Stir

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
Published: 2015
Length: 271 pages

Jessica Fechtor suffered a brain aneurysm while running on a treadmill one day and nearly died. At 28, she was in good health, as fit as she’d ever been, and ramping up to finish her schooling. This memoir begins with that day, and we follow along through her rough recovery. There are multiple surgeries involved, unfortunate side-effects, but she was at least lucky enough to have quite a strong support group backing her during this time.

We learn more about her life through flashbacks, and those memories are always tied, in some way, to food. She builds up her confidence and motor-skills in the kitchen, and eventually with her food blog, by revisiting the meals she cherishes from her past. Each chapter has a recipe at the end that relates to a memory, which is something I love. I’ve only read a few, but food memoirs with included recipes are a favourite of mine.

Occasionally, this format does come off as a bit forced. Having something quite tragic happen and then ‘here’s a recipe for baked apricots, enjoy!’ is just a bit jarring, but for the most part it works perfectly. I even tried a couple of her recipes:

Amy’s Potato Salad

This potato salad is dressed with a vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise, like you’d find in a German potato salad, which makes it a bit fresher and lighter. I also really enjoyed the addition of green beans and radishes.

Vinaigrette ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 a large shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs – any combination of parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon

Salad ingredients:

• 2 pounds red waxy potatoes, cleaned and quartered
• kosher salt
• 1 pound trimmed green beans (I chopped mine into 2 inch pieces)
• 6 radishes – thinly sliced
• 5 large eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
• fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake well.
2. Place potatoes in salted water, filled at least an inch over the potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork tender (about 10 minutes).
3. Drain potatoes, transfer to large bowl, toss immediately for 4 tablespoons of vinaigrette.
4. Blanch green beans for 60 seconds (I did two minutes and thought they were perfect) and then transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking and keep the colour.
5. Add the dried beans, radishes, and eggs to the potatoes. Add the rest of the vinaigrette and mix gently.
6. Serve warm or chilled. Serves 6.

Crispy Rice with Eggs

I had leftover white rice when I went to make this, but I think the earthier taste of brown rice would work even better. This was very tasty, and an interesting alternative for using up leftover rice. Crispy rice alone would get pretty monotonous after a few bites, but the creaminess of the eggs and the yogurt really balance everything out.

I think I first heard of Stir after seeing Claudia’s post at Honey From Rock for this rice recipe, so I knew I had to try it.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (or white)
• 2 large eggs
• kosher salt and black pepper
• Plain, whole milk yogurt and hot sauce

1. Add a generous amount of oil to a heated, medium-high, cast-iron pan.
2. Scoop rice into the pan and spread evenly across the surface. Reduce heat to medium.
3. No touchy for 60 to 90 seconds.
4. Dig two holes into the rice and pour an egg into each hole. Holes should be a bit bigger than the yolk, and a lot of the white will seep into the surrounding rice. Cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper and place the pan beneath a hot broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny.
6. Carefully slide the rice out onto a plate with the help of a spatula (a tricky move when your pan has high walls and weighs a tonne).
7. Add a dollop of yogurt and some hot sauce. Serves 1.

There are a few other recipes I’m looking forward to trying, such as the biscuits, which I will post on Instagram if I ever do attempt them.

I enjoyed reading about Jessica Fechtor’s life, and not just the trying time during this illness, but all of it. I also loved the small glimpses into Jewish culture, something I really know nothing about, such as basically having two of every item in a kosher kitchen to fully separate dairy and meat and the chapters dealing with the traditional food served on holidays. She’s a good writer, and I’m curious to see if she comes out with any more food writing.

I won this book in a monthly draw from Heather at Based on a True Story for the Foodies Read challenge a few months back. So, thanks to Heather for hosting that and sending me a free book!