Open my cookbook cupboard with caution. If you move too quickly, you’ll be deluged with recipe clippings. Because though I have a good many cookbooks, I’m always hungry to try something new. My mother had a similar cupboard stuffed full of both cookbooks and loose clippings. An enthusiastic cook with a large family to feed, [...]
Today marks the first anniversary of sheltering in place here in California. This milestone has me thinking about the last time I strolled into the pool across the street, unannounced, appointment- and mask-less. There was talk about shutting down and I wanted to swim a few laps just in case the pool closed for a couple of [...]
A photo of my local gas station made it into the New York Times this week. It showed a bunch of cars lined up for gas as residents prepared for what’s become the deadliest month of the year. October is always warm and dry, but in the last few years things have gotten worse as [...]
I turned sixty this summer. Let’s pause for a minute and recognize the enormity of that statement. As a workout buddy said, at fifty you can pretend that your life is only half over. At sixty you’re not fooling anyone. Other older friends tell me to “jump on in, the water’s fine.” Having known them [...]
The sun is hiding today. Taking a rest from all those brilliant days and exquisite sunsets we had through the holidays. I peeked outside at the mauve hellebores barely visible in the fog before scurrying back inside to pick up a new book someone thought I’d like for Christmas or an old favorite that nobody [...]
Though we’re likely to get just a handful of trick-or-treaters tonight, it didn’t seem right not to have candy at the door. So, I swung by the local CVS and wandered the aisles looking for something to serve the brave ghouls and goblins who navigated their way to us. If I had a skeletal metabolism [...]
When my brother Bruce sent an email to the whole family telling us that this summer there would be a total eclipse of the sun visible from mom’s backyard, I thought “big whoop.” I mean, I’d seen a few partial lunar eclipses before and they were interesting but not life-changing. Nevertheless, a major celestial event [...]
Independence Day demands a barbecue, don’t you think? A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for barbecued ribs smoked in a spicy sauce featuring the Korean red chili paste “gochujang.” Gochujang is certainly popular right now—seems like it’s a weekly ingredient in our Blue Apron kits—but we’ve used it a lot over the years [...]
“I wanted to see a woman lead the great nation, so my own spine could be straighter this blustery sunny morning.” Hilary Mantel The unthinkable—at least from inside my bright blue bubble—has happened and now Donald Trump is going to be our next president. As you may recall I was am a Hillary fan girl. [...]
Because two friends I walk with in the early morning have been out of town for the past few weeks—summer travel has begun!—I’ve switched up my morning exercise routine by taking more yoga classes at the swim club down the road. Not entirely awake I stumble over to the sound of bird-song and the rhythmic [...]
