Book Review - Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for a Home by Kim Sunée

Kim Sunée is a gifted writer. Her recently released book Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for a Home is the poem she always sought to write—a poetic memoir of her search for a sense of belonging.

Adopted in Korea by a young American couple when she was three, she trekked the world to attempt to reconnect with her true identity. Her twenties are filled with wanderlust, going from New Orleans, France, Sweden, and back to France to follow a man who gives her everything she thought she wanted. However, Sunée never feels completely at ease and her passion for cooking enables her to find a home in the kitchen, where she can bring various flavors together, and cook a meal that brings people with the same purpose together.

Sunée’s heartbreaking and compelling journey into self-discovery magically depicts a hunger for love, food, and a home -all three seemingly insatiable. Many people will find a way to identify with her life questions, and thirst for movement.

Wihin the first few pages, you will find yourself knee-deep in her story, inhaling the different aromas and flavors so meticulously described. Recipes she shares throughout her book are tokens of her past, which have helped to shape her sense of self. Her experiences and travels inspired me to try my hand at a few of her mouthwatering recipes. The following is my personal favorite:

Orange Couscous Salad

1 (10-ounce) box medium-grain couscous
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
2 oranges
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaces
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup golden raisins, currants, or chopped dates

Bring water to a boil. Pour couscous in a large bowl and add water, stir, cover with plastic, and let steam 5 minutes or until couscous is tender. Fluff with fork. Stir in olive oil, salt, pepper, and onion. Let cool slightly.

Zest both oranges. Juice 1 of the oranges, remove white peel of second orange and chop. Add zest and chopped orange to couscous. Stir in parsley, mint, cucumber, and raisins. Cover and chill in refrigerator 1 hour and up to 2 days. Taste and rectify seasoning by adding more salt and pepper, olive oil, and juice before serving.

[image 2 borrowed allrecipes.com]

|More