So the oddest thing turned up today. My publisher sent a copy of my book -- in Chinese. The recipes are set in their own type and boxed. Flipping through it, I ran across some random words in English, mostly in footnotes. These phrases, isolated on their own, items such as "Cajun … [Read more...] about My life in France… in Chinese
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Calabria to Walla Walla, All Aboard!
Last night I saw an ad that made me pause: Calabria. I’ve never seen a print ad, much less in Saveur for the forgotten toe of the boot of Italy even as it is the source of most of America’s concept of ‘Italian’ food. A couple years ago a friend and I spent time in Calabria and … [Read more...] about Calabria to Walla Walla, All Aboard!
Scanwiches
Lo, many years ago, I was editing a magazine about the Internet when a distinctly putrid smell ravaged the office. My art director, Tom DeMay, had decided to scan fistfuls of Spam to illustrate a story on the subject. As he noted, "Only genuine Spam was used for this story. … [Read more...] about Scanwiches
Another Definition of Entropy
Entropy is relentless, and this is Exhibit A: My spice drawer. This, once, was quite organinzed. Alphabetically, even. As you can see, those days are long past. I’ve found the craziest things in here- when, where and why did I ever purchase Orange Flower Water? I have two … [Read more...] about Another Definition of Entropy
Instant Coffee and the Falling Stock Value
My first serious boyfriend knew about investing because he'd seen Wall Street a dozen times and had been given a comfortable stock portfolio. I was 19 and thought that qualified for expertise. I pitched him my brilliant idea: There is this company? That, like, sells European … [Read more...] about Instant Coffee and the Falling Stock Value
