When Tinky Weisblat, town administrator, Ph.D. of American Studies, food journalist, freelance graphic designer, along with many other titles, wanted the flavors of French onion soup in pizza form and also with apple, she went to work testing and mixing in her kitchen. What she ended up with was: apple pizza.
“My life is a long series of not knowing where I’m going but having a good time along the way,” she told the Recorder in an interview in her bright blue home in Hawley.
This philosophy can certainly be seen in her new cookbook “Pot Luck, Random Acts of Cooking.” Weisblat has just released her third self-published cookbook that can be found at Apex Orchards, Boswell’s Books, the Historic Deerfield Museum Store and the World Eye Bookshop.
Throughout the book Weisblat writes about her beloved town of Hawley. “It’s nice to live in a small town,” she said in an interview. “People complain that everyone knows your business. I don’t mind because I don’t have a lot of business.”
Weisblat may claim to not have much business now, but she has lived a full life wearing many different literal and figurative hats. When she finished graduate school for journalism she wanted to write about film. She had difficulty finding film writing jobs, so she chased her dream in a different way. She began writing about food seen in films, allowing her to write about two passions at once. Through this passion she developed her writing and cooking skills. She is now published food journalist in many different magazines and papers nationwide.
“All of my identities impact my cooking,” she explained.
“Jewish people have a woven culture with food,” Weisblat went on. She spoke about how her grandparents kept kosher, keeping food and food ritual as a pillar in their home, ingraining a love of food in the young Weisblat.
Weisblat is not originally from Hawley, she moved from country to country in her childhood. But her core memories take place in Hawley. Her family spent their summers in the small town. They would host large dinner parties every weekend filled with food, theater, drinking and singing. “People always unleashed their voices and appetites at the parties,” Weisblat said.
She has a love for seasonal vegetables and “every conceivable holiday.” This is demonstrated perfectly in the new book. The book is separated into sections based on seasons with seasonal recipes for holidays Weisblat celebrates, and even some that she doesn’t.
“I want to make dishes that speak of home and place,” Weisblat said. She explained that people from across her life constantly give her recipes, and she always returns to her family recipes.
Weisblat often shares meals with the people around her. She brings dishes to all her neighbors while she tests recipes for her new books and articles. During the COVID lockdowns, she would leave dishes at people’s doorsteps keeping them fed throughout the hard time.
Weisblat explained her philosophy on life is to take things seriously, but laugh along the way.
Her advice for aspiring cooks: “If you want to cook, someone will want to eat it,” and “be wary of putting too many flavors in a dish.”
Weisblat will be speaking at the Arms Library on Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. about cooking, her new book and much more. Her book can also be found at her website tinkycooks.com.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com