Better Tales of Mud (Pies)

Editor's note -- In what the Gazette can only assume is in reply to its report of Vanity Fair magazine's tweet ... 

#HMSAstute! RT @vanityfairmag The Top Five Most Humiliating Details About a British Submarine’s Capture by Some Mud http://bit.ly/98NFfJ  

... was the issuance of a book review to repair Mud's image by London-

based The Economist newspaper: 

Image courtesy of The Economist via The New York Book Review

#UnconventionalCookbooks Mud pie a-la-mud -- 

"Marjorie Winslow's "Mud Pies and Other Recipes", illustrated by Erik Blegvad, is a cookbook for dolls originally published in 1961. This charming and fastidiously complete resource has been *reissued thankfully* by the New York Review Children's Collection." ...

"... Winslow's book is a gem. If the humour and brio of "Mud Pies" feels somewhat dated, well, that only shows what a shame it is that such offerings are now so few and far between. 

As it happens, 1961 was also the year that Mattel introduced a boyfriend for Barbie in the form of a moulded plastic doll named Ken ©. A reader may be forgiven for wishing that Barbie © had been gifted a copy of "Mud Pies" instead.

Editor's note -- Winslow's "Mud Pie" book is a gem as is Martha Stewart's recipe for 

Barbie Birthday Cake

Image courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

"When assembling the cake, use a new doll and wrap it in plastic before putting it in the center of the cake. Candles should absolutely not be used, because Barbie's hair is flammable."

~8~