Food, Photography and Bons Mots
A lot of people have had a lot to say about cake. There was, of course Marie “Let them eat cake” Antoinette. Julia Child famously quipped “A party without a cake is really just a meeting.” British PM Boris Johnson stated his position on cake:…
Comfort food. This cauliflower soup is flavorful and oh-so-creamy. Topping it with big buttery bread crumbs elevates it from excellent to exceptional. It’s the perfect comfort food for these difficult times. By the way, did you know that cauliflower is 92% water? How interesting is…
It’s September, people! It’s fig season here in the Northern Hemisphere. Buy figs now while you can during their excruciatingly short season from August through early October. Figs, a member of the mulberry family, are among the oldest fruits consumed by humans. That said, figs…
Homemade bread. It’s having a renaissance if you haven’t noticed. You have only to look at the nearly-empty flour shelves in your local grocery store to know that people are baking. Bread flour isn’t the only baking ingredient in short supply; don’t even think about…
For a foodie like me, one of the great joys in life is finding an exceptional recipe. Bonus points if the recipe is spot on in recreating a fond food memory. You know that kind of recipe, I’m sure. You make it. You taste…
Musaqa’a. Musaqa’a is a Palestinian eggplant, chickpea and tomato bake with inspired spicing–somewhat reminiscent of Greek moussaka. The recipe I’m using here is adapted from Chef Sami Tamimi’s and Irish food writer Tara Wigley’s new cookbook, Falastin. The recipes are Tamimi’s and the writing is…
Time to party—in a socially distanced kind of way. Whether you are Zoom partying, front yard partying or just partying with the faithful family dog (as I am with Sweet Juliet), this Cheddar and Scallion Dip is very very good party food. It also works…
When I was twenty-two and had my own kitchen for the first time, I knew absolutely nothing about cooking. Nothing. So…I bought my first cookbook–a used copy of the 1963 edition of The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. The book’s provenance is interesting. The name Sugar Bardy…
Cooks should have a whole lot of respect for fennel. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus used a large stalk of fennel to carry fire from Mount Olympus to earth. But, alas, while fennel is a popular ingredient in Italian and Indian cuisines, it is…
I bought a cauliflower recently with good intentions. I’ve been doing a little a lot of anxiety eating lately as I sit here in California in Covid19 lockdown. My scale tells me I need to up my nutrition game. I know cruciferous vegetables are super foods.…
