Food, Photography and Bons Mots
You’re pretty sure to be the only person to bring this salad to the next potluck. It’s unusual. This recipe is adapted from one that appears in Hetty McKinnon’s imaginitive salad cookbook, Neighborhood. I find myself repeatedly going to her cookbooks when I want…
Three hundred and seventy-three blueberries. That’s how many berries Juliet and I had to pick up off the floor. I had reached into the refrigerator, gotten distracted as I grabbed a jar of marmalade and, in one fraught moment, managed to dislodge the two-pound box…
My husband was a very good cook, but he operated with wild abandon when it came to picking recipes. Strawberries, pickles, and powdered sugar? No problem. Needless to say, it made for some interesting meals. I’m more cautious. In my kitchen, the critical first…
Yes. This is exactly as delicious as it looks, and as elegant, too. To be very honest, it is one of the best plum desserts that I’ve baked this season, and I’ve baked (and happily eaten) my share. The Austrians call this…
Egyptian pharaohs, European kings (and queens!) and Cornish miners all ate them. Beggars ate the crusts. Now, they are hot on the culinary scene again and they are delicious. Hand pies! Hand pies originated when some smart cook realized that there was a workaround for…
Cue the pan flutes, or, better yet, throw on an Yma Sumac CD. (If you don’t have a Sumac CD, here is a link: Yma Sumac. Sumac was a 1950’s Peruvian vocal phenom with an amazing five octave vocal range and a legendary temper that befitted…
Stop me if you have heard this one. A neighbor walks into his backyard. Innocently, he plants a generous row of zucchini seeds in his garden. Almost overnight, he has pretty green plants. Then, one morning, to his delight and amazement, there is…
My friend Sarah said to put this recipe on Blue Cayenne. Believe me, when Sarah gets that insistent tone in her voice, Blue Cayenne listens. I’ve been making this gorgeous (and delicious!) soup for a very long time. This recipe was adapted from one…
Apricots evoke strong emotions. For poet John Ruskin, they conjured up a visual and tactile beauty. He described them as “shining in a sweet brightness of golden velvet.” For Chilean novelist Isabel Allende, theirs was a melancholy comfort. She wrote: “At the most difficult moments…
Banana cake. Cream cheese frosting. Chopped pecans. This is a great banana cake. You may even want to eat the frosting by the spoonful. I did. OK. That’s a fair criticism. I have posted a number of banana cake and bread recipes on…
