WHERE ARE YOU NOW, RUTH REICHEL?
It has weighed on my mind ever since GOURMET Magazine folded a few years ago. I had re-subscribed to Gourmet shortly after Ruth Reichl joined the Gourmet editorial staff.
Actually, Gourmet magazine and I go back a long ways. I had a huge collection of Gourmet magazines, dating back years; those were just one of the things I sold or gave a way in 1979 when we were moving to Florida and didn’t have enough space for inconsequential, such as my collections of magazines, cookie jars and recipe boxes—mind you, this was some years before you could rent a storage unit anywhere, anytime. If storage units had been available back then, I would still have a lot of things I regret leaving behind. So, a few years after moving back to the San Fernando Valley in California, I began to subscribe to my favorite cooking magazines—Gourmet and Bon Appetit were just two—and throughout the years that Bob and I (and usually one or more of my sons) were living in the Arleta house, where Bob created an office for both of us and additional shelves (to store magazines) in a space connecting the office with the den.
Ruth Reichl first came to my attention with the publication of a book titled “TENDER AT THE BONE/ Growing Up at the Table” – the title alone spoke volumes to me, a child of the 40s and 50s, learning how to cook when I was about ten years old.
Another winner in my book was COMFORT ME WITH APPLES and also GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES. So, when I discovered that Ruth Reichl was on the editorial staff at COURMET Magazine….I resubscribed.
When GOURMET closed its doors, I often wondered where Ruth Reichl had gone after that. Well, the answer came to me in the guise of an article in the New York Times, sent to me by one of my Michigan penpals.
Titled DINNER WITH RUTH, it answered all of my questions. By Kim Severson, I read every word and then went back and read through it all a second time. Ok, I am a big Ruth Reichl fan—but you want to know what it also reminded me of?
Myra Waldo and my decades-long search for a) all of Myra’s cookbooks and b) my inability to learn what happened to her when she stopped writing cookbooks.
You would think that, given the ability of the Internet to track down everyone near or far away—that it shouldn’t be all that difficult to find a favorite author/editor. Another thing that has worried me since Gourmet closed its doors—what happened to their library of research material? Stuff like that worries me in the same way that I worry about my cookbook collection and all of MY research material. (I DID learn about Myra – she moved to Beverly Hills and passed away a few years ago…but if only I had known! I could have tried to visit her in Beverly Hills!
But getting back to Ruth Reichl – I guess she hasn’t disappeared altogether. She is living with her husband and is doing a lot of cooking – she is also writing another cookbook that I can’t wait to buy. I want to tell her she is only 67 – that’s young when you (me) are turning 75 in a few days. I love it that she writes in a little cabin behind their house – I am reminded that when I retired at 62 and converted a room into MY writing room (Bob had his own desk in the same room) I vowed to write, write, write.
Well, I DO write but nothing like I planned – my writing has been mostly for newsletters like THE COOKBOOK COLLECTORS EXCHANGE – and after that folded, I wrote for another newsletter, INKY TRAIL NEWS…but for the past few years – since 2009 – I have been writing a blog. It was the suggestion of friend Wendy who edited INKY TRAILS (now also defunct) – but the blog, Sandy’s Chatter, is my baby – I can write about anything that piques my curiosity…such as Ruth Reichl.
If you are as keen as I am about learning what Ruth Reichl is doing today, try FOOD in the New York Times, September 16, 2015 edition. I don’t know how many toes I could be stepping on if I quoted very much from Kim Severson’s excellent article….so you might try your own internet search. Meantime, I will be watching Amazon.com for Ruth’s soon to be published cookbook.
–Sandra Lee Smith
I’m rusty after not writing for two months. Belatedly searched on Amazon.com for Reichl’s books – TENDER AT THE BONE is available starting at $2.05 new or used;
COMFORT ME WITH APPLES is available new or used starting at one cent.
GARLIC AND SAPPHiRES also starts at one cent & up. Please remember that any pre-owned books you order from the internet also have a $3.99 shipping charge. (Those used book dealers have to make some money somewhere–its still a good deal).
Sandy's Chatter 