Sonja Wagenaar

In Germany they have "Pferdewurst" (horse sausage). My relatives considered it yet another weird American hangup when I said it wouldn't fly in the U.S. Meat is meat, right?

Two words: Liquid Jello. Still can't wait for it to set.

I've always felt compelled to try the foods that characters in books like to eat. One of my favorite stories while growing up was "Harriet the Spy". Harriet ate a tomato sandwich for lunch every day. I was only nine, but I had to eat what Harriet ate. Now I make them with toasted millet bread, sliced tomatoes fresh from the farmers market, Ojai mayonnaise, and wedges of intense, crumbling cheddar. So. Good. The "Little House" books inspired a whole series of experiments, ranging from the Great Popcorn Smokeout (Farmer Boy) to my flirtation with skin grafts while trying to make maple candy by pouring boiling hot Mrs. Butterworth on snow.

The recipes are presented with such consistent enthusiasm that you know your life will be improved by cooking them all. So far I've made the turkey meatloaf and the roasted parsnips and carrots. Both turned out well. My copy was a surprise pre-birthday gift from my dear sister, along with the New Yorker cartoon collection. The box was so big and heavy I thought it was a car.