musings about food, travel, creativity and life
* I began this year vowing to read more books. I was thinking “quantity.” Then I started reading a travel book about Italy and food and I just had to slow down. Why was I rushing through what was beautiful writing about topics I love? […]
‘Tis the season of many emotions. Certainly this time of year can bring joy. There are parties with family and friends, Christmas Carol sing-alongs, and, if you’re lucky, tuba concerts… really–just imagine 200-plus tubas playing “Silent Night” in the Rotunda of a state Capitol! But […]
There we were on our way to the small Wisconsin town of Mineral Point, when John decided he’d like to buy some of his favorite beer–Spotted Cow–straight from the source. So we found our way to the New Glarus Brewing Company and had a fun, […]
“Yes.” It has arrived! The holiday season and the “first wine of the harvest”–Beaujolais Nouveau 2019. I first became familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau when a friend and I were writing a wine blog–and doing all the necessary research that that involved! A tough job. I […]
“It’s not what’s on the table that matters, it’s who is in the chairs.” Over the years, I have often seen this quote. As a food lover, what’s on the table is important to me. But “who is in the chairs” is equally important. To […]
Last weekend, the student in me was one happy camper. I attended two cooking classes. One was on croissant making, held at Sur La Table in Carmel. I love eating croissants, pain au chocolat especially, so why not learn to bake them? Right! After the […]
Orange is the color of the season. Our local Earthbound Farms Market is a center for natural sculptures of all configurations of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. And I wanted to join the fun by bringing orange to the table this week. I did […]
This week I’ve been culling my book collection. In the process, I’ve rediscovered one stunning book that was given to us by our niece many Christmases ago. It’s Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe. The hungry gypsy in […]
I just visited the Mediterranean! Well, almost. What I did do was read The Forest Feast Mediterranean by Erin Gleeson. It’s her latest release in a series of vegetarian cookbooks. This book is a delight. It is a colorful blend of recipes, illustrated by watercolors, […]
I’m on a new adventure: how to experience my home territory in fresh, fun and inspiring ways. As a part of that, I happened onto an e-mail announcing cooking classes at our very own, newly renovated Sur La Table store in Carmel. Quite a few […]
“Good food with friends and family is the cure of souls.” (from a Leigh Standley Curly Girl cocktail napkin) It was a very warm day on the Peninsula and I had a series of in-town appointments. Highlighting the day, though, were three events with […]
How could I not go to a talk entitled, “What Makes Humans Happy?” This talk was presented in Ketchum, Idaho a few weeks ago by Laurie Santos, Yale University Professor of Psychology. Her course called “Psychology and the Good Life” is apparently the most popular […]
Saying “A woman’s place is in the kitchen” might cause a stir. But I just finished a book called A Woman’s Place (2019) that addresses that concept in a unique, positive, and assertive way. “Yes,” the authors say, a woman’s place is in the kitchen–as […]
Summer can be a lovely mix of this and that–the familiar, the new; rest, excitement. A fullness. Trees and flowers are at their best. Festivals and picnics abound. And wine shelves overflow with pink rosés from around the world. “Rosé” says summer to me. Pretty, […]
It was that kind of week. A sad one, with our American flags again at half-mast, with words and images that made our hearts ache and our minds wonder–what can we do to be a part of a solution to all of the violence, loss […]