Chicken pox is a highly contagious virus. Chicken saladitis, while not as lethal or infectious, is no less noxious, inserting itself into lunch menus on an almost daily basis.
During the week, I bring my lunch to work. And making a week’s worth of chicken salad is almost always…
When Caitlin and I were in Santa Fe, several of the restaurants offered a bowl of posole as we waited.
Posole is a thick soup or stew, made from nixtamalized corn (corn that has been treated or soaked with lime and water, or calcium hydroxide). The nixtamalizing process improves the flavor and aroma of the corn, increases its nutritional value, and makes the corn easier to grind. Nixtamalized corn is also referred to as hominy. You may be able to find it in a local grocery store, though I went to a special Latin American grocery store to find mine. (where it was called pozole). It’s also available online.
Because corn was a sacred plant …
In 1969, Georges Perec published La Disparition, a mystery novel of sorts. The book centers around the disappearance of Anton Vowl, and traces his winding path through the various chapters of his life – though chapter five is omitted. La Disparition, or “The Disappearance,” is a story and not a story. The novel tells a tale, but also functions as an exercise. Which captures the essence of Georges Perec.
Georges Perec belonged to OULIPO, a workshop of famous French authors. The workshop for potential literature (Ouvroir de Litterature Potentielle) was both a place and a style. One of its co-founders, Raymond Queneau, published Exercises de Style, in which he wrote the same story ninety-nine different ways. This was hardly unusual. Perec, Queneau, and the other members delighted in wordplay. They wrote …