I have no recipe for you today, nor do I have a quote. It's just me ("my naked words") and pictures of food. You see, I've long been thinking that, with the return of school, teaching yet another class (my sixth!), the study of Greek and my old friend, The Dissertation, my fall blog posting…
As a man without a care in the world, seeking somehow to justify his constant idleness, I have always found such festive mornings in a country house universally attractive. When the green garden, still moist with dew, shines in the sun and seems happy, and when the terrace smells of mignonette and oleander, and the…
“Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his own image.” -Johann Wolfgang Goethe Recently, I was thinking about therapy and how it's designed to teach you about yourself--to give you the "tools" for introspection and growth. If you go to therapy, you could talk about many things that bother you, from people to…
Nostalgia is an unhealthy trap that's very seductive. The problem is, life is a very cruel, tragic and unsatisfying experience and you always think that another time in the past would have been ideal for you. For example, if I think back to bell-epoque Paris, it's like Gigi, with beautiful costumes and great wine. The…
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be…
The lowest of the low are the womens' page recipes in newspapers and magazines, which appeal only to the showoff--'Startle your guests' or the seducer--'Surprise your husband', which give neither value or pleasure and whose premise, coyly stated, is that cooking is easy and is such fun. -Nicolas Freeling (The Kitchen Book) Much to Mr.…
It strikes! one, two, Three, four, five, six. Enough, enough, dear watch, Thy pulse hath beat enough. Now sleep and rest; Would thou could'st make the time to do so too; I'll wind thee up no more. -Ben Jonson I don't know where the time has gone. How (really, how) is it already August 13?…
"There is a fight going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between 2 wolves. One wolf is evil --he is self-pity, envy, regret, resentment, anger, self-indulgence, ego. The other wolf is good -- he is love, compassion, hope, kindness, peace, humility, generosity." The old chief went on to say, "This…
Take care of luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves. -Dorothy Parker Recently, there's been a lot of luxury, but I'm not quite sure the necessities have managed to iron themselves out. For the past week I've been on auto-pilot, producing not one or even two, but no less than four desserts. Yes,…
"New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin."-Mark TwainWhen a package of Andouille sausage winds up in your refrigerator, you've got to figure out what to do with it. Jambalaya? Gumbo? Dirty rice? But what exactly is "dirty rice" anyway? I had no idea and the back of the package,…
Dining with Dostoevsky 