Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 17

A Cookbook Addiction

As with many types of addictive behavior, it began with just one small episode. In this case “it” was a cookbook of only 64 pages. And the price set me back the sum total of my babysitting money from the previous Saturday. I trudged all the way from my house on one side of town … Continue reading "A Cookbook Addiction"

A Trip to the Bathroom, Being a Reflection on the Passing and the Passion (and the red-walled toilette) of M. F. K. Fisher

The first guest post ever on Gherkins & Tomatoes! The following story comes from Leo Racicot, a talented poet and writer and friend of the famous author, M. F. K. Fisher. Ms. Fisher wrote extraordinary prose about food and life and everything in between. She pretty much started all the hullabaloo about food writing and … Continue reading "A Trip to the Bathroom, Being a Reflection on the Passing and the Passion (and the red-walled toilette) of M. F. K. Fisher"

Writing Memoir, or, Taking the Winding Road to All Those Forgotten Places

A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.― Mark Twain Memory, such a fleeting thing. Fallible as memory can be, writers depend on it when writing memoirs. Everyone wants to write a memoir these days, so much so that examples began multiplying exponentially ever since Mary Karr published her genre-upending The Liar’s Club. … Continue reading "Writing Memoir, or, Taking the Winding Road to All Those Forgotten Places"

I’ll Always Have Paris

The dog shit scene did it for me. When Emily, in Netflix’s new series – “Emily in Paris” – steps in the do-do, her immaculate pink shoes squishing with that “Oh no, ugh!” sound, I laughed out loud. You see, that happened to me as well. Rounding the corner one gorgeous late fall morning, headed … Continue reading "I’ll Always Have Paris"

Do You Smell Anything Cooking?

I walk in my neighborhood every day, twice a day. After breakfast, which for me usually takes place around 6:30 a.m. And after dinner, so I am out on the road when most people will be fixing dinner, close to 12 hours after my breakfast time. Dogs bark, cats scurry under beauty-berry bushes, people wave … Continue reading "Do You Smell Anything Cooking?"

Setting Things Straight about Non-Traditional Publishing: A Very Short How-To Primer on Self-Publishing

A lot of people still think of self-publishing as a shameful, ego-driven act. They’re wrong. Why? For starters, self-publishing allows you to get your work out into the world without waiting for editors to make up their minds, to avoid the seemingly ceaseless barrage of rejection notices, and to control just about every aspect of … Continue reading "Setting Things Straight about Non-Traditional Publishing: A Very Short How-To Primer on Self-Publishing"

A Plethora of Food/Culinary Memoirs for Your Reading Pleasure

In doing some research recently, I realized just what an amazing treasure we food-and-book-lovers have with all the food/culinary memoirs that have been surfacing for years. And as luck would have it, as is wont to happen these days with a few clicks and the right keywords, I came across an amazing bibliography compiled by Jessica … Continue reading "A Plethora of Food/Culinary Memoirs for Your Reading Pleasure"

Meatballs & Lefse: Memories and Recipes from a Scandinavian-American Farming Life now available

Available in Kindle and paperback, distributed by Ingram to nearly all online booksellers. A story of a family, immigration, and farming. And lots of comfort food. From page 247: The Endless Cookie Jar | 247

Doña Olga, Una Cocinera Mágica: Memories of a Paraguayan Cook

The sight of an old-fashioned iron stove. The smell of wood smoke. The aroma of beef-steak milanesa. Or the crackling sound of empanadas frying in bubbling grease, stuffed with ground beef and hard-cooked eggs, perfumed with a hint of cumin. That’s all it takes to reconstruct her magical touch in the kitchen, in my mind … Continue reading "Doña Olga, Una Cocinera Mágica: Memories of a Paraguayan Cook"

Changing Seasons in the Kitchen: Dealing with Summer Heat

The other day, a glossy yellow leaf swirled to the ground as I trudged through my neighborhood in hot, steaming north Florida. I sighed as I stepped over hard magnolia seed pods littering the road. And, for a split second, I thought of the change of seasons, of how they used to mark my years, … Continue reading "Changing Seasons in the Kitchen: Dealing with Summer Heat"