c o o k e t r y
"Cooketry" is a term I coined, a concoction of recipes, food photography and poetry. It combines three things I love. And it's a creative challenge writing food poetry and making food look *sexy.*
Now Available as a Giftbook
COOKETRY FAVORITES is an innovative concoction of recipes and poems, bound together as a beautiful and inspiring giftbook. A treat for foodies. Or a perfect hostess or special occasion gift.
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Example Recipes
Rhubarb Cake
Mother curdles milk with vinegar, secret ingredient for the moistcake she makes. We chop chunks of crimson rhubarb, tart and sweet. Stalks grow in the backyard in a small patch, leaves dark as hearts. The batter is silken, glossy and smooth, easing from mixing bowl to cake pan. Mother licks the spatula, gliding a finger. How many times will we make this cake? Topped with cinnamon sugar in generous spoonfuls, crystallizing to a crust, filling the kitchen with the scent of Ceylon, like a spice road to her memory. We serve it with heavy cream, whipped like heaven.
Rhubarb Cake
Cream sugar and butter.
Add egg, buttermilk, flour, salt and soda.
Add vanilla.
Stir in chopped rhubarb.
Put in baking 9x12 baking pan.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, before baking. Use spoon to scallop in cake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Cake:
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 t. soda
3 c. rhubarb, chopped
1/2 c. butter
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
Topping:
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Coffee
Coffee is brewed
like ideas or anger,
strained through:
thought, feeling, taste.
The aroma is antidote,
especially for you,
the heat-seeking
communicators of
heartsong, heartache,
aligned with the
element of fire,
sniffing the scorched air,
open-hearted,
seeing red,
bitter your key.
Coffee Liqueur
In a 3-qt saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar & water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Cool. Add vanilla & vodka, mix & pour into empty bottles. Close tightly & store. Add to coffee as a treat or serve in cream over ice as a decadent dessert.
4 c sugar
4 c water
3/4 c instant coffee granules
2 T vanilla
4 c vodka
Pear
Pear is a lady.
You can see through her.
She has an entourage.
She has hips.
She is older than Christ.
She has a shiny wrap.
She has freckles.
She has too many names.
She has traveled around the world.
She is transparent.
She is good at dessert.
Glazed Pork with Pear Chutney
Mix sugar, vinegar & mustard together to make a glaze. Broil pork & brush with glaze.
Pork Tenderloin Glaze:
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T cider vinegar
1 t prepared mustard
1-1/2 lbs pork tenders
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Cut pear halves in chunks, reserving syrup. Heat pear syrup, peppers, raisins, vinegar, brown sugar, spices to boiling. Reduce heat, add pears & onion, simmer 3 minutes. Serve with pork.
Pear Chutney:
1 can (28 oz) pear halves in syrup
1/3 c pickled peppers
1/4 c raisins
2 t cider vinegar
1/4 t salt
1 green onion
1 t brown sugar
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t pepper
Tomato
Tomato is your sister.
more round than legal.
She drinks Coca-Cola
for breakfast
and pats down
itinerant items
on her kitchen counter,
thoughtful as Braille.
Her indelible fingers
slice tomatoes
in eighths,
the precise mouthful
for two fingers,
leaving behind
only a few of the
sleeved seeds.
Easy Tomato Salad
Slice tomatoes & onions. Chop cilantro. Mix balsamic & oil together. Toss salad. Salt & pepper.
3-4 tomatoes, sliced in wheels
1 large onion, sliced in ringlets
2 T chopped cilantro (or basil)
1/4 c balsamic
1/2 c olive oil
Salt & pepper