Tulsa Herb Society Welcomes Crescent Dragonwagon

A.k.a. Ellen Zolotow, is a writer, teacher and performer who is the author of more than 50 books.

By: Tina Lynn | Category: Other | Issue: July 2010

Crescent Dragonwagon, a.k.a. Ellen Zolotow, is a writer, teacher and performer who will give a presentation entitled “Food, Shelter, Story: The World Comes to Us by Plate & Word” on July 12 at the Tulsa Garden Center.

The Tulsa Herb Society welcomes Crescent Dragonwagon to Tulsa, specifically to the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave., on July 12 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Crescent Dragonwagon, a.k.a. Ellen Zolotow, is a writer, teacher and performer who works in the literary, culinary and dramatic arts and is the author of more than 50 books. Her presentation is called “Food, Shelter, Story: The World Comes to Us by Plate & Word.”

The last two decades have seen a deepening and genre-blending of culinary writing, which reflects our growing understanding that food always has something to say. Its languages are not just personal but historical, ecological, political, national, regional, economic, cultural, spiritual. What, how, where, why and when do we eat? How does our food come to us? Though eating may appear to be a matter of satiating hunger while giving us sensual pleasure and nourishment, it is complex, tying us to the world, and is intertwined in every aspect and condition of human life. Food and eating tell us about matters both current and timeless.

During our evening with cookbook author, poet, teacher and blogger Crescent Dragonwagon, we’ll learn to listen more closely to what we eat – including the herbs which have added flavor and fable to our plates for centuries. And we’ll hear what they have to tell us about the world we live in and the stories we tell about it. After Dragonwagon’s presentation, she will sign copies of her cookbook “The Cornbread Gospels.”

From “Nothing is wasted on the writer,” http://crescentdragonwagon.typepad.com, Dragonwagon states, “I’m a freelance writer (much published), a cornbread-loving, genre-bending 56 year-old. Writing is work, play, the way I make much of my living. It’s occasionally highly anxious-making, always surprising. I teach, and am constantly taught by, writing.”

Event chair Sue Stees, along with decorations chairs Patsy Wynn and Dianne Rodehaver and refreshments chairs Dede Boedeker and Kay Schleuter, promise a delightfully herbal evening.

For more information, contact Patsy Wynn at (918) 496-8019 or visit www.tulsaherb.com. Admission is free.

Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread

Ingredients:
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1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup mild vegetable oil, such as corn or peanut
Pam cooking spray
2 to 4 tablespoons butter
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1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk. In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar to taste, and the oil, then whisk in the buttermilk.
4. Spray an 8 or 9 inch cast-iron skillet with Pam. Put the skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter, and heat until the butter melts and is just starting to sizzle. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom and sides.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and quickly stir together, using only as many strokes as needed to combine. Scrape the batter into the hot, buttery skillet. Immediately put the skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.

Makes an 8 or 9 inch cornbread
Taken from Dairy Hollow House – “Soup & Bread, A Country Inn Cookbook,” Crescent Dragonwagon, Workman Publishing 1992.

For more information, contact