The Language of Baklava~ Teaser Tuesdays

Hosted by MizB at shouldbereading.

Here's how to play:

*Grab your current read,

*Open to a random page,

*Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page,

*Please no spoilers!

*Share the title & author.

This week's choice is Diana Abu-Jaber's "The Language of Baklava":

"Mrs. Manarelli travels around the neighborhood with covered bundles that at first I think are babies. Then she comes to our house and I find out that it's food: pasta slippery with fresh pesto, or a plate of grilled sausages, or a whole roasted chicken. She cooks and then she looks for people to feed, because Johnny is always on a diet and Marco is delicate and sensitive and allergic to everything. When she and Bud meet, it's as if they've found each other at last. She raps on the glass of the kitchen door as Bud fries some lentils and tomatoes and onions. 'Hey you?' she calls. 'Whatcha doing in there? What is that in the pan?'"

I recently heard Diana Abu-Jaber speak about her writing and was as enthralled with her voice, her personal storytelling and anecdotes, as I was with this book. While she writes fiction as well, this 'culinary memoir' is deliciously filled with mouth-watering descriptions of her father's Jordanian cooking (and colorful personality) and each chapter includes family recipes, several of which I plan to try. I highly recommend her book, as well as her way of describing the world, and wish you luck while reading it. Keep something to snack on nearby.