Living a good life is like flipping pancakes. If you hesitate, it splatters all over the place. ― Matt Simpson Mr Simpson may be right – it takes a bit of a quick wit, a sure hand and a practice to make a perfect pancake – much like the perfect life.  A dissertation on [...]

My Sunday was sideswiped by the cover article of last weeks NYT magazine, “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” by Michael Moss . A fascinating expose of how large food brands seduce our senses with fast, easy to prepare (or pack, as in the case of Lunchables ) engineered “food”. Building a product that [...]

  Thanksgiving is that easy holiday – it feels as comfortable as a warm fire on a cool fall evening.  A bit more laid back than most – it has always been my husband Sean’s favorite day.  A casual feast with family and friends – what could be better? After the upheaval of Sandy – [...]

  A Light Wind Swept over the Corn, and nature laughed in the sunshine. -Anne Bronte Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.  Rather poetically, as I guess the only way a Bronte could be, she writes about corn fields in England.  And this is the [...]

In the market, iceberg lettuce conjures up two insanely different images. The first is the iceberg of my childhood memory.  A bowling ball of watery leafy greens that were just about mummy wrapped in cellophane and saran wrap on the A&P shelf and served on a plate with a dollop of plain sour cream by my Aunt Josie.  She was not [...]

My daughter Josephine often sells an organic lemonade on Sunday’s at the Southampton Farmers Market. And in the City, her friends Noah and Micayla have a stand on Mercer Street in Soho where they cornered the market on one of the first 99 degree days of summer. Who can resist? Both refreshing and satisfying – [...]

All of a sudden it hits – the markets are loaded with greens of all kinds. The bounty is overwhelming – but what I focus in on is the arrival of the Fava Beans. For me it means summer has begun. To eat fresh Fava Beans in the early summer is the ultimate treat. They [...]

After writing my post on Ramps my dear friend Nancy Hume an actress, a teacher, and old Yankee at heart reminded me of the glories of seasonal cooking by reminiscing about her mothers Spring meals that were foraged in the fields of Martha’s Vineyard. The season started with Ramps and moved through Fiddlehead Ferns and [...]

This is just the kind of day I like. Up before dawn, but who could tell because it is pouring rain. I love spring rain storms and the smell of the garden or the smell of the city streets.  It reminds me of tramping thru Bloomsbury or shopping on the Place de Madeline. A rainy day in New [...]

We are very lucky indeed.  Our country home has an fire pit fitted with an outdoor grill.  It overlooks Shinnecock Bay and the cool spring evenings are perfect for watching a moonrise and sipping a martini. Another perk is the ability to cook over an open fire all year round. A quick steak with a [...]