Note on the WeatherWe ate our artichokes on the back patio this evening, in glorious sunshine. I'm not sure we have ever been able to do this in March before. It was so enjoyable I didn't even think of taking a photo. The predictors tell us to expect a few more days of weather about 70 degrees!…
Passover DessertStrawberry-Apple or Rhubarb Macaroon CrumbleTopping:7 oz almond paste (about 1 cup) crumbled1 cup sugar2 large egg whites½ cup matzoh cake meal¼ tsp. saltFruit mixture:3 lbs tart apples peeled, cored, sliced & sprinkled with lemon OR equal amt of rhubarb thin-sliced & blanched1 lb strawberries, rins…
The SederAbby's Seder Plate, Wine, and Matzot:Salt Water, Greens, Charoset, Horseradish, Bone, EggGefilte Fish and Egg with HorseradishMatzoh Ball SoupBrisket and Vegetables…
"True Flavors"This sketch of vegetables titled "True Flavors" is painted on a piece of scrap styrofoam -- I wonder if it was part of a cheap picnic ice box. We saw this painting in a beautiful exhibit of the author's work at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.The artist, Chang Ku-nien (1906-1987), had a del…
Ayaka RestaurantWe had lunch at this little place with a nice sushi bar and freshly made tempura served with udon. The decor was tasteful and appealing. It also looked very practical and inexpensive. Plastic chairs, plastic benches and dark formica tables could be easily wiped down -- and were spotlessly clean-look…
A poem to think about"Ice cream!" Sun. Light airy cakes.A clear glass tumbler of water, icy cold.Our dreams take flight, into a chocolate worldOf rosy dawns on milky Alpine peaks.But as the teaspoon tinkles, it is sweetIn some little summerhouse amid the dry acacias,To gaze, then take gratefully from tearoom Graces,Litt…
Victoria SpongeI recently read in the Atlantic food section about the famous Victoria Sponge cake. The cake featured in an article by Tejal Rao about the even more famous Victorian cookbook Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. The article describes the Victoria cake recipe from the book:Beeton originally do…
Billy's Pan PizzaIf you've read Stieg Larsson's second thriller The Girl Who Played With Fire, you'll recognize the amazing character Lisbeth Salander's favorite food: Billy's Pan Pizza. In her millionaire's apartment, purchased with money she obtained in the course of the first thriller, she has a dream kitchen wit…
Gefilte FishOnce a year we have a Seder for Passover -- it's coming up next week. And thus once a year, we eat gefilte fish. The jar from which I get the fish hasn't changed since my childhood, when my mother also served gefilte fish once a year for the Seder. I think of it as much in the list of ritual foods a…
Gardiner Museum, TorontoFirst, the Gardiner Museum has a special exhibit: "From the Melting Pot into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel." This sculpture by Mirvat Issa is titled "Our Daily Bread." Obviously, it consists of ceramic pita breads freshly puffed in the oven. The exhibit is very tuned to life in Israel in…
Farmer's Chop Suey"Jewish Chop Suey... is our own name for a mixture of diced scallions, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and whatever else you like mixed with heavy sour cream." -- from Modern Kosher Meals by Mildred Bellin, 1934, p. 27."Farmer's Chop Suey: No one knows how this simple dairy salad ca…
Pi Day pies and other round foodBreakfast: a round omelet, round tomato slicesLunch: 2 Pi inches as measured along the edge of the 8 inch pita breadDinner: Chicken Pie with a mashed potato crust AND the Pi Day masterpiece --Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Rhubarb Pie…
Pi in the KitchenHappy Pi, Day!In honor of Pi Day, I'm going to use pi to solve a frequent baker's problem: what size baking pans are equivalent? While actual pie pans have sloping sides, no one bakes a pie crust in a square or straight-sided pan if they can help it, because the crust will get wrinkly. So the proble…
10% Local Food?A movement is afoot called "10 Percent Washtenaw" -- the purpose, to encourage people to look for food grown here in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The quantitative goal is to expand both growing facilities and purchasers, and in 10 years have 10% of the food budget of county residents going to local f…
Johnny Appleseed DayJohn Chapman, shown in the photo, is a friend of ours, and a physicist. Everyone calls him just "J" -- you will see why in a little while.J's great-great-great-grandfather Frank Chapman was a seed farmer. He grew seeds and dried them to sell to other farmers to plant and grow crops.Frank was born in…
Even WeirderBruschetta GnocchiGyro Huitlacoche Pouilly-Fuisse MolePaczki Pho Prosciutto SakeThese are the "top-ten mispronounced foodie words" according to an article linked by my friend Jens. The pronunciation is here. I always mispronounce gnocchi and bruschetta, but I'm ok with Pouilly-Fuisse. And I learned…
Annals of the Weird: A Cookbook“I will start with meats, fish, eggs, soups and sauces, sandwiches, vegetables, the art of French frying, desserts, how to dress game, how to properly sharpen a knife, how to make wines and beer, how to make French soap and also what to do in case of hydrogen or cobalt bomb attack, keeping as mu…
Waldorf Salad DayLouise tipped me off with her usual list of great and small events in food history. Today's event: “Oscar at the Waldorf” invented Waldorf salad on March 8, 1893. This familiar salad is made from apples, celery, walnuts or pecans, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and in some versions, lettuce, grapes, ra…
Goodbye FloridaWhite Ibis behind Jean & Jack's condoYesterday we went to another wildlife refuge -- disappointing because the birds were only sporadic instead of crowding all over like they do in the Everglades. We took a walk on the beach, where the waves were pretty gentle considering how windy it has been. A fe…
The Kitchen at the Morikami MuseumThe museum displays change from time to time. Today there were several rooms from a typical Japanese house, such as this kitchen. Note that visitors are told to open the refrigerator and cupboard doors to see (behind plastic shields) the contents that might be present in a Japanese house.For more ph…
The Norton MuseumMervin Jules: "Dog Wagon" (1940)Wayne Thiebaud, "Neapolitan Pie"Ming Dynasty: Tomb furnishings for the dead to eatQuing Dynasty: Bit of a carved lacquer screenNote teapot!We spent a couple of hours yesterday at the excellent Norton museum in Palm Beach. The Chinese collection included many beautiful…
