tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132675442024-03-05T00:26:59.721-05:00" A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.” — James Beard (1903-1985)katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-5298746903409943462007-07-07T21:32:00.000-04:002007-07-08T21:27:52.880-04:00

So . . . it's been a while. Eighteen months to be precise. In that eighteen months since I last posted, a lot has happened, but I am now living and working in the Philadelphia suburbs, loving my job and my apartment, meeting great new people and missing Zingerman's terribly. [I know they do mail order, but who wants to pay $12 for a loaf of bread that's been sitting on a FedEx truck for at least

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1137122892977311012006-01-12T21:53:00.000-05:002007-07-08T21:30:26.874-04:00

It has been unseasonably warm in Michigan lately; the temperature reached fifty degrees today, and it doesn't look like we'll have winter weather again for another week. To celebrate the weather and mourn the snow, I made one of my favorite light spring suppers, a mussel dish with leeks, fennel, tomatoes and white wine, adapted from Shelia Lukin's "Pacific Northwest Light Mussels" from The USA

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1136862131211626672006-01-09T19:30:00.000-05:002007-07-08T21:31:12.939-04:00

I've made a short list of New Year's Resolutions:I. Find a grown-up job. [This is well on its way to completion. Barring disaster, this blog should be live from LA shortly.]II. Compile list of 52 books to read this year, and read them. [This is silly. I've tried making "MUST READ" booklists before, and I've never managed to keep to them. This is more of a resolution to continue to read more, that

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1136777566461751622006-01-08T20:53:00.000-05:002007-07-08T21:31:48.023-04:00

More Books:12/4/05 - The Shadow of the Wind (3.5 stars)by Carlos Ruiz ZafonWhat a great find! A customer at Shaman Drum recommended this novel to me maybe a year ago when it came out. I have been meaning to read it for ages. At the end of November, I won The Daily Dose contest at Powell's and used my $40 gift certificate to buy The Shadow of the Wind, The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant, The Tale

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1136758670274441022006-01-08T17:16:00.000-05:002006-01-08T17:17:50.280-05:00

 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1136757976117797862006-01-08T15:14:00.000-05:002006-01-08T17:06:24.966-05:00

Durign the five years that I was in college, I never had much time for my hobbies. In May, after I graduated, I finally had the opportunity to begin cooking on a regular basis, and I've written a little about my experiences here. It was not until Novembe,r however, that I took the time to take up my favorite past time of all - reading good books. I started a small section in the side matter here

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1127967360401910242005-09-28T23:13:00.000-04:002005-09-29T00:16:09.296-04:00

I bought Marcella Hazan's Marcella Says . . . this past summer, but had not tried any of the recipes yet. When I moved back home in August, I had to box up most of my cookbooks, and they've been in giant containers in the attic of the barn ever since. After Sunday night's lamb, my mother asked if I might make dinner again this week, and I mentioned risotto. "Is there such a thing as squash

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1127789226913885252005-09-26T22:05:00.000-04:002005-09-26T23:27:15.753-04:00

Food and Wine magazine publishes a great series of "Quick for Scratch" cookbooks that I love. I bought the "Quick from Scratch: One Dish Meals" a few years ago from the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble, and I've made many meals from it. The variety of dishes is always great, and I've never made a recipe that didn't turn out. This past week I received "Quick From Scratch: Herbs and Spices" from

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1127681392550916152005-09-25T15:44:00.000-04:002005-09-25T16:49:52.790-04:00

It's fall here in Michigan, and apples are in abundance. My parent's have 15 or 20 apple trees on their property, though I've never bothered to try to pick or eat any of them - they seem to fall to the ground as soon as they are ripe and the wasps get them. I often sit on their patio to read or just stare out at the yard, and every once in a while, I'll hear a "THUMP" as an apple falls from a

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1127362707027967812005-09-21T22:45:00.000-04:002005-09-25T15:43:23.676-04:00

I cook quite a bit, though my lack of posts recently does not suggest this. [And, I've moved home with my parents, and I've been eating my mom's food.] Cooking is fun, and easy, and as long as you sort of follow a recipe, use most of the right ingredients, and keep your eye on the kitchen timer, pretty much anything that you cook is going to turn out all right.Baking on the other hand, can be

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1127101805057548522005-09-18T22:44:00.000-04:002005-09-25T15:42:10.813-04:00

My Grandmother turns -- on Thursday, and she drove down to our house to celebrate with us today. My mother and I devised a four-course menu with Spanish/Cuban elements for the occasion, filling in with stuff that we like:Cheese1 yr. Aged Gouda1 yr. Irish CheddarSoupCaldo GallegoGalician Bean and Garlic SoupSaladGrandpa's Coach House SaladMainGrilled, Marinated Pork Chops with

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118805123222209602005-06-14T23:12:00.000-04:002005-06-14T23:12:03.226-04:00

A trio of dishes - partly finished - photographed by Sara Hobolt.  

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118464551667478782005-06-11T00:16:00.000-04:002005-06-29T21:20:16.126-04:00

I am never quite sure how to call the small dishes that usually open a meal. "Appetizer" is a good standard, but there is also "hors d'oevres", "starter", "first course", and (I've only heard this phrase from MFK Fisher) "titbits", or the more puritanical spelling "tidbits." (For more on this, see Fisher's With Bold Knife and Fork. )I've always differentiated between appetizers and hors d'oevres

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118298146630079092005-06-09T00:42:00.000-04:002005-06-09T02:29:51.793-04:00

After yesterday's success with the stuffed tomatoes, I wanted to try more stuffed vegetable recipes, and remembered a few that I had seen in Eugenia Bone's At Mesa's Edge.I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work in a bookstore where we were given access to advanced reading copies of future releases. One day, when browsing through the free-ARC pile, I came across Ms. Bone's memoir/

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118206032331606632005-06-08T00:59:00.000-04:002005-06-09T00:41:51.710-04:00

I received The Cuisine of Normandy by Marie-Blanche de Broglie in the mail today. Eugenia Bone uses this cookbook as a reference in her own, At Mesa's Edge, for a scrumptious-looking roast partridge recipe, and I couldn't wait to find out what else Mme. de Broglie had to offer.She has a lot.The cookbook itself is very simply designed. It was published in the early eighties, and unlike more

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118206413540974302005-06-08T00:53:00.000-04:002005-06-08T00:53:33.543-04:00

Tomates aux Oeufs Poches et Coulis de Concombre 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118115405022702852005-06-06T21:38:00.001-04:002005-06-07T19:22:16.653-04:00

I know a woman who often, instead of planning meals outright, looks through her cupboards and refrigerator and picks out all of the things that she feels like eating. After completing their preparation, she arranges her choices neatly on a plate and attempts to come to some conclusion about her state that day by them."Everything I wanted to eat today was green," she said once. She proceeded to

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118108319117503362005-06-06T21:38:00.000-04:002005-06-06T21:38:39.120-04:00

My astrology chart 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118107478748917132005-06-06T21:24:00.000-04:002005-06-06T21:24:39.866-04:00

mmmm . . . dessert . . . 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1118017965966617492005-06-05T20:12:00.000-04:002005-06-05T20:32:45.970-04:00

This has been quite an educational weekend. I learned of the presence of two new types of cheese, and the perfect ambient temperature at which to not attempt making pie crust. Today, I learned a third lesson - how to clarify soup broth.I as reading Elizabeth David's "Is there a Nutmeg in the House?" and came across a recipe for watercress soup. I had all of the ingredients except for the

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1117943454784168232005-06-04T21:41:00.000-04:002005-06-04T23:52:03.096-04:00

My first cooking lesson this week was: "There is more than one type of pecorino." Now, this is exciting - I've learned of the presence of two more types of cheese. More than exciting, this is revolutionary - a discovery on par with an astronomer who discovers two new galaxies, or maybe a herpetologist or entomologist who discovers two new kinds of lizards or bees.My second lesson this week was

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1117935645803822352005-06-04T21:40:00.000-04:002005-06-04T21:40:45.806-04:00

Well, the recipe did say it was supposed to look "rustic." 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1117861759486375912005-06-03T23:48:00.000-04:002005-06-04T01:14:20.233-04:00

Mom and I had dinner plans today, and went to Cafe Felix on Main St.Cafe Felix is one of my favorite lunch spots. I often stop in there after a visit to Afterwords, the discount bookstore on Main, to read and eat. The ambiance is cheerful (the bright yellow walls do a lot) and there are enough clientele like myself who enjoy a quiet lunch and a book that they don't ask if you're waiting for

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1117848291099310462005-06-03T21:24:00.000-04:002005-06-03T21:24:51.100-04:00

Still Life of Lasagna with Mixed Herb Salad and grapes 

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13267544.post-1117765389700798862005-06-02T21:29:00.000-04:002005-06-04T01:12:54.936-04:00

I've been planning my own food-themed blog since February, as a sort of graduation present to myself. I've finally gotten around to it. Hoorah!Today on my lunch hour, I came across this recipe on the Italian Food site at about.com. It sounded delicious, but when I got home, I wasn't so sure. I love lasagna. I love pesto. But lasagna and pesto, alone, together? hmmm. . .Well, I like tomatoes and

katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04603575373936860745noreply@blogger.com0