Here then, as promised is the indulgence of blackberry poems. (For any very young readers confused by Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackberry please know that the Blackberry was a communication device from the early C21st introduced sometime after the era of cocoa tins connected with string.) So many blackberry poems. It’s almost as … Read more
If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs but we’ve got no eggs. That First World War catch phrase came to mind as I was contemplating an idle wish to make blackberry and apple crumble. I imagine a Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon with Old Bill and Alf or Bert grousing about the food … Read more
Farm work is one of the best jobs for getting to know people as they really are. The First Job and the Sweetest Sylvia Plath’s first job was on a farm in the summer of 1950. I am grateful to the inestimable Maria Popova (Brain Pickings) for these extracts from her journal and … Read more
Some culinary disasters can be repurposed. Here is Glen Baxter on polenta: And then there are times when you just have to cut your losses. Some poems just write themselves. Here is Carolyn Kizer writing – ranting and venting might be more accurate – about a Craig Claiborne recipe she tried from the NY Times. … Read more
A Polished Performance Citizens of the polished capital Sigh for the towns up country, And their innocent simplicity. People in the towns up country Applaud the unpolished innocence Of the distant villages. Dwellers in the distant villages Speak of a simple unspoilt girl, Living alone, deep in the bush. Deep in the bush we found … Read more
A Facebook friend wanted some crowd-sourcing help for a piece she was editing. Her query asked readers to end the sentence “When you think of lard …?” My answer was: “When I think of lard I think of Wiltshire lardy cake. Delicious. I also think of my mother – 75 years a vegetarian – who … Read more
Palermo has three outdoor markets and we managed to hit all of them. Two we found by design while foraging for supplies and the third on our walk back from the Palentine Chapel and on our way to the completely over the top Chiesa del Gesù. So a few scenes from the market and then … Read more
It’s the first day of Fall and here’s the perfect dish – pappa al pomodoro. And it’s simple to make. Tomatoes are still abundant, tasty and fresh and the frost has not bitten the basil yet. While you are at it – make a couple of extra pints to freeze for the dark days ahead. You’ll … Read more
When it’s getting near the end of fresh tomato season and the freezer and shelves are full of sauces it’s time to think chutney. Lots of good recipes out there but my all-time favorite is adapted from the indispensable Madhur Jaffrey. I’ve been making it for over thirty years and it never fails in spite … Read more
Design thinking – it’s everywhere in education. And that’s great because problems are everywhere and design thinking offers a way forward. It aligns with problem seeking, solution finding, empathy, integrative and interdisciplinary work, collaborative processes, open-ended thinking, revision and creative contribution – all that good authentic and relevant stuff. And it’s great that we seemed … Read more
I check my Twitter feed first thing. It’s an early morning routine that helps give me a quick scan of the world and of the edusphere in particular. Today, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act into law. Child nutrition and school lunch are hot topics and the PBS NewsHour has taken notice. I … Read more
First day of the new food service and a great lesson from the lower school lunch line. “I don’t eat salad.” “Just try it.”