Orts & Reports: Leapin’ Leprechauns + Sour Gummy Worms

Plus: Books & Cooks in the Old Pueblo

Mar 17, 2025

Small Bite #1: Eggstasy in the Kitchen

I just want to bake without going broke. And yes, I am painfully aware of the reasons that eggs are priced as if they’re part of a Fabergé collection. But I remain committed to my State of the Kitchen pledge to keep this space fun and rant-free, and while math may not be my strong suit—my degree’s in English, deal with it—I’ve become pretty good lately at finding sweet things to bake with one egg or less.

There’s only one egg (and one eye!) in these festive and nutty One-Eyed Leprechaun Mini-Cakes. If you don’t make them for St. Patrick’s Day, there’s always Easter; just swap pastel-colored peanut M & M’s for the green ones.

print the recipe!

Dark Chocolate? Dates? Peanut butter? Pretzels? We’ve got all that and more in this healthier take on a Take 5 candy bar from the

Crafty Cookbook

. They’re easy, delicious and, look, ma—NO EGGS!

Leprechaun Mini-Cakes & Date Take 5 Candies

Small Bite #2: History Lessons

Besides baking, I’ve been busy with the book I’m writing about the three generations of female food writers in my family. With the sultry vibes of Lana Del Rey as my soundtrack and a bunker-sized stash of sour gummy worms and lukewarm coffee keeping me amped, the workplan I hastily scribbled on a sticky note is on mostly track this first quarter. One thing that’s helped immensely? Keeping a process journal, like the one I gave my mom for Christmas, when she was writing her cookbook twenty-some years ago.

I came across that leatherbound notebook the year she passed away, along with the note I’d written all those Christmases ago tucked inside the front cover:

“Dear Mum…I give you this journal with the hopes that you’ll jot down your thoughts and feelings as you write your cookbook—a sort of parallel book about THE BOOK.”

And as I read through it—yet another family history lesson in a series of many—I discover what it was like to write and publish a 350-page cookbook and promote it on a book tour while still producing a monthly newsletter. Never could I have imagined how my life would so closely parallel hers, as it has since I brought Cook & Tell back to life two years ago.

For my other writing pals busily writing cookbooks, novels or nonfiction while publishing newsletters and freelance pieces, I’ll leave you with Karyl’s words of wisdom from her March 25, 1999, entry:

“Remember: a deadline is a friend. Makes you do it. And somehow, you do!”

Small Bite #3: 23 Miles of Mexican Food

I was in Tucson over the weekend with another book nerd for the annual Festival of Books, which, how cool is this, had its own culinary track featuring live cooking demos, panel discussions with cookbook authors and food writing workshops. I was also in research mode—this is why I love writing about food, everything is research—having achieved full immersion mode in the City of Gastronomy, a title UNESCO bestowed upon this border city a decade ago and the first such designation awarded anywhere in the US.

We stayed at the Best Western downtown, conveniently within walking distance to the University of Arizona campus where the festival was held and also conveniently located at the epicenter of the Best 23 Miles of Mexican Food in the US. Let me just say it was a weekend of many bests (sadly, the Best Western did not make the cut by any stretch of the imagination).

Best Tacos: BOCA

A mole de pollo taco on a corn tortilla with a side of pickled onions and a squire of fresh lime? A greasy paper bag of hot, cooked-to-order tortilla chips and a flight of five fiery housemade salsas? Yes, please.

Best Mexican Restaurant Food Experience: El Charro

The oldest Mexican food restaurant in the nation (c. 1922) in continuous operation by the same family. Legend has it the chimichanga was invented here. We skipped that and went straight to dueling combo plates featuring tamales, shrimp enchiladas, tacos el pastor, and charro beans—essentially 23 miles of Mexican food on our table.

Best Bakery: El Triunfo

Best caramel empanadas, best glazed frosted donuts, best biscochos…everything we sampled ended up being the best we’d ever had. And that Sonoran coyota, painted with dulce de leche and sealed in a little pie crust topped with cinnamon and sugar was heaven, in case you’re wondering.

Best Art Galleries

The best galleries in town are outside; the sides of buildings feature some of the most vibrant, colorful and gorgeous street art murals I’ve seen in any city.

Best Coffee Shop: Barista del Barrio

The best latte flavors you’ve never heard of, from a tiny old house in the middle of the Barrio Hollywood district. A killer horchesso, a marzipan latte and a chance run-in with a Random House cookbook publisher and my weekend was complete.