Carrot Top

Recipes I've made specifically from and because of MFK and liked: Sabri's Turkish Cake Aunt Gwen's Fried Egg Sandwiches Radiatior-Dried Tangerine Sections ( ) Kasha for Breakfast "To Stay Soft-Handed" ( ) Peasant Caviar (this is the eggplant thingie I mentioned earlier). Each one very simple, very. Each one perfect in its own way. Classic, really, they are the sorts of things that simply move into your life and take their place.

Absolutely. Otherwise they can and do try to use us. Sorry if I sounded gloomy earlier - I've been reading a "Paris Review" collection of short stories and my outlook (because of it, I believe) is becoming quite morose. Must switch to a different book.

I forget the negative in daily life, but retain some memories under the listing of "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it". Sweet is one of the flavor profiles of life, but what would it taste like without the linked concept of the flavor of bitterness? Perhaps sweet or any other good thing would not be as full, standing alone unchallenged or with alter-balance. . . I think "Earth People's Park" was a take-off in ways of People's Park. Here's a link. What can I say about it. Lots, but let's just stick to the fact that the food was dreadful.

Yes! Me too! Happy, indeed, is a fried egg sandwich wrapped in wax paper carried in a pocket then eaten! Serious happiness!

Eh. Perhaps I believe in a bit of rudeness now and then. ........................................ I think I'm sorting her stories at this point into two categories at least - those that read like a fictional tale (where one tries to fit in as much interesting "action" at every twist and turn possible to keep the reader engaged) and those that read rather like a fable, as in when she speaks of the riches of days past, the appetites of men (Hmm. What about the female appetite? How about "When a Woman is Small?" as title and story? That would be fun. . .) in the stories like "When a Man is Small" and "Greek Honey. ." with a fable's ending that hints of philosophic morality in some essential way. ........................................... I'm curious as to what recipes you've used, and which ones other people have used, and liked or disliked of MFK's. The first thing that comes to mind for me is her recipe for "Eggplant Caviar" (I believe there are three of them in a row in the book) which is simple and beautiful to me, rich and unctuous, and which is rather daring to eat among those you don't know well from the massive amounts of garlic that perfume it. . . .

I remember the old lady at lunch and how MFK let loose with a sentence that struck at the old lady's severe aplomb. To me, MFK was not being mean there, for honestly I think people like that old lady who walk around being so personally pompous and obviously posturing, then actually expecting all the people around to play along with their personal ego game (without the least bit of humor involved), are rather absurd and in some ways are overstepping the bounds of reality in the first place in expecting others to bend to suit their strained posture. I think the old lady was mean, and MFK was just right. The man chasing after them on a train platform because Al did not say goodbye was more touching (though I haven't read it yet this time, but I do remember it a bit) but still I have to have the same attitude. I can not say that MFK was being mean here. There was a guy once, a waiter, who worked for my ex-husband. Somehow he got a severe crush on him. He would follow him from place to place, geographically, to work at the next place exH managed. Knowing my ex, who knows whether he encouraged him, even if just for the ego boost of it, or not. But anyway, there was not a whole lot of reality going on in this guy's mind. He followed a married man and his wife and children around the country, waving much as the guy in MFK's story did. . .sad, yes, but should one always need to feel deep compassion for those obviously out of whack that go around imposing their own (un) reality onto other's situations? I don't think so. Do it too much and you can end up losing your own sense of personal reality. If anyone on that train platform was mean, it was Al. For it was he that the fellow loved somehow. MFK was the wife, watching. Better to laugh than to cry, perhaps? Actually I feel rather contemptous of Al for allowing that to happen to both his wife and the fellow. Actually I rather feel like punching him in the nose. Al, Chexbres, and "her husband" - Al she probably did not think of as her husband because of some things. Chexbres, that was another unusual relationship in ways. The third one, Donald Friede, was a publisher and literary agent who "orchestrated her career" to use the words of Joan Reardon. Maybe he was the only one she really thought of as her "husband". . .or maybe she didn't want to use his name too much as it might remind her or others of the link to a specific sort of support system for her career that she had married into. I'll have to take a look at this parenthesis thing. Never noticed it before. (I can't believe you are delving in once more . Will be interesting to see what other thoughts you come up with as you go along. . . )

Love that line about Nestor. ........................................... Reading your stories (and the thread currently running where line cooks play jokes on people like putting LSD in their drinks or magic mushrooms on their toast as practical joke) is truly a "flashback" of sorts. The zinging total silliness of it all - drugs sex and rock-and-roll - the altered experience that finally had to shift into a reality for those that lived it that did *not* (as Nestor did, and as some of the kindest gentlest most creative people among the crowd did) die young, too young. Edged on the other side by the black undercurrent that *is* the flip side of this. I was the thirteen year old girl at the edge of the crowd of hippies, the skinny one with the long red hair. The one that smiled a lot. There were more of us than just me, teenagers whose parents weren't watching too closely or who were not watching at all, though we were a minority in the gangs of college students, dropouts and trust fund babies that flitted with tie dyed t-shirts and unbrushed teeth through the days living for the freedom of whatever sort that was being sought. It was me, the tiny one, that would get grabbed at the rock festivals, given a drink laced with whatever hallucinogenics the fun-seeker that was seeking "fun" had on hand (without being told till afterwards that the drink had something in it) and then it was me who would get grabbed and lifted onto the portable trampoline that ten people were carrying around to bounce other people on "for fun", it was me who was bounced without being wanted to, ten feet into the air, flailing without the ability to make them stop, hallucinating from the drugs while trying to maintain some sort of grip on a thirteen-year olds sanity, tryng to scream "stop!" as one does in a dream but being unable to get any sound out at all, while those doing it laughed and laughed and laughed, their faces distorting into mudpiles of sludgy rubber as I prayed to the depths of my soul that somehow it would end. This is a simple example and one that does not focus on things that might really offend people that would read of the times and how people acted within that mileu. The nostalgia resonates, and the nostalgia is good in the ways that it should be. But for those who might think this nostalgia, this world, was a lightweight easy sort of wheeeee! (which could happen if one were not there, or if one chose not to think of these things) with lots of sourdough bread, brown rice and LSD as pleasure, I have to point out the other side as balancing factor. Nestor. I'll remember him, though I never met him, with pleasure though (though he is gone). .......................................................... I wonder if anyone ever went to "Earth People's Park". Remember that place/idea? ......................................................... But Vladamir and Estragon have the right idea. A story passes the time in the best sort of way.

There certainly exist some unpalatable facts we have to eat in life. Then of course, it is also a fact (hmmm. Do I need to attach an annotated bibliography for this? I hope not. It would take time and be boring ), as they say, that "History is not made by well-behaved women." * I'm going to start in on reading MFK on Oysters, soon. Just needed a break. * (Yes, I do think that needed emboldening. Reminder: Go out into the world and mis-behave! ) (Just not meanly. )

I'd like to add a suggestion here. Chewing gum. Well chewed. Put in the hands that have smushed the food on the table after removing from mouth. Mix well into first your own hair then the grownups hair too, smacking as hard as you can to adhere it well, with a jolly laugh. Awww. A pig in a blanket. Delicious.

The wee folk won't like it, Maggie. I'm surprised you didn't think of that. I would think so. And as you note in your sig line: One just can't be too careful with these things. Whether there is a wardrobe in the house or not. Even a spoon can have magical powers. (Come to think of it, they often do.)

It might be daring the universe in yet-unknown ways to stir any way but clockwise. I've seen this injunction to do things clockwise in other things, too, in some old texts. One is injunctioned to sweep the floor of the house clockwise, too.

We return to cycles of the Moon. Be sure to howl accordingly. From eG's risotto thread by Craig Camp.

And rightfully so! As inventor, you must know that many great inventions were discovered by Mistake. I wonder, actually, what the percentage of inventions discovered by mistake actually are. . . as opposed to those found by sitting and sternly (with visage set, of course) analyzing. Mistakes. A Way of Life to Invention. ............................................ You passed by Naughty. You were only mildly naughty in doing so. I suspect you can be much naughtier, given the chance. I'll talk naughtily, instead. N is for naughty which in food means two things. It means children and it means sex. Separately, of course, though I've heard that one can lead to the other and that one at times can prevent the other from happening. Children can and do show horrible naughtiness with intent through food. What else does a young child have to show it with? Food is a basic, it is something that *will* appear each day in some form before them from Those Big People Who Think They Can Tell Me What To Do, and therefore is an active participant in any plans toward naughtiness. Some ideas for any young children reading this, to aggrevate those caring for you: *Refuse to breast feed, or alternately, bite so damn hard when you do it that one believes you have been born with dinosaur teeth. *Drink an entire bottle of milk then purposely projectile vomit the entire thing onto your mother. Try to do this right as she has finished dressing for work. *Cereal is an excellent tool for naughtiness. Dry, it can be found in its box and poured all over the floor as art medium, to sit in and throw all over the place, making lovely designs as you go along. That yucky wet cereal stuff, of course, is best thrown directly onto the ceiling. Accomplish this by smacking the spoon approaching you upwards, with a sudden unexpected motion. Then quickly, while all eyes are staring at the lumps of yucky wet stuff hanging from the ceiling, upend the rest of the bowl onto their laps with a loud happy cry. *Fresh vegetables can be stuck up your nose or in your ears to try to look like an alien or walrus. If you push hard enough, this can even warrant a trip to the emergency room. Beans stuck up the nose are a classic naughtiness through the ages. *Meat, fish, and poultry can be refused on any grounds whatsoever, worrying Those Big People into thinking that indeed, you will starve, lacking protein. *Try to develop a hunger for soda and junk food. It is not hard, actually, for most children to do this. This will worry not only your parents but society at large, giving you a much larger scope within your naughtiness. There are so many more ways to be naughty with food as a child. Do try them all. Add Obstinacy to your naughty food ways, and indeed you will be quite fearsome. ......................................................... More on the other sort of naughtiness later, perhaps. There is pizza sauce on my couch that I must go clean. Naughty children.

For anyone who does like the sort of writing about food that MFK Fisher represents, I highly suggest a subscription to Alimentum. There is more in the print publication than there is in this online version, much more, and to my knowledge is the only focused journal of this specific type, that is, "food writing" that is fiction not cooking class, food writing that is poetry not standardized recipe, food writing that is creative nonfiction not a report on the state of our oranges or a fawning admiration of a chef who will put food in our mouths for money (the haute and snob value of the food dependent of the $$ handed over). It is a nicely bound little journal with art that warms and interests within, too, line drawings and illustrations.

Here's the first post in this topic for anyone who cares to refocus on it:

You've got me there, Rachel. So I googled it and came up with this: It's from this site. They sell nice stuff like canned Turducken for the dog in your life.

Oh yes. All true, what you say, and I can agree. My stomach churns at the immensity of all this (if, as you say, the details are true, but even if they are not exactly true her plate was filled with more than enough for one woman - particularly one who stood quite alone often - to deal with). But here is my question: (I find that no longer can I avoid asking it for fear those who have not read the biographies will happily be able to avoid thinking of these things.) Did she sleep with married men? For *that* is where I think the crux of disappointment with her might lay, with women who have heard this or read this. Not that she was just "mean" or "bitchy" or even someone who had many lovers. This is something that many women will not forgive in a woman they felt they had placed trust in. It is a form of meanness that is difficult to accept or forgive, particularly when one realizes the chaos that can follow in the lives of those whom the action envelops. It is hard to forgive a meanness that can involve not only adults but by extension, their children, those times when this action leads to more trouble within that difficult and delicate balancing act called "marriage". I don't really know whether this is true or not - I discarded the one biography I owned because I did not want to read it again, and the contents of the second biography are only hearsay to me, so that is rather moot. At this point I don't even really want to know the answer, really. It's a shame it had to be asked. It's a shame, maybe, that we have to know the people we read are sometimes very far from what we would wish them to be. But I guess it's better to go through the fire rather than around it, in terms of dealing with these things, once the wind has started to blow. There is really no escape. (And I'm also pretty sure that if I had to analyze the ethics and morals of every writer I ever read before I read them, or do the same before buying groceries at the store, or anything else, then act upon my own feelings of outrage or disappointment in what I found out about the people I was dealing with every day, probably the best bet would be to become a hermit and do nothing but whittle a piece of wood into sailboats all day long.) .................................. Again, I note - obviously, what one does in bed, and whether it is considered to be "mainstream" enough to be considered acceptable or moral at the time. . . is not something that *should* be linked to an author's writerly prowess. But then again, the shape these writings took made many of her readers feel that she was leading them somewhere. . .that she was a leader. In particular it seems that women have had this sense with MFK (from "anecdotal" information). When one acts as leader, one can be challenged to act as one hopes a leader would act, in ways large and small in "real life". Of course she may never have intended to be considered in this way, as a "leader". The writings may have done it by themselves without her consent, so the linking of expectations to MFK herself as a person may be just a will-o-the-wisp created by stories loved and therefore made real in ways they never were expected to by the author. And actually, in final analysis, that is what I think. That perhaps she never expected to be read or loved as deeply as she finally proved to be. Hoped for it, maybe. Knew it would happen, no. So I can not link the life and the writing any more. The writing stands alone, separate.

I'm always interested in everyone's sex life.

I would agree with you there, completely. But then again, the women that wrote of feeling betrayed in a sense by MFK may have read her differently, may have read her more personally, may have read her as someone who spoke in her readings of how to live. I can see how you read her as a person, but can also see quite clearly (as a woman) of how she could be read as a woman, and can guess at how she might be read as a woman by a man (all in a general sense, setting aside for the moment the specifics of personality in all the readers cases). To each one their own sort of reading, as well as to each one their own sort of take on other things. I can (and am, this time) reading her in a different way than I did in the times before, and that there is this depth to read at all, in very different ways over the years, says much to me about the writing. As to the rest of it, I would like to be able to read her free and clear of the personal life attached. We'll see if I finally manage it. On the other hand, "scholarly" reading, the sort that is done in academic circles, demands that one take into account as much as one possibly can not only about the writer themself and how they lived their life up to and including the culture they live(d) within, in order to "fully" understand for purposes of critique, the writing, no?

Have you had the opportunity to read the two biographies of her? It likely is not from her writings that women might consider her a bitch if they do, but rather from biographic reports of specific incidents in her own "real" life that would infer the personal traits that would make other women call her that. One can have a profoundly generous sympathy for tortured human creatures and yet. . . . still be capable of inflicting torture upon other human creatures through personal actions taken. . . Some might be thinking of the old adage "Actions speak louder than words." I guess on these things each individual must finally choose the side to take that suits them best, then be ready to live with the consequences of that philosophic choice should the same reality ever pop up in their own life. . . realizing that to excuse actions undertaken by someone who knowingly will dole out pain to others should be of equal import as excusing those actions taken if they were directly and explicitly aimed at you.

I think a lot of the "food writing" that exists falls more under the aegis of "journalism" than "creative writing". That it might be so due to market demand is plausible. But naturally, all plausabilities, to my mind, exist simply to be poked at. Anais Nin just came to mind as a writer who MFK reminds me of in ways, or the other way around, whatever. With the general body of their writings, in ways. Though its been a long while since I read Nin, so I'll have to take a closer look to be sure. (Just imagine. . .if MFK had written a book of erotica, as Nin did.)

Yeah. I get you. But then again, it can be looked at the other way, too. It may have been her "personal baggage" used well that made her who she was as a writer. Unless that is what you meant but said upside down. I guess one would have to decide whether personal baggage is something that "belongs" in food writing. Or if it should remain hidden, covered by the food entirely. Blanketed by the food. Untasteable.

What are your own thoughts on this, Max? Would you care to elucidate further?

Yeah. Well I must have been channeling Erica Jong last night. What can I say. .................................................. Next on Janet's list is Lazy. I understand this word, and actually adore it in ways. L is for Lazy and the best way to show the true meaning of this word is merely to repeat the words of others in place of my own. Yesterday I bought a book called "The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Outrageous Excuses". Thinking that sooner of later, you know, I might have a chance to use each and every one, in support of laziness as opposed to the dreaded self-discipline. Here are some listed under the category of "food and drink": On chocolate: On what to say to fend off vegetarians as you chow down: .................................................................................................... L is also for loquatious, which is a habit of mine. I don't mean to hog the space, but will merrily prattle on just waiting for others to post.