Essentially…
(a recipe for braised fennel yum and exploration of what it is we all do) Often, while sitting at my little market stall, I am approached by people who want to know what a herb DOES. People are always interested in the function of person, plant or object alike, because we want to know how best it can serve us. But when it comes to people and plants (because objects are often born... Read More
Moroccan mallow salad
If I were to have a robot self, I would describe it something like this: A satellite dish, with roots, and a nuclear reactor in the middle, plus two hands and a body with which to express the product of said reaction. And when it comes to writing, I feel like one has to have a satellite dish. If I’m not out there, wide open, taking in new stuff every day, then everything... Read More
Polenta
(a trip to San Francisco in which I cook for my brother and his roommates) I drove up to San Francisco last week. I’d never actually been for more than a few hours, passing through, so I was excited to spend some time exploring. And luckily, there’s a Twitter-verse, in which you can do things like say ‘hey folks, where should I go in San Fran” and folks... Read More
Pickled Watermelon Rinds
I like watching people test for good watermelons, because it makes them look crazy. I know this, because I do it, and people look at me like I’m crazy. I learned the knocking technique from an Israeli woman who claimed to be the ‘queen of vegetables’, who would bustle around the grocery store, knocking on watermelons until she’d delightedly find the right... Read More
Tortilla Espanola
I forgot about how nice some things are at home. Like clean sheets and a comfy bed that is so big you can stretch out in your sleep and still not know there’s someone else there. And like having a bathroom that you don’t share with a hundred other people in the marina. And good coffee. Jamie and I jumped ship in Alicante. Gatablanca and I had a tearful goodbye. That... Read More
Dandelion and fennel= yum
Oh jeez. I’m sorry, I’ve been the worst blogger ever. I’ve been working my you-know-what off trying to launch a website (CSS and web design are WAY harder than they look!), and then I went to Korea with some friends, and only really got back yesterday. Korea was amazing; I wish I’d had longer than a week there. I’d always had this strange attraction... Read More
The loveliest sprout
I can’t believe I’m doing this to you. I mean, I hate sprouts. Really truly think they smell like socks and dirt and they make you fart to boot. It’s all Jamie’s fault. We were getting our weekly shopping and he saw brussels sprouts and started jumping up and down with excitement. Anybody who gets that excited about something that most people hate really... Read More
The loveliest parsnip
I went to a Burns supper a few weeks ago. I told my friend Gareth about it a few nights ago and he asked me what the hell a Burns supper was. I laughed, because I assumed that he was joking. But he wasn’t. When you grow up in Scotland, you just assume that people are joking when they say they don’t know who Robert Burns was. I mean, he’s one of our national treasures,... Read More
Chicken and apricot salad
If you’re anything like me, you probably get quite sick of chicken. I eat fairly often, for blood sugar regulation purposes, and it’s usually small amounts of protein and fat. When my doctor first suggested it, my first thought was “wooohoo– more food!” (in fact, it came with a warning of possible weight gain, which led me to assume that there would... Read More
Leek
Tuesday and Thursday nights are my favourite nights of the week. That’s the night that Jam does jujitsu, and I get to stay home alone and reenact my single days. Now before you think that Jude Law comes for a visit (though I’d be hard pressed to throw him out on the street) I should probably point out to you that I was the lamest single person ever. I mean, most of... Read More
