[I] would wager that, in the spring, when grocery shoppers across this country get a hankering for strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberry…anything, that don’t give a moment’s thought to the fact that most of the strawberries they’re buying come from the productive fields of California, from Oxnard to Watsonville. My […]
[O]f all the unrest in recent years, the war in Ukraine has unsettled me significantly. Perhaps it is the timing. As we just seemed to be stepping forward, out of the shadow of a horrifying and destructive pandemic, we began to witness new horrors waged on a particular people, who […]
Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Soda Bread is on my mind. It’s too bad that it isn’t on my mind more often. Soda bread is tender, tangy, slightly sweet, and served fresh with butter, there isn’t much better. While traditional soda bread, served as a round loaf with […]
Armed with freshly ground cornmeal from a local historic grist mill (see previous blog entry), I pondered ways to use it. I loved a good cornbread, but I had made many pans in my day, so I was up for something different. One Sunday, I Iooked to something cozy and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
During the last year or so, new kinds of gardens began appearing all over food social media. These garden-scapes have continued to grow and blossom, many of them becoming beautiful works of art. They are all edible…and their foundation? A bed of delicious, moist, dimpled, oily and flavorful focaccia, a […]
One would assume my April making of Strawberry Banana Muffins came out of a seasonal bent. Strawberries, though found year-round, are often on the docket of spring-to-summer baking projects, coming into prominence as early as April in California. But, to be honest, my muffins came almost completely from a need […]