Systems of Delayed Orgasms...

Gourmet magazine recently asked me to defend Montreal’s culinary honor while sullying the rest of the nation’s. Read it here — and look for a couple of upcoming features in that magazine in coming months…

In the meantime, tune into PBS to watch the Montreal episode of Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie. We meet some apple maniacs and learn how to cook a lobster omelet in a wheelbarrow. The way our ancestors used to.

And beloved Fruit Hunters threshold guardian Ken Love lights up the small screen in this year’s Hawaii episode. You can catch him in the trailer showcasing his patented banana back-scratcher.

In other news, I recently attended an event called the World of Pinot Noir, where I was pleased to meet another breed of fruit freak in California. Read about them here.

CBC TV is currently airing a series of shows about our changing food systems, and they included a segment on the coco-de-mer. They deemed it “mature subject matter – viewer discretion is strongly advised.” If your discretion permits, click here. The naughty bits start at the 32nd minute of the “Great Food Revolution” episode.

And CBC radio continues to have audio discussions about The Fruit Hunters. (Click the link, and then fast forward to the 13th or 14th minute.) Respect maximum to Miguel Syjuco, whose soon-to-be-published debut novel I, among many, cannot wait to read.

And speaking of books, yers sincerely was recently asked to write a blurb for the back cover of a biography of fruit pioneer “Luther Burbank.“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Burbank When I was researching the Fruit Hunters, I remember trying to dig up dirt on Burbank, but all of the books I perused were dusty yawnathons. Mine curiosity was finally slaked when Penguin sent over a galley of The Garden of Invention. Here’s what made it onto the dustjacket:

“Those who’ve hoed the archives hoping for a glimpse of the ever-mutating Luther Burbank will luxuriate in this magnificently researched – and juicy – account. From black-eyed marital assaults to systems of delayed orgasms, Smith reveals a shirt-ripping “Cosmist” whose devotion to the mysteries of nature yielded countless marvels.”