I've just learned from the Lucindaville blog that Marion Cunningham has died. Her obituary is here. You may remember that I wrote about her book Lost Recipes last year. I so admire her determination in trying to reintroduce the idea of real food, with real ingredients, and people sitting down together to eat that food. She is seen here, on the left, with Alice Waters.
And I read last night at The Children's War blog that the writer Nina Bawden died. The addresses of two online obituaries may be found there. I have read only one of her books, but it is a very special one because I bought it in England when our family went there in 1992. It is called Keeping Henry. She is perhaps most famous for Carrie's War which was also a television presentation now available on dvd. The fantastic fiction site lists all her books.
Dear Nan,
ReplyDeleteMy cookbook "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook" is a very old book but it was revised by Marion Cunningham and Jeri Laber in 1982. This cookbook has been like a mother to me in the kitchen. (I have had the same copy from 1983.) I did not have a Mom to call and ask advice and help, so this cookbook was it for me. So, I wonder if Marion Cunningham could have known how important her words were for me? She wrote the section "About The Kitchen". If you find this cookbook, it is worth it just for that one section alone.
I will try to find a copy. I think those of us whose mothers died early are always looking for guides.
DeleteThere have been so many losses this year. Wonderful favorite writers will be sorely missed. Women who spoke to us as we grew up, raised out children, found time to read in peace. Thanks, Nan, for a memorial well deserved.
ReplyDeleteThey do feel like writer friends, don't they. I love what you wrote.
DeleteThanks for bringing Lost Recipes to my attention. I will have to get that book!
ReplyDeleteIt is a really wonderful book. Lots of information, quotes, and fine recipes - put together in such a nice way.
DeleteWhen I was a child, I read "The Secret Passage", borrowed from the library, and it stayed in my mind until I bought it second-hand on ebay some years ago. I don't know "Cassie's War" or any of her other books, but as so often, your blog inspires me to find out more.
ReplyDeleteI want to read more of her work, too.
DeleteWho Marion Cunningham? On the UK side of the Atlantic, very few know of her. However, I trust you Nan, and so have ordered Lost Recipes for me. I do most of my cooking from fresh ingredients, and am lucky to have a large award winning farm shop within a mile of my home, so most of my food (not tinned tomatoes, a staple base for many other things)comes not only fresh, but from within less than 50 miles from home. Of course, we don't grow bananas, avacados, oranges etc in the UK, but we do grow lots of other things. Tonight, supper was "free" blackberry and apple crumble (fruit from my garden and next door's). Mine with no-fat yoghurt, and dear husband's with double cream. That was the first of the blackberries this year - but not the last. Ms Cunningham - I wonder is there a recipe there for blackberries?
ReplyDeleteIf you click on the link to the obituary, you'll get a good sense of just who she was. You are lucky to be able to eat the way you do.
DeleteI have enjoyed Marion Cunningham's recipes for many years, as well as Nina Bawden's novels. Thanks for the links!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome.
DeleteThank you for the link. Marion Cunningham looks so warm and motherly in her photo and from the obit (and the way so many of us feel about her cookbooks) she served in that role perfectly for many.
ReplyDeleteYes, she does, and I was surprised to read of the troubles she had in her life, and overcame. I want to get a couple more of her cookbooks.
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