“A heart is shown not by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” — The Wizard of Oz

Oh, we’re off to see the Wizard — the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Hello, my pretties! Let’s fly over the rainbow and spend some time with Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, adorable munchkins, a green witch, flying monkeys, ruby slippers, a yellow brick road and a dazzling Emerald City!

If the enduring popularity of this beloved American fairy tale has taught us anything at all, it’s that no matter how much things may change, deep down we’ll always yearn for a place where the dreams we dare to dream really do come true. 🙂

I’ve been on a “Wizard of Oz” kick lately — rewatched the movie and reread the book a couple of times, read several L. Frank Baum biographies, even scored two cute Wizard of Oz cookbooks — one inspired by the iconic 1939 film starring Judy Garland, the other based on Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900 with illustrations by W.W. Denslow. It was fun to revisit this timeless classic via the lens of food, and to note how the movie differs from the book.

As with any film adaptation, elements were added, changed or omitted. Here are the most notable differences:

1. In the movie, Dorothy’s journey to Oz turns out to be a dream, but in the book, Oz is a real place where she stayed months at a time rather than only for a few days. In both cases, though, she, Toto, and the farmhouse were transported to Oz by a tornado.
2. In Baum’s book, Dorothy is happy on the farm — she doesn’t run away from home because mean Miss Gulch wants Toto put to sleep after he supposedly bit her.
3. Dorothy’s famous ruby slippers were actually silver in Baum’s novel, but screenwriter Noel Langley suggested a change to red since it would stand out better against a yellow brick road. After all, the movie was supposed to showcase the wonders of Technicolor.
4. Glinda is portrayed as the Good Witch of the North in the movie, but she’s actually the Good Witch of the South, who doesn’t appear in the book until the end, when she tells Dorothy she’s always had the power to return home because of the silver slippers. So two characters were morphed into one for the film.
5. The book is darker and more violent. The Wizard in the book orders Dorothy and friends to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West rather than just obtain her broomstick. The WWOTW, in turn, orders her servants to tear Dorothy to pieces. She first sends 40 wolves (Tin Man cuts off their heads), then 40 crows (Scarecrow twists all their necks), and finally a swarm of bees (Tin Man allows them to sting him; they all die after their stingers fall off).
6. Those Winged Monkeys? They’re actually unwilling captives rather than the Witch’s devoted minions. Because she possesses the magical Golden Cap, she can command them to do her bidding.
7. Not surprisingly, the book contains more adventures, scary beasts, perils and challenges. It also includes interesting backstories of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion (TM was actually a real man at one point; the Wizard appears to Dorothy and friends separately in different forms (not just a big floating head), and Oz’s gifts to the foursome are actually more elaborate).

But what about food references in the movie vs. the book? Put on your best bibs and get ready to nibble on a treat from each cookbook.

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🌈 Lemon Drop Muffins 🍋

“Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that’s where you’ll find me . . . .”

“The Wizard of Oz” was the very first movie I ever saw on a color TV (it premiered on CBS in 1956), and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I’ll never forget being totally gobsmacked when Dorothy opens the door and sees Munchkinland for the first time. Wow! I had no idea that was coming and truly related to Dorothy’s amazement as black-and-white magically turned into color right before my eyes.

When I watched the movie again recently, I noted that aside from Dorothy biting into one of Aunty Em’s crullers in the opening scene, we don’t see any of the other characters actually eating anything. Yes, there are food sources shown at the farm (eggs, chickens, pigs), and when Dorothy encounters Professor Marvel after running away from home, he’s cooking sausages on an open fire (Toto manages to steal one).

In Munchkinland, Dorothy is presented with a big lollipop from the Lollipop Guild, but she takes nary a lick. Ever notice that her basket is empty?

Later, Dorothy meets Scarecrow in a cornfield, and as they make their way down the yellow brick road, she does try to pick an apple, only to have the tree slap her. She leaves with some apples in her basket though.

The Wizard of Oz Cookbook: Breakfast in Kansas, Dessert in Oz by Sarah Key, Jennifer Newman Brazil and Vicki Wells (Abbeville Press, 1993), is a fun keepsake for fans of the movie. Simple, doable recipes are presented in five sections: Breakfast in Kansas, Kids Party in Munchkinland, Appetizers on the Yellow Brick Road, Cocktails at the Witch’s Castle, and Dessert in the Emerald City. Lots of good ideas for themed parties.

Care for a Talking Trees’ Apple Biscuit, some Ruby Slippers Cookies, a big handful of Cornfield Crunch? Wash it down with a cup of Winkie Wine Punch, or if you’re in the mood, a tall Haunted Forest Butternut Milkshake. Sure to hit the spot!

The book also includes quotes from the film, a few black-and-white photos, and cool trivia tidbits. Guess who MGM producers originally wanted to portray Dorothy? My girl Shirley Temple. Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), and Bert Lahr (Lion) had to eat lunch in a separate bungalow on the MGM lot rather than the commissary because their rubber, fur, and aluminum paste make-up offended the other diners.

And my favorite: Six white horses were sponged down with Jell-O to depict the Horse of a Different Color. This was time consuming because in between takes, the horses managed to lick off most of the Jell-O. Wouldn’t you? 😀

After a little drooling, we decided to try a Breakfast in Kansas recipe. Mr Cornelius reasoned that for a l-o-n-g trek down the yellow brick brick road, he’d want something comforting and portable that reminded him of home. Plus, we LOVE lemons!

The Lemon Drop Muffins recipe is easy and pretty standard as muffin recipes go. We did substitute 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. Too bad Dorothy didn’t have these to carry in her basket on the way to Oz, but she did sing about lemon drops in “Over the Rainbow” (Len’s all-time favorite song).

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🌪 Cyclone Jumbles 🍪

“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

If you haven’t yet read Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you’ll be happy to know it contains more food references than the movie does. The first thing Dorothy eats is a breakfast of bread and butter and fresh fruit she picks in Munchkinland. This happens shortly after she meets the Witch of the North and several munchkins, who thank her for destroying the Wicked Witch of the East. She is then advised to ask the Wizard in Emerald City for help returning to Kansas, and she’s also given the dead witch’s silver shoes.

Practical minded Dorothy packs some bread in her basket and dons her blue and white gingham dress and the silver shoes before setting out on her journey.

She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country was about her. There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance. Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops.

As evening fell, she came upon a large house with many people dancing outside.

Five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible and the people were laughing and singing, while a big table near by was loaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat.

Everyone welcomed Dorothy and invited her to stay and spend the night. They were all celebrating their liberation from the bondage of the wicked witch. Dorothy enjoyed a hearty supper and was waited on by Boq, one of the richest munchkins in the land.

The next morning after breakfast she sets out once again on the yellow brick road and meets the Scarecrow. After becoming acquainted and agreeing that they should travel to the Emerald City together, they make their way through a forest.

The farther they go, the sparser the landscape — fewer houses and fruit trees, with uneven bricks on the path, making walking more difficult. At around noon they sit down near a little brook to rest. Dorothy offers the Scarecrow some of her bread, but he refuses, saying, “I am never hungry . . . for my mouth is only painted.”

Later, after the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion have joined them, Dorothy runs out of bread. Kind and thoughtful Scarecrow finds a tree full of nuts and fills Dorothy’s basket with them, though his clumsy padded hands make this task quite challenging.

After several more harrowing incidents, including traversing two ditches, crossing a river, navigating a dark forest, and surviving a deadly poppy field, they finally approach the outskirts of the Emerald City. They know this because fences as well as houses are painted green. Dorothy is hungry again, so they stop at another farmhouse, where they enjoy a nice supper and are invited to spend the night.

The woman now called to them that supper was ready, so they gathered around the table and Dorothy ate some delicious porridge and a dish of scrambled eggs and a plate of nice white bread . . . The lion ate some of the porridge, but did not care for it, saying it was made from oats and oats were food for horses, not for lions. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman ate nothing at all. Toto ate a little of everything, and was glad to get a good supper again.

Once they enter Emerald City, they are dazzled by the green marble pavements and window glass, green clothes and people with greenish skins. There’s also green candy and green popcorn and green lemonade, paid for with green pennies, of course.

Finally, after Dorothy has melted the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Wizard accidentally takes off in his hot air balloon without her, she and her friends make their way to the country of the Quadlings to ask Glinda for help. A nasty encounter with armless Hammerheads prompts Dorothy to summon the Winged Monkeys (for she now possesses the magical Golden Cap), who arrive immediately and carry them over the hill.

The Monkeys had set them down near a farm house, and the four travellers walked up to it and knocked at the door. It was opened by the farmer’s wife, and when Dorothy asked for something to eat the woman gave them all a good dinner, with three kinds of cake and four kinds of cookies, and a bowl of milk for Toto.

Yum! Let’s hear it for three kinds of cake and four kinds of cookies! It’s heartening to know that in the book, strangers prove very hospitable to Dorothy and her friends along their journey, offering a bed for the night and wholesome, home-cooked food.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Cookbook by Monica Bayley (Macmillan, 1981) contains about 100 recipes for cooks of all ages and skill levels for every occasion. From Midwestern comfort foods like pot roast, chicken and dumplings and potato pancakes, to colorful fresh fruit salads, to whimsical snacks and desserts, there is something to please hungry munchkins, winkies, quadlings, or wizards in training.

What’s especially cool is that Bayley has keyed her recipes to characters, places, and developments in the story as well as to color, an important part of the Oz narrative. So there are “green” recipes to represent Emerald City (split pea soup, green apple crisp, lime sherbet), “yellow” recipes for the yellow brick road and Winkie Country (corn bread, lemon chicken, banana sauté), and “blue” recipes for Munchkinland (blueberry pancakes, blue plum compote, currant bread).

Bayley also explains in her Introduction that she sees these Oz countries in terms of regions in the U.S. (Quadling = the South, Munchkin = the Northeast, Winkie = the West). Denslow’s original color coded art from Baum’s book adds to the overall deliciousness.

Mr Cornelius and the Alphabet Soup kitchen helpers were in a tizzy over which recipe to try among so many appealing choices. They finally settled on Cyclone Jumbles since it contains fruit and nuts (a mainstay of Dorothy’s diet on the road), and because it’s something that signals the beginning of the great adventure as well as its happy ending, where Dorothy and friends enjoy “four kinds of cookies.”

This soft and chewy spice cookie is the perfect take-along snack for your next adventure. We opted for golden raisins — our usual preference since they aren’t as sweet as regular raisins. And we’re always up for dates. Enjoy!

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Hope you enjoyed our little trip over the rainbow. Safe to say, most of us saw the movie before reading the book (did you know there are 13 more books in the series?). L. Frank Baum was an interesting person too — a great theatre lover (actor, playwright, producer, etc.), and he had various other jobs including newspaper editor, store proprietor and door to door china salesman (there’s an entire chapter about the China People near the end of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). My kind of guy.

I learned some fascinating facts about Judy Garland too — some pretty sad. Did you know she was put on a chicken soup and black coffee only diet (and had to smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day) to keep her weight down? She also had to wear a corset and have her breasts taped to make her look younger than her 16 years.

This makes her famous song even more poignant. She really suffered for her art.

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THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: 100th Anniversary Edition
written by L. Frank Baum
illustrated by W.W. Denslow
published by Books of Wonder/HarperCollins, October 2000
Illustrated novel for ages 4+, 272 pp.
*This facsimile of the first edition includes all 24 of Denslow’s original color plates, 132 two-color illustrations, and gold-tipped pages.

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THE WIZARD OF OZ COOKBOOK: Breakfast in Kansas, Dessert in Oz
written by Sarah Key, Jennifer Newman Brazil and Vicki Wells
published by Abbeville Press, 1993
Themed cookbook for all ages, 64 pp.

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THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ COOKBOOK
written by Monica Bayley
illustrated by W.W. Denslow
published by Macmillan, October 1981
Themed cookbook for ages 9+, 127 pp.
*Includes Introduction, Helpful Hints, Rules for Beginners, Cooking Terms and Index

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Always remember . . .

No matter where you may travel,

There’s no place like home!

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*Interior spreads copyright © 1900 W.W. Denslow, published by George M. Hill. All rights reserved.

**Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.