Eat, Drink & Be Wary

You probably had to have gone through the Weight Watchers thing at least once to appreciate this but, for those of us more familiar with "Points," "Optional Calories" and "Fat Grams" than we'd like to be, the hilarity of Wendy McClure's book The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan will undoubtedly leave you giggling, too. (And, oh, thank you E. for telling me about this!)

Wendy's done a brilliant thing: She's compiled a stack of actual Weight Watchers recipe cards from the 1970s and written short captions next to the food titles and photos. I know. It doesn't sound like the stroke of genius that it is, but that's only because the humor defies description.

Take, for example, the recipe for W.W.'s supposedly "worldwide favorite" Stuffed Apples Ganges. Wendy displays the truly horrific picture of card #21 and writes: "I feel for the Hindu souls who were reincarnated as these shrimps. But then you have to wonder what they did in their past lives to deserve being reborn as the garnish for fake Indian food. I mean, it must have been really bad."

Or, under the category "salads hot and cold" is the #7 recipe card for Cucumber "Cream" Salad. Wendy comments: "You know, I don't think I want to know why the cream is in quotes."

And then the fabulous "soup and stews" #20 card for Swiss Stew. Wendy says: "Um Heidi? I have some bad news. It's about your goats."

But, hey, don't take my word for it. Check out the link for the recipe cards http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html and Wendy's other website http://www.poundy.com/ . Seriously. Go read these. Now.

Because you'll laugh until you cry. And the holiday season--with all its craziness and food indulgences--needs more of that.