BOOK WE LOVE: Apron Anxiety

Apron Anxiety: My Messy Affairs In and Out of the Kitchen by Alyssa Shelasky (Three Rivers Press).

Alyssa Shelasky is the New York editor for Grub Street at New York magazine, and is the creator of the blog Apron Anxiety. She wrote this witty, heartwarming, and entertaining book about her tumultuous relationship with a famous chef, and how she conquered her kitchen fears. Shelasky writes, "Alas, I am sorry to admit that I have had many pleasures that far exceeded even the most celestial meal. It's just that those pleasures didn't change my life. Something else did-something sweet, savory, salty... and oftentimes unattractive, overcooked, and underseasoned. The truth is I was accidentally anchored by the apron" (2). Shelasky is a free spirit with a glamorous New York City lifestyle full of glitzy parties and hot sex when she meets Chef, a career-obsessed but charming man who she ends up following to Washington, D.C. In the move, Shelasky leaves her career, support network, and busy social life, and intense loneliness sets in as Chef spends much of his time at the restaurant or on the road. In her unexpected free time, she decides to boot her kitchen phobia with a scrumptious, homemade mac 'n' cheese and arugula salad. The book is part memoir, part cookbook, and beautifully written. It is an honest account of one woman's journey to finding herself and discovering happiness in an unexpected place: the kitchen.

Clearly, I like a delicious romance story with a sprinkling of recipes. I also recommend this book.

Contest Winner: Getting Back In The Saddle

By Vivianna Jones

Two weeks after I filed for divorce, on one of those magical October nights with a harvest moon and a surprisingly warm breeze, I found myself naked, on top of a gorgeous man two-thirds my age, in a small orange tent, beside a dying bonfire, with perhaps a few too many beers in my belly.

To call it a date would be an outright lie. There was no phone call, no assigned meeting time and place, no primping or prepping in front of the mirror considering whether or not my butt looked fat. No, indeed, it was my first-ever, and probably last, one-night stand. Err… correction… five-hour stand.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for cowboy hats, overalls, big muscles and curly brown hair, and Ben was four for four. So after sharing some campfire stories, and making sure I knew his last name, into the tent we went for some Whoopie Ki-yi-yay!

Please, before you slap a scarlet letter on my chest (I was still married,) or label me a whore, spare me just this once? After seventeen years of monogamy, the last three of which were a true test of endurance, and knowing that my husband was seeing another woman, I needed this. It was the final nail on the coffin that contained my marriage. It was a freedom ride on my journey towards liberation. It was puddin’ proof that the girl still got it!

Thankfully, the taste of hot young flesh didn’t turn me into a middle-aged vamp. Nor did I become a stalker of the sexy stranger. Instead, the memory of that one night helped me through the next seven or eight months. I was able to go about the painful business of dissolving my marriage, knowing that when I was ready, after I properly grieved, I could get back on the horse and ride again.

I blush to think of that naughty night many moons ago, but I’m saddled with no regrets. Tonight, beneath my rosy cheeks is a wide grin – probably reminiscent of the smile I was able to conjure up occasionally despite my general sadness at that time of my life. It’s not the toothy smile that immediately precedes laughter, or the one that comes to your face when you open a door and see someone you love. It’s a lips-together grin that reminds you that things were once okay, and will be again.

“Hi-yo, Silver. Away!”


~~~~~~~~~
Vivianna Jones is a still-single mother of two, whose hobbies include writing and, as of recently, horseback riding. ;) She’s currently busy praying that her 13-year-old daughter doesn’t stumble across this article. “Purely fiction, Darling!”

* Vivianna won the copy of the book "Getting Naked Again: Dating, Romance, Sex, and Love When You've Been Divorced, Widowed, Dumped or Distracted" by Judith Sills, Ph.D.

HCZ GIVEAWAY: A Book for Valentine's Day!

Getting Naked Again: Dating, Romance, Sex, and Love When You've Been Divorced, Widowed, Dumped or Distracted by Judith Sills, Ph.D.

Are you fresh out of a long-term relationship? Need some help putting your dating shoes on? Ready for romance? Clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Judith Sills, Ph.D. is your guide through the tumultuous dating waters. Sills offers insightful stories from women who are pursuing new relationships too. It's perfect for middle-aged ladies, but young people can relate to it too. Get your head back into the game... Hip Chick Zine will help!

In honor of Valentine's Day, we are giving away one copy of Getting Naked Again! Send us an e-mail at editor@hipchickzine.net, and tell us why you're ready to get naked again (or why you're ready to start dating again;)! Contest ends on February 20, 2011.

BOOK WE LOVE: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci (Grand Central Publishing) is a memoir that blends mouth-watering recipes with tales of doomed love affairs. Giulia tells her experiences from over twenty years of dating in New York City with humor, sarcasm and disappointment. She writes, "For me, a new boyfriend is a tantalizing opportunity to show off the thing I'm most confident about: my cooking." The author shares her remembrances of dating an affectionate alcoholic and novelists with Peter Pan complexes, sprinkled with heavenly recipes inspired by her mother and the men in her life (or lack thereof, hence "No Nookie Gnocchi"). Turns out that the recipes are what made the greatest impression! Any reader who has spent a period of time in the complicated dating world will feel an affinity with Giulia's character. At times, she is overly needy, or just downright depressing, yet there is a true sense of hope and romanticism as she searches for the right man. I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti demonstrates that love and food are inextricably linked, and with both, a recipe comes in handy.