A Homemade Life.

About three years ago, I came across a book in the discount bin at Barnes and Noble. It was called, “A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table,” by Molly Wizenberg.

Although I didn’t know much about the book or the author, I purchased it. To my delight, it was such a wonderful book, I read it in a single sitting, and even emailed Molly right afterward to tell her so! She replied within a few days, and was flattered.

When I Googled her to find her email address, I came across her blog, Orangette, which has won several awards and was named one of The New York Times’ World’s Best Food Blogs. If you have time to get lost in a blog, I truly recommend doing so with this one—it’s got archives back to 2004!

If you decide to visit her blog, you’ll see the announcement that her second book, Delancey, is coming out in May. I cannot wait! You will also see that her book, “A Homemade Life” is on sale for $1.99 in digital form, because it was named a Kindle Monthly 100 pick for February (get it here).

Clearly I’ve pimped out Ms. Wizenberg enough, but now I’ll leave you with one of my favorite passages from A Homemade Life:

On the wall opposite the pastry case was a copper counter with a long mirror mounted above it. A row of black, velvet-topped stools squatted in front of the counter like spindly mushrooms. We sat down, watching ourselves in the mirror, and ate our pastries: the croissants for him and my mother, the pain au chocolat for me. It crackled when I bit into it, but underneath the shattery crust, it tore into dozens of stretchy layers and strands. The chocolate inside was still warm, and it oozed out the side until I caught it with my finger and brought it back to my mouth. I was sold.

Each morning after that, while my mother was getting dressed, my father and I would walk around the block to the bakery. It was always the same order for me: a pain au chocolate and a chocolate chaud. I’d perch myself atop one of the black mushroom caps, kicking my feet against its stem, and lean over the counter to sip the hot chocolate from its white ceramic cup. Sometimes, for an afternoon snack, he bought me one of the small, oblong breads—pain passion, they called them—from a basket by the register. Later in the day, if I got hungry before dinner, I would stuff a little square of chocolate, the kind they give you in cafes when you order coffee, into its doughy center. My father beamed.

Julie & Julia.

As a blogger and a foodie, I love the story of Julie & Julia.

It became a well-known story in 2009, when it hit theatres staring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, depicting the stories of Julia Child and Julie Powell, respectively. Based off a true story, Powell is in a rut and decides to spend a year of her life cooking every recipe in Child’s first cookbook, while she blogs about her trials and tribulations in the kitchen.

View the movie trailer:

Not only is it a cute, unique story for a movie, but I love that it is true. For awhile, Powell kept her blog going, and it was neat to read her posts after the movie became popular.

Powell wrote a second book, a memoir called “Cleaving,” where she spends time as an apprentice at a butcher’s shop. She creatively intertwines carving meat and the voyage of self-discovery.

I love using the story of Julie & Julia as an example for my students that you can create a blog about nearly anything, and it can be quite successful!