"All who spend time at Pistolet leave with their hearts and minds transformed."
One of my daughter's friends sent me a book she thought I
might enjoy reading – and I certainly did. Thanks Rachelle.
This is the kind of book which is
sometimes the unexpected reward for browsing through a bookstore. The Secrets of Pistolet, text and illustrations by Jana Kolpen is a
delightful adult book which looks like a picture book for children. Whimsical illustrations
enhance each page. A pseudo cook book, it is also interactive as the recipes
are in envelopes and one has to pull out the cards to read the instructions.
These recipes are guaranteed to correct the emotional problems of the persons
who visit this magical farm in France. They are prescriptions for happiness as
each has very specific instructions on the right ingredients and method of
cooking which will reorient the troubled persons. "All who spend time at Pistolet leave with their hearts and minds
transformed."
When you pull out a recipe there are wonderful instructions like:
'go to the farmers' market and buy only from
smiling gypsy women. OR 'go to the
farmers' market and find the most robust farmer with the rosiest complexion. With
tender loving care pick out the deepest purple, firmest beets.'
The instructions include things like 'While you are cooking, put on gypsy music and dance wildly', OR
'play lullabies until ready'. There
are also warnings on the consequences of eating these enchanted preparations – 'One taste of this potion and the afflicted heart
will swell with compassion and generosity' Or 'Serve
only to those who are truly in need'. OR 'This infusion has been known to turn the meekest souls into BRAVE
HEARTS' OR 'Sweetness will ooze from
the pores of even the most gnarly types.'
It's a feel good book which will lift your spirits. It's
also a cookbook with recipes which only brave hearts will try. (One reviewer
said she had tried them!) Because, if you can't find the real, yet magical ingredients, will it have the desired effect?
Actually this book set me thinking about how we prepare
food, and how the secret ingredient that makes food magical is really only
love.
Next post I will expand on this.
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