Cooking

Julia Sneden Wrote: "Actually, this stigmata is not the sole property of a cook. Anyone who is willing to help in the kitchen can acquire one. It is a nonsexist, non-ageist badge of honor. A few weeks ago I observed my adult son, dressed in shorts and about to do his daily run. There it was, about a quarter of the way up his bony shin: a jim-dandy dishwasher ding. It was one of the proudest moments of my life as a mother." more »

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: "It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine's only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air balloonist, an accomplished horsewoman, and a pilot. 'When you've had as many husbands as I've had, Darling,' she'd quips, 'you learn all their hobbies.' And one hobby all hubbies shared in common was a love of good food. No problem. Joan was also a gourmet cook who studied at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. No wonder I was intimidated that day. more »

Ferida Wolff Ponders: "Well, the bushes are beginning to flower again and Bebe is back! It seems to have even more energy than last year. It is there when I open the door but it isn’t threatening. It keeps its distance as I watch it discourage any other bees that seem interested in the bushes. The strange thing is that I don’t see any nest in the bushes. What is it protecting?"     more »

"Menus are minor, transient documents that tell us how people have dined outside the home over time. Examine one and be transported back to the everyday life of the past - whether to a lavish banquet in the Gilded Age or a food-relief eatery during the Great Depression. They aid our cultural memory by providing historical evidence, not only of what people were eating, but what else they were doing and with whom they were doing it; and what they valued." more »