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I gave most of the êclairs to friends, to staff, and to the soup kitchen at church. But I kept one gargantuan loaf as proof that cooking helps me to write.

I pulled out the stubborn manuscript, which to date had resisted me successfully, and suddenly the words spilled out of my pen and onto the yellow pad.

A few days after my husband had said he never wanted to see another eclair, I offered him a piece of strawberry shortcake. He smiled widely and enjoyed it immensely. He just did not recognize the old eclair simply smothered with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

Éclairs

MAKES 16 ÉCLAIRS

1 cup water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

4 large eggs, beaten individually

Custard Filling and/or Golden Whipped Cream (recipes follow)

Chocolate Syrup (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In large saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt to full rolling boil. Reduce heat to low, and quickly stir in flour and confectioners’ sugar, mixing vigorously with wooden spoon until mixture leaves the sides of the pan in a ball.

Remove from heat. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until mixture is very smooth. (An electric mixer at a low speed makes this procedure easier.) Force mixture through pastry tube, or shape with spatula into 16 fingers, each 1 × 4 inches.

Bake on greased cookie sheets for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove at once to racks and let cool away from drafts.

Cut the pastries in half lengthwise, spoon onto the bottoms either Custard Filling or Golden Whipped Cream, and replace the tops. Drizzle Chocolate Syrup over the êclairs.

Custard Filling

FILLS 8 ÉCLAIRS

3 large eggs

¼ cup sugar

Dash of salt

2 cups milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat eggs, sugar, salt, and milk until blended in top part of double boiler. Put over simmering water and cook, stirring, for about 7 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly and coats a metal spoon. Remove from hot water and pour into bowl. Add vanilla extract. Cool and chill 1 hour.

Golden Whipped Cream

FILLS 8 ÉCLAIRS

2 cups whipping cream

⅔ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip cream until it holds peaks. Gradually add brown sugar and vanilla extract. Cool and chill 1 hour.

Chocolate Syrup

6 ounces (6 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted, or 1 cup cocoa

1 ½ cups sugar

⅔ teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In small saucepan, mix melted chocolate with sugar and salt over low heat. Add boiling water, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool, add vanilla extract, and refrigerate.

A GROUP OF TEACHERS of foreign languages met in Nashville, Tennessee. The Opryland Hotel was the site of the conference. The corridors spiking out from the large meeting hall were filled with conversations in Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and some languages I could not recognize.

I had been the morning lecturer and had spoken on the impossibility of successfully translating poetry, yet the imperative that we continue to attempt its translation. The lecture had been well received.

Afterward my assistant and I headed for a restaurant in the hotel. We found a table and ordered coffee. I am much easier to get along with after a few cups of coffee.

Two couples at the next table recognized me, and we began a light and friendly conversation. They were teachers from Springfield, Massachusetts, but had not been a part of the morning’s conference. The couples explained that they were best of friends in Massachusetts and that they loved the Opryland Hotel and came on vacation together once a year.

One of the women waved her hands around in the air. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

I admitted that I had not. It was kitsch at its best and had enough elegance to ward off derision. It was one of the largest hotels in the world. Huge fountains of water arched and fell, dancing to music of Bizet and Hayden. Flowers waved