Every recipe is a journey, passed from hand to hand, sometimes around the globe. Here’s the story of this recipe: a young woman leaves Australia at the beginning of World War II, on a shop bound for England. She finds herself in Istanbul, out of money, and hears about a position at the British Embassy in Moscow. She goes to Moscow and is interviewed by the man she later marries, and thus begins her life as the wife of a […]
I love old recipe books. When I was 17, I bought a 1905 version of “The White House Cookbook, a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home” in an antique shop. It was so much more than a cookbook: it had a listing of the menus of the (Teddy) Roosevelt White House, proper etiquette, rules of dinner-giving, menus for the sick and – the best part – “health suggestions and facts worth knowing”. This was from a time when a […]
“Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder, Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all.” -Emily Dickinson Before the cherry season passes us by, I want to put up my mom’s cherry torte recipe. It has a chewy, meringue-y crust that is not too sweet. If you use canned cherry filling you can make this in about half the time, but it will be a much sweeter dessert. […]
—and for our dogs that day is every day. Something happens to people whose children have left the nest. They have excess time and love to lavish, but the objects of their affection have moved on, and sometimes the beneficiaries of this change in their lives are the family dogs. We’ve had four shelter dogs in our married life, and they’ve all been wonderful animals that brought joy and companionship to our family. Mac, our cranky sixteen-year-old terrier, had nearly […]
If you’re a foodie, you know all about acai bowls. They’re a frozen smoothie made of acai (pronounced ah-saw-ee) berries, assorted fresh fruit and honey, topped with more fresh fruit, coconut shavings and sometimes, granola. Acai berries come from the Amazon rainforest, and are reputed to be a powerful antioxidant. I’m not qualified to attest to the health benefits of acai, but the acai bowl is the most delicious thing I’ve had in a long time; it’s like eating a […]
