The novel Heartburn by Nora Ephron was published in 1983
It was so easy to become a fan of Nora Ephron! An inveterate New Yorker who occasionally put up with living in such backwaters as Washington DC and Hollywood, Nora Ephron was an author known for her sophisticated prose. She wrote in a spirited manner, hiding soulfulness and vulnerability inside paragraphs brimming with wit and sarcasm.
In addition to novels and essays, Ephron wrote screenplays, producing and directing some of them when they were made into films. She was a Hollywood power player whose untimely death at the age of 71 came as a shock.
For years, she had been in remission from leukemia, a condition she chose to keep hidden. She had planned her own memorial, and because she was passionate about food and cooking, she wanted favourite recipes included in the service. She died from pneumonia, a complication caused by chemotherapy. I admired Nora Ephron; her intelligence and creativity remain an inspiration.
For years, she had been in remission from leukemia, a condition she chose to keep hidden. She had planned her own memorial, and because she was passionate about food and cooking, she wanted favourite recipes included in the service. She died from pneumonia, a complication caused by chemotherapy. I admired Nora Ephron; her intelligence and creativity remain an inspiration.
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| Nora Ephron with Carl "Casanova" Bernstein, plus a woman comfortably sitting on Carl's lap. This picture kind of says it all. I guess old Carl had trouble understanding certain concepts, including the meaning of the word "RESPECT." And he wasn't that great of a reporter, either. I'd call him Bob Woodward's lap dog. He was more of an expert at seduction than anything else. |
At first, Rachel vows to win back Mark, despite the fact that he confesses he loves his mistress and has never loved another woman as much. Still, he wants Rachel to stay with him, at least until the birth of their child. That's one considerate kind of guy!
Eventually, Rachel takes her children and leaves the marriage. The catalyst is her discovery that Mark has spent a small fortune as a down payment on a necklace for his mistress. Soon thereafter, a sense of clarity comes to Rachel:
“You can love someone so much,” she thinks, “that you don’t see anything at all. You decide to trust him and you kind of notice that things aren’t what they were, but it’s a distant bell, it’s through a filter… I can’t stand feeling sorry for myself. I can’t stand feeling like a victim… I can’t stand sitting here with all this rage turning to hurt and then to tears.”
Rachel writes the story of her marriage,
Rachel writes the story of her marriage,
“... because if I tell the story I can make you laugh, and I would rather have you laugh at me than feel sorry for me. Because if I tell the story it doesn’t hurt as much.”
In this manner, she can begin to forget.
The narrative of the novel is interspersed with Rachel’s recipes, some of them quite mouth-watering. There’s even a recipe index at the end of the book: Cheesecake, page 49. Key lime pie, page 166. Vinaigrette, page 177.
The narrative of the novel is interspersed with Rachel’s recipes, some of them quite mouth-watering. There’s even a recipe index at the end of the book: Cheesecake, page 49. Key lime pie, page 166. Vinaigrette, page 177.
There’s been some criticism that the characters in the book are not well developed. My answer is that Ephron’s focus is mainly on satire, which is a genre that does not necessarily rely on a heavy-duty psychological evaluation of character motivation. The main purpose of satire is social criticism via the use of wit as a weapon.
Ephron’s novel was socially significant. At the time of its publication in the early 1980s, divorce rates were climbing, but divorced women kept quiet about their predicament. Ephron was the first to write openly about living with a philandering husband and about experiencing a painful divorce. She empowered women by changing the way divorce was talked about. She encouraged women to talk candidly about it and to share their stories.
Ephron’s novel was socially significant. At the time of its publication in the early 1980s, divorce rates were climbing, but divorced women kept quiet about their predicament. Ephron was the first to write openly about living with a philandering husband and about experiencing a painful divorce. She empowered women by changing the way divorce was talked about. She encouraged women to talk candidly about it and to share their stories.
With this reading of “Heartburn,” I am participating in Cook the Books, a bi-monthly (not semimonthly) Internet book club/cooking event that features a different book for each round. The challenge is to read the book chosen, cook something inspired by it, and then blog about it. I chose to make a carrot cake because that's what the unsuspecting heroine of “Heartburn” serves to her husband’s mistress. I was overcome by the potent irony in this exchange between hostess and visitor. And I remembered how popular carrot cake was in the 1980s ...
Years ago, I found myself in a situation similar to Rachel’s. And yes, I did invite the "other woman" to my home, although not for carrot cake but for a barbeque. One of the most important things I learned from my experience was not to be the victim in a relationship. Love, cohabitation, marriage, all relationships including friendships, should be victim free. Easier said than done, but as Rachel Samstat says in “Heartburn,” when your dream dies, you are left “with a choice: You can settle for reality, or you can go off, like a fool, and dream another dream.”
WASHINGTON CARROT CAKE
I call this my “Washington” carrot cake. That’s because the recipe was given to me by a wonderful cook and family member who lives in the Washington DC area. This is one of the first cakes I learned to make successfully, and it has been in my cake repertoire since I first made it in the early 1980s. The cake is fruity and tastes like a spice cake. It's made with oil and carrots, so as far as cakes go, I guess it's kind of "healthy." It can be eaten plain; that's why I usually bake it in a 9x13 pan. For a holiday treat, bake the batter in round pans and then slather cream cheese frosting on top, on the sides and between the cake layers.
Ingredients
For the cake:
butter and flour to grease the pan
2 and 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups peeled and grated carrots (about 10 carrots)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup dried and shredded unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup good vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
Ingredients
For the Frosting:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter softened and cut into pieces.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Grease and flour a 9" x 13" baking dish with butter and flour. This is an important step, don't forget it.
Grease and flour a 9" x 13" baking dish with butter and flour. This is an important step, don't forget it.
Gather the carrots, walnuts, coconut, and drained pineapple into a large bowl.
Into a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Into a really large bowl beat together the oil and sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.
Add the vanilla and beat in.
Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated.
Fold in the carrot mixture in batches. Make sure that you don’t over-mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 1/2 an hour.
Turn it out onto a cake rack and let it cool completely.
If you'd like to have frosting, you can frost just the top if you've baked the cake in a 9x13 pan. If you'd like to have frosting on the top plus the sides and between layers, bake the batter in round pans and adjust the baking time accordingly.
Directions
For the Frosting:
Use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.
Use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.
On medium speed beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest, beating until incorporated.
Lower the speed and add the sugar in batches, beating for about a minute between additions. Finish beating by bringing the frosting to a smooth consistency.
Spread the icing evenly over the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with toasted walnuts pieces and coconut.
Chill before serving.
