Recently, thumbing through Donna Hay’s delightful book, “Christmas Feasts and Treats” (2018), a book I purchased a few years back and continue to peruse (whether it’s Christmas or not)… I really thought I wanted to make nearly everything in it. [T]he book is beautiful, so visually appealing in its offering […]
I’ve been fond of miniatures since I was a girl, and at one point built my own dollhouse (from a kit), decorated and furnished it. The collecting of tiny, to-scale household items, particularly for the kitchen (to which I even made tiny baked goods), was a large part of my […]
I have been lucky enough to be in proximity to some amazing places. Some are majestic, like the Golden Gate Bridge and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco; others encompass the beautiful landscape of Sonoma and Napa valleys, where all sorts of treasures can be discovered. One lucky […]
A Fig Newton is one cookie I don’t feel too guilty about eating. It’s filled with dried fruit filling, right? And it’s not terribly sweet, its modest cookie crust is minimal, so you almost feel as if you are eating something more akin to a granola bar. I won’t dissect […]
Despite my love of autumn, I have to admit I get sick of all the pumpkin spice. There, I said it. Maybe it’s more the homogeneous mainstream concept that pumpkin spice represents that is less appealing to my taste.Yes, it’s become the hallmark of the fall season (which, according to […]
I sort of stopped paying attention to kids’ animated movies (Disney Pixar, etc.) after I saw “Ratatouille†in 2007. The level of artistic excellence in this film brought it to another level. And its theme of following one’s passions no matter what made it seem as appropriate for adults as […]
Nearly every grocery store I’ve ever entered has had some version of a Lofthouse cookie. It seems to be standard to carry these ultra-soft, ultra-sweet vanilla cookies topped with fluffy frosting in an array of pastel colors, embellished with a finish of sprinkles. I’ll admit that I’m neither much of […]
Around the end of May, my usual love and admiration for all things corn amped up a bit. I mean, I’ll put corn in anything, but I took it to an extra corny level as corn season approached, exploring recipes related to my favorite vegetable. Working ahead on my column […]
Sometimes, all the planets (or ingredients and time of the year) align in order to make the right recipe. I was recently thumbing through my original favorite scone book, “Biscuits and Scones,†(Clarkson N. Potter; 1988) by Elizabeth Alston. You would think I had made every recipe in the book, […]
My first snickerdoodle was given to me by a primary schoolmate, not much older than I. The cookie was pale golden perfection, much like its baker, who was, despite her young years, full of enviable poise, confidence and beauty (who later in high school became, of course, quite popular, a […]