How To Cook A Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher

How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher

I was fortunate enough to grow up during peaceful times, at least in my part of the country in the time frame when this book was written. I have never known a life where wartime shortages caused me to think in terms of cutting back and cutting corners due to lean times rather than being just plain ol’ broke. M.F.K. Fisher wrote this brilliant narrative to inspire those daunted by their meager supplies but it’s continued to be a good read in present times. How to Cook a Wolf lets the reader dream and concoct edible meals from limited supplies. Gets creative juices flowing.

Fisher was one of the early writers of books featuring food based stories; this type of writing commands quite a bit of shelf space at our local bookstores these days. Foodie lit. Thank you to Fisher for being ahead of your time in this genre. While some of the recipes are dated the prose is not and grabs your attention straight away.

Perhaps living in France in the 1930s awakened her passion for food as well as slanting her writing in the details of the meals. How could you live in France and not have a culinary inspiration? Food, travel and lovely stories can be counted on in any of Fisher’s books.

Fortunately the economy isn’t so far into the toilet that we need to cook the proverbial wolf at our door……….but I am hanging on to this book anyway. You never know!

Of all the intriguing recipes in her book I will settle on baked apples. Growing up we had several apple trees and my mother, another ingenious cook who made miracles with meager supplies, would use the fruit so many different ways. She made our applesauce, apple tarts, pies, roasted apples with pork and of course….baked apples. My father slathered the baked apples with way too much vanilla ice cream.

Baked apples

Apples…almost any kind, although Delicious are delicious.
Brown sugar (1 TB for each apple)
Cinnamon, nutmeg
Raisins, dates, leftover jam butter
water

“Core the apples, and put in a baking dish. Fill each hole with the fruit or jam, and put a dab of butter on top if you want to. Mix the sugar with enough water to fill the baking dish almost to the top, and bake slowly until the apples are tender.”

More about Fisher:

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher
Long Ago in France: the Years in Dijon

I am participating in the online book club Cook the Books and also sharing this with the Weekend Cooking series at Beth Fish Reads.