Rachel Duboff, the chef behind the Wallingford Community Kitchen events, just dropped us a line about a special and unusual happening this month:
I had the chance to spend last summer in Italy. As a going away gift a friend gave me the book, Tales of a Female Nomad. I consumed it as though it spoke directly to me. A few months later, I learned of a new book that Rita had written, Female Nomad & Friends: Tales of Breaking Fee & Breaking Break Around the World. An anthology of travel stories written by Rita, friends and readers, along with accompanying recipes.
Later, I mentioned the book to a friend and she excitedly looked up the author, Rita Golden Gelman. Soon the phone rang and she told me that Rita would be in town for the month of August. I shot off an email with a lunch invite and a proposal about a special community kitchen. To my surprise, she immediately responded with a “yes” to meet for lunch. We met for a 3 1/2 hour lunch last Thursday where she entertained me with stores of her travels; we talked food, family & life and community kitchens. And again, she said yes!
Extracted from Amazon intro:
Tales of a Female Nomad is the story of Rita Golden Gelman, an ordinary woman who is living an extraordinary existence. At the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, Rita left an elegant life in L.A. to follow her dream of connecting with people in cultures all over the world. In 1986 she sold her possessions and became a nomad, living in a Zapotec village in Mexico, sleeping with sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, and residing everywhere from thatched huts to regal palaces. She has observed orangutans in the rain forest of Borneo, visited trance healers and dens of black magic, and cooked with women on fires all over the world. Rita’s example encourages us all to dust off our dreams and rediscover the joy, the exuberance, and the hidden spirit that so many of us bury when we become adults.
So, interested in joining Rachel and Rita for a special Community Kitchen, talking and cooking recipes from her book? Sign up now! They’re asking $9.99 to cover the cost of the ingredients ($25 at the door), full details on the Brown Paper Tickets event page.
On the menu? Some of Rita’s favorites:
- Larb Gai (an excellent Thai Chicken appetizer)
- Vegetarian Dolmades (rice stuffed grape leaves)
- Crema Poblano Mistongo (a creamy corn soup)
- Roasted Red Pepper Casserole
- Ho Mok (Thai custard with fish)
Nom nom!