Social media is awash in titles like the above. They’re decidedly grim, but no sense messing around, is there? Unrelated pretty picture. I’m sorry if you’re sick of these kinds of posts. Who could blame you? By now you’re probably sick of just about everything. You long to go outside….

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As I write, coronavirus is making its way across the world. People are frightened, and nobody knows what to do. Living in earthquake country means we always keep nonperishables on hand, along with plenty of water. This, coupled with my fondness for cooking, means our cupboards are always full, even…

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Chicken with Water Chestnuts

February 27, 2020

When I was a child, we had a neighbor who was into what was then called “gourmet cooking.” Said neighbor also subscribed to Gourmet Magazine, which he shared with our household. This was during the Gail Zweigenthal years. I admit to finding the magazine dull, but I was a child–under…

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Little Lemon Cakes

February 13, 2020

Too many lemons is a first world problem, but there you are. We have a lemon tree in our yard, but so do lots of other Bay Area inhabitants. Free lemons aren’t always met with appreciation. Searching for a productive way to use up my lemon glut, I turned to…

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Thai-Style Chopped Chicken

February 5, 2020

Before the cultural appropriation police come knocking, know I make no claims of authenticity regarding this Thai-style chopped chicken, save one: it’s delicious. This is an immodest claim, but the ingredients do all the work. And yes, the ingredient list is longish, but committed cooks likely have most of this…

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m working with The Greatest Tomatoes Of Europe Campaign, who sent me more tomatoes last week. They also invited me to meet them at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show, which was held at the Moscone Center January 19-22. I’ll share a few…

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We’re very fond of oxtail at the IK. Evidently lots of other people are, too, because when I made it a few weeks ago, and did the instagram thing, the post got lots of likes. Which is extremely important these days, right? Well, not really, what with Australia in flames…

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Cabbage Soup

December 30, 2019

Pity the poor cabbage. It gets a bad rap. Too many people are scarred by bad cabbage experiences: boiled beyond recognition….or the cabbage soup diet. Lacking illustrative photos of overboiled cabbage or the soup diet, I give you San Francisco’s Union Square. More accurately, a street near Union Square. Handled…

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  Disclaimer: I’ve recently partnered with The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe, working to publicize their canned tomato products. I am not being paid for my participation, aside from some wonderful canned tomato products from Europe–and some Italian pasta. Any views posted are strictly my own.  It’s 8:41 am. I am…

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Espresso Chocolate Truffles

November 24, 2019

Elizabeth David, writing her magisterially grumpy Elizabeth David’s Christmas, tackles edible gifting with her usual verve, writing: Those bottles of indeterminate sherry and port, Christmas puddings and tins of tea and fancy biscuits are survivals from the days when such things were distributed by Ladies Bountiful to old retainers, retired nannies…

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