Vol. 10: From the Table of a Many-Storied Woman
Ginger Peach Tea Cake (Gluten and Dairy Free) & Summer Reading List
At first glance, you admire the surface. You see the grace and charm, the beautiful composition of accomplishments and presentation. It’s just the cover, a snippet, a synopsis of a woman, of a life.
Who was the first person you truly admired?
In first grade, my class was asked to draw ourselves at 100. I didn’t sketch wrinkles and canes. I drew a woman in an elegant purple pantsuit, windblown, speeding through life with purpose aboard a scooter. I drew myself as I saw my grandmother. She must have been in her 60s at the time — ancient to a young child, but to me, she was timeless.
What I saw was a dynamic, inquisitive, gracious woman who knew herself and lived life fully. She moved through the world with conviction, wit, and kindness. She was the first person who inspired me and seemed to see more potential in me than I saw in myself.
Each visit came with stories, with adventures, with books. She drove quickly and confidently — a skill learned early and out of necessity as a Midwest farmer’s daughter, honed on the racetrack. Our destination was usually mundane, but any excursion was worthy of dressing up — in bright colors and glittering accessories. Any occasion was worthy of a treat. On most trips we would return with a few new paperbacks in hand. She always had a book ready to turn to during quiet moments, and was eager to share her habit.
She had “the gift of gab” — a storytelling voice you could lean into, a conversational generosity. And she had plenty of lived stories to share. She spoke of enlisting during WWII because, as she put it, she “couldn’t let the boys have all the fun”, of an impromptu fixe prix dinner with Caesar salad dressed with raw eggs tableside, of stepping softly through the singing Nightengale hallway of a temple in Japan, of being lowered over a Medieval castle wall to kiss the Blarney Stone. After feeling enchanted by a forest hike, she would exclaim that she felt she “must have been a Druid in a former life.” She lived as if she were the main character of a novel worth rereading — pausing to savor the details, even as she turned the page.
I only knew my Grandma for the last couple of decades of her life, through the occasional visits that time and distance allowed. But she holds a lofty place in memory — not just for me, but for many in my family. Over time, I’ve come to know her better in fragments and footnotes, through the stories others have shared. Like any good character, she was more complex than a few paragraphs could share — her flaws underlining and adding depth to the stories I knew.
I sometimes wonder if that magic would have dimmed had I known her longer. I like to think not. I like to believe that, even if we’d met as strangers, we would have become dear friends. I think I spent my childhood and young adulthood chasing her outline in the corners of libraries and bookstores, reading with a cup of tea by my side. I was trying to become something like her — or at least, to live by the same rhythm. I still am. I look forward to the day I can call both strangers and friends “my dear” with the same effortless warmth. When I want to feel close to her, I wear something that was hers, I seek out a scent or a flavor she would enjoy. I’ll be carrying one of her sandalwood fans this summer to stave off the heat. I’ll sip a cup of one of her favorite teas. I’ll pick up a good book — adventure, mystery, romance — perfect summer reading.
They say that you shouldn’t meet your heroes. That to know someone too well is to risk disillusionment. Perhaps that’s true of heroes who’ve been flattened into icons, put on a pedestal built on celebrity, perceived success. Real people are full of contradictions. They build their stories through conviction to their values, but not without flaws. If anything, it is the tension between the two and the relationships they build that make them shine.
I’m glad I got to know my first hero as a woman of stories read, told, and lived. She lives on in my memory and on my bookshelf, so many stories tall.
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Grandma,
I remember you in pages. In stacks a mile high, climbed like mountains. In paperbacks drawn quickly in idle moments — a weapon to fend off boredom, a treasure to hold close. One on hand, more acquired and gifted away.
I remember you in leaves. In hot mugs of tea, refilled frequently. In the intoxicating scents emanating from cupboards filled with boxes and tins. I followed your lead and added a bit of honey to mine — a cup of comfort.
I remember you in petals. In the purple orchids you loved. In objects of beauty collected and displayed. You blossomed in adornments, golden and jeweled. Some of them I now hold dear — tangible memories of you.
I remember you in feathers. In the haunting call of peacocks at daybreak. In plumes collected in ornate vases, perennial bouquets. I recall you like a bird — sharp of eye, noticing all. Restless legs like wings — built for travel.
I remember you in words. In precise grammar and penmanship. In a voice kind and clear. In so many stories told. Vignettes of color, discovery, and grit; openness, humor, and wit — too busy being lived to be written down.
With each chapter, I saw the outline of a life well lived, the kind of woman I hoped to be — a character of many facets, a joyful complexity. You stand as a giant in my memory — so many stories tall.
With warm mugs of memory and pages of aspiration,
From the Table
An Invitation to Write
How do you carry the legacy of someone you admired?
Ginger Peach Tea Cake (Gluten Free with Almond Flour and Polenta)
This cake is for my Grandmother. Like her, it’s welcoming, easily put together for any occasion, but sophisticated with the scent of her ginger, peach, and tea. In a loaf pan, it’s casual with Midwestern charm and the summery flavors of peaches and corn (knee-high by the Fourth of July). It’s perfectly comfortable flying solo for an afternoon snack with a cup of tea and a good book, but it’s always ready for company and a good conversation. If you like, accessorize it with tart purple fruit (her favorite color), fresh peaches, and a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream.
Sometimes, capturing the essence of a memory takes time. I tried 16 versions of this cake before landing on this one. There were sticky toffee puddings, upside-down cakes, and yogurt cakes. There were fresh, frozen, and canned peaches. Some included food-grade sandalwood powder. Earlier iterations I tried brought out the full potential of the tea by boiling fresh peaches in a tea syrup that would later become a glaze — a beautiful, but laborious process I could never imagine my grandmother making. As a busy, working, post-war mother of five, she embraced speed and convenience. This recipe (adapted from Yossy Arefi’s Citrusy Almond Cornmeal Cake in Snacking Cakes) streamlines the process with pantry-friendly dried peaches and a jam-based glaze for a peach cake you can whip up in any season. Dried peaches work particularly well here, amplifying the peachy flavor and preventing the soggy, undercooked cake bits often found in fresh fruit cakes. (For days when you have extra time and peaches, I’ve included a Fresh Peach Tea & Honey Glaze, as well.)
Notes: When selecting dried peaches (or apricots), note that those using sulfur dioxide as a preservative will taste brighter and more “peachy.” I like the preservative-free variety just as well here. The richer dried fruit flavor accentuates the deeper flavor of the black tea.
Makes 1 loaf cake (or 8-9 in. round)
Cook Time: 60 min. (~45 min. for round)
Ingredients for the Cake:
1 cup (140g, 5oz) dried peaches (or apricots)
1 tbsp (8g) cornstarch
4 bags The Republic of Tea Ginger Peach black tea, or 2 tsp (4g) loose black tea
1/2 cup (113g) olive oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1 1/2 cup (180g) almond flour
1/2 cup (90g) fine polenta or cornmeal
1/2 tsp (2g) kosher salt
2 tsp (10g) baking powder
1 tsp (2g) ground dried ginger
Ingredients for the Quick Peach Jam & Tea Glaze:
1/4 cup peach or apricot jam
1 bag The Republic of Tea Ginger Peach black tea, or 1/2 tsp (1g) loose black tea
1/4 cup water
Ingredients for the Fresh Peach Tea & Honey Glaze:
1/2 lb (~1 cup) peach slices (fresh or frozen)
1 bag The Republic of Tea Ginger Peach black tea, or 1/2 tsp (1g) loose black tea
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp honey
Special Tools:
Mortar and pestle or spice grinder (helpful for breaking down tea leaves)
Loaf pan or 8-9 in. round cake tin
Parchment paper
Small strainer
Cake Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line your baking pan. Heat the oven to 350°F with the baking rack in the middle. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. If you prefer, you can use an 8-9 inch round baking tin, but I prefer the casual feel of a loaf pan for this cake.
Dice the dried peaches and coat with cornstarch. Measure out and dice the dried peaches or apricots into raisin-sized bits. Toss them in a small bowl with cornstarch, breaking up any pieces that stick together with your fingers until fully coated. This helps to incorporate them evenly through the cake and absorb any excess liquid that could result in unpleasantly mushy bits of cake. Set them aside for later.
Crush your tea leaves. Unless the tea leaves are already broken down into tiny bits, I’d recommend crushing them to a consistency between sand and powder. Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. You can alternatively pour them into a small plastic bag and roll it over with a rolling pin a few times.
Whisk sugar and wet ingredients together. Pour the olive oil, eggs, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk until you’ve achieved a creamy, slightly foamy consistency.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the almond flour, polenta, salt, baking powder, ground ginger, and crushed tea leaves to the bowl of wet ingredients. Whisk together to form a smooth batter.
Stir in the dried peaches. Pour the dried peaches into your batter. Stir to incorporate them throughout.
Pour into your baking tin. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Pour the batter into your lined baking tin. Set it on the middle rack in your oven. Bake for ~45 minutes (for a round tin) to 60 minutes (for a loaf pan), or until the top has risen and browned, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is baking, make your glaze (below).
Cool, glaze, and serve. After you take the cake out of the oven, let it cool most of the way in the baking tin to maintain its shape. While it is still slightly warm, lift it out of the tin and set it on a plate or cooling rack. You can keep it wrapped in the parchment baking paper or unwrap it to glaze. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the top of the cake with a spoon. It’s ok for the glaze to run down the sides, but you’ll have just enough to cover the top. The glaze will firm slightly, but will remain sticky. Slice the cake when cool. Serve plain by the slice, or with tart purple berries, slices of fresh peach, and a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream, if you like. Wrap in parchment paper and store in an airtight container. It will keep on the counter for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to about a week.
Quick Jam Glaze Preparation:
Simmer jam, water, and tea together. Bring the peach jam, water, and a tea bag (or loose tea) to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for about 15 min.
Strain out the tea and fruit chunks. Pour your syrup through a strainer into a small jar. Press the peach chunks and tea bag to release as much glaze as possible. You’ll have roughly 1/4 cup of glaze — just enough to glaze your cake.
Fresh Peach Glaze Preparation:
Simmer peaches and tea together. Stir in honey. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 lb of sliced peaches, a tea bag (or 1/2 tsp of loose tea leaves), and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat until the peaches have softened, the tea leaves have darkened the peaches to a brownish hue, and the mixture smells intensely of peaches and brewed tea — roughly 20 minutes. Stir in the honey. Continue simmering until the liquid at the bottom of the pan has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Strain out tea and fruit chunks. Pour your syrup through a strainer into a small jar. Press the peach chunks and tea bag to release as much glaze as possible. Like the jam glaze above, you should have roughly 1/4 cup.
Fill Your Summer Reading List
Good books are adventures, perspectives, and worlds between covers. Whether you have a summer of travel ahead or just a few quiet moments on the train, at the beach, in a park — pack a good story to keep you company and to inspire you to craft your own. Below you’ll find recommendations from some of my Grandma’s favorite authors. Many of the titles may already be on your bookshelf, but hopefully you’ll find some new favorites. When my grandmother found an author or a series she liked, she would fill her reading list with their work. She was a fan of series, so I’ve called out a few of those below.
I joined the Bookshop.org affiliate program so we could provide curated booklists and recommendations for our newsletters. Bookshop.org exists to support local, independent bookstores. You can search their database to find a favorite local bookstore to support here. If you decide to buy from one of my lists, I receive a small commission.
You can find the entire list of Summer Reading recommendations here, or links to individual books below. Most are paperbacks for easy offline reading while traveling.
Classic Literature / Literary Fiction
Charles Dickens – Social realism, Victorian literature
William Faulkner – Southern Gothic, literary fiction
F. Scott Fitzgerald – Jazz Age, American literary fiction
Ernest Hemingway – Modernist, literary fiction
John Steinbeck – Social realism, literary fiction
Mark Twain – Satire, adventure, American realism
Historical Fiction
Pearl Buck – Historical fiction, China-focused
The Good Earth Trilogy (E-books editions)
James Clavell – Historical adventure, Asian settings
James Michener – Epic historical fiction
Amy Tan – Chinese-American family sagas, historical fiction
Mystery / Crime / Thriller
Agatha Christie – Mystery, detective fiction
Murder on the Orient Express (In the Hercule Poirot series)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (In the Hercule Poirot series)
Arthur Conan Doyle – Mystery, detective fiction. The first three novels in the Sherlock Holmes series are listed below.
Ian Fleming – Spy thriller (James Bond series). I watched a lot of 007 movies at Grandma’s house.
Casino Royale (First of the James Bond series)
John Grisham – Legal thriller
A Time to Kill (1st novel of his Jake Brigance series)
Mary Higgins Clark – Suspense, mystery
Dean Koontz – Suspense, horror, thriller
Odd Thomas (1st novel in the Odd Thomas series)
James Patterson – Crime, thriller
Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross series)
Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross series)
1st to Die (1st novel in the Women’s Murder Club series)
Fantasy / Science Fiction / Horror
Clive Barker – Horror, dark fantasy
Stephen King – Horror, supernatural, fantasy, thriller. The Dark Tower Series is the backbone of the Stephen King universe.
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Series, Book 1)
The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower Series, Book 2)
The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower Series, Book 3)
J. K. Rowling – Fantasy (Harry Potter series)
Romance
Romantic Fiction / Popular Romance
Nora Roberts – Romance, romantic suspense
Vision in White (part of the Bride Quartet)
Nicholas Sparks – Sentimental romance, emotional drama
Danielle Steel – Romance, family drama
Western / Adventure
Clive Cussler – Action-adventure, techno-thriller. His Dirk Pitt novels were among her favorites.
Sahara (Dirk Pitt book 11)
Raise the Titanic! (Dirk Pitt book 4)
The Mediterranean Caper (The first novel in the Dirk Pitt series)
Zane Gray – Western
Louis L’Amour – Western, frontier survival
Philosophical / Political Fiction
Margaret Atwood – Feminist dystopia, political fiction
The Testaments (Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale)
Oryx and Crake (Book 1 in the MaddAddam Trilogy)
George Orwell – Political allegory, dystopian fiction
Ayn Rand – Philosophical fiction, objectivism
Find a New Favorite Used Book Source
Bookshelves fill quickly and wallets empty when you develop a literary habit. Make sure your library card is active, and find a few great used bookstores and resources below to keep your reading list full and share the wealth.
Digital Library Apps
Libby – Used by many public libraries including the Brooklyn Public Library
Simply E – Used by the New York Public Library system
A Few Great Used Bookstores
Sweet Pickle Books – New York City
The Strand – New York City
The Last Bookstore – Los Angeles
Powell’s Books – Portland
Faulkner House Books – New Orleans
Verbatim Books – San Diego
Half Price Books – US Nationwide
Goodwill Books Stores and Donation Centers – US Nationwide and Online
Neighborhood Book Sharing
Little Free Library – Worldwide
Such a beautiful homage! Thank you for sharing this, Joni!