lemon « A Woman Sconed

Pleasing the plum palate

By rahoward, on September 23rd, 2018

Is it possible I’ve been hypnotized by a fruit? If so, it is the plum that has seduced me, once again. Fortunately — or not, really — the season is woefully short, but during it, I find myself drawn, again and again, to the stunning array of plums, pluots and plum/cherry hybrids, gleaming like jewels . . . → Read More: Pleasing the plum palate

Hushing with a sweet Charlotte

By rahoward, on August 31st, 2018

“Curving back within myself, I create again and again.” —Bhagavad Gita

In recent years, I’ve pondered the word “faith” a lot. I think it’s a term most associated with religion, but beyond that, it is, I think, a firm, reliant belief that there is something beyond us, taking care of things or (here’s one to . . . → Read More: Hushing with a sweet Charlotte

Escaping with a fragrant, lemony ‘visiting’ cake

By rahoward, on December 20th, 2017

I’ve written here recently of the October Northern California wildfires, one of the strangest, saddest times I’ve experienced in a while. For those in the fires’ paths of destruction, it was a sheer nightmare. For those of us on the nearby periphery, it was a surreal time, holding in place under a veil of constant . . . → Read More: Escaping with a fragrant, lemony ‘visiting’ cake

Gathering a bouquet of floral flavors

By rahoward, on May 30th, 2017

If 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 was looking for this . . . → Read More: Gathering a bouquet of floral flavors

Bread of the Month: Testing the wings of a dough dove

By rahoward, on March 26th, 2016

I had not considered the obvious parallels of birds and bread and lightness and flight until I made a bird out of bread recently. I had no choice but to make a bird out of bread recently when, in search of an annual Easter bread, I landed on a creature called Columba di Pasqua, . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Testing the wings of a dough dove

Bread of the Month: Filling the heart -- with jam

By rahoward, on February 13th, 2016

“The Heart wants what it wants, “ poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “– or else it does not care.”

My heart, or at least the scones I made into hearts, wanted jam, and who was I to deny them? Scones and jam have gone together since the clocks could strike three and mean teatime. And . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Filling the heart — with jam

Trying out two winter tonics

By rahoward, on January 31st, 2016

I like the word “tonic.” It has a reality-based sense of comfort and a tinge of humor for the extent it’s been applied to things that aren’t necessarily…good for you. What it seems to connote most, for me, is something you can make to heal yourself. Whether it’s a hair oil or a skin treatment . . . → Read More: Trying out two winter tonics

Bread of the Month: Lightening blackberries with lemon

By rahoward, on July 31st, 2013

I tend to disregard blackberries. These dark beauties are certainly worth my attention, yet I find myself more likely to veer toward strawberries and blueberries, the brighter and seemingly more versatile of the berry world.

It’s not that I don’t find blackberries delicious; I do. Sweet and less tart than a raspberry, they are laden . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Lightening blackberries with lemon

Stirring an elegant sauce two ways

By rahoward, on May 31st, 2013

A few weeks ago, I sat down to begin writing of a delicious hollandaise sauce I had made in the blender, when I read the words of Julia Child in Vol. 1 of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”: “It is extremely easy and almost foolproof to make in the electric blender, and we . . . → Read More: Stirring an elegant sauce two ways

“People ask me: "Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking? Why don't you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way the others do?" . . . The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”
--M.F.K. Fisher

"It was in a yellow limestone church in Stockdale, Kansas, a crossroads town, that I sat dreaming during summer Sunday sermons, not of heaven or hell, but of the good dinner to come."
--Clementine Paddleford