Food, Photography and Bons Mots
Is there a support group for compulsive cookbook buyers? Hundreds of cookbooks share my office bookshelves with my collection of history and political science books from my thirty-two year teaching career and my growing collection of photography books. My history books are sacred possessions but I’m…
There I was, like a jilted bride ditched at the altar, clutching a huge bouquet of leafy emerald green sweet basil and wondering what the heck to do next. Believe me, I had no plans for any major cooking projects using basil…
Carrots improve your eyesight. Right? Therefore, if you are going to have a sweet, decadent dessert, you are somewhat forgiven for eating carrot cake. It’s a health food, for heaven’s sake! This line of argument works for me. If carrot desserts seem odd to…
There is a vendor at the farmers market I frequent who stands in front of his stand every week and sings “almost too yummy” about his produce in a scratchy tenor voice. On more than one occasion, I have heard the nearby vendors good-naturedly (and…
Do you get the dreaded “midnight munchies?” Me, too. Here’s a photo. OK. Maybe that isn’t me. But, alas, my refrigerator raids seldom get more inventive than a bowl of Weetabix and just enough cold milk to keep the Weetabix crispy. I’ve had many a…
Did you forget? This is National Lasagna Awareness Month. Funny choice of words, I think. Who isn’t “aware” of lasagna? Speaking of funny (well…sort of funny), this made me laugh. Reminds me of those wonderful classic Steven Wright jokes. If you want to celebrate lasagna…
One of my favorite cooking magazines, Cook’s Illustrated, runs a quirky “Quick Tips” column that I love. In a two-page spread in each issue, cooks around the country send in ingenious “hacks” they have developed to get around some of cooking’s daily annoyances. (Did I…
I was invited to join friends for dinner last night and volunteered to bring dessert. I decided to bring chocolate mousse (see previously published recipe on this site–) but wanted to make the presentation a little more elegant than simply serving a cup of chocolate…
Do you have PDA (phyllo-dough anxiety) ? A lot of people I know do. They get quiet and their eyes take on that glassy far-away look when we have “the talk” about phyllo. My stock answer is that phyllo is very very forgiving. Rip…
“For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?” —-Ralph Waldo Emerson Happy 4th of July. In deference to the America that embraces both diversity and unity, here is a great recipe for your holiday table where enchiladas are as…
