In 1368, at the age of sixty-four, the poet and philosopher Petrarch settled into a…
Lidl Let Us Down
Long ago, during an excursion to France, my Dear One and I discovered pâtes de fruit, lovely little fruit jellies in the most marvelous flavors. Not just strawberry and apricot, raspberry and pear, but coing (quince) and our most favorite, black currant. These...
Corona Virus Diary 14: How To Roast A Chicken in Water
There seems to be heightened attention to all matters culinary in the Time of COVID. That’s a good thing, I think. Keeps people out of restaurants and other enclosed spaces and builds skill that we should all have anyway. Dining Chez-Nous We are people who cook and...
Corona Virus Diary 4: Safely Stocking the Larder
I have long disliked going to the grocery store. From the time I was twenty and in my first apartment I made a list based on a strict budget, went in, collected items, paid up and got out. My mother loathed going to the store with me. I was boring, she complained. I...
Christmas Letter 2019
My Dear One, noticing that we had a lot of empty calendar space from the end of October to the beginning of November, suggested that we fly off to somewhere in Europe. France? Italy? It took almost no time to decide on the Veneto. For ten days we nested in the...