Berries, without Chocolate

Birthday season abounds. A and I took our friend K for a Mexican lunch on rainy Saturday. We walked in and out during stops in the drops. We ate to the occasional downpour and drips in a covered outdoor patio. The food was quite tremendous. If people have lived in Mexico or South America, they come here. We planned to return to my place for dessert. I consulted A and she wisely suggested we go with the lighter dessert choice. This being strawberry shortcake instead of cannoli cheesecake. Short and cheese are faves of our friend K. Two weeks prior Henry's offered local sweet berries which shocked the pants off me. In January? Lucky for K and lucky for all. Baking instructor was depression-era survivor Mildred Armstrong Kalish. Adapted from Little Heathens, page 230.

Scout's Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

First, pick, wash, and hull two quarts of dead-ripe strawberries. Sprinkle half a cup of sugar over the berries and set them aside while you make the dough. In a bowl place two cups of flour, two tablespoons of sugar, one teaspoon of salt, and one tablespoon of baking powder. Cut in half a cup of white lard, butter, or Crisco. Use that gadget that looks a bit like a stirrup made of wires; it was designed for cutting shortening into flour. The mixture should look like very coarse cornmeal. Add one beaten egg to two thirds cup of whole milk. Now add this to the flour in the bowl all at once and stir with a fork until the mixture is just barely moistened. This is the crucial instruction for flaky shortcake. You will ruin the whole thing if you mix thoroughly. Using a fork, gently spread this dough into a greased eight-by-eight-inch pan. Bake for sixteen minutes in a 450 F oven until nicely browned. Remove from the oven, cool in the pan for about ten minutes and, with a fork, carefully split the shortcake horizontally. Divide the strawberries between the layer and over the top. Slosh with great gobs of not-too-stiffly-beaten whipped cream and enjoy.

Chocolate, without Berries

When I asked J what her favorite dessert flavor is, she replied chocolate. Without raspberries. I had really pegged her as a fruit dessert person and was contemplating a sugared berry one-layer cake from Martha Stewart. I have blackberries and blueberries in the fridge. I almost bought scented strawberries today. Or, something apple. It is her birthday next week and we work together tomorrow night. I turned to a few cookbooks and decided on Suzy's Cake from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé. I had all the ingredients and used my last tablespoon of butter for it. Pierre told me not to skimp on chocolate quality. I did and used TJs Bittersweet by the pound. I'd probably do it again too. It was not too over the top chocolate but nicely decadent in a quotidien fashion. It was a pedestrian rich chocolate. We ate it in the office on sheets of foil. The sweetened whipped cream broke any chance of illness from overdoing it.



Suzy's Cake
Serves 8 to 10

8 3/4 ounces (250 grams) bittersweet chocolate, preferable Valrhona Guanaja, finely chopped
2 1/4 sticks (9 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 C sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 C plus 1 T all-purpose flour

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan that is at least 2 inches high, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, and dust the inside of the pan with flour; tap out the excess and set the pan aside.
Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over—not touching—simmering water and heat until the chocolate is melted; or melt the chocolate in a microwave oven. Set the chocolate aside to cool; it should feel only just warm to the touch when you mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently, until the butter is creamy and the sugar well blended into it. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low, pour in the cooled chocolate, and mix just until it is incorporated. With the mixer still on low, add the flour and mix only until it disappears into the batter. Alternatively, you can fold in the last of the flour with a rubber spatula. You'll have a thick, smooth, satiny batter that looks like old-fashioned chocolate frosting.
Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and slide the pan into the oven. Bake for 26 to 29 minutes, or until the cake rises slightly and the top has lost its sheen. The top may crack a bit and the cake may not look entirely set in the center; when you test the cake by inserting a slender knife into the center, the knife will come out lightly streaked with batter, which is what you want. Transfer the cake to a rack to cool.
When the cake has cooled, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or two to make it easy to unmold. Turn the cake out, remove the parchment, and invert the cake onto a serving platter so that is is right side up. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Keeping: The cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to a month.

Patchy Quilt

This is my third quilt. The first two were bed size—full and twin. This one is a baby blanket and is for Katya. She is a doll and a very good friend. This one has more pieces than the other two. It is machine quilted as you go. The squares are spray glued onto your grid. Then, you sew them down in long lines so that each square is sewed on all four sides. I liked the corners. Katya is having a girl and does not do bright colors or pink. The back is navy with Nantucket sand buckets. The front cream fabric with brown design is from Tanya's warehouse sale.
About four of the fabrics were used on my second quilt, one from my first. How scrappy. Katya had a super shower on Saturday. We ate yummy cupcakes with pink icing and sliced strawberries by her friend. Katya made Caprese sandwiches and chicken and arugula, all from the Contessa. There was more and it was as joy. I ended up basically eating one very large meal on Saturday. The quilt was made on two machines in two states with the aid of cornstarch since I sprayed glue all over the top fabric unwittingly, and during several showings of A Room With a View.

Chocolate Cherries

I haven't tried to keep this secret but I feel like coming out with it now. Once my two friends mentioned their overwhelming addiction to Harry and David's Bing cherry chocolates when I was in the car. You will have supped on a Riviera pear, or helped yourself to a bowl of Moose Munch. I had never had the chocolates but my interest was piqued. Sadly, I did try them. There is no going back. I need to tout Marshall's for usually having them in stock. A small package will set you back about $5. Now, I am hooked. Further, I have not found any other cherry makers to rival them. Just today I tried Henry's bulk bin cherry chocolates. They did not compare. It was worth a try.

Granada: A Holiday Recap

In December I made these brownies twice. Once for a friend's large Christmas party where they served churros and cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles. Once for a cookie and cocoa I hosted for our very small "dinner" group. We are now three. Once we made lovely meals. Once we went out to eat. Now, we gather for birthdays and Christmas. One of our group went to Spain this year and presented us two others with a themed gift. I found this presentation charmed and became delighted. She had visited The Alhambra and came away with a book by Washington Irving entitled Tales of The Alhambra. She searched for the same out of print version for the both of us. She also presented three small bars of real Spanish almond turron and a pump of pomegranite handsoap. You understand the charm now. I was entraced and could barely spoon more egg salad onto my water crackers. We toasted with Mexican hot chocolate and three tiers of holiday goodies. K took home the remainder of the Orange Pudding Cake. She had several helpings and I thought it fitting for her to polish it off at home with the boys.

Excerpts from Tales:
Page 127 "I would fain have a little minstrelsy, to refresh my mind when weary with the toils of study."
"A truce with thy hermit cravings," said the King impatiently.

Italic: A Setting Apart

This week in my writing class, the professor decried the use of most italic in book form. I silently agreed and probably head bobbed. I have long had issue with most italic, wherever it is found. Exception would be scripture. After testdriving a Honda CR-V, I decided not to purchase in large part because the dashboard numbers were in italic.

I use italic for book titles, as is proper per style guides. And, occasionally, I use italic for emphasis. But, rarely and in dialogue. I think bold should be reserved for headings and subheads. I never underline.

On Friday evening, I pulled out the box and plastic zippered bag that are Christmas. It took about 7 seconds to decorate. After putting up my mother's two trees, this is not a bad thing. I have a How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Coloring Book. Of course, I would never take a crayon to it. It is the whole she-bang for $2.75. A great book. I am in happy agreement with the use of italic in The Grinch. The Whos and Who-ville. His use of capitalization is to be praised.

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE GRINCH
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

In class on Wednesday, I sent in my third piece to be reviewed for this week. It contains a flashback in italic. It is almost 3/4 of a page. I was torn about this section, keeping it in italic or not. There are other flashbacks in the piece, none of which are as lengthy or in italic. The first section was an international flashback. It made sense at the time to use that style. The other flashbacks are U.S. based. I never really decided what to do and handed in as is, partially to obtain feedback on this stylistic matter. I know I will get an earful. The poor professor.

How Do You Sparkle?

We think it was one of our best dinners.

Roasted Turkey
Fresh Orange-Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts
Herb and Onion Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Lima Beans in Cream
Baby Peas
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Dixie Salad
Corn Pudding
Read All About It Rolls
Favorite Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
Dutch Apple Pie
Punkin Pie
Toll House Pie
Vanilla Ice Cream
Whipped Cream

Because we were four, I set the table with Grandma L's pheasant plates of which we have five. And the single teacup you see in the picture above. Dixie Salad was a black horse in my book. Mother seeded a whole pomegranate and added apple pieces, raisins, and Cool Whip (the original recipe asks for sweetened whipped cream). I may add here it was delicious. The lima beans were another runaway winner, but not so surprisingly. I made two of Rachel B's recipes: gingerbread and orange cranberries. Each luscious and deep. Mother gave up on the gravy before she began. The dreamboat stuffing was so easy and yum yum. Fobsi dropped off her homemade rolls and the Toll House Pie before joining her in-laws. B declared his plate the most attractive at the table and suggested a picture.

We planned to open the bubbly—Kristian Regále Sparkling Apple Beverage—and never did. Father read aloud the beguiling label at the end of the feast: It's Time to Sparkle. He then turned to us and asked, puzzled: How do you sparkle?

Visible Ink

Because I am feeling petulant, I will demonstrate fastidious behavior. This is my favorite pen.

It is called Pilot VBall Liquid Ink Roller. Clearly, I prefer red. It is shapely. The barrel is a tube of blood-like liquid. It is beyond lovely. I am also happy because I believed this model to be terminated and it's not. A model like Pilot Precise V5/7 Rolling Ball had come on the scene.

It is carried by major stores. I came across the VBall this week at Hillcrest Stationers. Stores like Office Depot or Staples discontinued stocking it, thus my assumption it is not available. You can't believe everything you read. I can now buy as many as I want online plus shipping. What a future.

New Year's Day

A Poem by Billy Collins

Everyone has two birthdays
according to the English essayist Charles Lamb,
the day you were born and New Year's Day—

a droll observation to mull over
as I wait for the tea water to boil in a kitchen
that is being transformed by the morning light
into one of those brilliant rooms of Matisse.

"No one ever regarded the First of January
with indifference," writes Lamb,
for unlike Groundhog Day or the feast of the
Annunciation,

this one marks nothing but the passage of time,
I realized, as I lowered a tin diving bell
of tea leaves into a little body of roiling water.

I admit to regarding my own birthday
as the joyous anniversary of my existence
probably because I was, and remain
to this day in late December, an only child.

As an only child—
a tea-sipping, toast-nibbling only child
in a colorful room this morning—
I would welcome an extra birthday,
one more opportunity to stop what we are doing
for a moment and reflect on my being here on earth.

And one more might be a small consolation
to us all for having to face a death-day, too,
an X in a square
on some kitchen calendar of the future,

the day when each of us is thrown off the train of time
by a burly, heartless conductor
as it roars through the months and years,

party hats, candles, confetti, and horoscopes
billowing up in the turbulent storm of its wake.

Two Days, Four Recipes

Being single, the majority of my cooking is event driven. Think Thanksgiving. If there are a slew of recipes I must try or die, I will plan a get-together. I am like my mother in that I have no problem serving guests a dish I have never before made. This weekend I put together three-bean salad for the ward hoedown last evening. There was a caller and squaredancing and barbequed beef. They handed out recipes for each and I chose the bean dish. I am a bean lover, not being a huge carnivore. The baking began Friday night with hermits. Just this week, I thought of consulting three cookbooks, all of which I have lent out. This is not normal. So, I checked out The Tenth Muse at the library to recreate the steps for Hermits that follow Schrafft's Butterscotch Cookies (previously tried). Jones teaches they are New England cookies and I've read elsewhere they are perhaps the first American cookie. I have been aching to try them. Jones eats them stale, dunked in coffee like biscotti. I admit to not being able to wait for them to dry but did eat two this morning with tea. I dealt out a few gift bags for other bakers to try. I also served them to Rachel, Jeremy, and Robin R yesterday. Along with these cookies I am making for tonight. The crispy cookies were their favorite. I admit to being partial to the hermits. The hoedown featured a cupcake bake-off. I was happy to enter and not surprised to lose to red velvet belles. Plus, the hoedown was outside in the dark and the delicacy of vanilla beans was eclipsed by the prominent dark/white contrast of chocolate/marshallow cakes. In better light, I'm sure the vanilla bean cupcakes with salted caramel frosting would have been judged kindly. I hold no ill will. I do admit the whole grain pastry flour may not have produced a fine boutique crumb, more like country gentleman's cornbread.

Mrs. Cooney's Hermits
Adapted from The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones

12 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 C granulated sugar
3/4 C dark brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 C molasses mixed with 2 T warm water
1 C raisins
1 C chopped walnuts
Glaze: 1 beaten egg

Cream the butter with the two sugars, then beat in the eggs. Toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices, and add them to the butter-sugar mixture along with the molasses. When well mixed, fold in the raisins and nuts. Divide the batter in fourths, and plop two mounds each, with space between them, onto two greased baking sheets. Shape each mound, using your floured hands to push and pat the dough down into a strip about 10 by 3 inches. You should have two strips on each baking sheet, placed several inches apart. Paint the tops of each with the egg glaze, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how crisp you like yours. While still warm, cut each strip into nine bars.
Note: My hermits were about the chewiness of a pumpkin cookie. My oven is a kiln and would not allow for longer baking without charring the hermits. I did trim the edges to rid of burn. They were good the first night but better with time. If you can, box them in your cupboard for at least a day.

Sweet William

When your roommate calls from the other room to say that Steve called and Billy Collins is speaking in half an hour in La Jolla do you want to go? you say yes and is it at warwicks and she says no d.g. wills you say i know it and you wear your black top, white skirt, and gold glitter shoes with the round chandeliers from the tiara room in your ears the better to hear with and you drive into the sunset down to the shores and onto girard where you pass old haunts and find parking in an alley not far away which is surprising considering the crowd spilling out of the bookstore and into the street so you hoof it around the corner past the maserati shop and settle standing on a bench looking over the worn wood pickets from Pannikin to the bookstore where you can't see but do hear the relaxing and unexpected and warming warblings of sweet william who reads from his last book the trouble with poetry which you love and applaud physically and into the new and some haikus from ballistics and the crowd is loving him and the word so you line up to have him sign the only book you own of his that he hasn't signed and he does and gets your name right this time and you are carried away enchanted again, rising and roaming with the Susquehanna.

Feedback

I am taking a creative writing seminar this semester at San Diego State University. All the students (save yours truly) are enrolled in an MFA in Creative Writing program. Needless to say, the course has been interesting, useful, and full of delicious data. Last week, we reviewed my first short story in class. I need to write a total of three for the semester. My story is nothing to celebrate but it is an accomplishment in that I wrote one. We had to write a brief description of our story:

A young woman, Lia Goff, welcomes friends Rachel and Dustin to her desert hometown. The two are moral support after the death of Lia’s father and some business concerns at The Corral, a street of small artisan shops she manages. Lia also directs the Fall Festival that shows off the stores in a weeklong sale. The friends stay with Lia’s accomplished mother, Georgiana, who co-created The Corral. Georgiana is suffering after the death of her husband. As the two friends help Lia solve the impending problem of sales at Red’s Glass, Georgiana finds personal renewal in a tale of town history and the artistry of residents.

I also cite this piece.

A few years ago, I grew interested in sand. Why is there sand in deserts? Where does it come from? I thought ocean waves made sand on seashores: waves pounded continents’ rock and shattered it to stone, gravel, and finally sand. This, I learned, is only slightly true.
From For the time being by Annie Dillard

We review about 4 stories per week, write reviews, and spend our evening class voicing feedback. It is both hilarious and pathetic. I often wish to laugh out loud and have managed to call some bluff in the most glib among us. A few of the stories have been excellent. Often, students bring part of their novel in progress for review.

I am just now reviewing the written comments from my story and spending a fieldday, or fieldevening as the case is. They have reponded favorably to the more organic scenes and the food writing. Many of them start their review with, "This is a great start . . . " Perhaps they are too programmed for the novel? So far, my favorite comment is from a girl who writes very faintly and very small in pencil. Her comments are thorough and careful. She gets an A for effort. Speaking of one of my characters, she writes in the margin, "She comes off as a little feather headed . . . ." Another reviewer, another female, cites a scene in the story where Nan Red Williams (very pregnant) jumps off a stool in her shop to welcome Lia who responds, "Easy there mom . . . ." The reviewer responds, "At first, I thought she was talking to her mom. Clarify this somehow." Someone suggests I condense Rachel and Dustin into one character. I can't wait to read more.

Fall Reading List

After a trip to a couple bookstores this week, I am armed and anti-social. My current possession (rented and lent) of books to read is as follows. My request list at the library is as follows. I am greedy for books and wonder if I can possibly get through them. What are you reading??

Current Possession
Terre des Hommes by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Guardian of the Dawn by Richard Zimler

Request List
Made in Italy: Food and Stories by Giorgio Locatelli (have been waiting for about 6 months)
Last-minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Sixty Poems by Charles Simic
Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Picnic Basket on the Fish Blanket

Take a few good friends and add a picnic on the lawn on a cliff by the sea. This equation is especially wonderful if the feast is merry. And it was. Any reason is fine but this was a particularly great cause for which to purchase what we have always wanted: organic Adriatic fig preserves. The tartines, slightly Greek salad, salt and vinegar potato chips, and bowls of summer fruits. Peripherals included sparkling cranberry juice and French limeade from Trader Joe's and The Great Blondie from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. Damp crept in with the dusk. We retired home, playing cards and drinking Pellegrino. A night to remember? Yes, a night to repeat.

Warm Weather Soup and the Raw

Depending on your emotional state, you may be planning for fall. I have two feet in summer, one hand in fall, and the other hand grasping for otherworldliness. This is how the white plumeria feels.



The pink plumeria, taller, and budless, remains mum. I gave it more food this morning. You may be interested in an all-season recipe.

Loaves and Fishes take-out foods offers this restorative chicken soup. Located in Montauk, NY, I must drop in on in my armchair journey to Harriet M. Welsch's haunts. If only there were Bunny at the piano and Zeeney climbing from the limo.



From Summer on a Plate by Anna Pump.
Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 T (1 ounce) unsalted butter
2 C chopped onion
1 C chopped carrots
1 1/2 C chopped celery
1 C chopped fennel
2 C peeled and chopped Yukon Gold potatoes, in 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 quarts Chicken Stock
3 C cooked chicken meat
1 C shelled peas (1 pound in the pod)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T minced curly parsley

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, and potatoes and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture brown. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let the soup simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and peas. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.

Yields 6 or more servings.

The root vegetables unstandably testify of their own death, cooking to a dulled softness. Bright peas rescue the soup from deep winter. Spring is all seasons. Offer some to a favorite.

This next choice is an appeal to cookie dough eaters, in which group I don't belong. Except for this recipe. In fact, I don't encourage baking the cookies. They lose their macadamia-ness and hoped for nutty texture. It is a normal cookie. I am still puzzling.

So, here's The Good Cookie from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. The White House ordered them for its Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn (is there a lesser roll on the north lawn?) in 1993. I am looking forward to The Great Blondie for the picnic on Friday evening at the park on the ocean cliffs. Other future favorites may include Anise Seed Cake with Orange Icing, Chocolate Banana Nut Cake, Burnt Almond Torte, Macaroon Brownies Bars, and Sticky Toffee Cakelets.

The Good Cookie

1 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 C (about 4 ounces) ground Brazil or macadamia nuts
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 C (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate pieces

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease several baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, ground nuts, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. (If you're not baking all of the cookies at once, keep the extra dough chilled.) Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for at least 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Repertoire

On the umpteenth thumb-through of Cooking for Mr. Latte, I was seized with need to jot down my repertoire. Did I have one? I think I can say there is a list of recipes I consider favorites and have made each at least two times, most of them more often. The repertoire is a work in progress. I would like to pare it and beg more time for this. Besides, who has a repertoire of cookies??

Almond Coconut Granola
Orange Yogurt (Barefoot Contessa)
Banana Bread (The Silver Palate)
Cheddar Rolls (my mum)

Old-Fashioned Italian-American Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomato Sauce (The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook)
Oven-Simmered Beef Brisket (Sunset)
Cheese Soufflé (Sunset)
Tomato Bisque (Carla A)

Roasted Carrots (Barefoot Contessa)
Carrot Salad (France)
Tuscan Fennel Salad (Rachel B)

Katherine Hepburn's Brownies (Gourmet and Laurie Colwin)
Cherries Glacés (my mum)
Raspberry-Lemon Trifle (Gourmet)
Spiced Hot Chocolate (anonymous magazine at the gym)

Cookies:
World Peace Cookies (Dorie Greenspan)
Orange Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Chips (Gourmet)
Buckwheat Butter Cookies with Cocoa Nibs (Pure Dessert, Alice Medrich)
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies (Chocolate on the Brain, Kevin and Nancy Mills)

Walla Walla Washington to Kalamazoo

Here is a list of places I would like to visit next (and have never been) in somewhat of an order:

1. The Grand Canyon
2. Denmark including the Karen Blixen Museum
3. Montréal for French everything
4. British Columbia (a trip I'd like to take with my brother) and trips to islands.
5. Maine coast to look east to Europa, find sea glass, and haunt the shore towns. I would wear beautiful foreign silk scarves on my head when standing in the fierce wind on the bluffs. I would take a beakerful of sand and label it for display in my home.
6. Charleston and Savannah for local color and dunes

Casting Pearls

In case you're wondering if the Valrhona Les Perles are of note, they are. I bought this container of 0.45 lb dark chocolate pearls at Whole Foods in February and used some to decorate this birthday cake. I recommend both the cake and the pearls. The pearls have been sitting in my cupboard and I recently started eating them, one at a time. They are quite good and satisfying if you have nothing else that is chocolate or a fun sweet. They are small and nicely melty in the mouth. Tonight I channeled autumn and tossed a few in a mug of Mexican hot chocolate hoping they would float and look a charmed garnish. They sank like stones. I threw in a few more. By the time the mug was empty of all but froth, the pearls had gushed and let me bid a special farewell to the chocolate warmth. Please note the poached succulents and found shells in a mosaic bird bath, handmade.

Potato Salad: What is It Worth to You?

I'm sure you've heard the measure of a cook is pie crust. For this reason (and because I am no star in this arena), I don't make pies. A strange woman told me years ago the measure of a female is also her potato salad. I avoided it for years and became enthralled with vinaigrette-based potato salads because they are different enough the judgement would not apply. Then, I ran across this one (a combination of mayonnaise and vinegar) and have made it many times and love it to death. Please make it this summer.

Just this last week, we made a traditional version and it was quite good. But, I think that's what American potato salad is supposed to be. A good side for hamburgers and watermelon. I cut it some slack and it suprised me. My mother shredded the potatoes. I even ran to the store for sweet pickles and real mayonnaise. We used Idaho potatoes. There is a minimal amount of mayonnaise so it is not wet. All in all, quite pleasing and it is gone now, eaten for breakfast and other meals. We served it in an herb-decorated pasta bowl.

American-style Potato Salad with Eggs and Sweet Pickles
Serves 6 to 8

2 lbs Red Bliss or new potatoes, boiled, peeled if desired, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 T red wine vinegar
1 t kosher salt or 1/2 t table salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
3 boiled eggs, cut into small dice
2-3 scallions, sliced thin (about 1/2 cup)
1 small celery stalk, cut into small dice (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 C sweet pickle (not relish), cut into small dice
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 T Dijon-style mustard
1/4 C minced fresh parsley

Layer warm potato cubes in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
Mix in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Adjust seasonings and serve chilled.

From The Perfect Recipe by Pam Anderson

Healthy Fear

This is a list of some things that I avoid for no really good reason. I am not a picky person but each of these things throws up a internal orange flag and I need to stop the boat so I don't run over the skier. The fears are mostly ungrounded but nonetheless real. A few of the mentions are listed for good reason. Keep in mind, I don't mind YOU trying them and using them and loving them. Many will be happy to know I have overcome my fear of mint but not green food coloring in excess.

1. milk chocolate chips
2. pumpkin flavored cold food
3. wild rice (is it really all rice, or are there other plants/twigs? mind you, i eat it but do not cook with it.)
4. white cooked cellaphane-y asian noodles that are too thick and too soft. (they look like brains which i have eaten but did not love.)
5. tube pans
6. cheesecake (and most cream cheese-based dishes)
7. carrot cake that weighs over 12 lbs. (once i was made to lug a carrot sheet cake for an event and the orange flag was born that day.)
8. cookies from a mix (i embrace packaged cookies in general.)
9. vegetable oil (i would use any amount of butter any day.)
10. sugared nuts in salad (i roast and toast but do not sweeten the savory and perfect nut.)