My book club, fancifully named “The Alta Vista Friends Reading Salon,” recently discussed Ruth Reichl’s memoir Save Me the Plums, about her time as editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. The book appealed to me not only because of the inside stories Ruth reveals about the world of food… but also because of her fascinating experiences working as a writer, editor and publisher, a field in which I spent my own career, although in much less lofty positions.
Her relaxed, straight-forward writing style is a pleasure to read and very entertaining. But this is far from a cook book. Ruth regales us more with the quirky personalities of the people she encountered during her time there than with the 1000s of recipes her team developed.
I can’t resist, though, giving you here my favorite Gourmet recipe from Ruth’s book, exactly as it was printed. How could I ever have hoped to improve on something Goumet had tested in its kitchens so many times?
Have you ever craved a silky soufflé but hesitated to try? I certainly have. The eggy concoction seemed too finicky and prone to failure. Also, I thought it had to be baked at the last minute. So how would it ever work as a make-ahead dessert for company?
Well, with all the time in the world available these days for experimenting, and as the corona virus pandemic is demanding that no company cross our threshold, this seemed the perfect time to try. More
Is your family is feeling a little low what with all this social distancing we are having to endure for the public good these days? Cheer them up with a batch of hearty banana cookies. So easy! With just two key ingredients and a few optional add-ons for extra flavor and happiness, these cookies are sure to please your family. More
If you are looking for a low-sugar double-chocolate brownie that your children will devour, look no further. Each moist chocolatey square satisfies with two kinds of chocolate. The squares are sweetened with only 1/4 cup maple syrup and the sugar from the semisweet chocolate chips, plus one secret ingredient. No, it’s not marijuana. More
Vinny wanted to make an Easter treat he could use to fill the pretty hollow Easter egg-shells he found at the dollar store. “I’d like something without any chemical additives, but sweet and chocolatey, and filled with fiber and nutrients that make eating them as good for a kid’s health as they are sweet on the tongue,” he said. More
Our traditional family birthday cake is chalk-full of chocolate. But thrown in are other flavors like raspberry and coffee that make it a hit with young and old alike. I use healthy ingredients besides chocolate, like coconut palm sugar, coconut oil and eggs. More
This dessert is so good, people call it Nice Cream. The riper the banana, the sweeter the dessert.
Ripe bananas also have higher levels of antioxidants, which as any frequent reader of Vinny’s blog will know, fight chronic disease and inflammation.
One interesting thing about fully ripened bananas is that they also produce a substance called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF combats abnormal cells to help shrink cancer tumors. The more dark patches a banana has, More
Vinny’s been updating older posts recently and putting them up on Yum Goggle. Yum Goggle features food photography from contributors around the world. The photos whet your appetite for the recipes you can get simply by clicking on the pictures or the words GET THE RECIPE. It’s a great site and we’re proud to be a part of the team. More
It’s Sharon’s birthday today, so Vinny brings you a rich, chocolatey tart with no flour in the filling, that you can stick candles in and sing happy birthday around, merrily. With this dessert, you can enjoy a slice and know that along with your birthday calories, you are also getting a decent helping of nutrition. More
Normally, I’d choose a pie to celebrate the math constant π (Pi = 3.14159…) on its special day, which is coming upon us soon. Scientists the world over will likely be tucking into a delicious slice of one, perhaps a banana cream or pecan pie, More
Kids, get your aprons on. We’re going to whip up some brownies that are as good for the body as they are for the soul. Including time to wash up the dishes, these treats should take no more than a half hour away from your Minecraft play time. More
A blind orphan threads her way through the streets of Saint Malo at the end of the World War II, with a fresh-baked loaf under her arm. Her name is Marie-Laure and dry bread is all she will have to eat for several days… .
Hidden in the loaf are coordinates destined for the Allied Forces, pin-pointing where the Nazis are headquartered in the town, where their supplies are stored, where their ammunition is kept. Marie-Laure’s uncle radios this vital information across the airwaves on a powerful set hidden in their attic. More
Awesome! This idea came my way courtesy of the Paddington Foodie, chef extraordinaire. It’s ridiculously easy. Combining just two super-foods, this simple syrup zaps any dessert you like with goodness that is sure to grant you the superpowers of your dreams. More
Anyone who’s skated Ottawa’s Rideau Canal knows all about our iconic BeaverTails. Nobody ever leaves the ice without a bite of these sugary deep-fried pastries decorated with cinnamon, chocolate, or lemon, or some other delightful combination of sweet and sour.
As I was focusing on Ottawa’s winter wonderland for my gourmet dinner party, Frozen in Ottawa, I thought tiny BeaverTails would make a perfect hors d’oeuvre. They would go well with the sweetly tart cocktail we served, Frozen Blues.
BeaverTails are served hot on the Canal. But as my theme was “frozen,” I served mine cold. More
Our book club was meeting at my house this month. What to serve? Looking in my tea box, I discovered a couple of packets of loose-leaf tea labelled Readers Earl Grey Tea. What could be more perfect for this special group of readers, I thought. More
I’m not sure we should let the little dears in our lives in on this trick… But if you’re ever stuck in a hotel room with no cooking facilities and limited cash for eating out, you can get by with an iron!
The night circus has a brain and heart… almost human. How eerie!
Last week I raved about a novel by Erin Morgenstern, called The Night Circus. This story asks us to consider the untold power life holds!
One way the author looks at the nature of life is by imagining the opposite.
Morgenstern thinks of death not as an end, but a change. If you break a bottle of ink in the ocean, the ink disperses because it has lost its container. The ink is still there… just diluted, its parts no longer connected.
When one of the wizards mysteriously vanishes in The Night Circus, his daughter tells everyone he’s died. But in fact he is in this state of dilution… not exactly dead, he’s just not here in one piece.
While you’re reading The Night Circus, I propose a tasty bowlful of black-and-white popcorn to help you hold yourself together. More
The clock chimes 4 a.m. at the Night Circus. Her bonfire burns strong, fed by Marco’s book of charms.
“What’s black and white with red in the middle?” Vinny asks. “Give up? It’s the cake I made for my book club, when Erin Morgenstern’s novel “The Night Circus” was up for discussion.
On the surface, Morgenstern gives us an enchanting love story about magic. The circus, open only at night, shimmers in black and white. It is the venue for a desperate competition, as two wizards older than time pit themselves against one another through their best students. The light and the dark signify their two opposing ways of manipulating reality. Which will win out, Vinny wonders. More
Remember those little Chia sculptures that blew onto the scene about 30 years ago? We’d water them and give them a little love, and they rewarded us by growing hair and fur in all the right places. They were cute but decidedly not edible. More
Mother Turtle, made from apples here, casts a healing spell among First Nations people.
The turtle myth…
In Native American stories, the turtle is a symbol for Mother Earth. This ancient animal commonly lives as long as 150 years. Its shell keeps her safe. And her slow even pace through life sets an example for people to keep going when the going gets tough. Turtle always makes time to enjoy each moment life has to offer.
To honor the turtle, I suggested to my friend Isla that we could make some for Christmas. “They’re so tasty!” I said. More
Instead of the suspicious fats usually lurking in rich desserts from heavy cream and butter, this chocolate pudding hides a secret agent known far and wide for his success in fighting disease. His name? Detective Avocado. More
Sweet potato cookies get top marks for “Delicious!”
Yes, indeed, once again you are looking at sweet potatoes. I mashed them up with some prune butter and a little maple syrup. Then I made a cookie dough by adding oatmeal, whole-grain flour, and ground sun-flower seeds. As a way to get vegetables into the lunch boxes of picky eaters, these are spectacular! More
Here we are, boys and girls, December First! It’s that magical time of the year when we start celebrating all things family, beginning with that special couple 2000 years ago who rejoiced together in a stable over the birth of their new-born son.
One fun tradition of the season is the Advent Calendar. Kids everywhere will be More
Marie Antoinette found herself bored silly. She had everything she wanted. If she clapped once, her servant would come with a tray full of chocolate cake. Twice got her steaming mugs of cocoa and cream. Three times and she went mad over baskets of truffles and éclairs. But she wasn’t happy. More
My Great-Great-Ever-So-Great Grampa used to sing about coconuts at the top of his lungs. But he wasn’t much into eating them. Although he loved fine dining, his choices rarely included stuff that was good for him. Broccoli? Yuck! Brown bread? No way! Bring on the butter and the whipped cream! More
Our elf Hazel is deeply wise.
Love her and she’ll quench your thirst for knowledge.
Then, she’ll bless you with a silver tongue,
for teaching others what you’ve learned.
So it is said. But is there any truth behind the power of Elf Hazel? What we know for sure: Hazel harnesses the strength of her namesake, the hazelnut. Like some other nuts and seeds, hazelnuts feed the brain. Hazelnuts are one of the most concentrated sources of vitamin E available, and vitamin E is associated with less age-related cognitive decline. More
Only 10 more sleeps until we turn the calendar on a new month – December. Then the fun begins! Many people start counting down the days to Christmas with an advent calendar. Each day comes with More
Cook Up A Story is in love with chocolate, and Vinny tells you why. If you’d like to see Vinny’s tiny friend get ready for Valentine’s day, click on Jacquie Lawson’s chocolate shop. It’s beauti-licious! Photo courtesy of Hezoos.
Only five more sleeps till Christmas! And today I clicked the button for the 20th of December and watched my pal Chudleigh (a friendly black Lab) make a new friend.
My advent calendar this year is a little English Internet village… which gets more and more lively the closer we get to Christmas. More
Cook Up a Story 