Archive for July 2019
Walnut-Crusted Tomato Tart
May I just say how delighted I am to have mastered a gluten-free, vegan tomato tart this summer? Picture-perfect, savory and seasonal tarts are a mainstay in French cuisine, and they typically involve large quantities of butter, cream, eggs and wheat flour. Thanks to Niki of Rebel Recipes, I have been inspired and succeeded in…
Read MoreLife as an Experiment
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain This has served as my motto for at least the last two decades. It continues to serve me in the face of my own fears, lines from old stories,…
Read MoreInvitations
“Destiny’s interventions can sometimes be read as an invitation for us to address and even surmount our biggest fears.” – Elizabeth Gilbert Sometimes, invitations can challenge our fears. Right now, I have received an invitation that has been developing over nine months in bits and pieces. For some time, I did my best to politely…
Read MoreSweet Potatoes with Creamy Tahini Sauce
The pairing of creamy, steamed sweet potato with tangy, tahini topping is a match made in heaven. The simplicity begins with a short, accessible list of ingredients — and there is virtually no clean-up! Serve with a mixed green salad and you’ve got a weeknight winner. Ingredients 3 lb sweet potatoes, any color (6 small…
Read MoreLa maison d’Hortense
She was 97 and still tended her rose garden — her namesake Hortensia bushes, the berry brambles and fruit trees that filled the steeply terraced lot behind the house. Getting up and down those stone steps certainly took effort these days — but oh, that view was remarkable. Hortense loved this home as much as…
Read MoreKyiv
Let me be honest here. On the bucket list of places I’d like to visit in my lifetime, Ukraine was never near the top. Actually, it wasn’t even in the top 100. Absolutely no offense intended, but there was never a real curiosity, and after the unrest in 2015 any chances it had were pretty…
Read MoreGeorgian Spinach Pkhali
It was news to me that Georgian food is quite popular in Ukraine. I certainly didn’t want to miss an opportunity to try it. Sondro, the husband of my host Lena, is Georgian. So when she guided me to their neighborhood restaurant, I knew it would be good. Now to be clear, many of the…
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