Food Should Have Food in It: A Culinary Reflection

Why do you eat that stuff? There’s no food in your food. —Joan Cusack as Constance Dobler in Say Anything The Chef and I recently caught the tail end of an infomercial on the telly touting the miracles of a small kitchen appliance made to take the place of no fewer than ten other small appliances, trumpeted the announcer. It looked like cheap crap from … Continue reading Food Should Have Food in It: A Culinary Reflection

Sunday Almanac: Late October at the Seashore

Vermont’s Green Mountains are jaw-dropping, worthy of their moniker, and at times can even make your breath catch in your throat. They can also make you yearn for wide, open spaces, especially when you live on the eastern-facing slopes of a particular mountain which has the audacity to blot out the late-day sunlight long before you’re ready for it. So now, here we are, in … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Late October at the Seashore

Sink or Swim: A Timely Ethos

In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. —Charles Darwin When I arrived in Vermont’s Upper Valley in August of 2012, the days were still hot and the foliage green, with no signs yet of what would come, along about November. “Winters are long here,” advised the technician installing my new phone … Continue reading Sink or Swim: A Timely Ethos