

I moved happily and with ease from recipe to literary history while enjoying the greater depths a recipe holds. Yet, like a well-crafted poem read again and again, it is the tone of Cooking with the Muse which really inspired me. I found myself wanting to write a poem as much as I wanted to cook after reading this book. The wonderfully rich sections titled “Poet’s Note” give cultural, historical, literary, and-of course-poetic references for ingredients from kale to coffee.
#Muse of poetry how to
As a chef and poet, I really enjoyed Cooking with the Muse for the thorough instructions along with very clear illustrations, like how to properly cut an onion depending upon desired cooking purpose. Perhaps we’ve lost a sense of daily food celebration by focusing on results instead of process. Too often cookbooks narrow their focus on cooking for specific diets or dietary restrictions instead of showing how cooking-and poetry for that matter-can be enjoyable and relevant daily. What makes Cooking with the Muse so enjoyable and different from many cookbooks today is that few take on the task of being so inspirational. This cookbook is a poetic and culinary source to which I will return for both cooking purposes and reading pleasure. With over five hundred pages more than one hundred and fifty well-tested recipes stunning, crisp photography very clearly illustrated instructional culinary how-tos, tips, and techniques seasonally organized recipes thoughtfully paired with poems and-my personal favorite-scholarly essays on poems Cooking with the Muse imparts a lot. This helpful cookbook informs, educates, and truly inspires its readers not only to want to cook, but to cook well. Despite this esoteric premise, Cooking with the Muse delivers and then some. From a gourmet’s palate with cultured tastes to the humble maker of breakfast toast with jam, the muse arouses our desire to eat well.

Far more than a cookbook offering quick and tasty meals, this wonderfully curated and carefully organized resource is a delightfully poetic read.Ĭooking with the Muse has a lofty claim, to elucidate how poetic inspiration has influenced our daily lives through the harvesting and making of food. No better place to look than the dense book lover’s cookbook, Cooking with the Muse: A Sumptuous Gathering of Seasonal Recipes, Culinary Poetry, and Literary Fare by Myra Kornfeld and Stephen Massimilla, for pure delectable inspiration. Yet, I believe cookbooks can be pleasurable respites and inspiring tools to help you actually feel as if you have more time in your day. Whether you are a parent or not, we all have busy lives in which our time to cook-let alone read-is limited. I adore the statement by Elisabeth Prueitt, chef, cookbook author and co-owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, that “ cookbooks are the novels of choice for working parents.” It’s true.
