Tulips are an incredibly versatile flower. They can be as simple as you please, plunked into an old bottle or yogurt jar, or they can be the swans of the flower world, long-necked and elegant, turning toward the sun each morning from inside a gilded vase. I bought a few kinds of tulips and offer them here for your consideration. (And I couldn’t resist the Lenten roses and hyacinths for good measure.) Part of being happy is knowing how to […]
The word ‘etiquette’ in French means ‘label,’ which is appropriate because nothing labels us like our personal behavior. Every time a new app or social media platform becomes available to the general public – technology that make our lives easier and more productive – we need to develop practical rules for how to use these tools in a way that serves, but doesn’t control, us. Here are some guidelines regarding cellphones from Treating People Well: If you’d like to read […]
St. Paddy’s Day always makes me think of soda bread, though the oatmeal in this recipe gives this version a distinctly Scottish tone. It’s a cheesy bread, more like a moist oatcake held together by yeasty strings of cheese, and heaven with a cup of tea or as an accompaniment to a hearty bowl of soup at dinner. (And if you really want to assemble a cheese plate that is next level, add some thin slices of this bread for […]
This isn’t a recipe, so much as an assemblage of ingredients for a truly delicious breakfast. If you think of oatmeal as a gunky, glutinous mess, this will change your view forever — this oatmeal is soft, creamy, and coconutty, with lots of crunch from the seeds and coconut chips and little pillows of fresh fruit flavor explosions all in one bite. And it couldn’t be easier — just make sure you have a can of coconut cream in the […]
Many years ago, while out shopping with my four-year-old daughter, I ran into an elderly friend and stopped to chat. There was a large fake rubber tree that was part of a clothing display nearby, which Liddy started to climb. I tried to catch her eye to make her stop, and kept throwing her dirty looks as I tried to keep the conversation going with my friend. Liddy looked up at me and said loudly, “Why are you looking at […]
