xmas tree and the angel on top

my first ever xmas tree! I couldn't put a star or an angel on top, too far in the christian direction, but why not Mr. C? I am grateful for the cooperation of my reluctant spouse for indulging this lifelong wish (the tree, not the dog on top).

huddled masses, part 1

huddled masses, part 2

huddled masses, part 3

what kind of dog is that?

we get this question a lot. now we won't

baby stuck in el train doors

well, this is the picture that I had in my mind when I heard that news story. there is not enough humor anymore on the news.

no-knead must-have bread

wow this was so easy and it is so beautiful and tasty!

newport, r.i.

this says it all happiness-wise

farmer's market!

with these magic ingredients I will make a tomato salad and many, many servings of pesto to eat now and freeze for the winter. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

how we spent our summer vacation: alinea

steelhead roe with dill foam and goat's milk something or other; pork belly with lettuce, cucumber, thai distillation; scallops, razor clams, honeydew and honeydew foam; crab, carrots, 5 spice powder, duck, lichee jam; wagyu beef with potato and A1 powder; aroma bowl followed by heirloom tomatoes, figs, niçoise olives, pine nuts, goat cheese with pumpernickel "crumbs" and olive oil ice; bacon, butterscotch, apple thyme; watermelon ball or something like that, really wacky, lime, nasturtium; pepper, hibiscus, creme fraiche, bubblegum (the only thing I did not eat); rhubarb with goat milk cheese, onion, lavender air in a big pillow (silly/fun); table mess of blueberries in several incarnations, maple, chocolate mousse frozen and not frozen, tobacco (!); sweet potato, bourbon, brown sugar, smoldering cinnamon (unnecessary at that point); espresso, tea. Also: about 7 different wines, champagne cocktail, aquavit form Norway, vintage port.

I do

no end to what you can do with salads: grilled chicken and homemade rolls, risotto with asparagus and parmesan

a feathery tail

it is foolish to sit around feeling sorry for oneself, especially when there is no tv to watch to make you believe even more strongly than you already do that you have to get off your butt and do something useful/interesting/creative.

only in new york

I was allowed to take this picture

this is the one they didn't see me taking. when I started to frame another, the doorman said, "no pictures."

grilled chicken and baby zukes, fresh greens

I love summer

what is it I want it

smoked trout, dried cherries, arugula, greens

and sheep's milk cheese croutons

food is good for you

just two meals, but the greatest flavors: franny's anchovy parmesan and sausage pizzas then spotted pig burger and gnudi, light dumplings filled with ricotta and cooked in browned butter. worth the calories.

nothing new, ever

did this ever happen to you: you look at something you did a million years ago, and think, I don't think I could have come up with that today? Does it make you think, there is no reason to do anything new? I suppose it shouldn't

do not fill above this line

how could McSweeney's NOT have published this list?

Why You Should Never Choose the Letter D in Multiple Choice Quizzes: Actual Multiple Choice Questions and Their D Answers From a High School History Book

The use of fire by early humans reminds us that

D. they were cold all the time.

By the time of Darius, the Persian kings had created

D.. hundreds of varieties of the game of checkers.

In Athens, by the mid-fifth century BC., every male citizen

D. broke pottery

The emperor kept the poverty-stricken masses pacified by

D. building the world’s largest Ferris wheel.

Between the Tang and Ming dynasties, Chinese literature flourished because

D. people were bored

Muslim rulers in India were tolerant of Hindus because

D. the Hindus made the best cooks.

Elections for city council in medieval cities were often

D. a way for felons to move up in society.

Part of Calvin’s reformation of the city of Geneva included

D. requiring all citizens to cut cabbage

In 1528, Baldassare Castiglione wrote The Book of the Courtier, which

D. taught a new type of recreational badminton.

Parents in Renaissance Italy carefully arranged marriages, often to

D. have attractive in-laws.

Who initiated construction of the Imperial City in Beijing?

D. Lo Mien

Mein Kampf was

D. a dadaist photomontage by Marilyn Monroe that commented on women’s roles.

Challenged by President Kennedy in 1961, massive government funding and leaps in research and technology enabled the United States by 1969 to

D. create a wide-screen TV for a price under $5,000.

I am borrowing these coneflowers

your cellphone can be your friend.

then it stopped raining

then it rained

what america is eating for dinner on tuesday

the recipe in cooking light can't be beat.