sing a song of active workspace So ok, it's St. Valentine's Day and I'm going to play a little cute on words. You get it right? Kiss-and-tell? When I go on house tours in this country or that I am open to all I can see. I take in the frontage and let my eye swoop around to scan the environs, the lines, the vistas and the carefully crafted details, usually from long ago - the newer tends to interest me less. I may appear to be randomly … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara Showroom – Come for the Sunshine, Shoreline, Stay for the Sheer Joy of It
Someone asked me recently for recommendations for an upcoming trip to Santa Barbara. I am always hesitant to put out recommendations, not only because I believe choices are so dependent on personal interests, budget and palate, but because, like Paris about which I have been asked as well, I don't consider myself to be anywhere close to an expert. I am merely a product of my own whims, wanderings, predilections and obsessions, and happily so. … [Read more...]
For Over Forty Years, The Cheesecake Most Requested in Our House – Recipe Favorites from My Corporate Days
Fresh Organic Yuzu Today is a day for baking, cooking and visiting. I will update photos as the day goes on. I have two dedicated cheesecake lovers in my house. Today, I will indulge their passion. But first, a little reminiscence from the decade from whence the recipe came. But, right now, I need the music on...... Back in the 1970s and well before I was married, I began collecting recipes in earnest. Of course, this was a … [Read more...]
Recipes Heard ‘Round the World – The Beauty, Power and Reassuring Human Gesture of Sharing
What is the one item, save except possibly gossip, that weaves its way around the world, near freely and instinctively, as a moniker of culture, creativity, love of food, celebration of local ingredients, growing seasons, experimentation, imagination, satiation, survival, sustenance and, above all, generosity of spirit? It's the recipe. I got to thinking yesterday as the flow of recipes bubbles up into a seasonal crescendo in anticipation of … [Read more...]
A Tart for All Seasons, For All Reasons: The Raspberry-Cherry Crumble Top Tart
There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about the therapeutic aspects of baking. This has always been true for me. Often, I can feel compelled to bake something at varying times of the day. It is such a soothing and "fruitful" endeavor. I always like to have something in my covered cake dish. It just warms my soul. While I usually am motivated to bake in the morning, I threw this together the other evening as I was making … [Read more...]
The Grand Accompaniment – Let’s Talk About Christmas Music
Can we talk about Christmas music? For me, not a December can come and go when the sound of carols doesn't come cascading into my psyche. I will sing, hum and play music for the entire month. It is the grand accompaniment to my holiday season - and, I have to wonder what it is like to be without this vast collection on which to draw, remember and enjoy. For me, it sets the tone, fills up the experience and brings joy into my heart. Over … [Read more...]
Headline: Mother Nature Learns Keyboard, Hits Delete on November and December
Sunday, November 18, 2018 When seemingly crazy things happen, I find myself trying to find the message that may be traveling though the ethos and sending along signals to pause for consideration......... Sometimes I try humor, as in signing onto Mother Nature's message board, sometimes I look to try to read the hidden or not so hidden messages swirling around in the universe. If you are one to consider that there are messages not to be … [Read more...]
The Great Thanksgiving Conundrum
my centerpiece from 2017 my turkey from 2013 Do we really need to muse about the Thanksgiving table every single year? I think so. If for nothing else, it is just fun to go through the process and consider all the ideas that you have floating around in your head. Is Thanksgiving the most emotion-driven and nostalgic holiday of the year? For me, many factors play a role in how I approach this day. Foremost is the weather, which … [Read more...]
Innocence Lost
Perhaps the earth shifted off its determinant position just a bit on that day he put his name in the ring. But, I had been picking up random signals long before. My antenna hummed with data and even though I was unsure of its relevance, the health of the earth in general seemed to be moving in the wrong direction. Storms raged, rhetoric rang out, people starved, women were raped and sold, little girls maimed or killed, tribes and armies … [Read more...]
In Any Way, Shape or Form: Chef’s Table to The Last Course by Claudia Fleming
Corrado Assenza - photo courtesy Eater/Netflix How many people are actively engaged in acting upon their own creative voice let alone are even aware of it? I've always been fascinated by this question. I recently participated in a conversation in one of my online food groups about listening to the voice of God - which to me is akin to listening to our own internal voice. As I have many times, I got to wondering about the substance and range … [Read more...]
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