Wood-fired, wild-yeasted, whole grain
Somewhere, there’s a picture of Anne, my first wife and mother of my two kids. She’s kneeling next to a large basket of sesame-encrusted ring breads. I took the picture in Athens in 1980, our first trip abroad together.… Continue reading
I saw this image on the Twitter social media app a few weeks ago.
Yes, I admit I look on Twitter occasionally and sometimes find something worthwhile.
Such as this picture by the French painter Francine van Hove. I was drawn to the buttered toast and a dreamy woman spreading a beautiful berry jam over it.… Continue reading
The warming sun and the gentle breezes of Spring always turn my thoughts to Geoffrey Chaucer. The opening lines of his beloved poem, The Canterbury Tales, the words and sound of the words, are music to me:
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóu
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Chaucer, who lived in the late 1300s, was the first significant poet of the English language.… Continue reading
Happy Spring!
After a long, wet winter, spring’s light and warmth are a welcome relief. But, for me, it’s also a mixed blessing. A stirring time of year when the earth’s renewal is no longer a mere promise but something tangible.
There’s a different cast of light now. That patina of green you see around the trees and brush is a sign that the sap is stirring, that the weather is warming.… Continue reading
Imagine the promise of having a constant supply of homemade bread practically without lifting a finger! In the late 1990s, mixing and kneading bread dough seemed onerous to the 40-year-old me. Easy-to-make, inexpensive bread was too much to resist! So I bought a bread-making machine.
What could go wrong? Dump a few ingredients into the tub, shut the lid, press a button, and get on with your day.… Continue reading