The list of songs related to food is literally endless. So many come to mind from those early "visions of sugarplums dancing in [our] heads" to Van Morrison's beautiful "Tupelo Honey" and Strummer's funloving "Bhindi Bhagee" or Spinal Tap's "Cups and Cakes". We love our food songs. There are even a few ambitious souls out there who've actually attempted to list them. Kind of fun to peruse and explore, especially on a rainy afternoon. (We've had many of these lately.)
I encountered a new food song while driving the other day. I was listening to a radio show (aptly or lazily) named Le Show. Some of you surely know it. Very dry, sarcastic stuff really, and I don't always tune in for it. But, on this afternoon, Harry Shearer played (between segments) a song with a chorus about chocolate. I immediately loved it. And even though I'd arrived at my destination, I waited to see if he would name the band. No luck. So, I resorted to my usual tactic, grabbing any old napkin, wrapper, or paper scrap in the car (with two kids, there are usually several handy) and quickly scribbling down the chorus and a lyric or two in the hopes of identifying it later. This may sound a little impractical or unlikely to some, downright silly even, but it has worked many times- thanks in no small part to my husband. An avid music devotee, he often narrows it down quickly from what's on that little scrap and sometimes even just rattles the name off straight away. Impressive to watch. Admire that.
However, on this particular occasion, the song was new to him too, and after googling my scribblings, we quickly found the song on YouTube. It's called "Chocolate on My Tongue" and it's by the Wood Brothers. We knew nothing of them, but soon found that though they're from Colorado, they've recorded right here in the Hudson Valley- in Kingston even..and in Saugerties and Shokan. Small world. Having happily solved the puzzle, I tossed the scrap of paper. We made a plan to order it and moved on with life.
Well, sort of. I mean, he moved on. I, on the other hand, just kept hearing that chorus in my head. I heard it while I was folding the laundry. While I was cooking dinner. While I was typing at work. I think I even was hearing it in my sleep. Amazing how a little thing jotted down on a scrap of paper can haunt one so. Like when you write something important on an envelope or post-it, only to misplace it, and initiate a massive feverish search to retrieve it from maybe the garbage, or was it stuffed in that pile of mail, or under the catalogues, or tucked in a book, or did one of the kids grab it? Hmmm....
And all this, and that looping chocolate refrain, got me to thinking of another scrap of paper that had long been missing. One that my mom told me she had recently found. This precious grease-stained scrap contained a handwritten recipe of mysterious origin, a somewhat unusual recipe for a chocolate cake made with boiled water. Mom couldn't remember where it came from, maybe a family friend or copied from a magazine. In any event, for years it had been tucked inside the cover of her hefty 1963 Good Housekeeping Cookbook. As a young teen, I would often come home from school and bake this simple cake for my family. It was the first thing I ever baked independently, and because everyone liked it, I baked it very often. In fact, I eventually knew that recipe by heart...and probably became careless with it. When mom found it after all these years, she was excited to tell me.
So, chatting on the phone, she recited it, and I took it down on a piece of scrap paper. Seemed fitting...and convenient. And today I made that familiar chocolate cake. The one I haven't made for more than twenty years. Oh, how the smell of that batter brought back memories! And after dinner, I served it to my new family while we listened to the Wood Brothers. And I tucked that little scrap of paper into my own cookbook. Only, I did it carefully this time.
Ingredients into the bowl
Out of the oven
Served with warm apple ginger marmalade
Inspiration
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