Luxurious & Light Turkey Soup
It’s that time. You’ve eaten all the best bits and now some tired husks of brown meat are languishing in your fridge destined for the bin. You’re sick of holiday-rich flavors and you need to save up room for the glut of holiday cookies which will arrive any day now. But languish no more! Rescue … Continue reading
Midsummer Americana
I have the luxury of my mother’s rusty old Schwinn bicycle to relish these summer evenings. And what a luxury it is. The light lingers long and orange on trees so green they could burst. The neighborhoods are filled with a floral perfume, like lilac but not so saccharine. The streets echo softly with children’s … Continue reading
Holiday Gifts: off the beaten track
‘Tis the season, folks! I absolutely love gift giving. I love it hard. And as a self-styled Gift Goddess I proclaim here and now the best presents aren’t about the pricetag. If I were to choose favorites among those generously bestowed on me over the years — how crass! — they’d be evenly split between … Continue reading
Solstice
You know when you float on your back in the lake, when your ears submerge and the noisy world is still there but all watery and subdued and far away? I sometimes get this sort of feeling around midsummer (and without necessarily going in the lake either). Everything slows down and the world is somehow … Continue reading
Travel Tuesday: Lausanne
Travel Tuesdays: where I can look fondly at wonderful places, people and journeys while we prepare for the exciting adventure ahead… It’s April! It’s post-equinox! The clocks have gone back! It should be, according to Hallmark cards and sitcoms, a time for flowers and bunnies and chocolate. NOT, I think, snow and more snow and … Continue reading
Burns and other legends
If I were to describe the delicious, wonderful, humble sausage — all juicy and tender and flavoursome — as a pig’s grissle-bits stuffed in its own intestine, you would probably curl your lip and shudder slightly. Likewise, if you ever give serious thought to deep-fried chicken livers or steak and kidney pie, noses would wrinkle … Continue reading
Darkness & Light
Today, 21 December 2012, in Edinburgh the sun will come up at 8:42am. It will go down at 3:40pm. According to people who know such things, I will have 6 hours, 54 minutes and 33 seconds of day. It is easy to feel panicky this time of year. With shopping and parties and frantic getting-ready-ness. … Continue reading
Festive (Quick & Easy) Fudge
Sometimes Christmas presents are a conundrum, but this year takes the cake: my future step-in-laws. The cousins, aunts and uncles of a Bean’s new(ish) step-siblings, including The Baroness (I’m not kidding, the whole affair is honestly out of a novel). I’ve met them twice, including at the wedding. It’s going to be a hoot and … Continue reading
The Holiday Wishlist
Our hybrid holiday continues with treats and tunes and traditions from both our fair nations. Though, sourcing my Americano snackage is always a struggle. While it’s not impossible to get import goods — the Mexican deli runs a good trade in Reeces and flavoured popcorn, and the fancy department store stocks bourbon and poptarts in … Continue reading
The Holiday Spirit : Music
In my ongoing quest to encapsulate our varying British and American Christmas experiences, I’m mulling on seasonal songs. There is nothing that says Christmas to me so much as carols and festive tunes. There is a great tradition, both classical and pop, in both our adopted countries, and it always amazes me that nary the … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 