Dang, you're on to me. Truth be told, at the last few conferences at Elmira and Hannibal I was struck by how undernourished my fellow Twainians looked, and how little they drank, so I thought bringing this book to their attention would be a kind of public service. Kevin @ Mac Donnell Rare Books 9307 Glenlake Drive Austin TX 78730 512-345-4139 Member: ABAA, ILAB ************************* You may browse our books at: www.macdonnellrarebooks.com -----Original Message----- From: Peter Salwen Sent: Monday, May 07, 2018 7:28 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: BOOK REVIEW: _Huckleberry Cookbook_ by Alex & Stephanie Hester Thanks, Kevin. As usual, an entertaining & enlightening essay disguised as a book review. On Mon, May 7, 2018, 7:01 AM Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > The following book review was written for the Mark Twain Forum by Kevin > Mac > Donnell. > > ~~~~~ > > _The Huckleberry Cookbook_. By Alex & Stephanie Hester. TwoDot, 2017. > Second Edition. Pp. 158. Hardcover $19.95. ISBN 978-1-4930-2836-8. Ebook. > ISBN 978-1-4930-2837-5. > > > Many books reviewed on the Forum are available at discounted prices from > the TwainWeb Bookstore, and purchases from this site generate commissions > that benefit the Mark Twain Project. Please visit <http://www.twainweb.net > >= > . > > > Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by > Kevin Mac Donnell > > > Copyright (c) 2018 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or > redistributed in any medium without permission. > > > > Huck Finn's name signifies an insignificant (huckleberry) Irish child > (Finn). The stereotypical Irishman of the nineteenth century was a > drunkard > and thief, and Irish immigrants frequently were met by signs in shop > windows reading "No Irish Need Apply." Although Irish women could get jobs > as housekeepers, Irish males were more often hired as day laborers and > rarely hired as butlers or allowed to work in a home; African-American > males were more often hired as house-servants than Irish-American males. > If > African-Americans occupied the bottom rung of the social ladder during and > after slavery, Irish-Americans, who flooded into the country in the 1840s > to escape the cruelties of British rule and forced starvation (not > famine), > were only one rung up the ladder--which bred resentment and racism. Huck > was the son of Pap Finn, the town drunk, an Irishman who need not apply, > nor should his son. > > > None of this is mentioned in this wonderful cookbook. In fact there is no > mention of Mark Twain at all even though every page glorifies > huckleberries. The introduction credits Henry David Thoreau as the first > American writer to seriously study the huckleberry, tracing them back to > 1615 when explorer Samuel de Champlain noted that Native Americans > harvested them. Next comes Captain William Clark (of Lewis & Clark fame) > who describes them in 1806. They were used for food, for dyes, and as > medicine. They were mixed with meats, and also mashed and dried and made > into cakes. Early settlers took their lead from Native Americans and > likewise made good use of them. During the Great Depression "huckleberry > camps" attracted eager pickers, especially in the northwest, and by 1937 > the huckleberry industry had developed enough to require regulation. > > > Not all huckleberries are the same; there are three dozen species of > huckleberries in North America, and they have been mistaken for > blueberries, and called by other names: hurtleberries, bilberries, > dewberries, and whortleberries. Grizzly bears love them, and no wonder: > the > aroma of huckleberries can permeate a plastic bag (NB: double bag them > when > freezing them for storage). In some regions huckleberry bushes grow barely > two feet high, but in other climates they grow over five feet tall. They > tend to grow best on sloping ground, but thrive at both lower elevations > and at 6,500 feet. Most huckleberries are smaller than blueberries, and > unlike blueberries they tend to grow further apart on the bush rather than > in clumps like blueberries. Anyone who has tasted fresh huckleberries and > fresh blueberries knows that huckleberries will win any flavor contest > hands down. Huckleberries have a balanced (not too sweet, not too sour) > lingering taste and a complex texture that makes blueberries seem dull in > comparison. There is nothing insignificant about huckleberries. > > > Recipes for huckleberries are nearly endless, and this beautifully > illustrated book combines clear concise recipes with brilliant color > photographs that are literally mouth-watering. For those interested in the > lore of huckleberries, informational side-bars on huckleberry history and > legend are sprinkled among the recipes throughout the book. Traditional > recipes for jams, pies, and pancakes are included, but the reader is > warned > not to read this book outside of huckleberry season (which is brief, from > late July to early September) unless there is a good stock of > huckleberries > in the freezer. Otherwise, what will you do when you see huckleberry ice > cream, huckleberry cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting, huckleberry > seafood salad, grilled rib-eye with huckleberry caramelized onions, roast > duck with huckleberry hoisin, baby back ribs with huckleberry BBQ sauce, > pan-seared salmon with huckleberry sauce (something any bear would love), > baked huckleberry doughnut holes, vichyssoise with huckleberry swirl, > huckleberry crumb cake, huckleberry cobbler, huckleberry cr=C3=A8me > brulee, > huckleberry frozen margaritas, or huckleberry banana smoothies? The > variety > of desserts, pastries, sauces, drinks, glazes, jams, spreads, appetizers, > salads, breakfast items, breads, and main entrees is dazzling. Simply > looking at the superb photographs without some huckleberries at the ready > is torture. > > > Gift shops in Hannibal and Hartford and elsewhere stock huckleberry > products like jams, syrups, soaps, lotions, and drinks, and this cookbook > deserves a place of honor alongside such huckleberry products. Twain's > last > home at Stormfield was surrounded by huckleberry fields and Twain was > reported to have loved huckleberry pie. Too bad he didn't have this > cookbook handy, but there's no reason any Twainian foodie should have to > suffer today. The wild huckleberry has yet to be domesticated and raised > commercially. One of the wonderful things about huckleberries is their > wildness, their boldness, and their resistance to being civilized like the > blueberry. But if that day ever comes, true Twainians will light out for > the territory (Trout Creek, Montana, the huckleberry capital of the world, > to be exact) to pick their own. If they're smart they'll bring along a > copy > of this book. >