[M]y recent foray into ground corn (see previous blog about cornbread) got me excited about another version of the creature — polenta, a delicious interpretation that, cooked up, lends its creamy self to all manner of delicacies. Most recently, I found myself yet again floating toward the television, watching a […]
[T]raditions. More and more — in terms of cooking and beyond –it seems the option one grew up with, be it a recipe, cooking method, practice, is the correct and only one. Take cornbread, for example. I do like a sweet cornbread, but because of my family’s declaration that a […]
[I]f you are lucky to live long enough, it gets easier to separate the wheat from the chaff. Over a life, if you pay attention, you will find yourself in the idyllic condition of understanding what matters most. And what means something to you. And what make up your favorite […]
[I] only learned this past year that my birthday falls on a national holiday. National Waffle Day!! On Aug. 24, 1869, the first waffle iron was patented in the United States. I celebrated the auspicious occasion with waffles — made by someone else. It was, after all, my birthday…shouldn’t I […]
“To feed your Muse, then, you should always have been hungry about life since you were a child.” — Ray Bradbury, “Zen in the Art of Wrting: Essays on Creativity” [R]ay Bradbury told me why I am here. He told everyone, but only some of us were listening. I feel […]
I have had the privilege of attending many powwows and from my first time at one, I’ve sought them out around California. I go for many reasons, not the least of which is that I find going resets my heart to a rhythm matching that of the drums and dancers. […]
I first learned of nasturtiums several years ago when they were included in a planned herb garden kit. The seeds were large and legume-like, similar — to me, at least — to garbanzo beans. I planted them, along with parsley, thyme, borage, sage, etc., having little to no idea of […]
I cannot begin to write about my mother’s bread making without mentioning her kneading. And I would have to begin any discussion of her kneading by describing her hands. My mother is not, nor has she ever been, a delicate doily of a damsel, and neither are her hands. Big, […]
Long ago, my heart fell into a doughnut hole — I have yet to retrieve it. I don’t want to. We are meant to be lost to some passions. My love for doughnuts began as a child or, perhaps before. I was the daughter of a man whose first job […]
Should the first soufflé you’ve ever eaten be the one you made yourself? Should the first soufflé you’ve ever made be served to anyone other than you and perhaps one other trusted friend? I’ll have to say “yes” to both questions, as my experience with soufflé — long on my […]