Is there any thing better than croissant? Je crois que non! But there is, in my opinion, an improvement on the original recipe for the quintessential French pastry, and that is to use sourdough as the leavening agent. Patience may be a virtue, but it is an absolute necessity here. I’ve written before about the …
Sourdough and the sweet smell of success
You might have been watching from the sidelines for the past year, as friends, relatives and celebrities tweeted about their sourdough bread baking. We certainly sat out the fad. But then, we're not new to baking our own bread, or attempting to coax the all-natural yeast to life. Our previous attempts at sourdough, all in …
From gluten-free to free gluten
It was baking day today, and so I decided to experiment with both ends of the gluten spectrum, which means from gluten-free (no gluten) to free gluten (added gluten at no extra charge to you). I started with the now tried-and-true ciabatta bread. This recipe is about as simple as it gets: 3.25 cups of …
California, there I went
It was a bright, warm morning in January when we crossed the border from Yuma, Arizona into California. As we descended the mountain range, the vast, open, lush landscape of the Imperial Valley laid out before us. I was on a cross-country trip with my friend Arthur. The year was 1976. We had traversed from …
It’s a new day, a new administration, and a new recipe
It’s a blustery day here in Southern California. It’s also Inauguration Day for the United States. What better way to celebrate than to stay out of the wind and bake up a storm while glancing at the swearing in of our new president? On today’s menu: granola bars and saltine crackers. For the granola bars, …
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For the love of art: Meet this creative couple
Collaboration in the world of visual arts is a rarity. But allow me to introduce you to a couple that have created a perfect blend of their skills. And their collective output is consistently provocative, aesthetically enlightening, and just downright whimsical and entertaining. A frog for the garden. Water-based putty over wire mesh. Repurposed bolts, …
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Harvest time, planting time
It’s winter, officially, and that means time to harvest the citrus crops in the sunnier climes of the United States. We have a lemon tree and our first orange tree. We decided to pick the sweeter fruits early, to get a jump on the wildlife that, for some reason, seems entitled to take what they …
The road beckons
Two years ago today, we said good-bye to the Bay Area, the place we had called home for a long time. We set out on our World Tour, with a guitar, harmonica, microphone, laptop and two or three suitcases. In reality, this was the third leg of our tour. We had been to Asia (Hong …
One for the books
My coping mechanism for the past year has been to read a lot of ancient history. It’s a great way to keep current events in context. It’s debatable whether Caligula actually nominated his horse, Incitatus, to the Roman Senate, but many crazier things certainly happened. In truth, I don’t read as much as I listen …
Home-made ricotta is a snap
T'WAS A DARK AND STORMY day, the kind that requires something to be in the oven to ward off the dampness and chill. After whipping up a few batches of granola bars and bread, I began to think about what to do to keep the oven going. “How about lasagna for dinner?” I inquired. I …
The art of giving
Photo by Alecia Paolini WHETHER IT’S FOR THE HOLIDAYS, a birthday, an anniversary or any other celebratory event, nothing beats receiving — and giving — a gift made by hand. Our featured artist today is Gene Paolini, who hails from Northern California. He has been a craftsman and woodworker all his life. He got introduced …
It never rains in California, but it pours
NEITHER SHERRY NOR I grew up in the desert, so we are acclimating to what constitutes inclement weather in these parts. Our back yard on a rainy night. Photo by Sherry-Lynn Lee. I grew up on the East Coast, where the heat of summer afternoons was punctuated by lightning, thunder, and a downpour. In winter, …
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O Christmas Tree, just what else can you be?
BOXING DAY IS OVER, New Years is just around the corner, and families around the world are all thinking the same thing: time to take down the ornaments and throw out that tree. Doing cursory research and a little back-of-the envelope calculation, I estimate as many as 100 million conifers out on the street, just …
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Cranberries, the all-American side dish
“YOU’VE NEVER HAD CRANBERRIES?” This is my incredulous response to my Better Half, who grew up on the tropical island of Mauritius, out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a place described by Mark Twain as “Heaven on Earth.” The tiny nation is indeed beautiful, and bountiful: mangos, coconuts, bananas (the kind that actually …
My new favorite holiday dish is …
AS A CHILD, HOLIDAY dinners were quite special. Mom was an excellent cook and baker. We dined at many of the all-American meals: turkey, roast beef, ham, chicken (with dumplings!). But hands down, my favorite meal was her spaghetti and meatballs. Sherry’s briani, with side dishes of cucumber and tomato salads. But my favorite fare …
Hand-made gifts are the best
IT’S BECOME SOMETHING OF A FAMILY TRADITION to hand-craft our gifts. Since we have been in lockdown for the past umpteen months, there really was no excuse this year. Sister Francine and her husband, Mike, created this beautiful little rabbit out of redwood. They aren’t sure of the genesis of the wood stock, but I’ll …
There’s something fishy about these ornaments
SOMEHOW, AMIDST THE FLURRY of moving during a pandemic, settling in a new home, producing new music and a book, we forgot one little thing: decorations for our tree. We were happy enough to have an actual tree. Sherry procured a live specimen and even got it delivered. So that was an accomplishment. But, in …
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Gluten-free Christmas shortbread/cookies
Today’s recipe comes courtesy of sister Francine, who keeps us on our toes with her culinary creativity. Gluten-free shortbread cookies. It’s a recipe for gluten-free shortbread cookies, courtesy of The Conscious Plant Kitchen. She recommends doubling the recipe but here is the singular version: Vegan Almond flour Shortbread cookie (single recipe) 1 1/2 cups almond …
Laying down roots
We’ve been experimenting for some time with harvesting a second and even third crop of scallions simply by placing the roots in water. You can place them on a window sill and grow a second batch quite easily. They won’t grow to the same length and girth as the originals, but, hey, it’s free scallions …
Calculating pie
I was in the mood for pie, but not in the mood for baking pie. So I compromised and whipped up a batch of cherry tarts. Standard pie crust works fine for this substitute.. These bite-size morsels give you the flavor and texture of a pie and are great as a breakfast pastry. It got …
You can’t beat beet pasta
IN CASE YOU DID NOT know, homemade sourdough bread is so April 2020. The latest rage, at least based on the scanning of my news and social media, is beet pasta. If it’s any consolation, I just found out myself. The good news is, that you can whip this savory dish up in, well, a …
And how does your garden grow?
Sherry takes a break and relaxes in our new greenhouse. We are putting the finishing touches on construction of a greenhouse kit. It's made of aluminum framing and UV-filtered plastic panes. We've had the kit hanging around for some time. After erecting the frame and attaching the windows, we noticed a long-term weather warning for …
Christmas miracles come in many forms
A true story from my childhood The holidays for me invoke nostalgia, and for good reason. All in all, childhood was an idyllic time. My family was not monetarily rich by any means, but we had a lot: loving, supportive parents, siblings and relatives. I decided to try to capture the essence of my childhood …
The perfect Ciabatta bread
We’ve written before about our experiments with Ciabatta, Italy’s response to France’s baguette. After some tinkering with the recipe, we believe we have arrived at the optimal combination of ingredients. What’s more, it is very simple and easy to make. 3.25 cups (650 grams) flour1.5 cups (350 milliliters) water1 tbsp (15 g) sugar1 tsp (5 …
Our favorite Christmas cookie
I have written before about the tradition of making what we call Christmas horns, a family recipe handed for generations from the old country (Moravia). You can read the original post here. Use a sifter or strainer to dust lightly with powdered sugar. I experimented in my latest batch by reducing the amount of sugar …
Homemade pizza just like Mom used to make
GROWING UP, the birthday boy or girl in my family had several privileges on their special day: They could order their favorite mealThey could invite one friend over for dinnerPresents and cake, of course More often than not, my siblings and I would choose pizza for the meal. Our mother, though Czech by heritage, prided …
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If you make jam, you’ll want an English muffin to go with it*
Sometime during the end of summer, Sherry spent an industrious afternoon picking fruit from our strawberry tree. If you haven’t heard of strawberries growing on trees, we are not far ahead of you. We hadn’t either until we purchased our home, where two mature specimens adorned our back yard. The tree grows to the size …
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My Thanksgiving culinary calamities
Every cook has horror stories; I have my own fair share and two of them are related to Thanksgiving. Some years ago, I was attending a Thanksgiving dinner with some friends and their extended family, including their elderly grandmother. I decided to contribute a pumpkin pie. Image by Element5 Digital from Pixabay The pie baked …
The day we met the world’s best salesman
This is the story of the day Sherry and I bought three paintings we didn't need and didn't even want. And yet, we got our money’s worth. If you've traveled tourist destinations in developing countries, you are all too familiar with vendors selling various trinkets, clothing and cold drinks. Their demeanor can range from very …
The season of sharing
Many years ago, I decided to throw a little dinner party for some friends on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I went out to get the groceries and returned home to be greeted by my son, then 7 years old. As with most growing boys, he had a keen interest in food. He eagerly assisted me …
Cracking the case of the vanishing footwear
In the past two weeks, a mysterious series of burglaries in our own back yard has left us perplexed. It began with one of my pool shoes. Then a pair of Sherry's garden clogs. The last straw was one of my expensive leather Ecco sandals. Our patio footwear was disappearing at an astonishing rate. We …
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A lumbering tale: From Maine to California
When I was 14 years old, my family relocated from a rural enclave in Connecticut to an even more remote region in the great state of Maine. My siblings and I were a bit dubious about this move, but our parents promised it would be an adventure. We'd have our own 100-acre farm, high on …
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Perfect Strangers
Around this time six years ago, I found myself out in the cold on a street corner in Mountain View, California. But I was having so much fun, I really didn't notice the time or the weather. I was busking (playing guitar and singing) with Sherry. We started at sometime around 10 p.m. and went …
A taste of summer in autumn
The days are shorter and colder; winter is upon us, but we wanted one last summer-time meal before we officially kick off the holiday season. Also, I had this brand new, pre-seasoned Lodge grill just waiting for a workout. I had visions of homemade salmon burgers on homemade sesame buns, dripping with tartar sauce. So, …
Sherlock Holmes and the case of the dirty pictures
“What are you looking at?” I inquire, innocently, of my very preoccupied wife as she squints at her phone. “Poop,” she says. “OK, then,” I reply. If we had had that conversation at the beginning of the year, I might well have been shocked. Now, it seems quite routine. The hills behind our new home. …
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The 15-minute project that took a week
It should have been easy. Two screws and five color-coded wires. At least, that's what I thought on Monday when I decided, just before breakfast, to upgrade the old thermostat for one of those new fancy "smart" devices. You know, the kind of gizmo that displays a beautiful HD screen, which, of course, you don't …
Wait a Minute: What Did I Do Right?
I have a confession to make: I don't follow recipes. Oh, I read them thoroughly. I analyze them. And I usually think to myself: "That sounds delicious!" Then I more or less ignore the recipes and go about improvising. Maybe it's because I am so fond of jazz. Also, I'm not what you might call …
Nail Guns: Weapons of Mass Construction
GROWING UP, WE HUNG OUT IN Dad's shop a lot. While he was busy building, repairing and usually swearing, we would tinker on our own projects, invariably getting in his way (this may or may not have been at least partly responsible for his profanity). Dad recycled everything. So he always had an old 3-pound …
The low-down on ketchup
IT IS QUITE LIKELY the most ubiquitous condiment in American households. Whether you call it "ketchup," "catsup" or "catchup," you likely have a bottle or two adorning a refrigerator shelf at this very moment. Americans love the stuff and that's putting it mildly. Somehow, per capita consumption is 71 pounds a year. I know I …
The Battle of the Breads: Wands vs. Slippers
Having successfully produced a few batches of baguettes, the quintessential French bread, I decided it was time to take on its Italian counterpart: ciabatta. The history of these two loaves is fascinating and underscores the friendly culinary competitiveness between the two nations. The baguette has been around since the French revolution. Bread was a mainstay …
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The move
IT HAS BEEN QUITE SOME TIME since we have posted here and we have a good excuse. Amid the pandemic, raging wildfires, heat waves, economic mayhem and political strife, we left (escaped?) the hustle and bustle of downtown Los Angeles for a sleepy suburb in Ventura County. It seems like only yesterday that we were …
The best-tasting oatmeal, without even cooking
When I was a kid, my younger brother disliked two things: school and oatmeal. In a brilliant use of reverse psychology, dear old Dad told him: “If you don’t eat your oatmeal, you’re not going to school.” It worked. It turns out Little Brother was not the only human to scoff at consuming what is …
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Spring has sprung
Here in Southern California, the weather is sunny and mild and things are blossoming all around. Sherry had planted a row of daffodils and tulips. Daffodils are out. Tulips are still sleeping in.
Lunar New Year in Mauritius + recipe
Chinese New Year was probably my favorite holiday growing up. It is a public holiday in Mauritius, so there would be no school and no work! On the eve, we would wake up early to "sao shiong" before going to school. It's a Buddhist religious offering of sorts to thank the gods. Mom would have …
Things we no longer buy at the grocery store
Surprisingly easy things to make at home instead of buying at the grocery store.
