[W]henever I cut fresh corn off the cob (or get anywhere near corn-on-the-cob, actually), I think about my Grandpa Merwin. Toothless, he was undaunted by such propositions as sinking teeth into cobbed corn. When a platter of steaming ears was presented, he simply whipped out his pocket knife, clicked the […]
“If my life wasn’t funny, it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.†— Carrie Fisher [S]ometimes, after a crap-ass year, you just need to have some fun. That is not a terribly positive beginning (was it the term “crap-assâ€?), and I apologize. But I speak the truth in […]
[E]ver since I discovered my birthday coincided with National Waffle Day (on Aug. 24, 1869, the first U.S. Patent for the waffle iron was issued), the breakfast treat has been more on my radar. It has almost always been my first choice on the menu at restaurants that served waffles […]
[M]y mom’s got a thing against muffins. She won’t make them. She won’t eat them. This stems from a traumatic period in her childhood, where her obligations as a member of 4-H pushed her to the brink after years of being chained to an oven, churning out muffin after muffin. […]
[T]he first time I made “bread salad†or panzanella, as it’s commonly called, the recipe had me soaking cubes of very stale, sturdy bread in water, wringing those cubes out and mixing them with tomatoes, onions, cucumber, basil and vinaigrette for what turned out to actually be a very delicious […]
[I]f something has a flower flavor, I’m on it….like a bee. Recently I was exposed to some delightful imported Italian sodas flavored with, of all things, elderflower! I could not resist. It was a beautiful taste, slightly peachy and as soon as my little fingers could do their walking, I […]
[S]ometimes, it’s good to see red. Strawberry red, that is. Spring months usher in that beautiful ruby across California fields and farmers market tables. This year, with all the rain, the berries are big, beautiful and bodacious, and you make room in your life/schedule/oven/fridge for any and all ways to […]
[I]t was long ago when I first ran across a recipe for “Welsh rarebit†or “Welsh rabbit,†as it is sometimes called. As a girl who studied cookbooks, I couldn’t have been that old, but I was certainly intrigued and excited by a melty cheese sauce dish that was named […]
[I] baked bread today. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is. Some of you did way more, I’m sure, and I commend you. But my country loaf was a commitment of four hours of work (and wait) or more, begun before it was light. You have to resign to […]
[I]’ll admit, I’m a little too attached to instructions. My sister and I kid each other about this difference between us — she is more of a “freestyle†cook who invents and improvises (sans measuring spoons and cups), while I refer strictly to a recipe, allowing myself a few adaptations. […]