Note: I first wrote this post in 2008, when the U.S. had been at war in Afghanistan for seven years. Now it is 2021, thirteen years have passed, and we are finally leaving Afghanistan. But the price paid by all for war is not over. And never will be. The fall of Kabul on August … More Afghanistan … Where the Enchanted Snows Fall
Leo Racicot, a friend of M. F. K. Fisher’s, wrote an essay about M. F.’s sojourn in Japan, a part of her life that rarely gets any ink. This total immersion in the Japanese way of eating and of living changed M.F.K. Fisher. Admirers of her work boldly underscore her sojourns in France, particularly in … More M. F. K. Fisher in Japan: A Meditation by Leo Racicot
As Notre Dame burned on the night of April 15, 2019, all my memories of Paris converged, accordion-like, folding inward, into that deep place of mine where not much gets in. Sobs, tears, disbelief. History ignited, bursting into flames, before my very eyes. Never mind that history, by its very nature, changes day to day, … More Memory, My Old Friend
Like most of you, I am getting a bit off kilter here. I mean, after all it is Day 52 for me in COVID-19 lockdown. But I broke that run of strict isolation today. I didn’t want to. But I had to. This morning I dashed out to visit my spine doctor, due to ongoing … More Traveling Back in Time: Memories of Wet Markets – COVID-19 Isolation, Day 52
Curry. I can’t live without it. And thus it was only natural that I used some of my Santa Claus money to buy myself a copy of Dan Toombs’s clever cookbook, The Curry Guy: Recreate Over 100 of the Best British Indian Restaurant Recipes at Home (2017). The cooking found in British Indian Restaurants. Or BIRs. … More The Curry Guy
I love food from India, I mean, I really, really do. And so when I had a chance to review Madhur Jaffrey’s latest, well, what could I say??? Heck, YES! Here’s my review, of a marvelous book, on that wonderful new magazine from the U.K. – Modern Salt: MADHUR JAFFREY’S “VEGETARIAN INDIA: A JOURNEY THROUGH … More Madhur Jaffrey’s “Vegetarian India”: My Review on the”Modern Salt” Site
For numerous reasons, lately I’ve been indulging in one of my passions – cooking the food of the Indian sub-continent. I just ran across again William Makepeace Thackeray’s “A Poem to Curry,” quoted by nearly everyone who takes a stab at writing about the mystery of curry, and how it traveled to the nooks and crannies … More The Poetry of Curry, or, a Traveler’s Tale
