I grew up going to junk and antique shops with my mother, first in the English countryside where we lived, then in the U.S. As we entered the dark, sometimes dank shops, treasures always awaited.  My mother had a fine eye, and we would fill the trunk of the car with everything from a stack of white Spode plates lined with gold, ancient kimonos, rugs

I just ate the best mussels of my life.  Tiny, plump, juicy, redolent of the sea with an overlay of bay leaf, pepper, and a little touch of hard cider, they stopped conversation, and a sacred hush floated over the table.  Later in the week at the market I told the fishmonger, Xavier, how extraordinary they were, and he concurred.  “Oh, la la, chèrie,” he

I am moving from two places at once.  It’s a saga, an ordinary one you might say.  But moving is never ordinary to the person who is experiencing it.  Read more

I had a class this week, and the blend of flavors, textures, and colors that results from this season was amazing.  There were many reasons for this, not the least the nature of those who attended.  But a cooking class during this season is always a delicious success, because we’re in a shoulder season: we still have summer produce, which is as good as it

So many emotions come into focus around a birthday, gratitude being the major one.  After all, every year that goes by without a major hiccup is a great year!  And I’ve been lucky all my life.  Minor hiccups, yes, a few things I’d rather not have experienced, of course, but mostly the sun has shone with brilliance and I have my health, my children, and

I am in awe of people who document their every waking moment. How do they, I ask myself, muster up the courage, have the energy, the conviction that people want to know? But, people do want to know. I first became aware of this at my cooking school. Already I was stretching my own boundaries by inviting students into my home, introducing them to my

I almost regretted driving out of Paris at 5 a.m. the morning of the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Olympics, to begin a trip planned a long while ago.  Reason had told me not to stay in the city, but I was like the kid looking backwards as we left, catching my last glimpses of a city dressed up for a huge party Thus, when

Go to the Recipe Greetings and many apologies for my absence the last couple of weeks. I’m blaming it on the Olympic Games which will start this coming Friday.  Why not, I figure, everyone else is blaming everything on them.   The truth is that Paris is in a state of “zizanie” or chaos, and it seeps into everything, including life and accomplishments.  The sound

God bless Victor Hugo.  I cannot count how many times this author, poet, and statesman has brought me back from the abyss with his thoughts and images.   We’re plunged into political chaos here right now, so I turned to M. Hugo and he’s come through again:    “However strange the present moment may seem, however bad it may look, no serious soul should despair. Surfaces

I love living in France, holding French citizenship, and enjoying everything that a life in France comprises. I’ve written much about this of course, most of it involving the procuring and preparation of food and those behind this valiant and noble effort.  I will mention that this love affair is eternal, despite the current roller coaster of politics we are enduring.  Now and then, though,

This morning on the radio (France Culture, a French national treasure), I listened to two women debate the various economic proposals from parties running in the hastily called French elections. I’m no economist but I understand the basics, and it is horrifying to learn how weak so many of the proposals are. And unrealistic. I also learned that 400,000 voters designated others to vote for

Yesterday was voting day for European elections. We had 38 official parties to choose from, and we all know who won. Pretty much throughout Europe. The wind is blowing to the right. My voting station is the nearest public high school, a five-minute walk from where I live, and I headed there mid-afternoon on Sunday. I expected a long line and wished I’d gone earlier,

The small Dutch city of Wageningen was crackling with excitement recently, or so it seemed from my perspective amongst a group of master’s students that included my daughter Fiona, about to participate in their graduation ceremony. Because the pandemic had robbed them of their bachelor’s ceremony, the event took on epic proportions.   The University of Wageningen is a renowned agricultural university dedicated to exploring

It didn’t take me long once I’d moved permanently to France to figure out the French schedule of life. It helped having a little boy in school, because thanks to him, I learned that every six weeks he would have two weeks off school.  I remember a sense of terror at learning this, however, for I worked for myself and had ferocious deadlines .  We

I worry a bit that news of Paris 2024 is on overkill, yet it’s just all so much fun and exciting that I have a final episode for you, from my personal Paris 2024. I’m not much of a sports fan, which is the understatement of the century, but when I was invited to the Team USA House Saturday by a friend of mine, Brian

There have been times when, whether I was making dinner for my family, or preparing for friends to come to a dinner party, I just didn’t “feel” it. I was tired, usually a state I don’t like to admit to, but it happens to everyone. A normal person would just resort to pasta; not me. I would persist with whatever amazing dish I’d decided to

Georgia, You're on My Mind And your luscious ingredients are in my kitchen. From toasted sunflower oil to chewy black wines, everything in Georgia is to savor. A Road Trip in the Republic of Georgia I was invited to join my daughter-in-law’s family there on a road trip into the Svaneti region, which boasts the highest continuously inhabited village in Europe, Ushgouli, at more than

On Rue Tatin, the beloved house that has welcomed so many, is once again for rent by the month, or the week. It's a perfect place to land if you want a taste of French life and culture, a beautiful, professional kitchen for all the ingredients you will get at the market, and as a base to explore Normandy and the Loire Valley, and more. 

Speculoos is the golden spice cookie that comes wrapped in plastic and sits on the saucer of your espresso cup in nearly every cafe throughout the Hexagon.  In the past decade, a single, plastic-wrapped speculoos has replaced the chocolate-dipped almond or malted milk ball that was the typical sweet treat alongside a cafe exprès. So, in that light the speculoos might be considered a newcomer,

I planted my fig tree about seven years ago, to replace an ancient apple tree which was the "apple of my eye".  She (or he?) was such a lovely part of the garden, planted at least eighty years ago by the nuns who once occupied On Rue Tatin.  She was just the perfect sort of tree for climbing,

My recent visit to Maine was a patchwork of memories and a blossoming of experiences to add to them. I moved there two minutes before my son was born, nearly 29 years ago. I fell in love with the town the minute I saw it, mostly for the spare, lovely homes that were placed so elegantly along its streets,

  I was strolling down the high street in Drogheda, Ireland, and suddenly my friend Trish Rogers, internationally known wine and food expert and author of the Zing!thing    yelled "Hughie will ya look a that!," and went over to embrace an elderly gent who was sitting on a bench playing the spoons.    "Aye and howerya goin','?" she said then

    I think my rhubarb plant loves me.  I blush to say this, but it's got to be true. Each season, it gets bigger and more productive.  This year, it multiplied so I actually have two rhubarb plants this year.  And while its stalks don't turn that luscious, deep red of some varieties, its flavor is unparalleled.

Begorrah.  Slainte.  Shite.  That’s about the sum of my Irish vocabulary, which I learned after spending a short week in the Ancient East coastal area of rolling green hills, gently capped waters, Celtic crosses, 99 ice creams. It’s what you’d expect of Ireland (maybe not the 99’s…more on that), it doesn't disappoint.  But there’s so much more. [caption id="attachment_9582" align="aligncenter"

I know I'm just under the wire with this cherry recipe, but I rushed to get it perfected so that I could share it with you.  So please run to your market, get the cherries even if they're the season's last, and find an avocado.  You've got a treat in store. I'm proud of this dish because

Salade Niçoise, how we all love this blend of potatoes, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, anchovies, tuna and…WAIT !!! STOP!!! Do not EVER tell any self-respecting Niçoise that you like your Salade Niçoise with potatoes, green beans, lettuce, or tuna and anchovies at the same time. This will make you an outcast and possibly consider you a poor, sad excuse for

I just read a piece by Jessica Knoll in the Global New York Times about “intuitive eating,” a fascinating concept. Come to find out, it’s an idea that surfaced in 1995 with a book entitled Intuitive Eating, by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, who have gone on to build an industry dedicated to the idea. What is Intuitive Eating?  Basically, it’s what the French do

Just like all the French, I'm travelling in August, to Maine.  And I'm hoping you'll join me there!  I'm offering two days of cooking classes in a lovely home overlooking the water, and there are just a few spots left so sign up now! Why Northport, Maine?  I have history there. I moved to Northport from Brooklyn in 1990, about five minutes before my son, Joe,

What's the best thing about spring? I know, everything.  But if you focus, bring it down to the details and ignore radishes, then it's got to be rhubarb.  And one rhubarb plant (which over the years becomes two, then three, then...) will supply enough rhubarb for a family of three, plus

Last October, I hiked a good part of the Sentier des Douaniers, the winding trail that traces the coast of Brittany.   Just last week I hiked another part of the trail, the eventual goal being to hike the entire Breton "peninsula". The Sentier des Douaniers was once trod by customs agents on the alert for contraband.  Today, the region has turned it into the