Kitty Morse's The Kasbah Chronicles April 2023
The Kasbah Chronicles: Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France (2) and a recipe for orange pound Cake
Photo: Courtesy Ron Baker Photos
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a "celebration" I wasn't really aware of before I wrote my book, Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France. Finding my great-grandfather, Dr. Prosper Levy's, war journal changed all that, as I translated his words from the original French for my latest memoir/cookbook. So did the words of Marion Turski, a well-known Holocaust survivor who once declared: "My friend, the President of the International Auschwitz Committee Roman Kent … has formulated an Eleventh Commandment … . It says: “You should never, never be a bystander.”
I knew I couldn't remain a bystander upon discovering the journal in the little black valise my mother left me, along with the two notebooks filled with family recipes compiled by his wife, my great-grandmother Blanche Lévy-Neymarck.
And today, a little over three years after I began this project, it has been flung out into the universe thanks to two articles that appeared this very morning in two publications literally continents apart:
One in the San Diego Union Food section: (Thank you so much to food writer and reporter Caron Golden):
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/food-and-cooking/story/2023-04-19/a-bittersweet-gift-of-food-memories-kitty-morse-cookbook-memoir
and the other in l'Hebdo du Vendredi (in French) which comes out in mother's hometown of Châlons en Champagne. Merci Sonia Legendre.
I am thrilled, as well, to have been invited to give my presentation (in French) at the Châlons public library on May 12, 2023. Yes, I am off to France in May to pay my respects at the tomb of my Alsatian ancestors.
Early feedback about Bitter Sweet:
"Bitter Sweet will make you weep," says this reviewer.
https://www.paradisenewsfl.com/bitter-sweet/
Where to purchase Bitter Sweet?
Amazon.com and https://www.barnesandnoble.com of course.
Click here to order BITTER SWEET on Amazon.com
And the following bookstores:
The Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Books Inc., Palo Alto, CA
For more details about the book, visit my website, www.kittymorse.com.
I was thrilled to be listed on the newsletter of Kitchen Arts and Letters, who labelled Bitter Sweet: "An extraordinary record."
https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com/
Now Serving, a cookbook store in Los Angeles' Chinatown:
The Bay Area's only culinary bookshop: Omnivore Books in San Francisco. Celia Sack, the owner, was kind enough to write these words:
"Thanks so much, Kitty. The book is lovely and soulful."
Celia (Sack)
omnivorebooks.myshopify.com
A terrific used bookstore in Carlsbad, CA on the way to the beach.
Booksellers can order from Ingram directly.
Here is some of the feedback:
"Happy Monday Kitty, your book is a masterpiece."
"You already had me crying by the end of the preface."
"Loved your book and all of the effort it took to make it happen.
Thanks, Kitty!"
"...what an unbelievably beautiful story you wove for your whole family."
Dear Kitty,
"A belated thank you for the ever-so-meaningful program you presented for us last week. It was so revealing, heartfelt, and so eloquently articulated that In the 30 years we've been presenting our several hundred programs, I can say that yours was one of my all-time favorites."
Merci everyone.
From Kitchen Arts and Letters (repeated)
https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com
"Morse provides a moving account of her family's history and her discovery of details that had been hidden from her by her grandmother and mother. She also presents adapted versions of her great-grandmother's recipes, which favor desserts and sweets, perhaps in an effort to recall happier, more bountiful days. An extraordinary record."
I am sending out this recipe which was requested by a reader. I am not sure this is the same one, but it is a VERY GOOD cake!
Kitty’s Orange Olive Oil Pound Cake
I often make this cake with the gorgeous crimson blood oranges I pick from my tree. If I have too much, I make syrup. If again I have some left, I freeze it in ice cubes trays.
(serves 8-10)
3 blood oranges (or Navel, Valencia, tangerines)
1 cup sugar
Buttermilk or plain yogurt, OPTIONAL)
3 large eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons brandy or rum
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Oil the paper.
Grate the zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with the sugar. Using your fingers, rub together until orange zest is evenly distributed.
Squeeze oranges or tangerines or. . . Place juice into a measuring cup. Add rum and buttermilk or yogurt to juice if nec. to make 2/3 cup liquid.
Combine with sugar/orange mixture. Whisk in the eggs.
In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently whisk dry ingredients into the wet ones. Fold in olive oil a little at a time..
Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature. FREEZES WELL. If you have extra orange juice,make syrup and pour warm syrup over the cake.
My Substack notifications keep pinging. Thank you so much. I am overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to the Kasbah Chronicles. Pls keep commenting and joining.
I promise I will have much more to tell when I return from France and Alsace Lorraine in May. It will be quite an emotional adventure for me.
KITTY AND PRESENTAIONS:
I am available for talks and presentations in the summer and into the Fall. I am already booking events. Pls contact www.novelnetwork.com for how to book me for a talk or an event of any size!
HELP PLS: I have gophers and a ground squirrel burrowing in my back yard in San Diego County. I am desperate for any solution (except a bb gun!) Does anyone have a fail safe way of getting rid of them?
As ever, Bon Appétit, soon from Alsace Lorraine!
Kitty
Alas, I have no solutions for your gopher issue, but your book sounds terrific! I’m definitely going to get my hands on a copy--and make that pound cake! Can’t wait to read about your adventures from Alsace-Lorraine!