Aging Ain’t for Sissies

Yesterday at 7:30 pm

Recalcitrance Be Damned!

Yesterday was Christmas Shopping Day at our house—principally for Bill. We ordered the red-wrapped two- and three-pound boxes of dark chocolate Nuts & Chews he’s sent to family since Mrs. See first shmooshed them out. All over the country, Park…

23 Nov at 5:08 pm

Maybe the Best Pumpkin Pie You Ever Et

In the Kitchen, at the Table

Made from a real winter squash, not a can…imbued with American bourbon…crunchy with pecans and caramelized sugar…a holiday confection fresh from the earth—and my mother and grandmother. Squash Custard Filling: (8 to 9 servings) 2-1/2 cups pureed baked butternut, cushaw,…

17 Nov at 6:37 pm

Confession Regarding Muriel Rukeyser’s Garbage Can

Looking Over My Shoulder

Gene and I were newly married, newly moved to Manhattan. Gene’s favorite U.C. Berkeley philosophy professor and his wife were in town and we wanted to give a dinner party in their honor. It would be my first. But I’d…

1 Nov at 8:10 pm

“Head Erect and Tail Over the Dashboard!”

Aging Ain’t for Sissies

A week ago, early in the morning as grandson Cameron was sailing off to school on his bike, in response to my calling after him, “Have a marvelous day!” the young scholar waved and called back, “Have a marvelous day!” Surely I…

20 Oct at 5:02 pm

Invaluable Cooking Tools — #1 & #2

In the Kitchen, at the Table

What with the world in such tatters—actually one shouldn’t make light of it—this morning I’m moved to treat of mundane matters. What is more mundane than the fact that I still can’t find my reading glasses…and that a poor bedeviled…

16 Oct at 6:55 pm

Surprise, Surprise!

Taking Stock

Suddenly it struck me yesterday as I was wending my way around the bedroom—“wending” because I had to be careful to step around the overflowing suitcases flopped open on the floor…what with this siege of COVID (I write this mid-October,…

20 Sep at 6:47 pm

Being A Grown-Up

Aging Ain’t for Sissies

One of the reigning passions of my life has been travel. Since I was eighteen, I’ve seen much of France, Italy, Greece, Great Britain, glimpses of Mexico, China, Japan, India, Israel, Spain, Tanzania, Peru, Ireland, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Oman,…

19 Sep at 3:30 pm

Fine-Grained Blueberry Coffee Cake for the Week-end

In the Kitchen, at the Table

My dears, this cake is a DISCOVERY! Particularly marvelous when costly blueberries begin softening…the perfect way to enjoy them. The recipe is my way with “German Blueberry Kuchen” from Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook (1972 edition). The blurb says “Delicate, fine-grained…

2 Sep at 5:32 pm

Barbara Kafka and Innovating

In the Kitchen, at the Table

I was on my way to telling you about a fun new way to roast chicken when I discovered Barbara Kafka had died. If Kafka’s name doesn’t ring a bell, I’ll ring it for you: Barbara Kafka wrote cookbooks. La…

19 Aug at 11:32 am

Flaws

Taking Stock

This morning for no plausible reason I looked at myself in the mirror and thought I might take stock. List my flaws. I mean, after valiantly slogging along all these years and with a fair amount of travail, my body…