Consuming Passions
by Michael Lee West
List Price: $13.00
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0060984422
Publisher: HarperCollins
³I grew up in the fifties, an era when cellulite existed but had no name. In our household, tucked away in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the sixties were noted for its grapefruit diets and ice cold cans of Metracal. My people loved food, and every meal was a celebration.² So begins Michael Lee West in Consuming Passions, her deliciously funny look at family, food, and Southern life. Brimming with lively anecdotes about aunts, uncles, cousins, and all manner of eccentric locals, it is also filled with a classic selection of recipes for the gumbos, barbecue, cakes, and pies that reflect this region¹s, and the author¹s, devotion to real ³down-home² food.
The reader is transported from West¹s first attempt at ³No-Fail Rice and Pork Casserole² to her ³internship² in Miss Johnnie¹s kitchen, as she launches on her own food explorations, making croutons, bravely frying, ordering exotic spices and taking cookbooks to bed to ³read, study, and dissect. I knew my kitchen, perhaps my life, would never be the same. I had a destiny, a food obsessed life.²
top of the page
1. Although Michael Lee West focuses largely on her development as an 'accidental gourmet,' the strength of Consuming Passions is the relationship between West and the women who helped nurture her ³foodie² spirit, especially her mother. Discuss the importance of this mother-daughter relationship and the manner in which food acts as a medium through which West and her mother come to a greater understanding and appreciation of each other.
2. The passing on of a family recipe also means the passing on of tradition, keeping the past alive through the food on our tables. The recipes within this memoir are closely linked to the strong Southern tradition of storytelling. How does food become the avenue through which the past is discussed and kept alive for future generations? Why is this important?
3. West had numerous influences throughout her development as a gourmet ‹ Miss Johnnie, Aunt Tempe, Aunt Dell, Ary Jean ‹ what could be called ³home training.² Discuss some of these influences and how each added to her culinary repertoire. What/who has been your own greatest influence in your love for food?
4. A sense of place is very important to West ‹ she is a daughter of the South and she finds great pleasure in making Southern cuisine. How is your sense of place reflected in the meals you cook? What dishes give you a sense of home or trigger special memories?
top of the page
" A scrumptiously witty memoir about family, food, and the American South. "
—People
" A must-read...Everything about Consuming Passionsfrom the title to the recipes,just drips with Southern charm. "
—Denver Post
