Feed Your Body: best cookbook EVER!

The publication date on this cookbook is 1960, but the advice is timeless. And Peg Bracken’s delivery is hilarious.

Just the introduction had me giggling:

Some women, it is said, like to cook.

This book is not for them.

This book is for those of us who hate to, who have learned, through hard experience, that some activities become no less painful through repetition: childbearing, paying taxes, cooking. This book is for those of us who want to fold out big dishwater hands around a dry Martini instead of a wet flounder, come the end of a long day.

With the one exception being that I want to fold my hands around a flute or coupe of bubbly instead of anything that I’d have to cook, she’s spot on.

The book is filled with recipes that are both easy and tasty, all told in her witty and insightful style.

I don’t think it’s still in print, but you can find copies in thrift stores or on Amazon. That’s where I found mine, and I don’t care that it’s used. The seller who decided to part with it must have come into some money, at least enough to hire someone to come in and do the cooking.

26 in 26: May

[Note: I’m doing a 26-word post on the first day of each month of 2026. It’s an exercise in concision and precision, which every writer should attempt now and then. Also Note: This explanation is separate from the 26-word count. Also Note: I’ve posted a haiku, and this post will be measured in syllables — 26 syllables. To make the syllable count, I’ve included a headline for the haiku.]

To Everything There Is A Season

Winter falls behind
Spring edges into summer
May makes time stand still

26 in 26: April

[Note: I’m doing a 26-word post on the first day of each month of 2026. It’s an exercise in concision and precision, which every writer should attempt now and then. Also Note: This explanation is separate from the 26-word count.]

Browning once said, “Oh, to be in England now that April’s there.” But he’d never been here; otherwise, he’d have edited to praise Charleston in April.

A Swanky reminder that the Ides of March goes well with the right Caesar

The Ides of March is almost here, which brings with it a history lesson about Julius Caesar, who was warned about going to the senate and who earlier in his career famously said, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (meaning: “I came, I saw, I conquered”).

Today, Chef Swanky delves into the history of another Caesar, who takes us from “Veni, Vidi, Vici” to “Veni, Vidi, Edi” (“I came, I saw, I ate”) with this video:

And remember: Stay away from the Senate. No, not those of you in Congress. You congresspersons need to get your butts to work. The rest of us: Go find a restaurant that has a good caesar salad and enjoy!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.