"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~Harriet Van Horne

This eclectic collection was first published in 1996 and since then, this literary gem is back in print with a new cover. Sherman Asher Publishing is trying to change the world one book at a time.

Poetry and Cuisine unite in a blissful expression of love of food, cooking and writing.
The pleasure of poetry and cuisine are given a voice in one volume.

The tastes and aromas in food are just as important as the recipes themselves. A great poem about food can recreate the powerful images and emotions that inspired the poet while they were cooking.

"The syrup should drip in an amber pool
Over the white flan, reflecting the light.
Uncomplicated, delicate
Cooked so it slides gently on the plate.
A taste like sun-dried roads,
Red geraniums in shaded patios,
And dreaming in the afternoon...."
-Deborah Casillas who also shares her Flan Recipe

60 contributors shared their heirloom recipes and each has a short biography at the end of the book. These recipes were tested by Lisa Sarenduc.

The recipes and poems often share opposite pages. The cook/poet is the author of both.

The Contents include:

Assembling the Pieces: Appetizers, Relishes, Salsas
Soups and Salvation
Grist for the Mill: Pastas, Grains, and Breads
Entrees
Desserts and Remembrance
Comfort Foods
Café Culture

In the first chapter Anne Marie Mackler writes a cute story about her brother Bernie chasing her about trying to make her eat a pickled pepper which she finally learns to enjoy. Her recipes included dill pickle juice and jalapenos and is called James' Winter Salsa.

When Marian Olson speaks of onions as "pearls of the earth" wanting tears, I keep wanting to find her and ask her if she has put the onions in the refrigerator. I no longer cry when chopping onions, most of the time.

Some of the recipes:

Fig Cake
Golden Spanokopita
Chicken Ginger Soup

New England Strawberry Pie
Chicken Breast A L'Orange
Sukiyaki

Many of the poems will make you laugh, some are quite profound and will make you nostalgic for times gone by. Many poems take on a more narrative style. You might even add a few tears to the recipes now and then by accident. ;)

Essential for your culinary collection! Suddenly food becomes an unforgettable sensuous and emotional experience. Don't be surprised if all of a sudden you start
writing a poem in a moment of inspiration. To put it mildly: "I LOVE this book!"

Inspirational and Highly recommended.