Rosewater and Soda Bread


Book Description

“Mehran’s novel delights the senses on every page. The story pulses with life as three Iranian sisters struggle to make sense of matters of the heart and the spirit.” –Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon More than a year has passed since Marjan, Bahar, and Layla, the beautiful Iranian Aminpour sisters, sought refuge in the quaint Irish town of Ballinacroagh. Opening the beguiling Babylon Café, they charmed the locals with their warm hearts and delectable Persian cuisine, bringing a saffron-scented spice to the once-sleepy village. But when a young woman with a dark secret literally washes up on Clew Bay Beach, the sisters’ world is once again turned upside down. With pale skin and webbed hands, the girl is otherworldly, but her wounds tell a more earthly (and graver) story–one that sends the strict Catholic town into an uproar. The Aminpours rally around the newcomer, but each sister must also contend with her own transformation–Marjan tests her feelings for love with a dashing writer, Bahar takes on a new spiritual commitment with the help of Father Mahoney, and Layla matures into a young woman when she and her boyfriend, Malachy, step up their hot and heavy relationship. Filled with mouthwatering recipes and enchanting details of life in Ireland, Rosewater and Soda Bread is infused with a lyrical warmth that radiates from the Aminpour family and their big-hearted Italian landlady, Estelle, to the whole of Ballinacroagh–and the world beyond. Praise for Marsha Mehran’s Pomegranate Soup “A mouthwatering tale with flavors of Chocolat and Under the Tuscan Sun . . . sinfully sweet and satisfying.” –Orlando Sentinel “Glorious, daring, and delightful, filled with humor, hope, and possibility.” –Adriana Trigiani, author of the Big Stone Gap novels “An enchanting tale of love, family, and renewal.” –Firoozeh Dumas, author of Laughing Without an Accent




Rosewater and Soda Bread


Book Description

This delightful novel from the internationally bestselling author of POMEGRANATE SOUP follows the heartwarming adventures of three Iranian sisters in a tiny Irish village. the beautiful Iranian sisters-Marjan, Bahar, and Layla Aminpour have charmed the locals of Ballinacroagh with their warm hearts and the delectable Persian cuisine of their beguiling Babylon Cafe, bringing a saffron-scented spice into the once-sleepy Irish town. When a young woman with a dark secret literally washes up on Clew Bay Beach, the sisters' world is turned upside down once again. With pale skin and webbed hands, the girl is otherworldly, but her wounds tell a more earthly (and graver) story. Each sister must also contend with her own transformation - Marjan tests her feelings for love, Bahar takes on a new spiritual commitment, and Layla matures into a young woman when she and her boyfriend, Malachy, step up their relationship. Filled with mouthwatering recipes and enchanting details of life in Ireland, ROSEWAtER AND SODA BREAD is infused with a lyrical warmth that radiates from the Aminpour family to the whole of Ballinacroagh - and the world beyond. 'effortlessly combines Persian and Irish culture' - Herald Sun




Wild Sweetness


Book Description

From the creator of the award-winning food blog, Butter and Brioche, comes a unique and beautifully designed full-color cookbook that brings wild flavors to desserts as told through the seasons. In Wild Sweetness, Thalia Ho captures the essence of the wild, and re-imagines it on the plate. She guides us through a tale of six distinct seasons and the flavors inspired by them: of bright, herbaceous new life in spring, to the aromatic florals that follow, of bursting summer berries, over-ripe fruit, warmth and spice in fall, then ending with winter and its smolder. In more than 95 recipes, Thalia opens our eyes and taste buds to a celebration of what the wild has to offer—a world of sweet escapism, using flavor to heighten our experience of food. Enthralling, unique, and inspired recipes you’ll want to cook over and over again.




Pomegranate Soup


Book Description

An enchanting tale of family, friends and renewal, with a taste of something truly magical. It has been seven years since Marjan Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters Bahar and Layla. In a sleepy Irish town beneath the holy mountain Croagh Patrick she hopes they might finally find a home. the sisters open the Babylon Cafe right at the heart of Ballinacroagh's Main Mall, sending the spicy, sensuous wafts of traditional Persian cooking to work their magic on the townsfolk. Soon, business is booming and Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her cooking and with the transformation in her sisters - young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems less nervous. But then the lives they left behind in Iran begin to bleed into the present and everything the sisters have worked for is under threat... Infused with the textures, scents, trials and triumphs of two cultures, POMEGRANAtE SOUP is a delectable journey, highlighted with delicious recipes, into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living. 'A novel of great timeliness and charm' - Sydney Morning Herald Continue the story of the Aminpour sisters with Marsha Mehran's second novel ROSEWAtER & SODA BREAD.




Ireland and migration in the twenty-first century


Book Description

Considers migration to, from and within Ireland in the twenty-first century, covering the Celtic Tiger era of mass immigration to Ireland as well as the dramatic growth in levels of emigration that has occurred since the Irish economic collapse.




Culinary Diplomacy’s Role in the Immigrant Experience


Book Description

In Culinary Diplomacy's Role in the Immigrant Experience: Fiction and Memoirs of Middle Eastern Women, the emergent field of literary food studies engages with international diplomacy studies to establish books with recipes as tools of culinary diplomacy. Foundational to the argument is culinary diplomacy scholar Sam Chapple-Sokol’s concept of Citizen Culinary Diplomacy which endorses public events that promote understanding of cultures and people. However, this study challenges that definition and argues that culinary fiction and memoirs are shared interactive experiences between the author, the readers, and the culture written about. Foundational to the study are twentieth century postcolonial literary theories of Homi Bhabha and Édouard Glissant and twenty-first century transnational theory of sociologists Julian Go and Ulrich Beck to recognize culinary diplomacy's vital role in international affairs. Culinary Diplomacy’s Role in the Immigrant Experience examines food as metaphorical expression in literature, and the impact of time, space, and place in developing diplomatic relationships between East and West in books by Diana Abu-Jaber, Donia Bijan, Joanne Harris, and Marsha Mehran.




Iranian Diaspora Literature of Women


Book Description

The series Studies on Modern Orient provides an overview of religious, political and social phenomena in modern and contemporary Muslim societies. The volumes do not only take into account Near and Middle Eastern countries, but also explore Islam and Muslim culture in other regions of the world, for example, in Europe and the US. The series Studies on Modern Orient was founded in 2010 by Klaus Schwarz Verlag.




Pomegranate Soup


Book Description

Beneath the holy mountain Croagh Patrick, in damp and lovely County Mayo, sits the small, sheltered village of Ballinacroagh. To the exotic Aminpour sisters, Ireland looks like a much-needed safe haven. It has been seven years since Marjan Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters, Bahar and Layla, and she hopes that in Ballinacroagh, a land of “crazed sheep and dizzying roads,” they might finally find a home. From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present. Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, Pomegranate Soup is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.




Feeley's English Homophone Dictionary


Book Description

Feeley's English Homophone Dictionary is a specialized resource. Homophones are a particular feature of spoken and written English, words that have the same sound but different meanings and may have different roots and different spellings. This dictionary features... • a brief definition of the word • a pronunciation guide • identifies parts of speech • covers from early modern English to the present • provides examples of usage with references to the original • word category Clear and correct use of words is fundamental to good communication and Feeley's English Homophone Dictionary is a significant aid to doing so.




'To Banish Ghost and Goblin'


Book Description

This book presents a series of essays on some of the most challenging issues which are facing Irish Studies scholars in the twenty-first century. It aims to provide a variety of views on topics such as gender, media, the North and the revision of traditional approaches to Irish studies as seen by a number of scholars at the end of the first decade of the third millennium. The breadth of scope is justified by the dynamic growth of the field over the last decade and points to the diverse academic and national backgrounds of the authors of the chapters and the enthusiasm with which the cultural concerns of the island of Ireland are tackled in other countries. Writers from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany and Spain provide original viewpoints on Irish topics which are as bold as they are refreshing. The awareness of the unique situation of Ireland and her cultural practices has provided a scenario in which interest in the literature, art, film and other cultural manifestations is great, and it is hoped that this volume will play a part in stimulating debate about some of the fascinating areas of Irish cultural matters discussed herein and will provide a useful work of reference for anyone interested in the rich and ample field of Irish Studies.