Fortunately, my two grandsons, Silas and Moss, have not rallied behind “Let’s Eat Grandma.” In fact, when I texted them about their reaction, their responses were quick – and negative. Thank goodness!
HA! Bet you didn’t know that Let’s Eat Grandma is a (very) young recording duo from Britain, who just recently released their third – and acclaimed – album, Two Ribbons.
Obviously, other than relief at Silas’s and Moss’s reaction to Let’s Eat Grandma, I was curious why on earth those British kids chose that name for their recording group. Turns out everyone – except me, perhaps – knows it’s a little bit of punctuation humor:
Ahhhhhh, yes, the importance of commas. I’ll bet you remember hearing this story…
An English professor wrote the words, “Woman without her man is nothing” on the blackboard and directed his (or her!) students to punctuate it correctly.
The male students wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”
The women wrote: “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.”
And then there’s this…
Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, aka Let’s Eat Grandma, are in their early 20’s. Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Tom Paxton, and Willie Nelson, who are 72, 76, 84, and 89 respectively, also have albums which have been or will be released this year. Tony Bennett, who is 95, released an album with Lady Gaga last year.
If you want to see Bob Dylan, who just turned 81, he’ll be performing in Oakland at the Fox Theater June 9th and 10th.
Andy – in today’s Andy’s Corner – isn’t interested in Tom Paxton, but he is interested in something else “born” in 1937. And it’s even food related – but do we really want to revisit a food dish popular 85 years ago?
It seems that “out with the old and in with the new” has been replaced with “in with both the new AND the pretty-damn old” (could this relate to politics too? I won’t go there).
I may not be a fan of either the very young or the pretty-damn old when it comes to entertainment – or politics – but I do try to be open-minded. I listened to some of Let’s Eat Grandma’s songs and, since I couldn’t understand their words, I looked up the lyrics. If you read some of the poetry from my new favorite poet, Ada Limón, in our last blog, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the comparison. Admittedly, song lyrics don’t claim to be poetry – but you must recall that Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature for his lyrics.
Lyrics from “Chocolate Sludge Cake,” released in 2016 by Let’s Eat Grandma:
It’s time to bake a cake
I’m gonna make a carrot cake
No, I’m gonna make an apple cake
No, I’m gonna make a coffee cake (eugh!)
No, I’m gonna make a chocolate cake, a chocolate ca-a-a-a-a-ake
Ca-chocolate ca-a-a-a-a-ake
Ca-chocolate ca-a-a-a-a-ake
Lyrics from “Eat Shiitake Mushrooms,” released 2016 by Let’s Eat Grandma
Shiitake mushroom, how do you grow?
Enchant me with your glow
You were covered in stone, but you made it now
With those lines in mind, recipes for today’s blog are a gimme. We already have a super-favorite recipe which features shiitake mushrooms (Grace Young’s Longevity Noodles) and we’ve already done a number of chocolate cake recipes (Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake is extra-special for everyday snacking and as a simple dessert for a casual dinner party). But you can’t have too many recipes for either shiitakes or chocolate cake, so we’ve got another one of both to tempt your taste buds. Yum.
Shiitake Pancetta Pasta
- 2 T butter – divided
- 2 T olive oil
- 3-5 oz pancetta, chopped (I used Columbus Diced Pancetta in a 5 oz pkg, which is easy to find)
- 3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced into 1/4″ slices
- 2 T sage chopped leaves (about 6 leaves will do it)
- 3 small cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, minced
- 1/2 c cream
- salt (about 1/4 tsp)
- pepper (about 1/4 tsp)
- 1/4 c parsley, finely chopped
- 8 oz (or more) fettuccine, cooked according to package directions, drained, and mixed with 1 T butter
Heat 1 T butter and the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the mushrooms, sage leaves, garlic, and carrot. Saute 4-6 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add the cream and salt and pepper and saute another 2 minutes of so, stirring.
Gently combine the warm fettuccine with the mushroom sauce; sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
Pepitas and Chocolate Cake/Torte
- 8 T butter (4 oz – 1 stick), softened – plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 3/4 c pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), toasted and salted – divided into 1 1/4 c and 1/2 c
- 1 c plus 2 T sugar – divided like that
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 c flour
- 1/4 tsp baking power
- 1 T tequila
- 1/2 c (3 oz) Mexican chocolate (Taza is the brand we use)
- powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan, then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom and slather it with more butter (about a tablespoon). Sprinkle 1/2 c of the pumpkin seeds in an even layer on the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle with 2 T of the sugar. Set aside.
Measure the remaining 1 1/4 c of the pumpkin seeds and 1 c sugar into a food processor. Pulse the machine until the seeds are ground. Add the eggs and the butter and pulse until everything is incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder and tequila and pulse again, just until everything is combined.
Chop the chocolate into pea-sized pieces and add it to the batter. Pulse until the chocolate is mixed in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes (note: I found the cake needed to bake for about 50 min total, so check carefully for doneness). Let the cake cool for ten minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack and remove the parchment paper. To be fancy – sprinkle the cake with a little powdered sugar before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Big Little Meals 
Old story of the Panda who entered the bar. She “eats shoots and leaves.” The phrase reminded me of the book by Lynn Truss. I’m adding it to my list: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
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Love the Panda example! Makes me think of Victor Borge’s Phonetic Punctuation skit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIf3IfHCoiE
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Hah and HAH! Borge is a wonderful pianist and a pretty decent comedian. Many of our predecessors, most much superior to myself, have tried to rationalize language. Most have hoist themselves… Miss Capstick required that we write according to the “rules” in 7th and 8th grade, and we copied lengthy tomes to prove our ability to follow directions. Later, she said, we could express our individuality. I guess, now is later.
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With a name like that your fellow students must have come up with some creative iterations of your teacher’s name (behind her back, of course, while copying those lengthy tomes).
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We (pubescent) boys were captivated by Ann Capstick’s beauty and elegance. Though she was in her late 50s (we guessed) she was stunningly good looking and well-endowed body-wise. Adding to all that, she was a very fashionable dresser. She wasn’t married and speculation was rife concerning whether she had been or had ever been pregnant – we guessed that she wouldn’t have been preggy because it would have impacted her figure. We were pretty rotten back in the 50s! One of her favorite lines was, “Put your derriere in the rear of the chair.” She also had a little bit of doggerel that gum-chewers had to recite; one of my classmates can still recite it (not me of course).
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Love the pumpkin torte recipe. Will try it soon!
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You won’t be disappointed.
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