The dog shit scene did it for me. When Emily, in Netflix’s new series – “Emily in Paris” – steps in the do-do, her immaculate pink shoes squishing with that “Oh no, ugh!” sound, I laughed out loud. You see, that happened to me as well. Rounding the corner one gorgeous late fall morning, headed … More I’ll Always Have Paris
Once you have mastered a technique, you barely have to look at a recipe again. ~ Julia Child Everybody says it happens, yes. Love at first sight. It happens. I must concur―it was true, at least for me, when it came to cookbooks. The summer I turned fourteen, I fell hopelessly in love with the … More Discovering Cookbooks, a Memory
We’re like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive. ~ Orson Scott Card It didn’t take me long to realize that no handed-down family traditions existed in my family’s kitchen. None. It was as if everything foodwise emerged sui generis from Hydra’s head. And nowhere did that dearth of tradition … More “Gingerbread” Boys
You can have strong emotional reactions when you eat a food that arouses those deep unconscious memories. ~ Susan Krauss Whitbourne Even if I stood on my tiptoes, I still couldn’t see over the counter at Ferdinand’s Bar. But I could smell the waffled sugar cones cooking in the waffle irons and hear the Washington … More The Magic of Ferdinand’s Bar
To paraphrase Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was when I strolled through the grocery store, leisurely, a flâneur shopping for food with nary a care in the world.” Of course, many cares dominated my life – family, health, concern about the future of the planet. But grocery shopping, or browsing as … More What I Miss Most about My Pre-Pandemic Life
The dog shit scene did it for me. When Emily, in Netflix’s new series – “Emily in Paris” – steps in the do-do, her immaculate pink shoes squishing with that “Oh no, ugh!” sound, I laughed out loud. You see, that happened to me as well. Rounding the corner one gorgeous late fall morning, headed … More I’ll Always Have Paris
Just a picture, in memory of my brother-in-law, who passed away August 23, 2013. Rollo Taylor, a giant of a human being. “The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only a page.” St. Augustine (354-430) (Augustine of Hippo) © 2013 C. Bertelsen
I don’t really remember my grandfather very well, for he died just a month before I turned 14. Yet he left a legacy that lies hidden deep in my brain, a usually dormant place where I apparently shelve all my food memories. But in the right circumstances, and with the right stimulus, that place – … More In My Grandfather’s Garden, or, a Long Apothegm on Apricots
CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN 