Old Friend from Far Away

When you like to cook but have the metabolism of a hibernating bear, it’s a good idea to cultivate friendships with those whose metabolism are more, say, hummingbird-like so that they can eat all your food.

That was certainly not why I decided back in high school Heather and I should be best friends (it took her a while to get on board with my plan), but it’s a happy bonus now that we are adults.

Unfortunately, she lives in Paris, so my opportunities to cook her a whole big mess of food are limited, but I had one this Memorial Day weekend when she made a stop in Seattle during one of her stateside visits.

She was here to do some events related to her brand new guide to Paris, Naughty Paris, A Lady’s Guide to the Sexy City (which can be pre-ordered now!).  She brought with her the galley and I was totally inspired and impressed by a) how beautiful the book is and b) how much work and creativity she put into it.

Of course, all that work and creativity can make a gal tired.  Although we had the best intentions to do at least some sightseeing activities (last time she was here we were both so busy with work that we sat on my couch for most of her visit working on our laptops and watching South Park), between all she'd been up to and my past frantic year, all we really wanted to do was take advantage of the beautifully sunny Seattle weekend and lie in the back yard reading Vogue and smoking clove cigarettes.  It was pretty awesome.

When we weren't lounging, I was feeding her as much as I could.  I made several Pranee Halvorsen Thai recipes which all turned out well despite the fact that I – per usual – was overambitious and found myself mid-cook-a-thon totally distracted by dishes all needing simultaneous attention and made some major measuring errors. 

(Heather's contribution to the Thai dinner was the fresh coconut milk; we then used the shell as an ashtray.  It quickly became slimy and gross: not recommended.)

I was also able to finally successfully make a Captain Ahab recipe without totally screwing it up, so that was a small triumph. It was a curried tomato sauce with shrimp pancakes and stir-fry vegetables. (As though this wasn’t enough components, the original recipe actually called for all of this to be served over a piece of fish but I am still new enough to the concept of animal protein at all that that somehow boggles my mind.  I was experimenting enough: I served it over brown jasmine rice and that made me less nervous.)

Heather actually picked this recipe from a stack I gave her to choose from, and I was a little worried when I saw that.  Besides the 134 components, I’d tried this recipe before and failed but this time I think I got it.  It called for fresh tumeric, which, in case you ever need fresh tumeric, can be found at Uwajimaya.  I also used pea vines for the first time in the stir-fry and enjoyed those quite a bit (also found at Uwajimaya).  The main failure of the first attempt was in the flavor in the sauce, but this time I clung religiously to the recipe (improvisation is for those with context), and really slowed down to pay much more careful ongoing attention to seasoning it and was rewarded with a successful dish.

I also made her the Lime-Yogurt Sherbet which Heather found to be as addictive and delicious as I do. 

After that success, though, I got behind in my planned dessert-making, so I found myself on her last day here with three more sugary recipes I wanted to try and so I made her eat an all-dessert lunch. 

Luckily, Heather was game.

So I made another batch of the Chocolate-Whiskey Cake (made in heart form once again as a sort of good omen for both of us with our luv lives), another batch of David Lebovitz’s Salted Caramel Sauce and a new David recipe, a milk-chocolate hazelnut gelato called gianduja. 

If Heather were anyone else, the last two might be a little nerve-wracking because she is actually friends with David in Paris and was a featured tester in his book The Perfect Scoop.  Luckily she’s not the critical type so she seemed to enjoy both of those just fine, even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked with either.

I sent her off with the remainder of the bundt cake which she brought to her fam down in AZ. 

Her dad liked the cake a lot, and asked her to get the recipe, wondering “Is there something addictive in it?”  With sugar, chocolate, coffee, and booze, I think the better question is, is there anything NOT addictive in it? 

So be forewarned; I am not usually big on repeating recipes, but that bundt cake is so good, so easy and such a hit I’ve made it three times in less than a year.  If you try it, you might not be able to stop making it. (Don’t forget to make fresh whip cream with a splash of whiskey in it to top the cake with.)

P.S. In high school, Heather was the person who introduced me to Natalie Goldberg, whose work I've mentioned when talking about why this blog is called Three Bowls.  Goldberg writes about writing (her latest book is called Old Friend from Far Away and is about writing memoir), but she's also written a lot about Zen.  I think it's in large part to my reading her work that I was able to get have a process by which to get through some dark black times in my life. 

On this visit, Heather told me the story of how she got turned on to Natalie Goldberg in the first place.  I remember exactly where she was and where I was when she was telling me the story, but I was mid cook-a-thon and so I forgot exactly what she said.  I'll have to ask her to tell me again. 

But however she found her, she gave me Wild Mind to read way back in high school and I, quite shamefully, never ever returned it.  I still have it.  I could have given it back to her on this visit and I STILL didn't.  In another book, Goldberg tells a story herself of brazenly and without guilt stealing an article about Allen Ginsberg.  I can't say she inspired me to do it - I did it before I read that anecdote - but she certainly helped me think my amoral selfishness had spiritual provenance.  Heather, I owe you a book.

Comments

[Heather]

You ho'! I've been secretly seething at Cassie all these years thinking SHE didn't return my book! Now I don't feel so bad for not washing one dish when I was there (except for that one I washed while you were in the shower, not hearing the yelp of pain when the water temperature took a jump). ;)

And the answer the the big mystery: I had a gift certificate for Bookstar and was browsing....the cover (or maybe just the spine) of Wild Mind caught my eye, so I bought it.

As soon as the tech geeks out there figure out how to get those teleporters working, you can teleport me all your leftovers...and more cake, please! :D