Join us for Fika Friday, a free community event to help us take a collective break! Fika is the Swedish custom of taking a moment in the afternoon to enjoy a warm drink and treat, and we are excited to make it a weekly tradition at Book Larder. 

"Functioning as both a verb and a noun, the concept of fika is simple. It is the moment that you take a break, often with a cup of coffee, but alternatively with tea, and find a baked food to pair with it. You can do it alone, you can do it with friends. You can do it at home, in a park, or at work. But the essential thing is that you do it, that you make time to take a break: that's what fika is all about."- Fika by Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall 

Menu includes: anchoide with crudités; tartine with roasted cherry tomato and herbed chervre; merguez lamb sausage, fennel, leek, and puy lentils with basil pistou; chocolate terrine with raspberry crème anglaise.

For our next Book Discussion, we are diving into  The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty, which won the 2018 James Beard Awards for Writing AND the Book of the Year.

Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who "owns" it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine. From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors' survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia. As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the Southern past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep-the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together.

Discussion is limited to 20 guests. If you purchase the book, the evening is free; otherwise it's $10. We'll have snacks and drinks tailored to the book as well. So get your book and come join the conversation!

We are so excited for the Summer 2018 GREAT BOOK LARDER BAKE OFF!  We love the Great British Bake Off, and it's clear that lots of you do too, so we decided to put on our own baking contest.  And you can participate, either as a baker or an audience member and taster. For this edition of GBLBO, we decided to make is seasonal with the theme of  Summer Fruit  Desserts .

How do you highlight summer fruit? How about a Raspberry and Cream Tart, or Strawberry Victoria Sponge? Or maybe Peach Bourbon Hand Pies, or Blueberry Pecan Galette? Show us what you've got!

Here's how it works for  bakers: Choose your favorite fruity recipe, and  email [email protected] (you don't have to buy a ticket!) letting us know you want to participate (and we'll follow up with more details). Bring your baked creation to the Bake Off, and if you win you'll get a $50 Book Larder gift card! 

Don't want to bake but want to  judge a bunch of goodies and participate in the fun?  Register above, and be ready to taste and vote. Please note that space for both bakers and tasters is limited, so don't delay!  As Mel and Sue would say, "On your marks, get set, bake!"