musings about food, travel, creativity and life
Here’s Vote! She is the doll I created honoring the 100th Year Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. She is right in front of me as I fill out my ballot. “To vote is to rise to […]
“As the world turns” in these chaotic times, most of us are seeking health and balance the best we can. Here are ten recent activities that have helped lift my spirits: Drawing and dressing my four Gigettas shown above with polka dots. Gigetta and polka […]
“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.” Giuseppe Verdi Andiamo! Let’s go…and we can, if only in our imagination. SO…here’s what has unfolded these last few weeks for me along Italian lines… 🇮🇹 Yet another failed attempt at making my own edible, […]
Here on our little hill, our garden continues to provide. As our vegetables and fruits come into fruition, I am enjoying using them in old and new ways—salads, steamed corn on the cob (!), plum ice cream, applesauce, lots of basil pesto, my first-ever gazpacho, […]
Last week, we and thousands of other Californians were asked to evacuate our home because of approaching fires. We found safe shelter and then experienced five days of disbelief, disorientation, wondering, hoping. And then we got the word that we could return home. How lucky […]
Hi again and welcome back to “Bring Joy to the Table.” This summer John and I are enjoying and thankful for the comfort and pleasures of home. We are “vegging out” by harvesting our first tomatoes, eating Peter Pan squash, and looking forward to […]
This week I needed some “uppers.” Natural ones, of course! And I found them in little things along the way… Like… *savoring my first cup of coffee, with my homemade Low Fat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, a David Lebovitz recipe *being greeted by our bright […]
“To have a basic ingredient that can be prepared a million different ways is a beautiful thing.” […]
Pasta is one of my comfort foods, so I decided to make some this week. Oh, my. Good thing John and I have a sense of humor. I started with a recipe I found in Heirloom Kitchens by Anna Francese Gass, a cookbook of classic recipes […]
“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces. Just good food with fresh ingredients.”–Julia Child I cooked a lot this week–it felt good and centering. One meal in particular came together in a wonderful serendipitous way. It all […]
This week with all the news and realities of “re-opening, ” I felt a mix of emotions. As we leave the known shelter of “shelter in place” and experience this uncertain next phase, I wonder, “How will it go? What new decisions will we […]
A little while ago, we happened onto a bit of happy news. It was an interview with San Francisco illustrator Wendy MacNaughton. She was talking about her #draw together project–free drawing lessons for children who are sheltering and educating at home. She presents these live […]
This Mother’s Day weekend, I want to honor my mother in a very simple way–by sharing one of her risotto recipes. I had planned to make the risotto on Mother’s Day, but I just couldn’t wait. So Thursday night, I prepared it and it was as […]
We all need a little hope and healing these days. Earth Day provided me with that when I became John’s assistant in our garden. Since I had played the role of Mother Nature in my first grade play, I figured I might have some as […]
This post is short and “sweet.” I am including a recipe for Cornmeal Cranberry Cookies that I baked last week. We thought they were quite good. Apparently, we are becoming a nation of bakers. I’m in! How about you? Are you, or have you […]