A Special Message for Vee
Who has again said very kind things in a post I’m blocked from responding to. This time she unexpectedly came across a book of mine – Reading Between the Recipes – in its stolen incarnation, The Yankee New England Cookbook. You can read what she said here.
What I said… or tried to say, (Vee, we can’t keep meeting this way!) was:
Well Vee, you’re not the only one who’s surprised! Guess you can Imagine how I felt reading this post. Once more, thanks HUGELY for compliments, and here’s a little follow-up:
You are right about the recipes, most of them are not indigenous New England and never – by me – claimed to be so. The original title of the book was “Reading between The Recipes.” It came out in paperback as “The New England Epicure.” And then (long and infuriating story) the book was effectively stolen, passed out of my control and has now twice reappeared as The Yankee New England Cookbook.
I was the food and home editor at Yankee Magazine for 7 years, but that was long after the book was published, and although it was published by Yankee’s book division, that was the extent of their involvement.
Rant rant. In any event, that was my first book. I continue to think of it fondly and to get compliments on the recipes so I hope you find something you’d like to try. With Easter coming up, maybe something from that chapter, the Sweet and Sour Green Cabbage with Ham and Pecans, say, or the Cheesecake Tart. Or maybe the Intoxicating Chocolate Drops would be a good place to start. They’re gussied up bourbon balls, basically, but always a big hit with chocolate lovers and very easy to make.

Hi Leslie~
Thanks for your response and for the background story. I’m always shocked to read what can happen in the publishing world. It’s just happened to a blogging buddy of mine (a lawyer no less) who got taken for a Nantucket sleighride.
I’ve actually been thinking about posting the Maple-Blueberry Corncake recipe. Whose permission would I need to have? (I don’t think that recipes fall under the same copyrights as other materials.) Anyway, I’ve got a new bottle of maple syrup and that recipe sure sounds good. The other recipes that you suggest also sound wonderful.
Have already got a third “Leslie Land-linked” post written up and waiting for 2:51 pm tomorrow about window washing so we will be meeting like this again. (At least once more.)
Oh, the reason you’ve been prevented from commenting is because I’ve had to stop accepting anonymous commenters due to spammers. I try very hard not to go the word verification route.
Ever thought of getting a Blogger/Google account (free) even though you don’t have
a blog? I agree with you. This wonderful spot is more like a magazine. What a treasure trove!
dear leslie,
i feel like i am writing a letter to a bonafide
celebrity!
thank you for the fabulous window washing
advice. vee sent me here, and i am so glad,
because i can see many happy days of
perusing your lovely blog.
lea
Lea, welcome,
your letter makes me feel like a bonafide celebrity, though I’m not at all sure I deserve any such title.
Kind of funny that Vee has sent so many spring cleaners – thanks again, Vee! – when I’m such a rotten housekeeper. There’s a ton of advice on this blog, all right, but by far the largest amount of it concerns cooking and gardening, aspects of home making that are much more to my taste. I do hope you find useful things here and am happy to have you aboard.
Vee, I suppose it won’t belong before I’ll be thanking you yet again ( assuming you like the corn cake, of course!) now that we’ve communicated privately about it. Did want to answer the “why not google? part, since I’m sure others have wondered the same thing. Short version is privacy concerns; to use a google account you have to open your computer to accept all cookies. Not my idea of a good time, even though I’m lazy about frequent deletion of the deluge that comes in as I browse.