Call for Submissions for
SOMOS’ First Literary-Culinary
Fundraising Cookbook:
Storied Recipes
If you are a member or friend of SOMOS, “the literary heart of Taos” (and who isn’t?),
who likes to both write and cook (and who among us doesn’t?), we invite you to
submit a favorite, time-tested recipe, along with a short-short (true), well crafted
related story, for consideration for our forthcoming, first-of-its-kind, literaryculinary fundraising cookbook, Storied Recipes.
Community fundraising cookbooks are nothing new, but our approach to
this, our first fundraising cookbook, will be new. Ours will have a special SOMOS
literary twist – not just a nice collection of worthwhile recipes, but also the
meaningful (funny, charming, or poignant) stories that make those recipes come
alive. To stir your creative juices, here are some of the chapter headings we have in
mind: Just for Starters, Power Breakfasts, Ladies Who Lunch, Barbecue Basics, Fresh
from the Garden (or Farmers Market), Potluck Specials, Fish Tales, Tea Party Treats,
Après Ski Eats, Unexpected Guests, Romantic Dinners, Memorable Celebrations, and
Sweet Endings.
As we envision it, Storied Recipes will be a fun bouillabaisse of offerings
from good writers who are also good cooks (or who know good cooks). We see an
8-1/2-inch square, slim volume with one recipe-and-story-combination per page.
For this reason, it is essential that each submitter follow the guidelines closely,
crafting his or her story to just 200 words (short, indeed!) and the entire submission
to 400 words (see sample below). Please download the Word document submission
form online (somostaos.org), complete it then email or snail-mail as indicated on the
form. Deadline for submissions is June 1, 2012 -- for an early October publication
date.
Each writer-cook whose recipe-with-accompanying-story is accepted for
publication in Storied Recipes will receive one copy of the cookbook, plus two free
passes to upcoming SOMOS events.
SOMOS cookbook
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Submission Form
Your Name (as you would like it to appear in print):_____________________________________
Your contact information (not for publication):
E-mail:______________________________________ Phone #:_______________________________
Your short-short-true story (200 wds) to accompany recipe: (Attach as Word doc.
Please note that all submissions will be subject to editorial review.)
Title of Recipe: _________________________________and its source:_____________________________
Ingredients list (please be sure to re-test recipe for accuracy before submitting):
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Recipe Procedure (approximately 100 words):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________...
Number of servings: ______ (required)
A two-or-three line bio, including your affiliation with SOMOS:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
(Submit to somosckbk@gmail.com, or, if you do not have access to the Internet, mail
your submission to: SOMOS Cookbook, PO Box 652, El Prado, NM 87529.)
[Sample Submission:]
SOMOS cookbook
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Kidney Stew – Bonnie Lee Black
One day in August 1997, Youssef arrived at the front door of my house in Lastoursville, Gabon, with a surprise -- a
bag of fresh beef kidneys from the town’s only butcher. “Rognons!” he announced with a big grin, “pour un
ragoût!”
Kidney stew? I hadn’t had kidney stew, I realized, since I was a child. How did Youssef know I loved
kidney stew? Here was a man who understood me.
As a child I’d loved my mother’s cooking, especially what she could do with meat. Her whole roast
chickens were golden, moist, and tender. Her beef braises and stews were richly flavored and melted in my mouth.
But, oddly enough, what I loved most was her kidney stew, with its softly rounded chunks of meat that tasted
actually sweet to me.
“How many kids in this world like kidney stew?” my father bellowed from the head of the table. You are a
carnivorous animal,” he said to me with a wink.
That August afternoon in my kitchen in Lastoursville, Youssef and I prepared our kidney stew together,
the first of many meals we would cook and eat together. Our kidney stew was sweet and delicious. Just like my
mother’s. [Story word count: 200]
1 pound beef kidneys
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
flour (for dredging)
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups (1 can) beef broth, or 1 beef bouillon cube,
plus 2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Wash kidneys, trim away any fat, membrane, or connective tissue, and place in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt, and
water to cover; allow to soak for at least 30 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry; cut into bite-size chunks.
Sauté chopped onion and minced garlic in butter over medium heat until softened. Dredge kidney pieces in flour
and cook with onions and garlic until slightly browned.
Add wine, tomato paste, and beef broth (or bouillon plus water) and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pan, and
cook gently for about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve over steamed
white rice.
Makes 4 servings.
Bonnie Lee Black, an instructor in both the English and Culinary Arts departments at UNM-Taos, read from her
award-winning memoir-with-recipes, How to Cook a Crocodile, at SOMOS’ Winter Writer Series 2011. [Total word
count: 397]
SOMOS cookbook
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