Rediscovering the Magic of Imaginative Cooking
I am reminded of one of my favorite childhood memories this summer: playing outside. My Grandmother gave me a book entitled Mud Pies and Other Recipes, a cookbook for dolls, toy soldiers, stuffed animals, etc. I don’t know what happened to the original book she gave me, but I never forgot it! I was thrilled to find a copy maybe twenty years ago.
Mud Pies and Other Recipes was written by Marjorie Winslow, her only book, and illustrated by Erick Belgvad, a British illustrator (pen and ink). The first copyright for text and illustrations was in1961 when The Macmillian Company published it. It was renewed and published by Pebble Press in 1983 and Walker Publishing Company, Inc. in 1996. Much to my happiness, the Fortieth-anniversary hardcover edition was published in 2001 by Walker Publishing Company, Inc. The New York Book Review published a new edition in 2010; it is considered a classic.
Our outdoor kitchen provided the ingredients my sisters and I needed: lake water, empty mussel shells for serving, and sand to press into tins or acorn hats for baking in the sun. We once served our parents a three-course meal under the shade of a sprawling oak tree. The picnic table was covered in gingham with an array of plastic and metal dishes. To our surprise, our father put a huge serving of “fresh picked green beans” seasoned with sand in his mouth and chewed. We unanimously said aghast, “You only pretend to eat, not eat it!” He smiled, “It's delicious!” While he chewed and chewed St Augustine grass, like a cow chewing cud, waiting for us not to look at him so he could spit out the wad in his mouth. If I’m not mistaken, he swallowed it.
One of my favorite things to make in Marjorie Winslow’s cookbook was “Backyard Stew” from the “Main Dishes” chapter. We would gather whatever we could find: berries, twigs, pine needles, flower petals, weeds, etc., thicken with sand or mud, and add puddle water or lake water to cover. Marjorie Winslow advised, “The longer this dish stews, the better it is.” Other examples are the “Dandelion Souffle” using fluffy tops or the “Pine Needle Upside Down” cake.
You are probably familiar with Erik Belgvad. He illustrated 100 picture books, such as Mary Norton's The Borrowers and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Charlotte Zolotow's May I Visit, and Hans Christian Anderson's books. His pen-and-ink drawings are reminiscent of childhood books I read or were read to me. Belgvad’s drawings are detailed with cross-hatching used for shading and the simplicity of playful lines to elongate thin figures and lines that define contours.
Even though we used our imaginations and created recipes like scrambled snail eggs, this book broadened our culinary meals and snacks from nature’s pantry. Creating make-believe meals was a cooking adventure for us; I am not sure it made us better cooks. However, Marjorie Winslow’s book Mud Pies and Other Recipes still delights young chefs outdoors and brings an older generation nostalgic memories.
Do you have a favorite “mud pie” recipe that you enjoyed making? What meals did you create in imaginative play? Please leave your comments below.
