It feels good to be baking again. I took a one-week hiatus while out of town. There’s something about mixing ingredients, kneading dough, and tending to it like a parent, that it soothing in its ritualism. It puts me in…
Blog Archives
Understanding Iran
I’ve always wanted to go to Iran. The names Isfahan and Qom curl like incense smoke through my mind. I’ve read of many travelers who, after loading up their Land Rovers with gear and crossing Asia, report that Iran was…
Ahoy!
There’s a homemade wooden boat in the alley a few doors down from my office. It is fully rigged, sails down, and sitting on a trailer. Just to get it rigged must’ve been no small feat, considering all the power…
Loss
I watched the video of Neda Soltan dying on the streets of Tehran. I wished I hadn’t. For those who don’t yet know, you will, but I can give you a brief summary. A girl in Iran was protesting like…
Summer! Summer! Summer!
June gloom disappeared yesterday and left San Diego with bright sunny skies and warm weather. For those who don’t know, June Gloom is the period (along with May Gray) when morning fog often lingers until afternoon or sometimes all day. …
Methylchloroisothiazolinone (And Other Yummy Ingredients)
My recent trip to the verdant hills of Sonoma reminded me that food is a luxury, and fresh simple ingredients always win out for health and taste. So I was pleased to read this morning in Salon that an expert…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: additives, carrageenan, food, marion nestle, nutrition, salon, scrabble
California is Beautiful, Part 2
Sonoma, as part of California, is therefore beautiful. But that doesn’t nearly explain it. Fertile rows of grapevines drape over tan grassy hills that undulate through the landscape. Live oaks dot the hills in dark green puffs and cows graze…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: artisan bakers, baby harbat, bread, camp roberts, san francisco
California is Beautiful
I should know this by now. I’ve lived here for almost five years and have been going up to Northern California throughout that time. This last trip was different—the journey would be as much a part of the experience as…
Phil Smeagol and On Being Faithless
First, the important news. It appears we have a famous villain in captivity. Below are his pre- and post-incarceration pictures. Hooray justice! Now for a terse recap of last night’s baking projects. But before I even started baking, I…
Panem Nostrum Quotidianum
I can’t wait to get home and try this. It edged out cinnamon raisin as the best-smelling bread in the oven—wheat, honey, and grain caramelizing in a perfume that made my head spin. Here is my daily bread: whole wheat…
RSS - Posts