Pasta Wars by Elisa Lorello

Katie Cravens is a successful CEO of Pasta Pronto, her very own diet frozen food company; she's a size 2, and happily engaged to a lawyer.  Everything sounds great, right?  

Except Katie comes home one day and finds her finance in bed with another woman.  And there are candy wrappers all over the floor!  Her finance's last zinger, as he moves out, is that his lover doesn't worry about what she eats, and that's what makes her more attractive than Katie.  Ouch.  That hurts.  

Katie's blows continue, as her company struggles to survive a recall notice on one of her meals after it makes people sick.  Hoping to save her company, she agrees to partner with the Caramelli family in Italy, famous for their restaurants and quality Italian cuisine. Luci Caramelli invites Katie to Italy to go over paperwork and meet each other.  Luci's twin brother Luca is the moody, extremely sexy chef who doesn't want to partner with Katie and considers her food fake and, well, crap.  But they need a shot in the arm in order to keep their restaurants open, and Katie's partnership just may help them do that.  

As you can imagine, Katie and Luca don't hit it off; the calorie-conscious workaholic and the Italian chef who values fresh, handmade pasta dishes over "plastic" food.  Luca introduces Katie to fresh pasta, biscotti, and the delights of antipasto.  Katie's trip to Italy gives her a chance to look at her life and heal her wounded heart.  Attracted to, yet completely infuriated by Luca, she's torn between raging lust and knowing she's got to go back to New York and take care of her company.  There's just no room in her life for Luca. 

I won't tell you anymore, because there is a little twist in the last bit of the story involving Katie, Luca, and a televised competition.  I liked this novel, but it is definitely on the lighter side and certainly a fun tale to read leading up to Valentine's Day.  I have to say the food descriptions made me want to try my hand at homemade pasta.  Katie's journey from a hard working woman who is so focused on being perfect and in control, to a woman who learns to relax, enjoy life, and enjoy food is one that is certainly believable.  Sometimes we get so focused on walking that straight line we forget to look up, take a breath, and slow down.  In a world where we're all so rushed and it's too easy to eat garbage, this book was a reminder to me to pay attention; most especially that eating the good stuff is worth the time and effort it takes to make it.  

Rating: 6/10 for a light romantic read full of delicious food, the Italian countryside, and a heroine who isn't perfect (and is actually kind of klutzy).  

Available in paperback and e-book. 

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Pasta Wars by Elisa Lorello

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor

Here I am, again with the food writing memoir.  I can't help myself.  I've undergone a bit of a change regarding how I look at food lately, but I don't think it will keep me from reading foodie books.  

Yes, I started to exercise.  And with that exercise comes a new way of eating.  Minimal if no grains, sugar, and dairy.  I look at food and instead of saying "Get in my belly now!" (any Austin Powers fans out there?), I think about where the food came from, and how far from its natural state it has morphed.  I'm sticking to a high protein/low carb way of eating.  Lots of veggies, fruit, and meat/fish.  Struggling with the fish thing, since I'm not a huge sea creature person.  After 5 weeks eating this way, my guts feel better, and I've managed to stamp down my cravings for sugar and breads.  I will continue to eat this way for the foreseeable future because it is working for me.  I'm losing weight and I feel good about the choices I'm making when I eat.  Drinking lots of water, too.  I'm an emotional eater, and I didn't really discover that until I was in my late 20's.  Until then, I could eat what I wanted and nothing ever stuck.  Grief from losing loved ones,  as well as a work schedule that had me working all sorts of hours made my eating a mess.  Now I've finished school, have a routine work schedule, and the time to work on undoing the mess I've made of myself.  It's not easy, but I've seen a change and that is motivation to keep going.  

But--I still admire people like Jessica Fechtor who have such rich memories of cooking with family and associating dishes with special times.  I think we all have that--those cookies Grandma made; the special dishes Mom made at the holidays and only at the holidays.  Those memories and that food brought Jessica back from a horrible medical situation that could have killed her.  

Jessica was healthy and in shape.  She was at a convention, and running on a hotel treadmill when she had a sharp pain in her head and found herself lying on the floor next to her treadmill.  A trip to the hospital and a stay in ICU turned into a nightmare:  she had experienced a brain aneurysm, and had a bleed in her brain.  Surgery was required.  

Jessica's journey to health was a rocky one.  Even though that surgery was a success, she had quite a few setbacks:  partial blindness meant a return to surgery within the day to fix her skull; an infection a few weeks later meant another major surgery on her head.  Through all of this, Jessica's husband Eli and her family kept her company, encouraged her to eat, and willed her to get better.  She never gave up, and neither did her family.  She shares recipes in her memoir for dishes that have a special place in her heart, and helped her heal.  Some are as simple as roasted chicken, biscuits,  and pasta with morels and peas.  Others are a bit more  work, such as the Cleveland Cassata Cake.  

It got me thinking about dishes that I hold dear to my heart, and are the ultimate comfort for me:  chicken soup, scalloped potatoes and ham, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  We all have our favorites.  And they can heal our physical selves and soothe our battered souls.  

Jessica's tale is amazing and a lesson in perseverance, faith, and the healing comfort of home.  She's a food blogger, and you see the birth of that as well.  Visit her blog Sweet Amandine  to get some great recipes and see Jessica's life today.  

Rating:  7/10 for a tale of food, medicine, and home.  

Available in paperback, hardcover, audio, and e-book.

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Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor