. Counter
Culture

BY virtue of the
Toronto teaching hos-
pital in which they were
= born, Susan and Lynn
~ Mendelson became part
- Of a McMaster
_- University twin study.
> According to Lynn, when
"ca researcher cailed their moth-
er in the early "80s to inguire:

after their welfare, she asked
; “how: the identical twins were

“My mother said to her, ‘I~
don’t have identical twins.
They don’t look alike at ail.
They're fraternal © -

. “And this woman said to’

wasan ‘and fees are’ idé. tical.
es twas discevered -

vic the egg. shih ‘ores ier
tilizaticn. Ih other. wore

recently released new books
and just wrapped up a cross-
Canada book tour, which
they did together.

Susan — perhaps the bet-
ter-known of the two, at least
around tiese parts — is the
owner of the popular
Vancouver eatery and catering
company, the Lazy Gourmet.

Her book, funnily enough,
is titled the Lasy Gourmet,
and is packed full of tasty
recipes from both the bistro
and the catering company —
many of them were created
by the Lazy Gourmiet’s chef,

Joey Cruz, who co-wrote the ©

book with her.

According to Susan, cus-
tomers had been requesting
some of the recipes for years,
and with this book (her
eighth) she’s capitulated to

' those requests. And though

the recipes come from a pro-
fessional source, the book still
falls in line with one of her -:
constants: keeping it simple.
-“That's been my philoso-

- phy through ali eight of my

books — to simplify and
demystify really Fabulous

gourmet foods. To keep frus-

tation to a minimum by

: offering foods that anybody

can'‘do.”
The impetus “for the book .

: by Susan's eastern counter-

part, on the other hand, was
entirely different.

“> “[love chicken,” says ~.
Lynn: “Everyone loves chick-
en, and it really bugged me

”: when I went to other cook-
*- books that I had to ‘Search for. -

the chicken reci

‘That frustration bore fruit
15 years ago when she wrote
Chicken! Chicken! Chicken! —
fod compenc m of poultry. .
recipes tiat shows just ho’

“ Versauite the pluck} rd ean

When home cooks began *
pestering the Toronto caterer

: for copies of the long out-of-

‘print, book Lynn decided to:

Susan Mende!

do it again. start a love affair for her and
This time around the book — she got married! -

2 Thanksgiving Special |
TURKEY DINNER.

ADULTS $9.95 © SENIORS $8.95
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985-0501

“Turkey. mashed ‘potatoes;
“mixed salad & 4 2°

is called Chicken! Chicken!
Chicken! and More Chicken!,
And although many of the
recipes remain, there have
been plenty of changes.
“About 30% of the recipes

~are new, bat when I went

over the book I realized that

when making these dishes

myse!f I was substicuting a
lor. In the fast 15 years we've
changed the way we eat.”

The new edition is a litte
lighter and leaner, but still a
lot of fun, and includes

‘c: recipes for fast and easy: din-
‘ners, an entire chapter devot-

ed to chicken breast recipes,

_ as well as dishes from around »
-, the world, including Pad Thai
“and Chicken Queswiillas. In

this edition she’s also includ-"
ed personal notes and wiec-
dotes in the margins of each
recipe.)
Susan agrees the anecdotes
help ma’.c the bock. .
“In my first book, Mama
Never Cooked Like This, Vd.
written next to. one recipe; “|

“This tecipe has been known

to start love affairs.* And a

- Woman at the signing yester-

day came up and said i it did

“In this book I was very”
witty,” she adds drily. “I was
hilarious, but the editor took
it all out.” : Bs

So do the wins try to.
outdo each other in their
matching professions? we

“Oh no,” says Lynn:
“There's no competition:
here.” -

“There never has been.”

_ They grin similar grins.

“Ac the end of the dey’:
‘though, the pair’ say. wiiting
and releasing their books at
the same time has been mc
\vating ‘and inspirational =_
and’a lo

“And in that sentiment, a
least, they are identical.
2. Signed copies of the Lazy
Gourmet and Chicken! |
Chicken! Chicken! and Me
- Chicken! are available a
‘North Van’s'3 Books

\ vier as
Xrelage (4 4 GEPINOS) ‘Sv .

"ANGST 320 ST WY, 9874557
(3d & lonsdole) © OPEN LATE! |
SUN a, ALT a, PR HTH

wa cece pet ,

Quiaail.with fresh; pained
Venison with chan sauce”

Pal
Add'l shows
Sat t at & Sun: Seni

at Canada Place
in downtown Vancouver.
Call (604) 682-iR3AX (4529)
- Group sales: (604) 608-5185
* www imax.comd/vancouve :

——<—

- vegetables

* 988-9951

4350 Lonsdals Av

ines from 2pm:
-_siniay &N onday from 1 apn