cookbooks

noshing with the presidents, or, who doesn’t like beets?

~ jama ~ 16 Comments

“I think ‘Hail to the Chief’ has a nice ring to it.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Happy President’s Day!

Hope you’re enjoying your holiday weekend.

Washington at Madame Tussaud’s, Washington, D.C.

As I mentioned in my last Poetry Friday post, I have a lot of fun discovering little known facts or quirky bits and bobs about our Presidents. What I love most is learning about their food habits and preferences.

Did you know Lincoln had the smallest appetite of all the Presidents, often being happy with just an apple and cheese and crackers for dinner? (But he did love a good pecan pie.) Because of his bad teeth, Washington favored soft foods like fish, and Calvin Coolidge, a very thrifty man, reduced the amount of meat served at State Dinners because he considered it an extravagance. He preferred breakfast meetings because they were cheaper, but here’s where he wins my heart: he hosted “alphabetical breakfasts,” inviting congressmen alphabetically according to their last names. The menu, which was always the same, consisted of sausage, bacon, eggs, buckwheat pancakes, corn muffins, grapefruit, toast and coffee. Cute, no?

One of my favorite books on this subject is Sarah Hood Salomon’s Politics & Pot Roast (Bright Sky Press, 2006). It contains recipes connected to all 43 Presidents — original and favorite recipes of the Presidents and First Ladies, as well as updated adaptations of recipes from the periods they were in office. Brief anecdotes and quotes add lots of flavor and spice, perfect tidbits to impress the guests at your next dinner party. I hope to make some of these dishes during 2012 since it’s an election year and all, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, if you’re hungry for some POTUS fodder today, you may wish to check out my Presidential Food Series (I’m waving to all you new subscribers). Put on your red, white and blue bibs and enjoy!

Why not bake a cherry pie?

 

“They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, ‘We need to boil all the hope out of him — like us — and then he’ll be ready.'” ~ Barack Obama

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Copyright © 2012 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

happy 145th birthday, laura ingalls wilder!

~ jama ~ 52 Comments

“Remember well, and bear in mind, a constant friend is hard to find.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

I like to think of Laura as a good friend. I first “met” her as a shy child who devoured her books, and she’s remained a constant presence in my life as a reader, writer and human being.

I’ve enjoyed deepening my connection to Laura by learning more about the foods mentioned in the Little House books (via Barbara M. Walker’s Little House Cookbook), and making some of the recipes contained in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook (Trophy Press, 1997).  Some of you may know that this cookbook contains over 70 recipes compiled by Laura during the 30’s and 40’s when she lived with Almanzo at Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri.

Last year, I made her Chicken and Dumplings and Apple-Upside Down Cake, and two years before that, her famous Gingerbread. To celebrate Laura’s birthday this year, I decided to try her Apple Slump, another of the six apple recipes included in the Country Cookbook.

Continue reading →

ta da!: cakespy presents sweet treats for a sugar-filled life by jessie oleson

~ jama ~ 9 Comments

As Cakespy herself would say, “Like OMG!”

Prepare yourselves for the ultimate SUGAR RUSH: Jessie Oleson’s very first cookbook, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life, is officially out! Can you think of a million ways to say ADORABLE!?

Longtime readers of this blog know I’ve been a big Cakespy fan for the last three years. It’s been such fun (a decidedly

photo by Paul Hipple

delicious vicarious thrill) to follow Jessie’s ever-burgeoning career as an author, artist, “adventure” baker, gallery owner, savvy businesswoman and primo blogger.

As Head Spy of her very own Dessert Detective Agency, whose mission is “Seeking Sweetness in Everyday Life,” Jessie has proven that following one’s passions, working hard, consistently cultivating a positive outlook and transmitting mega-watt joy can reap sweet, sweet rewards.

Continue reading →

big friendly grub, or, the great pea soup adventure

~ jama ~ 14 Comments

We’ve had lots more Dahlish excitement here in the alphabet soup kitchen. The other day, the copy of  The BFG  I’d won in Becky Levine’s recent giveaway arrived. WooHoo! I was absolutely thrilled because, love Dahl though I may, I did not own a copy of  his personal favorite. Now I can hardly wait to reread it, that is, if I can get my hands on it long enough.

You see, there’s this little matter of the Paddingtons. Over 30 of them live here, and they all love Becky. That’s because she voted them her favorite bear over Pooh a couple years back (Pooh who?).

A crowd of Becky worshippers gathers.

They cheered when they saw her name on the padded mailer and then, I’m sorry to report, there was a little furry kerfuffle over who should read The BFG first. I wasn’t even in the running, and couldn’t distract them with a freshly made marmalade sandwich. Continue reading →

pishlets for roald dahl’s birthday

~ jama ~ 12 Comments

“I have always longed and longed to own a sweet-shop. The sweet-shop of my dreams would be loaded from top to bottom with Sherbet Suckers and Caramel Fudge and Russian Toffee and Sugar Snorters and Butter Gumballs and thousands and thousands of other glorious things like that.” (The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl)

“Nose Bags On, Grubs Up!”

Happy Roald Dahl Day!

I can’t think of any other children’s author who invented quite as many wildly imaginative fantasy treats for his stories — from lickable wallpaper to the pickled spines of porcupines to hot noodles made from poodles on a slice of garden hose. I’m convinced I would have done much better in school if I had had some candy-coated pencils for sucking in class. Perhaps the reason I’m so obsessed with food now is because I grew up without mosquitoes’ toes and wampfish roes most delicately fried. Good theory, in any case. ☺

 

From all accounts, Roald was a lifelong foodie. In her introduction to Roald Dahl’s Even More Revolting Recipes, Felicity Dahl mentions that many of the letters Roald wrote to his mother while he was in boarding school included a request for food. It was quite a challenge fulfilling his every craving, especially when it involved raw eggs. He also asked her to send him a Primus stove so he could cook some of those raw ingredients. Continue reading →