Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America - by Linda Furiya

My recent interest in cooking has spurred my reading in the sub-genre of "food-memoirs" (or is it the other way around?). At any rate, Bento Box in the Heartland is a fascinating book about a Japanese-American girl growing up in Indiana. Ms. Furiya explores her feelings of exclusion, the difficulties of balancing between two cultures, and the role that food played in forming the family dynamic, as well as her own identity. Each chapter ends with a recipe for a dish from the narrative. Normally, I try to stick to books available at our library, but this one has to be borrowed through Interlibrary loan.

Next on my list of food-memoirs: How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gill...........