Chambres de Bonne
My thoughts lately have been about chambres de bonne, those rooms in the rooftops of the Haussmanien buildings that line the streets of Paris. As I cycle through the city, in neighborhoods I once lived in, I remember with fondness being an occupant. Everything about Paris was exotic to me when I first moved here […]
French Cuisine Anchors the Soul
If ever a person feels untethered, confused, isolated, gob-smacked or uprooted, a palliative is available: come to France and read a menu. As the world changes and governments, borders, countries, opinions and beliefs swirl like oil on water, there is always oeuf mayonnaise. And confit. Quiches crowd patisserie shelves while café tables are populated with […]
Still Packing
You will forgive my silence, I do hope, as I continue to pack and remove myself and my family from our house. It’s a process that is leading me to comprehend the true meaning of the word overwhelm, an odd double-word I didn’t really understand until I looked it up. It turns out that whelm […]
Moving Meals
I’m in the process of moving out of my house of thirty years, which involves, among other things, battling with packing tape that always wants to corkscrew (what is it about packing tape??), numbering boxes quickly before I forget what is inside, and any number of other details that are too boring to detail. You […]
France and Its Amazing Stuff
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 […]
Mussels of the Spirit
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 […]
Elegant Chocolate Chip Cookies
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
An Amazing Apple Cake
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 […]
Preserving, or Killing, Tradition
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 […]
Boundaries and Language
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 […]
