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Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen
If Julia Child had cooked Italian for a gay husband, used sugar to sweeten a sour childhood, and hosted buffets for a better world, she could have written Tasting Coming of Age in the Kitchen.In this food memoir, Judith Newton shares the unforgettable story of a life on the front lines of activism and in the kitchen. During a difficult childhood, food and cooking were sources of comfort and emotional sustenance. And in the decades to come, through her marriage to a gay man, her discovery of feminism, her life in a commune, and her career as an academic, she used food to sustain personal and political relationships, mourn losses, and celebrate victories. As she earned her activist stripes in the 1960s and beyond, she also learned how food could ease tension, foster community, and build cross-racial ties.Tasting Home combines recipes with personal vignettes, in the classic form of food memoirs by writers such as M.F.K. Fisher and Ruth Reichl, to take us on a remarkable journey through the cuisines, cultural spirit, and politics of the 1940s through the 2000s inviting us to feel how deeply food is tied to identity, love, community, and political engagement.See an essay based on this book, "A Valentine for My Gay Ex-Husband,"at Huffington Post Judith Newton.Tasting Home has received ten independent press awards and a starred review (meaning"outstanding in its genre") from Publisher's Weekly Select.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
37 people are currently reading
1140 people want to read
About the author
Judith Newton
8 books23 followersJudith Newton is Professor Emerita in Women and Gender Studies at U.C. Davis. While at U.C. Davis she directed the Women and Gender Studies program and the Consortium for Women and Research.
Her food memoir, TASTING HOME, received the following critical acclaim:
Starred Review (outstanding in its genre)in Publisher's Weekly Select.
First prize, autobiography, in the London Book Festival.
Silver,Women's Studies, ForeWord Book of the Year Awards.
Bronze,memoir,Independent Publishers's Awards.
Finalist, autobiography, from Reader's Favorite.
Honorable mentions in the Hollywood and Southern California Book Festivals.
Finalist, autobiography, Reader’s Favorite.
"Approved" Status from Independent Reader
Finalist, memoir, National Indie Excellence Book Awards.
Honorable Mentions in San Francisco and New York Book Festivals
Two first place and four finalist awards in Womensmemoir.com Memoir Contests.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She is the author and co-editor of five works of nonfiction on nineteenth-century British women writers, feminist criticism, women’s history, and men’s movements.
Read an essay based on her memoir at Judith Newton Huffington Post.
Her most current work appears at Judith Newton Huffington Post.
in Seasons of Our Lives: Summer (womensmemoir.com 2014);
Roots: Where Food Comes From and Where It Takes Us:A BlogHer Anthology (2013);
in The Redwood Coast Review (Winter 2012) and poetalk (Summer, 2011); at http://tasting-home.com and at http://ipinionsyndicate.com/.
She is currently at work on a screenplay and lives in the East Bay of California where she tends her garden.
Her food memoir, TASTING HOME, received the following critical acclaim:
Starred Review (outstanding in its genre)in Publisher's Weekly Select.
First prize, autobiography, in the London Book Festival.
Silver,Women's Studies, ForeWord Book of the Year Awards.
Bronze,memoir,Independent Publishers's Awards.
Finalist, autobiography, from Reader's Favorite.
Honorable mentions in the Hollywood and Southern California Book Festivals.
Finalist, autobiography, Reader’s Favorite.
"Approved" Status from Independent Reader
Finalist, memoir, National Indie Excellence Book Awards.
Honorable Mentions in San Francisco and New York Book Festivals
Two first place and four finalist awards in Womensmemoir.com Memoir Contests.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She is the author and co-editor of five works of nonfiction on nineteenth-century British women writers, feminist criticism, women’s history, and men’s movements.
Read an essay based on her memoir at Judith Newton Huffington Post.
Her most current work appears at Judith Newton Huffington Post.
in Seasons of Our Lives: Summer (womensmemoir.com 2014);
Roots: Where Food Comes From and Where It Takes Us:A BlogHer Anthology (2013);
in The Redwood Coast Review (Winter 2012) and poetalk (Summer, 2011); at http://tasting-home.com and at http://ipinionsyndicate.com/.
She is currently at work on a screenplay and lives in the East Bay of California where she tends her garden.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
March 18, 2013
Tasting Home by Judith Newton
Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
Judith Newton, Professor Emerita in Women and Gender Studies at U.C. Davis, has written an intriguing memoir combining her love of life, her zest for food and her talent for cooking.
The book is arranged in an unusual and intriguing way: each chapter details a chronological phase of Newton’s life, followed by a recipe. Newton grew up in challenging times, when feminism, civil rights, gay rights and personal freedom were all on the table but not yet fully savored. On her personal plate was a spicy mix: a life-long love affair with delicious food, a many years’ love affair with a bisexual man, a yearning for motherhood despite relationship chaos, and finally, a return to nurse her aged mother and spend time in her parents’ youthful haunts.
The writing is emotive. We feel Newton’s pain as she recalls her childhood traumas with cold, self-involved parents and her battles with fat (“I took refuge in eating, which at our house was easy to do, for the cookie jar in our kitchen was always full”) ending when she goes to college and starts a desperation diet of stale bread rolls and the occasional apple. Then there is the exhilaration as she realizes she has become an adult when she serves her first gourmet dinner to friends, the intense sorrow and frustration of choosing to love a man who could never totally be hers, and the intense sorrow she endures when he is gone.
We see Newton casting about for fulfillment – professionally, in an era when women’s rights and gifts were not yet given parity; personally, when trying so hard to maintain a sensual relationship with the man she adores causes both of them to grow tired and ill; psychologically, as she seeks therapy and deals with her deep-rooted sense of inadequacy; genetically, as she longs for a child but doesn’t have the right man to give her one; and physically, as she refines her skills as a cook, entertainer, teacher, leader, communard and lover.
The recipes are unconventional and sometimes surprising -- ranging from Peanut Butter Fudge to Hot Toddy to Petis Pois Frais À La Française – leaving no doubt as to Newton’s abilities in the kitchen, as she details not just what to do but how to do it, how it feels to cook. This intelligent cuisine is what we would expect of this woman for all seasons and all seasonings: she has been “born again” as a Christian and later as a feminist; she operates her life through the spirits of Coyote and Frida Kalo; and she fixes supper, it seems, almost every night. Whether she is discovering hippie health foods, testing the rich cuisine of Italy and France, or entertaining grandly at home in the Southwest a la Martha Stewart, Newton is talking the talk and walking the walk, and we are trailing along behind her, happily picking up the crumbs.
Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
Judith Newton, Professor Emerita in Women and Gender Studies at U.C. Davis, has written an intriguing memoir combining her love of life, her zest for food and her talent for cooking.
The book is arranged in an unusual and intriguing way: each chapter details a chronological phase of Newton’s life, followed by a recipe. Newton grew up in challenging times, when feminism, civil rights, gay rights and personal freedom were all on the table but not yet fully savored. On her personal plate was a spicy mix: a life-long love affair with delicious food, a many years’ love affair with a bisexual man, a yearning for motherhood despite relationship chaos, and finally, a return to nurse her aged mother and spend time in her parents’ youthful haunts.
The writing is emotive. We feel Newton’s pain as she recalls her childhood traumas with cold, self-involved parents and her battles with fat (“I took refuge in eating, which at our house was easy to do, for the cookie jar in our kitchen was always full”) ending when she goes to college and starts a desperation diet of stale bread rolls and the occasional apple. Then there is the exhilaration as she realizes she has become an adult when she serves her first gourmet dinner to friends, the intense sorrow and frustration of choosing to love a man who could never totally be hers, and the intense sorrow she endures when he is gone.
We see Newton casting about for fulfillment – professionally, in an era when women’s rights and gifts were not yet given parity; personally, when trying so hard to maintain a sensual relationship with the man she adores causes both of them to grow tired and ill; psychologically, as she seeks therapy and deals with her deep-rooted sense of inadequacy; genetically, as she longs for a child but doesn’t have the right man to give her one; and physically, as she refines her skills as a cook, entertainer, teacher, leader, communard and lover.
The recipes are unconventional and sometimes surprising -- ranging from Peanut Butter Fudge to Hot Toddy to Petis Pois Frais À La Française – leaving no doubt as to Newton’s abilities in the kitchen, as she details not just what to do but how to do it, how it feels to cook. This intelligent cuisine is what we would expect of this woman for all seasons and all seasonings: she has been “born again” as a Christian and later as a feminist; she operates her life through the spirits of Coyote and Frida Kalo; and she fixes supper, it seems, almost every night. Whether she is discovering hippie health foods, testing the rich cuisine of Italy and France, or entertaining grandly at home in the Southwest a la Martha Stewart, Newton is talking the talk and walking the walk, and we are trailing along behind her, happily picking up the crumbs.
March 27, 2013
Judith Newton grabbed me on the first page of Tasting Home. She laments the need to give up some of her treasured cookbooks as she moves into a new home. I joined in the mourning, for during my own recent move I did give away many of my own treasures, and now I repent and regret the decision just about every time that I walk by my kitchen bookcase. Fortunately, Newton realized that she must keep the books.
Good for her! For a couple of reasons: she still has those wonderful books and the memories they hold, and she opens up her shelves to us as she shares her turbulent life in this intriguing memoir. Food is home, and most times, home is in the kitchen. “I realized that cookbooks were more to me than a reflection of my past.” They are indeed, and she uses them, a variety of them, to tell her story. The book has a bonus—many of the recipes come directly from familiar books. Some I own (or have owned), like Julia Child and the Moosewood books. Others are totally new-to-me books with recipes that make me start thinking about dinner tonight while I read in the morning.
“A girl who can sew like you, why would you want to go to college?” Newton’s aunt’s question seemed a natural one in her society of California working folks. Why would she? Fortunately her father and a wise school counselor prevailed. She left her boyfriend and headed for Stanford and an undreamed-of life. She never left school; she simply changed sides of the desk as she built her career in academia. Don’t think an ivy-covered, quiet life. While growing and maintaining her career, Newton led a fascinating life marked by love, leaving, and loving again, and again. Sometimes turbulent, often sad, especially the saga of Dick, her bisexual first husband—the book is dedicated to his memory—there was always time for the kitchen, the cooking, and the solace of food.
As a dedicated cook and cookbook reader and as a contemporary of the author, I found this book a fascinating tour of my times. And often it could have been a tour of my kitchen. I recommend it. I feel better now when I walk by that kitchen bookcase since Tasting Home has joined the survivors. I’ve made the peanut butter fudge. Okay, I’ve made it twice. Date butter is up next. Newton and I are going to get much better acquainted
April 22, 2013
Judith Newton, Professor Emerita in Women and Gender Studies at U.C. Davis, has written an intriguing memoir combining her love of life, her zest for food and her talent for cooking.
I must admit: I was uncertain about whether I would like the book in the first couple of chapters. I gave myself 3 or 4 chapters to decide whether to continue, and I am very glad I did.
The memoir is chronicled according to the places the author lived and a recipe, or set of recipes, that were meaningful to her during that era.
She rises above the lack of nurturing parents during childhood but it is a lifetime endeavor. She creates her own "family-of-choice" with various lovers and friends.
I liked that the reader is also given a little peek into her metamorphosis as a feminist-scholar and how she deals with the sexism/prejudices of the time. One wonders how many women still struggle with this in academia (and everywhere else). I think I know the answer and it depresses me. Still, I appreciate the story of her journey and how she approaches motherhood. She worked hard to choose a different path from her own parents. I can appreciate that on a very personal level.
This is another book that made me really miss my sister and wish I could discuss it with her. She, too, treasured cookbooks, read them like novels, and worked to overcome some early childhood traumas.
I made myself cream tea in a cup my sister gave me long ago and drank it in quiet contemplation.
All better now.
I must admit: I was uncertain about whether I would like the book in the first couple of chapters. I gave myself 3 or 4 chapters to decide whether to continue, and I am very glad I did.
The memoir is chronicled according to the places the author lived and a recipe, or set of recipes, that were meaningful to her during that era.
She rises above the lack of nurturing parents during childhood but it is a lifetime endeavor. She creates her own "family-of-choice" with various lovers and friends.
I liked that the reader is also given a little peek into her metamorphosis as a feminist-scholar and how she deals with the sexism/prejudices of the time. One wonders how many women still struggle with this in academia (and everywhere else). I think I know the answer and it depresses me. Still, I appreciate the story of her journey and how she approaches motherhood. She worked hard to choose a different path from her own parents. I can appreciate that on a very personal level.
This is another book that made me really miss my sister and wish I could discuss it with her. She, too, treasured cookbooks, read them like novels, and worked to overcome some early childhood traumas.
I made myself cream tea in a cup my sister gave me long ago and drank it in quiet contemplation.
All better now.
April 21, 2015
The best thing about this book was the recipes.
September 30, 2017
I tried to put this book down, but I kept coming back to it. I love reading memoirs of ordinary people. In my world, Newton is not the ordinary. I grew up in the same time as Newton, but somehow, I escaped the feminist movement. Her book actually made me wonder what I had missed in college. I heard the feminist appeal and shouts, but they never drew me in. I liked the way Newton wove recipes into her memoir. Being brought up on a farm, food has always had meaning. it meant comfort and the happiness of mom and apple pie. Newton shared her world with me through food. She made me understand her conflicts and torments of a difficult mom and a husband who loved her in the wrong way. Great writing craft to keep the story moving.
September 1, 2013
If I were rating this book simply on the quality of the writing, it would rate four or five stars. Newton is obviously a skilled writer and I had no trouble slipping into the narrative dream of her life quickly. I enjoyed the book but I just wish there were more moments of connection than there were. There were two times I was deeply touched: one, when her ex-husband died and two, when her mother was dying and she was able to put aside her own pain and say "mother's here." OMG, these were powerful moments that made me cry with sadness and empathy. I felt connected.
Let me back up a little and say that this is a trifecta of a memoir, with the themes of food, childhood, and politics, all woven together with tales of the men in her life, only one of which she goes into any real depth about, the aforementioned gay ex-husband who died. Her feelings towards men seem to be ambivalent, and like many feminists, she seems to have trouble dealing with men who have traditional male characteristics, and although her male-bashing is kept to a minimum, it is still disturbing, if only because she seems to be oblivious to it. One of the problems I find with reading memoirs of people with far-left views is that they seem to have blinders on when it comes to their own particular biases. When it comes to a memoir, this can be a real problem, and at times she comes off as somewhat aloof and even elitist. But, I digress, as I am prone to do. Back to the trifecta.
She writes briefly of a painful incident that happened to her when she was four years old. Her mother found out that she had played "doctor" with another child, a young boy, and she was chastised by being told "I thought you were a good little girl." This incident played such an important part in her life that she spent decades trying to conceal what she wrote was "a sense of monstrousness” in herself. This incident, coupled with the fact that she was fat until she twelve years old and that her father’s behavior towards her after she lost weight was at times inappropriate (though oddly, she drops this subject without further ado) leaves her obviously scarred. The strange thing is that most of these incidents that seem to have touched her most deeply are the incidents she glosses by all too quickly. And, I find it highly ironic that part of the misery of her childhood is that she is fat but there we are, being offered recipes of cookies and pies that fed her misery.
The book is not without it’s funny parts, and I got a big chuckle out of one beautifully written scene where she has just finished a piano recital she flubbed. Her mother’s response when the child apologizes for embarrassing her is downright comical.
For the most part, I enjoyed the interspersing of the recipes and how food related to her life. The down-home comfort food of her youth becomes increasingly Foodie in nature.
The last part of the trifecta of her life is her political life and although I love memoirs and
don’t let someone’s politics limit my reading, I found myself puzzled at what drove her politically. In giving so much weight to describing her politics and her work, she fails to really make me understand what exactly in her life made her feel so strongly as she did. What drove the chubby little girl so completely that she felt compelled to abandon what she was? Was it the sense of monstrousness she touched upon earlier in the book? She doesn’t say.
I came away with the sense that she really had a pretty good childhood and she was pretty unfair to her mother, having little good to say about her except that she baked good pies, and even then her mom was criticized for her inability to teach that skill. It troubled me that that impression probably wasn't the impression I was supposed to come away with, because there was obviously so much pain within her. As interesting as her political and Foodie life was, I think it got in the way of telling her other story, about the vulnerable and sensitive child who survived and overcame great pain. This is the person I wanted to know more about.
This all said, I recommend the book. I found myself liking the author and her sense of
joy in cooking for her friends. It just seemed like something was missing.
I received this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway contest. Thanks to the author for writing this book and for sending it out to me so promptly after my win.
Let me back up a little and say that this is a trifecta of a memoir, with the themes of food, childhood, and politics, all woven together with tales of the men in her life, only one of which she goes into any real depth about, the aforementioned gay ex-husband who died. Her feelings towards men seem to be ambivalent, and like many feminists, she seems to have trouble dealing with men who have traditional male characteristics, and although her male-bashing is kept to a minimum, it is still disturbing, if only because she seems to be oblivious to it. One of the problems I find with reading memoirs of people with far-left views is that they seem to have blinders on when it comes to their own particular biases. When it comes to a memoir, this can be a real problem, and at times she comes off as somewhat aloof and even elitist. But, I digress, as I am prone to do. Back to the trifecta.
She writes briefly of a painful incident that happened to her when she was four years old. Her mother found out that she had played "doctor" with another child, a young boy, and she was chastised by being told "I thought you were a good little girl." This incident played such an important part in her life that she spent decades trying to conceal what she wrote was "a sense of monstrousness” in herself. This incident, coupled with the fact that she was fat until she twelve years old and that her father’s behavior towards her after she lost weight was at times inappropriate (though oddly, she drops this subject without further ado) leaves her obviously scarred. The strange thing is that most of these incidents that seem to have touched her most deeply are the incidents she glosses by all too quickly. And, I find it highly ironic that part of the misery of her childhood is that she is fat but there we are, being offered recipes of cookies and pies that fed her misery.
The book is not without it’s funny parts, and I got a big chuckle out of one beautifully written scene where she has just finished a piano recital she flubbed. Her mother’s response when the child apologizes for embarrassing her is downright comical.
For the most part, I enjoyed the interspersing of the recipes and how food related to her life. The down-home comfort food of her youth becomes increasingly Foodie in nature.
The last part of the trifecta of her life is her political life and although I love memoirs and
don’t let someone’s politics limit my reading, I found myself puzzled at what drove her politically. In giving so much weight to describing her politics and her work, she fails to really make me understand what exactly in her life made her feel so strongly as she did. What drove the chubby little girl so completely that she felt compelled to abandon what she was? Was it the sense of monstrousness she touched upon earlier in the book? She doesn’t say.
I came away with the sense that she really had a pretty good childhood and she was pretty unfair to her mother, having little good to say about her except that she baked good pies, and even then her mom was criticized for her inability to teach that skill. It troubled me that that impression probably wasn't the impression I was supposed to come away with, because there was obviously so much pain within her. As interesting as her political and Foodie life was, I think it got in the way of telling her other story, about the vulnerable and sensitive child who survived and overcame great pain. This is the person I wanted to know more about.
This all said, I recommend the book. I found myself liking the author and her sense of
joy in cooking for her friends. It just seemed like something was missing.
I received this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway contest. Thanks to the author for writing this book and for sending it out to me so promptly after my win.
June 15, 2013
This book is a whole lot more than I expected it to be. It starts off with her discussing getting rid of cook books which kind of throws you into years of gathering these, along with a whirlwind of stories. It was interesting to see Judith age along with her cooking and seeing how the food was directly effected by what was happening in her life and what type of situations she was in. The book surprisingly made me really sad at multiple parts and kind of made me think of what does "life" really mean? It also made me think about whether or not I was taking loved ones for granted and what kind of impacts they've had on my life.
I also thought it was interesting watching her morph herself into her idea of what she thought a women should be. Reading about her uprising among jobs and finally to UC Davis as the director is very interesting to read about. I love how she talks about who she is as a woman, in a way setting herself apart from others.
My only gripe about this book was that some chapters seemed to skip back a few years and introduce us to characters she had already talked about. It just confused me at a few parts. It was definitely not enough to turn me away from this book and I recommend it to others who enjoy food memoirs and feminist movements!
I also thought it was interesting watching her morph herself into her idea of what she thought a women should be. Reading about her uprising among jobs and finally to UC Davis as the director is very interesting to read about. I love how she talks about who she is as a woman, in a way setting herself apart from others.
My only gripe about this book was that some chapters seemed to skip back a few years and introduce us to characters she had already talked about. It just confused me at a few parts. It was definitely not enough to turn me away from this book and I recommend it to others who enjoy food memoirs and feminist movements!
January 1, 2016
I was given a copy of Tasting Home for review by the author through GoodReads First Reads.
I really liked this book! Ms. Newton did a wonderful job weaving her life story around her cooking, and she provided some wonderful recipes.
Starting out in the 30's with her parents, and then telling the tale of her life through the different cookbook fads, she sprinkles her life story with the recipes that had meaning for her, at that time, behind them. Some I've done before, some I've never heard of, but all I am planing to use at some point or another soon.
Ms. Newton had lived an incredible life, one that I hope she feels proud of. I am impressed with how she handles the various obstacles life throws at her, and how well she has stuck by her beliefs-even if they weren't necessarily popular at times. I don't want to go into any more details, this is a book you should pick up and start reading! I regret that it took me this long to get around to reading it, when I could have had this enjoyment months ago.
5 Stars.
I really liked this book! Ms. Newton did a wonderful job weaving her life story around her cooking, and she provided some wonderful recipes.
Starting out in the 30's with her parents, and then telling the tale of her life through the different cookbook fads, she sprinkles her life story with the recipes that had meaning for her, at that time, behind them. Some I've done before, some I've never heard of, but all I am planing to use at some point or another soon.
Ms. Newton had lived an incredible life, one that I hope she feels proud of. I am impressed with how she handles the various obstacles life throws at her, and how well she has stuck by her beliefs-even if they weren't necessarily popular at times. I don't want to go into any more details, this is a book you should pick up and start reading! I regret that it took me this long to get around to reading it, when I could have had this enjoyment months ago.
5 Stars.
Read
April 30, 2013Tasting Home expands the tried-and-true blend of personal narrative and recipes into a full-fledged autobiography. In 1945, at age four, Newton played doctor with the boy down the street “thinking it mildly exciting but not too bad.” Her mother disagreed. While baking Cry Baby cookies, her mother dissolved into sobs and then destroyed Newton's self-worth with one sentence: “I thought you were a good little girl.”
Read Literary Mama's full review here: http://www.literarymama.com/reviews/a...
Read Literary Mama's full review here: http://www.literarymama.com/reviews/a...
May 17, 2013
In this beautifully written memoir, Newton opens her recipe books, her memory, and her heart to take us through the culinary, cultural, sexual, and personal revolutions through which she's lived. With food as the vehicle, she takes us through her own coming of age as well as her life-long search for a sense of "home". Brave and vulnerable, the story lets us into both the sweet and the bitter of Newton's life, but ended leaving me wanting to join her at an abundant table surrounded with good friends. I dare you not to get hungry and nostalgic reading this story.
July 1, 2014
Thought Provoking
I enjoyed Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen far more than I thought I would. While I don't necessarily agree with all the authors extreme methods of gaining insight, those methods worked for her. The insights into her traumatized early and formative years, due in large part to the rejection of her mother, shaped an interesting, intelligent, and multidimensional person. Those qualities paired with the authors wit, warmth, affection, and humor make this book one you find yourself picking up to read again and again.
I enjoyed Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen far more than I thought I would. While I don't necessarily agree with all the authors extreme methods of gaining insight, those methods worked for her. The insights into her traumatized early and formative years, due in large part to the rejection of her mother, shaped an interesting, intelligent, and multidimensional person. Those qualities paired with the authors wit, warmth, affection, and humor make this book one you find yourself picking up to read again and again.
August 20, 2017
Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen is a biographical story of a women's life and how food played a big role in it. I found many parts of Judy's story interesting, while other parts I could not feel a connection to. The most positive thing that I can take away from this story was Judy's passion for cooking. No matter what was going on in her life, good or bad, her passion for cooking never wavered.
April 20, 2013
This was an absolutely lovely book. I loved the way Judith told about her life intertwined with recipes. The writing was beautiful and I felt pulled into Judith's life. I highly recommend this memoir. I have not had a chance to try any of the recipes yet.I really want to try the cry baby cookies.
June 30, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ordered it mainly because it was free on Bookbub but would recommend buying it if/ when it is no longer free. It is a beautifully written memoir that includes recipes but it is NOT a cookbook! Newton is of my generation (old!) and her rich, lyrical prose speaks to me. If you enjoy cooking and cookbooks and food evokes memories, I think you will like this book.
April 20, 2014
I like the premise and have always liked food related books that tell the writers story. Tasting was a easy read and one that allowed me to share those moments in her life that food connected with - good, bad or memorable. I like that she doesn't try to sanitize it. A great book, a nice gift too.
July 1, 2014
The author was born the same year as I, so I could identify with many of the struggles that she experienced as a woman growing up in the changing world of the 1960s. This is a memoir, but it is interspersed with food and recipes that were particularly meaningful to her...delicious read.
October 22, 2021
This book is just what it claims to be. An insightful memoir which leads us through the joys and struggles of a life, while at the same time illustrating to us the ways that preparing and sharing a meal provides, in its simple comfort, the foundation for kinship, trust and love to grow.
Judith’s evocative prose allows us to experience her world through her eyes, and it is a rich and fascinating one.
My favorite line:
“But his hands were warm and they were large hands still, with long square fingers, hands to lay my life in, though now they lie in mine as if they were the life in him that still remained.
Judith’s evocative prose allows us to experience her world through her eyes, and it is a rich and fascinating one.
My favorite line:
“But his hands were warm and they were large hands still, with long square fingers, hands to lay my life in, though now they lie in mine as if they were the life in him that still remained.
August 16, 2018
This memoir was an interesting read; it was not my normal style of reading, nor was it a lifestyle that I have much in common with so there were times the reading was uncomfortable. Each chapter was followed by a recipe as the book itself revolves around food, kitchens and cooking in order to make a home. It is the author's story of her unloving family and her desire to find "home" and the many paths that took throughout her life.
February 26, 2022
Food and Love
An interesting story of finding oneself and becoming the person you want to be. I enjoyed this book, and how Ms. Newton, shared her cookbooks, recipes and the love of food as well as her life story.
An interesting story of finding oneself and becoming the person you want to be. I enjoyed this book, and how Ms. Newton, shared her cookbooks, recipes and the love of food as well as her life story.
May 17, 2019
Judith Newton’s book was a wonderful walk down Memory Lane accompanied by the many lovely cookbooks that have graced my life.
February 5, 2020
GREAT BOOK.
July 25, 2020
Well done; I wanted someone to fix every recipe so I could try yummy foods while imagining you!
December 8, 2015
If I could avoid reviewing Tasting Home, I would, simply because it is a memoir and in reviewing it I can't help but feel like I am on some level judging the author's life.
However, I got this book from goodreads giveaways and it was sent to me by the author, who I discovered upon seeing the sender's address I used to live at walking distance from, a realisation that was followed by reading a personal note from her saying that she had visited the place where I currently lived.
So here I am now, writing this review from somewhere I'm pretty sure she has never been to, considering it was not mentioned among the many journeys that were described in the book.
All coincidences aside though, I liked Tasting Home. It's not the kind of book that I would read cover to cover more than once, but I can totally see myself going back to it to try one of its recipes, which I did not get to do this time around.
If I want be totally honest, I did not pay any close attention to the recipes when reading it and more than once I found myself skipping paragraphs full of ingredients in favor of learning more about the author's life.
I felt that there was not much point in going into such detail about every meal during the main narration when the recipe would be explained thoroughly at the end of the chapter anyway.
On another note, I liked the melancholy feel of the book and the fact that it came full circle, beginning and ending in Death Valley and with the author's relationship with her mother.
It was a well-structured book and the fact that most of the places and meals mentioned were familiar to me made it an enjoyable read.
However, I got this book from goodreads giveaways and it was sent to me by the author, who I discovered upon seeing the sender's address I used to live at walking distance from, a realisation that was followed by reading a personal note from her saying that she had visited the place where I currently lived.
So here I am now, writing this review from somewhere I'm pretty sure she has never been to, considering it was not mentioned among the many journeys that were described in the book.
All coincidences aside though, I liked Tasting Home. It's not the kind of book that I would read cover to cover more than once, but I can totally see myself going back to it to try one of its recipes, which I did not get to do this time around.
If I want be totally honest, I did not pay any close attention to the recipes when reading it and more than once I found myself skipping paragraphs full of ingredients in favor of learning more about the author's life.
I felt that there was not much point in going into such detail about every meal during the main narration when the recipe would be explained thoroughly at the end of the chapter anyway.
On another note, I liked the melancholy feel of the book and the fact that it came full circle, beginning and ending in Death Valley and with the author's relationship with her mother.
It was a well-structured book and the fact that most of the places and meals mentioned were familiar to me made it an enjoyable read.
July 4, 2013
It takes a great deal of courage to expose oneself in a memoir, especially in one as deeply revealing as this.
This memoir is the type of book that really makes you think and feel. It also makes you really really hungry. I loved the descriptions of food, and at times I was very captivated by the story of Judy's life.
I think my only problems were in the beginning and the end. In the first chapter (after the prologue), we are shown a very defining moment in Judy's life, in which her mother basically disowns and shames her. This moment is brought up through the rest of the story, but upon reading it, and even after, I felt no emotion. I understood it to be a very sad thing, but the way it was written made it hard to connect to Judy. Reading this made part me unsure about how good the book would be, but it got steadily better until the end.
And the end wasn't bad, necessarily, it just felt like she had nicely wrapped up the book, and then there was another chapter, and then an epilogue. I stuck to the end more out of respect for the rest of the book than a desire to read on.
That being said, however, the majority of the book was great. It really made me think and see more of the world than I had before. I can't wait to try some of the recipes!!
I won the book through Goodreads.
This memoir is the type of book that really makes you think and feel. It also makes you really really hungry. I loved the descriptions of food, and at times I was very captivated by the story of Judy's life.
I think my only problems were in the beginning and the end. In the first chapter (after the prologue), we are shown a very defining moment in Judy's life, in which her mother basically disowns and shames her. This moment is brought up through the rest of the story, but upon reading it, and even after, I felt no emotion. I understood it to be a very sad thing, but the way it was written made it hard to connect to Judy. Reading this made part me unsure about how good the book would be, but it got steadily better until the end.
And the end wasn't bad, necessarily, it just felt like she had nicely wrapped up the book, and then there was another chapter, and then an epilogue. I stuck to the end more out of respect for the rest of the book than a desire to read on.
That being said, however, the majority of the book was great. It really made me think and see more of the world than I had before. I can't wait to try some of the recipes!!
I won the book through Goodreads.
August 16, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to review this. The author blends recipes, historical movements (including civil rights, feminism & diversity) and her personal life into one well-integrated narrative that is a very quick read. You can see how each segment helps support and shape what else is going on for her. We all know food and drink play a huge part in celebrating and comforting us. For me, what was most interesting was how as one moves from one part of the country to another and through different periods of history, the "it" foods and beverages change. I "knew it" but hadn't thought about it. After not having had Waldorf Salad for eons, I started making it for all the potlucks one holiday season a couple years back, and people generally loved it, and those who knew it said I haven't had this in forever. In food, the senses of sight, smell and taste as well as feeling (sometimes in our hands and sometimes in mouth feel) come together and that helps crystalize memories of people and events. My Waldorf Salad helped bring back some of my past. Yes, food is tasting home.
July 25, 2013
If you can combine a coming of age story, cooking and Julia Child as a mentor, than you can imagine this book. Newton tells her own story of growing up, first in the Southern California city of Compton, with parents who were too busy for their children. But her mother always managed to make it right by cooking one of her special recipes to chase away the darkness. The author takes the reader through the tumultous times of the late 50's in Watts and Compton with its racial strife and offers her mother's cookie and cherry pie recipe as a respite. Each chapter is a combination of events and foods that marked those events. Having read both Like Water for Chocolate and Julia and Julie, I couldn't help but feel that Tasting Home was similar but covering different a different time frame and cultural events.
It took me about a third of the way through the book to really begin to enjoy the journey and the recipes from many of the same sources I use. She covers a lot of geographical and social ground, but it was a worthwhile journey.
It took me about a third of the way through the book to really begin to enjoy the journey and the recipes from many of the same sources I use. She covers a lot of geographical and social ground, but it was a worthwhile journey.
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May 16, 2020This is the second memoir I've read recently which combines cooking, recipes and life. And while there have been periods of my life when cooking has been fun, I could never tie life experiences with either a cooking genre or recipes. Except for grits but that's its own story.
However, I am impressed by others with the energy to choose and prepare elaborate recipes - often while carrying a full load of professional work commitments. Ms. Newton cooked her way through graduate school, several university teaching positions, a few marriages and ultimately as director of the Women and a Gender Studies at UC Davis - coincidentally my alma mater and the place I call home. Our paths never crossed which meant I never got to taste some of her meals - another of life's disappointments.
If you like to cook, are a fan of the academic career path or just enjoy memoir this is a most satisfying read. Just don't read hungry.
However, I am impressed by others with the energy to choose and prepare elaborate recipes - often while carrying a full load of professional work commitments. Ms. Newton cooked her way through graduate school, several university teaching positions, a few marriages and ultimately as director of the Women and a Gender Studies at UC Davis - coincidentally my alma mater and the place I call home. Our paths never crossed which meant I never got to taste some of her meals - another of life's disappointments.
If you like to cook, are a fan of the academic career path or just enjoy memoir this is a most satisfying read. Just don't read hungry.
May 18, 2016
3.5 When unable to commit to a more serious read, I tend to scroll through the 2000-ish Kindle freebies I've grabbed over time, looking for a title/topic that grabs me in some way. Some sort of cooking-y memoir? - sure, why not. And for the first third of this I wondered just what the point was, or rather, if there'd ever be one... so far, a woman with a whole bunch of resentment towards her mother, and some forgettable recipes. Eventually she's a self-proclaimed feminist with a weakness for tall leftist men and the means to serially buy houses. And an academic. Who for some reason thought the world needed a privileged and confused white woman's disjointed memoir which ties together her relationships with others, and food. Oddly, it ultimately works... to the point where with a stronger selection of recipes, this might even have rounded higher.
July 8, 2014
Loved the memoir. More so for the nostalgic feelings that I got while going through the chapters and the recipes. Food indeed is a universal language and medium to bind people together. Every stage of our life is marked with some specific flavors or cuisines. The way Judith relates to food and the changes in her life is amazing. This is a really amazing book more so for the people who love to cook and serve !
July 13, 2014
This is such a great format for an autobiography. I feel the same way the author does -- when I see certain recipes, when I cook certain things, it's like listening to a song from years ago. It just takes me right back to a certain time. I just came across one of my own handwritten compilations of favorite recipes from my early 20s and suddenly for a moment, I was back there. Food can bring about powerful memories.
This was a great book, but parts of it were sad.
This was a great book, but parts of it were sad.
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