CHINA DOLLS * YUMMY FOODS

 China Dolls by Lisa See - This novel about three "Oriental" women coming of age in the 1930s and 40s is narrated by Grace, Helen and Ruby. They are American, but even in those modern times they were often judged by their appearance.  Set during the depression and World War II, the girls are modern, yet guided by their ethnic backgrounds and traditions.  And none of what I just wrote even begins to describe this wonderful story of friendship and love and the entertainment business. Read it next.

This past weekend, my friend Gia and I drove to Detroit, and we made our road trip part of the fun. Gia is up for anything, so we decided to stop for donuts at the place my mom and I discovered in June, only we would stop at one of the other locations. I looked up the name of the place and stumbled upon a list of the top 12 donut bakeries in Michigan. Sweetwater's Mill Donuts was one of the places, so we stopped in Kalamazoo and treated ourselves to glazed and double chocolate frosted.  It was too early for me to be eating, let alone something so rich, but they were so so good! I dropped Gia off at the Greek Monestery in Jackson, then made my way to the number one rated donut shop, Hinkley Bakery in Jackson. It's on a back street in a nondescript brick building with a window sign. One step inside, and the smell was intoxicating, and people were lined up. I ordered glazed, cake, a dunker and a frosted donut for Brenda. Took some pictures, chatted with the friendly women behind the counter, was treated to a complimentary warm glazed donut hole (melted in my mouth and, as recommended, was just ever so slightly better than Sweetwater's).  They are only open Wednesday - Saturday 5:15 am to 1:00 pm, so the chance of me getting there ever again is slim. So glad that Sweetwater's is open 24/7.  Went to Brenda's had another donut and was not feeling great for the next few days.  As a matter of fact, my poor stomach is still not all the way comfortable. The mouth loves these rich confections, but the stomach is screaming for Kale and Farro, Tomatos and Cottage Cheese, Cherries and Greek Yogurt. So, on the way home to Chicago, two days later, Gia says we are going to stop and have breakfast with her cousin.  I have a difficult time with the breakfast diners, too - they give you way too much food, so I had a grilled cheese with tomato. Have you noticed that they've supersized grilled cheese nowadays, too?  What happened to a couple of slices of wonder bread and a slice of american cheese? After our four hour breakfast, Gia asked if I'd want to stop for ice cream for dessert. Jackson again. Who knew? Figured out that it was called The Parlour and that they'd been serving ice cream since 1926. The Double Fudge Brownie ice cream on a sugar cone won out.  So good. That got us talking about ice cream, and Gia asked if I'd ever had a Rainbow Cone. Well.  I've always WANTED to have a Rainbow Cone, and that evening, Gia detoured us to the most wonderful little pink ice cream palace of a shop on Western Ave. in Beverly, and I finally had a famous Chicago Rainbow Cone. It was really really good.  Rainbow Cone gives you your cone in this plastic sleeve which catches the drips from the ice cream hanging over the edge of the cone, too, which is brilliant. I wish all the over-scooped cones would come in one of those!