Santa is a magical creature. Santa is a man who lived in third-century Turkey (then called Lycia). Santa is a mythological being. Happily, Santa can be all three … The Magic: He flies through the night sky with the greatest of ease, in his reindeer-drawn sleigh. He knows where I live, the white house on … More Santa: The Magic. The Man. The Myth.
This year – and I know you know this as well – the holiday season will be nothing like it used to be. A few weeks ago, I thought I’d throw together a Christmas meal of meatballs and lefse and that would be it as far as my efforts would go. But then I changed … More Smörgåsbord: Perfect for the 2020 Holiday Season
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I collect cookbooks. Also books about food. Books about writing and history, too. And, as with most good things, sometimes you can just have too much. That is why for the last several months, I’ve been purging my many bookshelves. After donating several boxes of books to … More Holiday Shopping Made Easy – BOOKS!
At Christmastime, my kitchen becomes a place where past and present merge. Through food, I honor my ancestors – the known, the unknown, and the never-to-be knowns, all the people whose DNA runs through my veins and shapes my nose and determines my character. They hailed from Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Cheshire, Lincoln, London, Kent … … More Happy Christmas to All!
I wish all of you the very best Christmas, no matter where you cook! Thank you all for everything and inspiring me to keep on writing about my favorite subject: food.
Gherkins & Tomatoes will be back after New Year’s. I wish all of you a happy holiday season, no matter what or how you celebrate!
I dedicate this post to the children and the parents, everywhere, especially Newtown, Connecticut. Every year, in December, a marvelous thing happens. At least I think it’s wonderful. And not for the reasons you might think. Christmas comes around, bringing with it a sense of magic in the air, some thing that I felt as … More Remembering the Magic and Wishing for Peace on Earth
I love Christmas. Yes, I really do. For I see Christmas as a time that allows us – in these rather sterile, rigid United States, anyway – to cut loose and string up gaudy gee-gaws all over the house. To transcend the daily. To feel the seasonal and mythic cycles of past times. To celebrate … More How to Tempt the Scrooges, or, Christmas, the Cooking Season