I’m delighted to welcome to the blog today Cathleen Hockman-Wert, the co-author of Simply in Season, one of my favorite cookbooks! It’s always a pleasure to connect with people who share my interest in good food, food that is good in every way: food that tastes good, food that is good for our health, good for the environment, good for local communities and good for people worldwide. Rachel asked me to share a little about the story behind Simply in... Read more
{once again I’m participating in the Patheos book club} Most of the time, reading and writing is pretty easy for me, but this book, God in a Brothel, was really hard to read and is even harder to write about. Sex trafficking–the commercial sexual exploitation of women, girls, and boys by force, fraud, or coercion–is a terrifying reality, and not just ‘overseas somewhere’ or ‘a long time ago.’ Thousands–no, millions–of people are enslaved so that their captors can profit by... Read more
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook has a classic recipe for French pots de crème [say “po de khrehm”] —a delicious, airy, not-too-sweet chocolate mousse. I made it for Mr. and Mrs. S a few weeks ago and again on Saturday as the finish to a meal of green beans and pasta with meat sauce. Actually, despite what Fannie says, I think these are not true pots de crème–according to the Wikipedia article, pots de crème are baked in a water bath,... Read more
I have always loved candy, but I wasn’t allowed to go trick-or-treating when I was a kid. The prevailing sentiment in the churches we attended was that Halloween was a “devil’s holiday.” We had “harvest parties” instead. I certainly never was lacking for candy around the 31st of October. My kids haven’t gone trick-or-treating either, but that’s mostly because we’ve lived overseas for most of their lives; last year, we were here, but Aidan had a broken leg and getting... Read more
I’ve decided to take Sundays off from writing and, instead, post a single photo capturing some aspect of Sabbath–rest, peace, comfort, connection, praise, help–things like that. Today’s is about connecting/celebrating. “Grandpa, hold me like this and then raise your glass!” Read more
The other night we had a fellowship meal at church. The best part was that the boys got to run around and play for an hour beforehand, which helped pique their appetites considerably. We got to catch up with friends with cute, long-distance grandchildren: Turns out the HVAC guy + my dad make pretty good spaghetti sauce! We broke bread together. We reflected on the early church’s practice of love feasts and on Jesus’s promise to be with us when... Read more
So between my birthday (last month) and Tim’s (yesterday) and the book contract, we had the opportunity to do some serious celebrating. Not far from us is one of the very finest restaurants on the East End. We’ve eaten there twice before (well, three times if you count the time we went only for dessert) but only during ‘Restaurant Week,’ during which they feature a different menu with smaller portions. Each time was nonetheless thrilling–to put it in the form... Read more
So I signed a book contract this week. I don’t want to share the details widely (yet) but I do want to tell you that the book came before the blog. [If/when] you read it, you won’t be all “but this is all stuff I’ve already read on the blog!” At least, I hope not. But I’m trying not to worry about that. I’m trying not to worry about all of this. Because I think I’ve learned something important this... Read more
So here’s Michelle Obama on the cover of her cookbook, forthcoming in April: And here are the ingredients for a Michelle Obama recipe: Michelle Obama’s “No Cream” Creamed Spinach 2 pounds baby spinach, washed and cleaned 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 shallots, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced Salt and freshly ground pepper Here’s a picture of Martha Washington from the National Portrait Gallery: And here are the ingredients for a Martha Washington recipe: Martha Washington’s Cake Recipe (makes an 11... Read more
[wherein I may lose my pacifist street cred.] Can you bear with a post about a really fun birthday party for a 6 year old? Yes, I know it’s Tuesday, but my Fannie Farmer plans were interrupted this week. (No, we did not let Mr. and Mrs. S. down, but Saturday was one of those days that moves inexorably toward a Pizza Night and we–well, my mom, actually–brought them some of the deliciousness from Brick Oven, along with a sneak... Read more
Rachel Marie Stone
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In