Exploring life through food and travel
I believe we all are writers. The only thing separating us are the filters we choose to use to describe an experience. Our filters may be color-driven, emotionally driven, memory-driven or personal belief-driven. It’s all these variations that make one moment in time appear in a thousand different ways. I write to hold certain moments…
The other day as I was whipping up a lemon chiffon cake in my Kitchen Aid, I felt this rush of love and adoration for this appliance that has been the stronghold of my various kitchens for over 37 years. I know it sounds crazy to be in love with a kitchen appliance but really,…
This week only! Buds everywhere! My garden has stated that dormancy and hibernation are over and it’s time to create. Create leaves and buds that will burst forth into fruit and flowers. It’s such a delicate time of year. The crossover, so to speak, of stillness and the conservation of energy, to the release, in…
60 minutes recently aired an exposé on the Mafia’s control over food production in Italy, called “Agromafia.” It is scary. Chlorophyll and sunflower oil or canola oil mixed together to form olive oil; detergent added to cheese to whiten it; cheap wine touted as expensive reserve. Food is a big business, especially in Italy. The…
Mushroom risotto. The flavor is so sublime, why complicate it with too many other ingredients? The essence that is the mushroom carries the flavor with the assistance of shallots, dry white wine and parsley. Watch carefully. Do not overcook. Do not overstir. It’s a lesson in patience – a zen experience. Let the risotto evolve…
How can you not help falling in love with birds? Every morning as I write, I gaze into a wonderland of constant fluttering and tune into their radio station. Finches share the seed feeder with mourning doves, pigeons and even crows. If a hummingbird isn’t drinking from my bottle of homemade sugar syrup, it’s sucking…
Sometimes neglect yields great surprises. My garden is my sanctuary and I feel very disconnected when I am not able to spend time weeding and cultivating. These times when I feel so overwhelmed by life, my friend Mother Nature steps in as if to say, “I’ve taken care of your garden for you so you…
Several mornings a week, Sparky and I hike the trails overlooking the ocean near my home. Scrub brush and a few old shedding eucalyptus trees line the pathway. Each day I choose a fallen brown parchment leaf that speaks to me and represents how I feel and determines the mood for my day. Somedays it’s…
I have just received the greatest gift – The gift of time. This opportunity in time came in the form of sharing my house with my mom for nearly five months while her kitchen was being remodeled. I write about time, talk about time, obsess over time, and wish for more time. In this case,…
I wrote this in late September in Lucca, Italy while listening to an intense thunderstorm. As much as I wanted to include a photo of rain, I could not find one in my photo library, hence this interesting cat. It’s funny how we always want it to be sunny for our photos. I have learned…
This is a story about passion. My dad’s and his books. The library that housed his collection vibrated with intrigue, drama, murder, beautiful women and titles like “Dead as a Dummy,” “Stiffs Don’t Vote,” “No Tears for the Dead,” “’The Case of the Terrified Typist,” and “ Bones of Contention.” When my mom’s house sold,…
Simplicity. This word kept coming to mind all week. It is defined as: Easy to understand or do Freedom from complexity, intricacy Sincerity, naturalness Why this word? With the intensity of spring’s vibrancy and a nudging to accelerate my goals, mirroring my garden’s growth, is this an attempt to make me feel small? We all…
And Spring arose on the garden fair, Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere: And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast rose from the dreams of its wintery rest. Percy Bysshe Shelley March 20, 2014 at 9:57am PST, the sun will cross the celestial equator traveling from south to north thus ushering in…
As the years retreat, like soldiers who have lost or won a battle, I march forward down life’s path with a renewed sense of passion. My passion almost always lies in the discoveries that travel brings. This past year brought forth many new heart-opening journeys that are influencing me in new ways. I love Europe…
Fall is a season of contrasts. Besides the obvious color change of leaves, there is a distinct softness in the air, a kind of fuzzy morning haze, with warm afternoons, cool evenings and if you’re lucky and the skies are clear, a chance of a green flash over the ocean with the setting sun. I…
Every person has their own garden. A garden of wishes they hope to grow into fruition. When we are young, we plant many seeds of all the things we hope to accomplish in life. As we age and have watched those seeds become living dreams, some happy and healthy, some are weeds that need to…
The transition to spring nudges me to do things that I have had on a procrastination list – cleaning out closets, purging my computer of used emails, exercising regularly and last but not least, preparing my raised beds for summer veggies. Why are we such creatures of habit when it comes to “spring” cleaning? What…