Bookish Cook

04/02/2026

A poignant little poem for spring, as we prepare our gardens for planting. Or, if you live in Northern New England, dream about being able to start preparing the garden…some day. Maybe in June!

03/30/2026

Cookbook of the Week No. 2: Since it’s the week leading to Easter Sunday, I chose a recipe for an Easter Bread anyone of any faith can bake and enjoy, even though it comes from my 1965 edition of “The Catholic Cookbook,” which can be used even by an nonbeliever, because the recipes are not specifically Catholic but universal. It is also, coincidentally, close to the same recipe for the “Babka” my Polish grandmother made every Easter, except she baked it not in a loaf pan, but in large emptied tin coffee cans, so they actually resembled giant mushrooms coming from the oven! Which seemed somewhat appropriate for a springtime bread…

Easter Bread (Babka)

2 packs of active dry yeast
2 cups scalded milk—lukewarm
8 cups sifted all-purpose flour
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup raisins or currants
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk. Add three cups of the flour and mix thoroughly. Let rise in a warm place, overnight if necessary, until doubled.
2. Then add egg yolks, sugar, butter, currants, vanilla and salt, along with enough remaining flour to make a light dough. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
3. Turn out onto board dusted with flour, and knead well, adding more flour if necessary. Divide and place in 2 well-greased loaf pans (or 2-3 greased empty coffee cans) and let rise again until doubled. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F; then continue baking 50 minutes more at 350 F. Enjoy!

03/23/2026

Today I’m launching a new feature, “Cookbook of the Week,” in which I will highlight a fun or unusual cookbook from my ridiculously large collection, and post a recipe from it. With a few exceptions, these will be mainly vintage cookbooks published many years ago: my own attempt to save fragile little pieces of the past, as we advance in this digital age and grapple with AI challenges. Will post every Monday if possible, ideally until the end of the year, or until I run out of cookbooks (not likely anytime soon)

Today’s post comes to us from the English Channel and the tiny isle of Jersey. It’s a self-published gem titled “The Jersey Cook Book of St. Helier,” and features calligraphy text, lovely drawings and sketches, and unique half-French, half-British recipes featuring the isle’s abundance of fish and shellfish. In the bowl beside are some empty gray periwinkles I collected from New Hampshire and Maine rocky shores, likely the same snails called for in the recipe: Because here, these snails are considered an invasive species which arrived in the 1800s—from places like the Channel Islands and other Western European ports. The recipe is quite brief—I assume the first step is “Go to the shore and collect a bucket of winkles”

Des Gris Vlicots—Grey Winkles

“Wash in salt water, about four rinses, then put in cold water. When boiling, put in some salt and boil 4 minutes. Eat with bread and butter, and a little vinegar”

03/05/2026

Larry, the world’s worst research assistant, dozes at his desk, while I slave away over a hot cookbook manuscript! Yes, it’s happening but lots of work to do still. This guy is no help!

02/18/2026

Had planned a research trip up to some libraries in the state capital today but was waylaid by an unexpectedly fierce snow squall about half way there—in Hillsborough. The public library there had an unexpectedly beautiful reading room! Never did make it to Concord but another day…

02/08/2026

Not revealing who we favor in the Super Bowl. But that is a Boston Cream Pie I baked last night…the football scene courtesy of my husband

02/01/2026

An timeworn handwritten recipe from the other side of the world (New Zealand). Love these precious artifacts from the past!

Granny's Recipe Books-Circa 1920's
February's Recipe

Boiled Salad Dressing:
Summer brings lots of salads, so what better recipe to try out this month.
Boiled Salad Dressing is an old fashioned version of salad dressing.
Made by slow cooking until it has thickened. (If too thick it can be thinned with a little milk.)
Refrigerate when cool.

Delicious on potato salad

02/01/2026

Like many others in New England—and the Eastern Seaboard as well—we’ve been waylaid by the weather! But I’ve been using this opportunity to catch up on filling my recipe box. No AI or computers involved! Right now concentrating on recipes for soups and chowders…

12/24/2025

Happy delicious holidays to all!

12/19/2025

So here’s what’s left of my “Dark and Stormy” cookies, carefully guarded by my research assistant, Larry. They went over well with my neighbors and family, being a piquant blend of Bermudan-inspired flavors: Rum, ginger and lime. I can’t share the recipe because it was just published by the New York Times Cooking section last week, but it’s basically a ginger snap with chunks of rum-soaked candied ginger and a tart-sweet lime glaze. They’re supposed to be topped with lime peel zest but my zesting tool seems to have given up the ghost. The official recipe also calls for for a pinch of cayenne pepper but being a timid cook, I left that out and they were still pretty zesty

12/08/2025

Well, it’s been awhile since I posted, but high time I revived this page: Good things ahead in 2026! Meanwhile, I’ll be posting some cookie content ahead of the holidays. Up here in New Hampshire, all the little towns are having their “cookie walks” and sales, and this is a sampling from our neighboring town of Dublin. All of them are delicious but particularly intriguing are the Dubai Cookies, with the green pistachio filling in the middle—must hunt down the recipe for that!

03/17/2025

We have Native Americans, such as the Pennacook of Northern New England, to thank for maple syrup and likely they made it very much like this: Not with an iron pot but in ceramic pots made of local clay, often inscribed with beautiful designs. Thanks to the Mount Kearsage Indian Museum, who hosted a maple event this weekend!