July 11
 Suzanne Nadine Vega's Birthday
 


 
Suzanne Vega  is singer, songwriter, poet, and playwright whose experimental style and eclectic repertoire has earned her a legion of near-rabid fans, but has seldom had any hit recordings. The two exceptions are "Luka" about an abused child and "Tom's Diner". which are both from her 1987 album Solitude Standing. In an ASCAP interview, she responded to a question about "Luka":

     “Interviewer: When you can touch so many people with songs like "Luka", it must be pretty rewarding.

      Vega: Yeah. It’s an amazing feeling. Especially since that particular song is a very special song. It’s a song about child abuse,
      so  therefore it does touch a lot of people in a different way than if it were, say, a love song or some other kind of song."

Her career hit a speed bump after her marriage to producer Mitchell Froom which resulted in two flawed but interesting albums. Following  their divorce, Suzanne got her groove back  with her first album in five years, Songs in Red and Gray, which received great reviews.

Suzanne published The Passionate Eye in 1999, a collection of poems, lyrics, and essays,spanning a 30-year period that provide an fascinating counterpoint to her spare lyrics . She also co-wrote  a play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love”, about the life of the writer Carson McCullers which premiered in 2011.

Suzanne was also part of Lilith Fair a concert tour and travelling music festival, cofounded  by Sarah McLachlan, that took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands. In its initial 3 years, Lilith Fair raised over $10M for women's charities throughout North America.

To celebrate Suzanne birthday we suggest watching the film The Truth About Cats & Dogs  (1996) which features Suzanne's song "Caramel in the soundtrack with some of our  favorite Vega lyrics
 

  It won't do
to dream of caramel,
to think of cinnamon
and long
for you. 		 

and whipping up some Caramel-Cinnamon Bread Pudding that is as tasty as her lyrics.
 
Caramel-Cinnamon Bread Pudding
from Bon Appétit   December 2008
Ingredients
 
20 3&1/2 x 3& 1/2-inch slices cinnamon-raisin bread (not ends)
12 large eggs
2&1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
1 cup sugar
 		 2 TB vanilla extract
1&1/2 spfinely grated orange peel
Pinch of salt
2 TB powdered sugar
Purchased caramel sauce, warmed
 
Instructions
 
1. Cut bread into 3/4-inch cubes. Place in very large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, 1 cup cream, and next 4
    ingredients in large bowl until sugar dissolves. Pour egg mixture over bread; toss to coat. Cover with
    plastic and place plate on top to submerge bread  in egg mixture. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Stir bread mixture; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F.
4. Butter sixteen 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins; divide between two roasting pans. Divide bread mixture
    among cups. Add enough hot water to pans to come halfway up sides of cups.
5. Bake puddings until puffed, edges are golden, and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about
    40 minutes. Let puddings stand at room temperature up to 2 hours.
6. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream and powdered sugar in medium bowl until peaks form.
    Serve puddings warm     or at room temperature

Serves 6-8
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes