I was excited when Katie and I decided to start our blog with the greatest of great novels — The Great Gatsby. I recently re-read the book and identified with very different themes than when I read it in high school AP English. As a teenager, the love story between Gatsby and Daisy entranced me, as I’m sure it did most teenage girls. What I missed was the great social commentary on the excesses of the 1920s and American culture in general. It is a great ironic book for anyone who believes in the American Dream, but who acknowledges its pitfalls.
When I read most books, I tear through them as quickly as my brain can process the words, but The Great Gatsby is like a fine piece of dark chocolate (also one of my favorite indulgences). You have to enjoy it slowly and savor the flavors before it melts away leaving you satisfied, yet longing for more.
Beyond the larger themes, the novel is chock-full of witty one-liners. One of my favorite quotes from the book is a line Jordan Baker says during one of the many parties at Gatsby’s. Jordan is not one of my favorite characters, but when I read the novel for a second time, many of her quotes stood out to me. At a party, Jordan says this to Nick:
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”
It’s one of many quotes and passages within the book that sounds at first like a paradox or oxymoron, but actually makes sense in the end. If you think about it, at a small get-together, your conversation is much more intertwined with the group, while at a large party, you can get lost in your own little world with one or two other people.
Now when I think of The Great Gatsby, I think of the East Coast elite, and crab cakes are an iconic East Coast, upper class meal. I found a recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook for Tuna Zucchini Cakes and I think it’s a new take on the traditional crab cake:
Tuna Zucchini Cakes
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or oil
2 cans water-packed tuna, drained (5 oz each)
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini (A small, six-inch zucchini should do the trick)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon or more of pepper (I always add extra)
1 cup bread crumbs, divided
2 tablespoons canola or light olive oil
1.) In a small saucepan, saute the onion in the butter or oil until tender. Remove from heat. Combine onion, tuna, zucchini, eggs, parsley, lemon juice, seasonings and ½ cup bread crumbs. Stir and shape into six 1.2-in.-thick patties. Coat with remaining bread crumbs.
The uncooked version
2.) In large frying pan or skillet, heat oil. Cook patties for 3 min on each side or until golden brown.
Makes 3 servings
The finished product
The cakes are good with some horseradish sauce. Make some by combining mayo with plain horseradish, in a 2 to 1 ratio. (If you like it less intense, add more mayo).
I would pair the cakes with a spinach salad and oven roasted potatoes. (Cut up three or four red potatoes in bite-sized pieces, place in glass pan, add ¼ cup water, drizzle with olive oil, top with salt, pepper, oregano, dill, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350o)
The tuna zucchini cakes should only take about 20 minutes, so if you do both, start the potatoes first.
Lavilla
Dress, Dine & Dish 