I have been told that the first sentence I ever strung together was a command, accompanied by a baby-fisted pound on my highchair tray.  “MO BAKE!” I called out gleefully, but with all the authority of a general commanding his troops. “MO B/… Read full post »

We are used to being surprised by the street life we see in the Mexican fishing village where we live on and off during the year. Sometimes it is just a man and his donkey riding slowly through town as he calls out “Honey for sale!” Sometimes it… Read full post »

The closest I’ve ever come to living on a farm was the month I spent working as an intern in the kitchen of a New York City restaurant. That’s because the farm came to us. Literally. Not only did the restaurant order fresh produce and humanely raised… Read full post »

When I was eight-years-old and still my grandmother’s only grandchild, I spent a lucky summer month in the Texas Hill Country where my grandmother kept a country home. The days were full and I was very happy doing everything I never got to do at home, I jumped off… Read full post »

My grandmother’s Irish heritage showed up in her hilariously salty sense of humor and in her cooking. As prolific as the jokes were, however, she could only cook one thing: a baked potato. But it was irresistibly delicious. Her secret was simple. She just added half… Read full post »

 Recently I came across an old walnut in the pocket of a coat I don’t often wear. Instead of throwing it away, I cracked it open and ate it. Still crunchy and densely flavored, it propelled me back a few years to the sunny fall day I found it under… Read full post »

Remember Br’er Rabbit? He was always running off into the briar patch or someone’s garden and getting in or out of trouble. Here’s a little bit from the famous Uncle Remus stories:

_{“One time, after Brer Rabbit done bin trompin’ &lsqu}… Read full post »

 A year ago today, the earthquake in Chile was so strong that it shifted the earth’s axis. It also shifted my world.

 Since surviving the 8.8 quake 200 miles from its epicenter, I am enormously relieved that much of my life has remained rock solid. But… Read full post »

Many years ago, when I was a teenager on leave from school, I traveled for a month in Egypt. Naturally, in recent days since the uprising in Tahrir Square, I have been thinking of those days and what I remember of the teeming Egyptian streets, the generous people I… Read full post »

It’s Valentine’s Day and while you may be content to buy your love a pretty box of chocolates, there are a host of other foods that can convey your message more effectively

Since ancient times clever cooks have concocted seductive recipes to tempt their paramours and… Read full post »

In her cabaret performances, as well as in her regular life, Mary Cleere Haran was a medium for the insouciant charm of the great Hollywood comediennes Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne and Claudette Colbert. She channeled those women effortlessly, not as a mimic, but as someone whose own qualities… Read full post »

In our house there’s two kind of chili. The Texas sized spicy kind we used to make when the men went deer hunting and came back with a buck. And then there’s the kind for little girls.

Chili in Texas can get kind of personal. Reputations have been won and… Read full post »

In the last four days I have happily taken an abbreviated world tour:

On Wednesday in NYC, I ate an Indian dosa made with melted Monterrey Jack cheese and served with mango chutney.

On Thursday in Brooklyn, I channeled my childhood and made an… Read full post »

_{I am 5 in this picture. The caption in our family album reads The Little Refugee. A raggamuffin for sure, but clearly not underfed.  I remember my mother taking this while I was waiting for the Good Humor man to arrive.} 

To just imagine the words “grilled cheese&rd… Read full post »

I have just finished making Lucy’s breakfast, a process that involves mixing a variety of nutritional powders (to counteract arthritis and osteoporosis) and slippery elm syrup (to keep her continent) with protein and starch. To this I add two prescription medications and three over-the-counter… Read full post »

 For almost her entire life, there have been two foods my daughter has despised: soup and risotto. I can understand her aversion to wine-infused cheesy rice, but to turn her nose up at an entire category of cuisine that encompasses everything from the creamy simplicity of chilled v… Read full post »

 Naturally I enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, but to be honest, like everyone else in my family, I am more excited about the leftovers. The mad scramble for the turkey carcass begins so early after the big meal that this year we bought two turkeys.

We all agree there is nothing… Read full post »

This is a story about a road trip, a rat and a candy bar.  It’s also a story about how I learned what “omnivore” really means.

 You don’t know me very well yet, but you know my type. When my… Read full post »

"Who is the idiot that would put a REAL PUMPKIN on their kid’s head for a Halloween costume?" Picture it: a big beach ball sized jack-o-lantern on the skinny shoulders… Read full post »

We are still completely unsteady on our feet. But we are safe in a hotel room somewhere in Santiago, and clean after a hot shower. Still, I cannot step without wobbling. Later checking the internet I learn that the earth indeed is still shaking. The temblors keep coming and we watch… Read full post »