordered it from Amazon. I should get it within a week...hopefully.

Liz, i hope it will come - i was checking if it's available everywhere we live and was hoping everyonecan find it without problems

I've just finished my copy but with my thoughts will wait for everyone tofinish

I have no idea why the stores don't carry the book, especially when they carry Mehran's newest book. It seems the big chain stores only carry "popular" books and classics these days...anything in between has to be ordered, I think I'll stick with Amazon from now on.

That's what I generaly do too Liz. Appart from the fact that I simply cannot just 'nip out' on my own anymore unless it's door to door - extremely difficult in a busy shopping area that's all pedestrianised. So I always use Amazon ( .co.uk for me ) As soon as books are suggested I tend to order them then which ever one is the chosen one I know it's on its way.

Of course I only do that with us being such a small group at the moment. When we get bigger I will have to be more selective

Hooray! The book arrived in today's mail! I'll start reading it this evening.

Great, i can't wait to see what all of us think about it

About the recipe at the beginning of Chapter 2: does anyone think that sounds like an awful lot of onions and garlic for that amount of soup?

I thought that myself Liz, however, nowhere does it say exactly how many people that recipe or indeed ANY of the recipe's are being fed by that quantity.

The migraine recipe does not work, I can say that from experience first hand

It only calls for a total of 10 cups of liquid (7 cups chicken broth, 3 cups water). That doesn't seem like much liquid in relation to the amount of onions and garlic.

What confuses me more is that it is measured in 'cups' Now if it were an American recipe I can follow that no problem, but this is set in Ireland. Ireland use UK measurements in cooking which would measure in oz not cups. However, in som eparts a cup is actually a large MUG not an actual cup or a precise measurement, so it's confusing all along.

By 'White Onions' I would think she means Irish/English white onions which are much smaller than Spanish ones but it still does sound like rather a lot. It's the amount of Garlic that surprises me. No-one would go near you for weeks after eating that! A misprint somewhere?

This is a recipe I have for Red Lentil Soup



Now I think the prionters have mistaken a 1 for a 7? possible?