I’ve been on one of my periodic murder-mystery splurges, with a couple mysteries this month that take place in France.
Books about France should never be read on an empty stomach — there is always wonderful food.
The author of The Crowded Grave actually went overboard, I thought, stopping urgent action to prepare elaborate meals. I think The Bookseller mystery will maintain a better balance. So far the hero has only had pastries and lovely coffees on route to something actually related to the story.
Thinking about France makes me want to point out a website where my friend Ronnie Hess blogs, My French Life. Ronnie lived in France for years working for CBS and more recently wrote a guidebook called Eat Smart in France that taps her her deep knowledge of French food.
Ronnie was already a fine cook as a teenager, when I recall making a Scripture cake at her house:
- 3/4 cup Genesis 18:8
- 1 1/2 cup Jeremiah 6:20
- 5 Isaiah 10:14 (separated)
- 3 cups sifted Leviticus 24:5
- 3 teaspoons 2 Kings 2:20
- 3 teaspoons Amos 4:5
- 1 teaspoon Exodus 30:23
- 1/4 teaspoon each 2 Chronicles 9:9
- 1/2 cup Judges 4:19
- 3/4 chopped Genesis 43:11
- 3/4 cup finely cut Jeremiah 24:5
- 3/4 cup 2 Samuel 16:1
- Whole Genesis 43:11
Her mother helped us think through what was meant by leavening and certain more arcane references.
Do check out Ronnie at My French Life, here.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Funny–I was just re-reading “The Rosewood Casket,” by Sharyn McCrumb, and there was a section on a Scripture cake. Thanks for the new book leads and the blog link!
What a coincidence about the Scripture cake! I read a little more of The Bookseller on the train ride home, and sure enough, there were two fancy meals — omelets with cepes, escargots with garlic that has been pressed, not minced. But it at least it all fit with the story.
Hi Suzanne’smom. I have no nemory of the Scripture Cake and wonder whether my mother found it somewhere. However, one of my favorite English cookbooks, The Devon Women’s Institute Cookery Book has two recipes. One is straightforward but the other lists the proportions without the ingredients, listing (as above) the Biblical reference. The recipe is for an Old Testament Cake. Funny to compare. Mine has 1/2 lb of Judges v, 25, no Genesis at all, 2 cups Numbers xvii, 8 …… We should test and compare! Ronnie
Oh, the one we made was probably called Old Testament Cake, too. I remember a discussion about “leavening.” Your mother was definitely part of the fun, mainly as official translator of old tyme terminology. 🙂