It's hot, sticky work, but someone's got to do it. It's January, and after a brief respite over New Year, during which I fully recovered from seasonal baking burnout (all that gingerbread!), I'm impatient to get on with things: things involving … [Read more...]
Light in the darkness
Last night we joined friends in the Suffolk countryside for Bonfire Night. It was the first time this strange English ritual has touched me, and I did not expect this. I must admit to finding most such nights, with their local fireworks and bad … [Read more...]
Mohawk apples
In rural southern New Jersey, where I mostly grew up, apple orchards surrounded us with miles of fruitfulness and roadside stands. I so clearly remember the smell of Winesap, Macintosh and Delicious, and the cool mustiness of the cider place where … [Read more...]
I used to cook in a piggery
I used to cook in a piggery. That’s what I called it, though the students who lived there didn’t know this. I cooked two meals a day for 40 undergraduates of a well-known California university who lived in a falling-down house, back in the days … [Read more...]
Afternoon tea of a faun
Since living in England these many years, I have come to appreciate the ritual of afternoon tea, be it a simple cup of "the vital Oolong" (to quote Bertie Wooster), an indulgent cream tea at a pretty spot on holiday, or the overpriced … [Read more...]
Stalking wild asparagus
As kids in rural southern New Jersey, the five of us cousins made a ritual every Easter of plundering the wild asparagus that grew on the sandy verges of the unpaved road that ran to the house. The habitat offered generous pickings on the margins of … [Read more...]