the beauty of an ordinary life
She arrived at the door with a big paper grocery sack, handed off the goods, and left promptly, knowing full well what life was like with a toddler and a new baby at home. In the grocery sack were three Ziploc bags: Wide noodles; sauce; chopped Romaine (freshly chopped from a real head of lettuce, … Continue reading Something sentimental.
(Originally posted with the title, "The Moon Is Like China," on August 23, 2014. The version below is a revision and, therefore, quite a bit different from the original.) One day, at some point in our childhood, my sister and I were riding in the car, and my sister, staring out the window, said, apropos … Continue reading Something recycled.
An actual family dinner conversation (and yes, I have shared this one before, but what follows it is all new): SON: [to MOM] "So, why'd you move all that stuff and mess up the big room?" MOM: "I need more space for my art and sewing and things. Maybe I'll have people over, teach a … Continue reading Family dinner.
Rise early, and head to the farmers market so you'll have the best pick of produce. Or, alternately, sleep in and head to the market when you're awake and have had some coffee. Don't like farmers markets? Fine. But know that you'll need tomatoes for this dinner, and grocery tomatoes will not do. Buy loads … Continue reading A summer dinner.
The upshot is that it was a damned good idea then, and it's still a damned good idea, now. Here's how I know: In early spring 2007, before ... well, before so many, many (many) things that have happened in the past decade, a neighbor asked me to join her book club. I declined, responding … Continue reading Dear Bon Appetit,
The pen, the sword, you know the drill. - a note of encouragement from the funny and indefatigable Ross Murray, written 12/16/16 In the fall of 2016, Outside magazine published an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef. It was satire, a cynical commentary piece (though not clearly labeled as such), and to scientists' great alarm … Continue reading Life hums along.
On Wednesday, after a long day at work, I got home and remembered that I hadn't gone to the grocery. In a week. And we had no dinner plan. And everyone was hungry. So I made cheese soufflé. If you know me, or if you've been here for a while, then you know that cheese … Continue reading Cheese souffle and the kitchen table.
If there is a dish more emblematic of my cooking story than cheese soufflé, I can't think what it would be. By now you've heard this tale, or bits of it, many times: my mother, who trained herself first by watching and later by reading, trained me to cook by virtue of the fact that … Continue reading Inhale, exhale.
jenny's lark 