Food, Photography and Bon Mots
For Julia Child it was Coq Au Vin. Marcella Hazan’s tour de force was her amazing Tomato Sauce. Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters rocked the culinary world with her Baked Goat Cheese With Baby Lettuces. “A signature dish is a recipe that identifies an individual chef…
It’s cold. It’s winter here in Southern California (sort of). Clearly, it’s time for the warm comfort of a bowl of steaming hot soup. Here is a soup recipe you might not have considered: Persian Barley and Vegetable Soup with Dried Cranberries. It is delicious…
Happy birthday to one of the kindest people I know–my neighbor Gene. Gene, a retired high school science teacher, avid gardener and gourmand, is a loyal a supporter of this blog. He also is celebrating his 87th birthday this month. Way to go, Gene! Gene…
I’m a potato person. Surely it is my Irish heritage. I love mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, potato cakes and on and on. I think if I ever were to post on one of the ubiquitos dating sites, I would have to be honest. My…
Lahanodolmades. Kaalikaaryle. Bai Cai Juan. Golabki. It’s Lahanodolmades in Greece. It’s Kaalikaaryle in Finland. It’s Bai Cai Juan in China. It’s Golabki in Poland. Turns out, cabbage rolls are “a thing” just about everywhere. And, it’s with good reason. They are delicious! So here is…
Who doesn’t need a bit of sunshine to cut through the winter gloom right about now? The weather is iffy and the world news is dreadful. Here’s what you need to do to regroup. Cue the music: “I Can See Clearly Now.” That’s Johnny Nash’s 1970s number…
OK. Let’s get the full disclosure out of the way. I have a big problem with some brassicas. Put a plate of kale (or mustard greens or turnips or Brussels sprouts) in front of me and the color drains from my face. I’m not proud…
This Persimmon Nut Bread recipe comes from James Beard. Beard shaped American cooking for 40 years. He wrote two dozen cookbooks, wrote a weekly syndicated cooking column, operated an eponymous cooking school in Greenwich Village and lived an altogether colorful life. In 1990, Carl Jerome,…
Got holiday anxiety? You deserve a little private celebration during these busy holiday weeks. This elegant little Pea and Fennel Cream Soup certainly fits the bill. It is bright-green beautiful, comfortingly creamy and oh-SO-easy to prepare. This recipe is adapted from one that…
My good friend Sarah often invokes the help of her “parking angel” when she negotiates impossibly-crowded parking lots. I’ve seen her angel in action a couple of times. Parking spaces do indeed seem to open up–even at Costco! So, in this season of everything…
