“Musta been bakin’ from de size o’ dem buns.”
— Dewey E. Mansfield, Jr. (quoting Dewey E. Mansfield, Sr.)
Personal communication (1984)
Once upon a time (about May of 1984, while I was still 21), I was being fitted for a suit, specifically a Nino Cerutti pinstripe that was a college graduation gift intended to support job searches. As the tailor was measuring me, my dad uttered the phrase quoted above, which was of course hilarious to my young self.
Now, for all of these intervening years, I have simply assumed that these words were lyrics from some old song or other, spiritually akin to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back.
Only when I started to consider it as a candidate for this epigraph, I couldn’t find it. Neither could Claude. The thing is, from the way that he said it, including the cadence, I know that he was quoting something. Of that there could be no doubt.
I even went through Vance Randolph’s scholarly works (which had formerly shone some light onto my grandfather’s “sawmill” quote), all to no avail. Seriously, no avail at all. Not even enough avail to rub together.
So until I find out differently, I will be leaving this attribution as it is.
Anyway, this section will contain all of the recipes associated with baking. That will take category precedence over their being vegetarian or vegan.