A Twitter exchange involving tamale pie and “The Joy of Cooking” led me to investigate this photograph of my mother and youngest brother, both now deceased, during our residence in a trailer house on blocks somewhere near Iowa City, Iowa, in 1954 or ’55. Dad was was working on his master’s at the Writers’ Workshop; Mom was caring for three boys. Retrieving the photograph, I initially dwelled on my mother’s beauty and happiness, despite the low-rent surroundings, but I really was checking out the cookbook on the far end of the shelf. I had been prepared to fire off a tweet showing my “Joy of Cooking” credentials, but close examination revealed that this cookbook actually is the Better Homes and Gardens guide to post-war cuisine. An ironic selection, maybe, given my mother’s environment. But the greater reminder here is that she had a halo about her regardless of what concoction — no doubt involving a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup — she might have been preparing for supper. Here’s the tweet and a wonderfully written essay that propelled this runaway train of thought:
Every year around this time I get a hankering for Tamale Pie because of @jestei and @TheJoyofCooking http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/magazine/15food.html …
dream ranch 