March 23rd, 2017

Paula Wolfert and the complex questions of dementia...

My neighbor sent me the link to a recent NY Times article. I was excited after reading the title albeit bristling at "fighting" once again used to separate winners from losers--to be greeted by a smiling face. Articles about Alzheimer's disease and dementia are typically sturm und drang without hope or possibility unless you donate or face your fate and the upcoming zombie apocalypse.

You might not recognize the face or even the name but her seminal cookbooks focused on middle eastern dishes were groundbreaking in the days before celebrity chefs and mindless cooking themes shows. In the midst of a dire diagnosis, she is publishing a biography Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegade Life.
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Thus, the so-called bulletproof coffee she makes every morning and the squares of dark chocolate she eats after lunch, in the belief they will bolster her brainpower. In between, she eats a carbohydrate-free diet built on salmon, berries and greens, along with extracts of turmeric, cinnamon and eggplant.

The cookbook will focus on brain-centric healthy dishes and stories about memory and food. Her Kickstarter campaign quadrupled its initial goal and I am so happy to order this beautiful book--It appears to be a recipe for joy, hope, and acceptance--and a delicious cous cous.

The gripping narrative traces the arc of her career, from her Brooklyn childhood to her adventures in the farthest corners of the Mediterranean. Anecdotes and adventure stories come Paula's extensive personal archive, from over 50 interviews with Paula herself, and from dozens of interviews with food writers and chefs whom she influenced and influenced her—from Alice Waters and Thomas Keller to Diana Kennedy, André Daguin, and Jacques Pépin.--unforgettablepaula.com