The Language of Baklava: A Memoir - Diana Abu-jaber

Abu-Jaber's early life seemed defined by the rites and rituals of cooking andeating and she weaves her charming story around vividly remembered, sensuallydescribed meals. \n \nDiana Abu-Jaber's vibrant, humorous memoir weaves together delicious food memories that illuminate the two cultures of her childhood--American and Jordanian. Here are stories of being raised by a food-obsessed Jordanian father and tales of Lake Ontario shish kabob cookouts and goat stew feasts under Bedouin tents in the desert. These sensuously evoked repasts, complete with recipes, paint a loving and complex portrait of Diana's impractical, displaced immigrant father who, like many an immigrant before him, cooked to remember the place he came from and to pass that connection on to his children. The Language of Baklava irresistibly invites us to sit down at the table with Diana's family, sharing unforgettable meals that turn out to be as much about grace, difference, faith, love as they are about food.\n