Food, Photography and Bons Mots
According to Chinese mythology, Goddess Xi Wang Mu grew immortality fruits in her garden. Most sources say they were peaches. Some say they were cherries. (Both are stone fruits.) Whatever immortality fruit it was, there was one very big problem. The fruits ripened every thousand…
No. This is not a photo of Bjork. This is a photo of Anna Pavlova, the Russian prima ballerina after whom New Zealand’s national dessert was named. (Disclaimer: The Australians and the New Zealanders have been coming to culinary blows for years over credit for…
Homer (of The Odyssey not of The Simpsons) loved them. He called pears “a gift of the gods.” By the time the Renaissance came along, Europeans were even more in love with pears. The powerful Medici dukes, for example, had fruit gardens with expansive collections of…
OK. Let’s call it what it is. I’m on a cookie binge and yesterday’s oatmeal cookie plate is sitting on my counter empty. It must have been Juliet. Sweet little Juliet does have a few priors for helping herself to whatever is on the…
I’ve had a tough week and oatmeal cookies seemed like a good idea. Recipe: Oatmeal Cookies 1/2 C. pecan halves (chopped fine) 1 C. Shortening 1 C. packed dark brown sugar 1 C. granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla extract 1 1/2 C. flour…
Dorie Greenspan is an American treasure. She is a James Beard award-winner. Juliet Child selected her to write Baking with Julia for The New York Times. She has written numerous cookbooks including Baking Chez Moi from which this apple custard cake recipe was adapted. Her blog, www. doriegreenspan.com…
According to Celtic legend, an Irish prince, Connla of the Fiery Hair, lost his heart to a beautiful faerie maiden who arrived on the Irish shore in a gleaming crystal boat. She beckoned him to join her on a voyage to a magical island where…
I first made a trifle many years ago when I took cooking classes at a school in Seal Beach called La Bonne Cuisine. The school is long-closed but I still treasure many of the recipes from that experience. The original English trifle dates back…
It’s strawberry season! Well, almost. I bought a beautiful three pack of fresh strawberries at yesterday’s Long Beach Farmers’ Market. While the strawberries are not at their prime of sweetness, they are very good. Give them a look. What better to complement a beautiful…
Pucker up. Damn. I should have used that line with one of my Valentine’s Day posts. It is Meyer lemon season here. I love the special lower-acid taste of Meyer lemons. Ever the foodie, I used to eat them fresh off the tree with a…
