Untitled Document Cupid left a voice mail last night. With the annual archery tournament in just a few days, he wanted to check in: Would I be needing any extra assistance this year? A bow-polishing, perhaps? A prompt response would be appreciated, for his travel schedule is jam-packed with visits to nervous archers whose aim […]
Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
A new old friend
Untitled Document It’s a wonderful and rare experience to return to a once-favorite restaurant after several years’ absence and find it as good as ever. It’s akin to running into an old friend with whom you’ve lost touch and quickly and easily slipping back into a comfortable, close relationship. It’s even more wonderful and rare […]
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Super Bowl chaat
Untitled Document I know little about the upcoming football showdown (it’s in Miami, correct?), and, frankly, I don’t care. What’s important is the need for superior snacks for a marathon session in front of the television. Movie-awards buffs will need similar sustenance just a few weeks later for the Academy Awards. For inspiration, I turn […]
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Winter citrus on ice
Untitled Document I’ve long subscribed to the notion that winter is an ice-cream-free zone. Even when snow fails to make an appearance or the temperature feels more like spring, winter is dark — and darkness makes us turn inward. We fold up the patio furniture and retreat indoors. We brood over bowls of broth and […]
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Cooking for my veg-heads
Untitled Document One of the most interesting aspects of parenthood has been watching my three children evolve into unique individuals. Their similarities and differences have given a whole new perspective to that “heredity vs. environment” argument in my Psych 101 class. Nowhere is this more evident than in my daughters. They’re both redheads (which has […]
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Tropical winter
Untitled Document Just a few days ago, the news from your neighborhood climatologist might have suggested there’s really something to that global warming thing. Take the first Saturday of January, when temperatures climbed into the low 70s in the Northeast — where the weather is supposed to be . . . well, you know what […]
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Pressing matter
Untitled Document Consider the olive. The olive tree has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years, starting in the eastern Mediterranean. Trees can live and bear fruit for as long as 1,000 years. The Greek word for olive, elaia, is the root of the word “oil.” It’s difficult to overstate the importance of olives to […]
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Women in the kitchen
Untitled Document Until only the last few decades, the professional restaurant kitchen was an exclusively male domain, particularly in sophisticated establishments with elegant cuisine. The culture and attitudes that kept women out of restaurant kitchens were mostly no different than those regarding women in any workplace. Specifically, however, it was commonly accepted that professional kitchens […]
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Improvising chili
Untitled Document There’s a line from a John Lennon song that sums up a recent attempt to fix dinner: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” The plan: turkey chili. I had envisioned a low-maintenance evening, spending about an hour with some canned white beans and seasoned ground turkey. Inspired […]
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Taking stock
Untitled Document Well, the holidays are over. As always, much as I’ve enjoyed the parties and celebrations, and the copious amounts of food and drink, I’m ready for it to end. Nothing sounds so good as a quiet evening at home and a simple meal. This time of year, I’m always glad I have a […]
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Cauliflower power
Untitled Document If cheese sauce is all you’ve ever had in the way of broccoli and its kissing cousin, cauliflower, then we need to talk. It is hard to mention one without the other, given the popularity of the newfangled hybrid Broccoflower, plus cauliflower is available not just in traditional virgin snow white but in […]
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Have a sparkling New Year
“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!” — Winston S. Churchill Most New Year’s celebrations have seemed a bit awkward to me. The silly hats, noisemakers, and excessive drinking just feel wrong, somehow. We had a party at my house every year when I was growing up. There was little […]
