LAFFlines #10: Everyone needs a blowtorch.
You know who I’d like to have over for dinner?
Judith Jones.
…along with Julia Child…
Holy Mole Butternut Waffles recipe here.
…and Anne Frank.
Because of Judith Jones, millions of people know about Julia Child and Anne Frank. Without Jones, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Diary of Anne Frank may have disappeared with the trash. It was Judith Jones who rescued both of those manuscripts from the reject piles. She edited them and championed them and, ultimately, got them published. She also edited the likes of Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes, plus translations of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. When Jones died at age 93 in 2017, The New York Times called her “The Woman Who Created the Modern Cookbook.”
The four of us would make Holy Mole LAFF Butternut Waffles and chocolate cake. We’d eat the waffles, then caramelize the sugar on top of the cake. For that task, we’d use a blow torch. Julia Child once said, “Everyone should have a blow torch in the kitchen.” Anne would have the honor. Julia would stand behind her and, at 6’2, easily see over the teenager’s head. Anne’s grin would flash through the flame, vibrant eyes focused on the melting cake. Julia would nod encouragement, her high rounded cheeks illuminated by the fire. Judith, feeding Rose butternut squash tidbits, would tell me to cut the oxymorons in my latest recipe—30 Minute Stuffed Peppers. Suddenly, I knew just how that chocolate cake felt.
30 Minute Stuffed Peppers recipe here.
[Resources about Judith Jones: Sporkful podcast (Nov. 11, 2024), Literary Hub article written by Sara B. Franklin who published an award-winning (detailed!) biography of Jones in 2024.]
New! Order LAFF at Eastern Divide
Starting by this Thursday, Eastern Divide will offer LAFF on their menu as an add-on to salads or the protein bowl. Eastern Divide is trying out LAFF for about a week. Fingers crossed! LAFF or not, I highly recommend Eastern Divide. The brewery is spacious and light-filled with huge windows, a high ceiling, tons of bright green plants, and board games. Casual without a drop of sloppiness. Wear your jeans, take a friend (or a swim team, as Steve does multiple times a year), order at the counter: hummus plate, protein bowl with LAFF, and, if they haven’t run out, a pretzel baked by Blacksburg Bagels.
Three Ways to Win Free LAFF
If you happen to drop a stuffed pepper on the floor…(1) eat the dropped one yourself and (2) let loose your four-legged dirt devil.
In Balance Yoga: Follow @inbalanceyogablacksburg on Instagram. Like and comment their upcoming post that features the LAFF 30 Minute Stuffed Peppers recipe. When you comment on the post, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a free 8 oz package of LAFF.
Online orders of 32 ounce packages: Everyone who orders a 32 ounce package of LAFF in January will be entered in a drawing to win a free 8 oz package of LAFF. One entry per 32 ounce package. In other words, if you order two packages, you earn two entries. Drawing on February 1, 2025; winner notified by email. Order here.
Keep existing: All LAFFlines newsletter subscribers (YOU!) will be entered in a drawing for a free 8 oz package of LAFF. No purchase necessary. Drawing on February 1, 2025; winner notified by email.
Be the Torch
Anne Frank hid from the Nazis with her family in a secret attic behind a bookcase for 761 days. On April 3, 1944, four months before the Franks were discovered and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where Anne, her sister, and mother would die, 14-year-old Anne wrote about what her family ate while hiding—beans, potatoes, and rotten carrots: “The high point is our weekly slice of liverwurst, and jam on our unbuttered bread. But we're still alive, and much of the time it still tastes good too! Yours, Anne M. Frank."
Cheers,
Abby