I’m sitting in the No Name Bar, heels clipped to the bar stool rung. Watching the Detectives fills the high corners of the room; there’s such pleasing reverb in these old buildings. No Name is the only campus bar that has Tempest, and the drinks are cheap. Best part, it is summer 1980 and the … Read more
Cooking is second nature to me, after nearly 60 years. I am a practical cook with a taste for heat, eclectic palette, and a bit of flair. I mostly love to cook to feed people, to honor guests. In COVID time, I have been cooking mostly for myself, and finding that I am just as … Read more
[Pumpkin Applesauce] I love to invent new dishes, especially when I am finding food that is slightly past prime but redeemable. This is the case with apples often. They get a little soft, perhaps a bit withered, but not rotted. Perfect time to make applesauce. Last night I was finally digging out the pulp from … Read more
My mother would fry bacon patiently, rendering as much of the fat as possible. After she removed the slices to drain on paper towel, she would crack eggs into the hot pan, and carefully baste them with the bacon fat until cooked through to a perfect sunny-side up, dotted with little brown orts left behind. … Read more
I have been cooking since I was nine years old, first by my mother’s side. I received my first cookbook for Christmas and promptly started earning Girl Scout badges in hospitality, baking, and cooking with its recipes. By the time I was 11, I could prepare a full meal for a family. This came in … Read more
[with Corn Chowder Recipe] Awhile back, I think last fall, when the world was more routine and safe from disease, I visited a friend in her stately 19th century house in the country on a hill overlooking a local reservoir. Deb was preparing a corn chowder in her newly remodeled kitchen. The door was left … Read more
I’m sitting in the No Name Bar, heels clipped to the bar stool rung. Watching the Detectives fills the high corners of the room; there’s such great reverb in these old buildings. This is the only campus bar that has Tempest, and the drinks are cheap. Best part, it is summer 1980 and the students … Read more
Recently the last family portrait my mother had taken the summer before her death popped up on Facebook, a function of the auto-memory. A thread of comments started with my sister proclaiming our mother was stunning. Cousins who were still in elementary school when she died, childhood friends all chimed in. “I always loved that … Read more
I have an affliction. I become attached to the smallest items. My house is brimming with stuff, and every piece, every clipping, vase, trinket, knickknack has a story. I can tell you how each of these came into my possession, who gifted me, where I was when I found it in a shop while traveling. … Read more
The first time I voted was fall of 1972, the first year 18-year olds were permitted to exercise our right. If young men could die in Viet Nam, they should be able to vote. Of course, I was a vote for McGovern, and the stakes were high. It seemed that the worst thing that could … Read more