I created this book when a friend was going to live for several months in Madagascar while studying lemur competition. Prior to this she wasn't sure how to heat food without a microwave. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, I created a cookbook that would teach her basics, such as how and when to add herbs and spices, how to cook in milk, how to cook certain vegetables, how to make a chicken stock or a white sauce. There are also many recipes that use ingredients that are easily available in Madagascar: beans, yams, corn, rice, as well as recipes for easy to make breads such as puri, chappatys, and bannock. Most important, I included a list of ingredients to bring with her and another of ingredients she could purchase on arrival.

It was great fun to assemble this book for my friend, and with it she was able to keep herself happily fed.

The recipes were gathered from many sources: Irish, French-Canadian, and Indian traditional, American vegetarian, and Canadian gourmet cookbooks, as well as the 1960 edition of the Five Roses Guide to Good Cooking, to name a few.

"The ill-fed researcher produces* indigestible facts."
from The Very Serious...

*regurgitates? ( )