OSSO BUCCO.........

Oh those slow cooked meals invented by busy women in the past and what comfort and smells they offer up in the cold weather..My house smells divine.. a faint hint of onion,butter,meat,tomatoes and and bay wafts through the chilly halls and into my nose reminding me I have parsley sauce to make yet. Osso Bucco, a classic Milanese veal knuckle stew takes about 3 hours from start to finish but is worth the effort..
YOU WILL NEED

Coat 2 large veal knuckles with flour generously

in a large enamel pot heat 2 T butter with 2T olive oil let this get quite hot

Braise the veal on all sides for several minutes searing the meat

Remove the meat and set aside

Combine 3 cups of chicken broth with 1 cup of white wine..pour this into the pan and deglaze ..reduce flame or heat to simmer..Replace the veal in the stock..salt and pepper and cover

Cut into small pieces 2 carrots, 1 onion,and 3 ribs of celery..chop these in a Cuisineart medium fine..place this mixture in a bowl

Peel and seed 4 tomatoes by placing them ion boiling water for several minutes, cool and remove skins and seeds Chop these into chunks..reserve

At this point add 1/4 cup of the vegetable mix to the simmering meat, add a bay leaf..continue to cook this for 1 hour watching the juices to keep the meat moist..turn the veal once..

Turn off the heat...let the meat rest

chicken stock...vegetables and the parsley mix

peeled tomatoes

the simmering gold

look like toads!!!!!

THE PARSLEY SAUCE

cut up in a Cuisineart 1 bunch of Italian flat parsley..12-15 cloves of peeled garlic...decant into a sealed container and add about 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil enough to coat the mix..

using a grater ,zest the skin of one large organic lemon add this zest to the parsley.. THIS MIX is wonderful with fish, on sandwiches and mixed into the Osso Bucco just before serving....it also makes a fabulous pasta sauce...add some pasta water and you are good to go...

To plate the dish...reheat the meat and simmer for 10 minutes...add the tomatoes and vegetable mix. ( at this point an optional flavor is to add 3-4 crushed juniper berries).let this cook for another 10 minutes...turn off heat.. Grate a little orange peel into the mixture

SEE the spaetzle?????? follow the directions on the package and serve this with the meat..

A big romaine salad with lemon juice and olive oil is perfect with this wintery meal..

If you have any left overs use this as a sauce for baked precooked rigatoni...

Pour the wine..light the fire...bliss

and the RED RED Robin.....

SPRING hangs in the air like a ghost..Snow is yet on the ground but the scattering of the birds,the chipmunks and the multiplying footprints in the snow each morning leave a tell tale tapestry of the approaching change..welcomed it is..

The robins are puffed up and singing so spring cannot be far behind..

Yesterday I was inspired to change my table to Easter/Spring..

I love dragging out all the little bits and composing a table landscape..This year it ended up rather feminine and soft..other years it has been playful,dramatic or pristine and simple.. we used to compose these as a family but since our grown children are on their own now the job is ours. Its a nice tradition : preparing for the festivities of seasons..



YEARS AGO when our young family lived in the hills outside of Los Angeles...spring brought on a flurry of wildlife..I had planted a small 2 sided patio garden from barren soil..It was a small garden masterpiece..One day I realized I would like to have it documented so I called up a friend who photographed for the LA Times in the garden section..We were all ready for the shoot..The morning of the appointment I awoke early and looked out the window to an animated scene of watching my garden disappearing into the ground...to my horror a groundhog had discovered restaurant central and was hoovering through my garden with such speed I was reeling........Plink..gone pluck..gone...like some Disney cartoon...

SHIT.... I had to call the entire shoot off..The left side of the garden looked like a grazed mini plot...It became a funny story as time passed...can't blame the critters.. they need food....Now when I plant things I keep barriers in mind. In my garden in France I have many items planted in recycled bathtubs..they make great containers as the iron is good for the soil ,they have predrilled draining,they keep the soil temperate and all the growth is kept well above ground to ward off night eaters ..they also provide a sense of scale..height in the potagerie...I can rotate the small crops more easily...I am thinking seeds..little shoots and reawakening.. can't wait to get my hands dirty...and feel the warmth come through the soil as the days get longer,warmer and sunnier.....ahhhhhhh spring...

TORTILLA CREPE

you will need: 4 large flour tortillas

3 different cheses

one red,orange and green pepper

1 white onion

Fresh basil leaves

1 small eggplant

grate 3 different cheeses of your choice.... manchego,spicy montery jack, smoky gouda as a suggestion

finely slice red,green,and yellow peppers

finely slice some white onion

saute these until soft in a fry pan

set aside

slice very thin a small eggplant lengthwise

saute the slices browning a bit on each side in a little olive oil

set aside

Assemble the tortilla crepe using 3 tortillas..place a generous amount of the cheese and pepper mixture on the first tortilla

press the second tortilla on top of this

place cheese and a couple of the eggplant pieces on the second tortilla and cover with fresh basil leaves

Repeat the third tortilla as the first with the peppers and cheeses

Add a 4th tortilla to complete the crepe

Heat some oil in a pan larger than the tortillas...keep the pan hot but not smoking..the heat should be consistant and moderate..

Gently "fry" the tortilla crepe until browned on one side..... turn the crepe and brown on tthe other side....press the crepe down a bit with a plate to ensure the cheses melt into the layers...

Remove from the pan

serve immediately with your favorite salsa...

Albondagas Soup is good with this......another posting

SWEET TWEET

There is nothing like the calm and discovery of the details in a garden and I am certain this little chirp here has had its tour of many a verdant paradise..Would love to be able to fly..

Bird's eye view: and what a vantage point...The trumpet flower here is called Bella Dona .In the medieval times the flowers were ground up and fed to people's enemies..in small doses it can be used as medicine but in general it is not a recommended food source for either us or our feathered friend here. I planted this in the summer of l986. My gardener at the time was a mature man and very wise.We grafted 4 different colors together on the same mother trunk. The results some 22+ years later is magnificent..The Bella Dona gives off a heady perfume at night and helps to ward off mosquitoes. It must be trimmed back with abandon in the spring and fed.It also prospers from mid- summer pruning. ...which encourages thicker foliage and more blooms.

This past summer we had a renewal of bees in the area..I counted at one point 8 different varieties..from large black and yellow bumblebees to hornets,and several honey bees.This I was grateful for as there has been much talk around the world on the diminishing populous of the honey bees. I spent a good part of last winter studying the art of bee keeping thinking that if I installed a hive near my garden all would be well..Mother Nature provded another solution..I also do not spray my garden and try to use natural augmentation such as coffee gounds...whrred up culinary remnants in the blender...(bananas are a bonus for roses)... and tilling in any compost I can create..I could be GREENER and I am working on that..

Its Bean Weather and time for some good Italian Beans...

Soak an 8oz package of navy beans in cold water for 4-5 hours

Drain and rinse several times

Cover the beans in 3qt saucepan with water well over the bean line..add water as they cook

Simmer the beans for at least 1 hour..test with a small knife...some people like firm beans (me) and others prefer soft beans...

While the beans are cooking add a couple of broken bay leaves...do not add salt

Drain the beans and divide into 2 containers...One group you can use to make soup ..the other can be a meal..

I like to make up a simple tomato sauce with fennel seeds, chopped basil and some finely chopped onion..This I incorporate into the beans, adding salt, pepper and 2-3T butter. Do not over sauce the beans ..the sauce is for flavor not a bath..

These can be served as a meal with pecarino reggiano cheese and some steamed greens..

Add a glass of crisp cold white wine.....and you are flying.....

PAINTING PLATES

Valentine's day was a fun evening...starting with the beet and tomato salad pictured here..I love the selection of beets one can purchase now in the markets. This salad was comprised of yellow,orange and red beets..but after they sat together in their juices they all appeared red.

I sprinkled a little apple vinegar on them with a generous pinch of sea salt. sliced a white onion paper thin and let the salad cool to room temperature. When I plated the salad I added halfed

baby tomatoes and scissor cut fresh basil strips onto the whole thing...then fresh ground pepper..A great start..

I have to admit to a collectors mania..PLATES are my jewelry or closet.. I rarely spend money or time on clothing even though I love textiles and was/am a textile designer for decades..It is the plate that lures me..I have found rare plates at junk stores,purchased pottery from potters..salvaged from the Goodwill..haunted tag and garage sales ,and greatly hinted for any occasion: a well halved gift would be plates..I guess they are my canvas..I have often thought about my infatuation with food and food prep and I think it is my emotional glue.. The immediate appreciation of the effort is rewarding but the chance to attack another empty canvas is probably more the accurate impetus..

Another TOMATO offering:

This dish was concocted several years ago when I discovered an entire box of cherry tomatoes I had forgotten about in the back of the fridge..(many a great meal is a result of such treasure hunts)

Pour a generous amount of olive oil into a flat casserole (about 1/8 cup)..place the tomatoes

singularly close to each other in one layer..Sprinkle herbs de Provence over the entire lot..salt and pepper... pierce each tomato with a pin to avoid popping....NOW BAKE in a moderate oven (325) for 2-3 hours until the tomatoes confit..Cool and use as a side relish for meats, eggs, or fish..one can alter the seasonings with fennel,curry..etc....

HEARTS IN HAND

I saw a post on AOL of a couple who have been married for some 80+ years siting on their porch all dressed up..They look ageless...their daughter has posted a twitter competition for the best 14 questions from the public. What is the secret to their love's longevity?.. It made me look at my own marriage, how Jerry and I met and what were the elements of our 37 year liaison and marriage

These are the most important factors I came up with:

1.try never to go to sleep angry

2.Resolve every problem with a plan

3.money can be replaced ...honor takes time

4.children know when you are not in sync..so it is wise to try and remain on the same page

with discipline and life lessons

5.Love may not always be on the same throttle from day to day..but respect can be kept in gear

6.Keep a sense of humor..it will get you through so many hiccups

7.Loss is the hardest thing to accept in life but having a partner who does not qualify that loss

is paramount

8. Have goals..share interests..talk ..talk.. talk... communication is key

9.Take time off from your recognizable routine..travel..live in another culture is you can even if

it is for a vacation..immerse yourself in something different

10. Embrace a passion for something ..build on it..share it with others

11. Value your family and friends and give them the time they deserve

12..Cook..sit down and have family meals or have designated days of festivities .Celebration

enriches your life

13.Read.... read books..newspapers..articles..blogs...childrens papers..random graffiti..it keeps

one open to change and change is always constant.

14.try and find joy in the mundane tasks..avoid amassing clutter..define your personal

sense of order and pride of ownership

15. Embrace the idea that everything/one deserves love and recognition..an act of random

kindness a day will keep you keen

16.Beautiful people see beautiful things in life..they wear this peace.. the real RTWear

17. When a baby smiles at you or a dog jumps up and kisses you: know you are on the correct

path

18. Mentally list your blesssings once a week

19.Tell your family you love them....often..daily

20.Respect, talk and aid elderly people..it is inevitable you too will be old one day.and the

smallest gesture can make a difference to both you and the recipient..it sends a glow through

your own long term marriage

21.Own a pet.. tend a garden or a plant...or an herb garden these will teach you another kind of

love and loving

22. Wake up, greet the day and KNOW this day is going to be a winner..it diminishes any

unforseen hurdles

Jerry and I "met" when I saw him across an intersection in an open field preparing for a festival .He did not see me but I never forgot his presence..Several years later I delivered some

dresses to his business The Moveable Feast for some of his sandwich girls..He came out of his office and I recognized him instantly..His story.. is that he saw me and fell in love at first sight.

It took a couple of years before we dated,..meanwhile he would hire me for projects for his catering business so we got to know each other slowly..When we finally dated, which consisted of one date..living with each other and marrying shortly thereafter, friends would ask me how could I marry this guy so quickly...My response was: he was always fair in business, never questioned me about a fee and always paid me when I presented an invoice..If a man is that fair in business I had total confidence he would be fair in marriage: that was the tobaggan I was looking

for....Life and love should bee a wonderful unpredictable ride..

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers

The Magic of Silence and SNOW

There is high contrast between the outside landscape now and the warmth of a fireplace burning..the soft inviting colours of an interior, and the safety of that crackle...

Cabin fever is lurking so it is out into the snow I go today..There are soft footprints of the little rascals from the forest all over our terrace.. my favorite being the tiny triple v's of some birds that have had quite long distance hopping event..

It is soup weather and I am in need of color..so it will be Butternut squash,cauliflower Soup

today

Butternut,Cauliflower Soup

Steam seperately cut up pieces of squash and cauliflower until fork soft...let cool a bit

puree this in a cuisineart

Place the puree back into a large 2 quart sauce pan

NOW add

1 container of chicken broth

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/2 stick of butter

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger

Bring this all to a simmer

Serve this with a curry cream

Curry Cream spoon out 3 T of creme fraiche or sour cream into a bowl

add 1 Tablespoon of lime pickle with juices (purchase from an East Indian

grocery)

THIS WILL AWAKEN THE SENSES......... and warm your tummy.........breathe in....

Cupid's Suspense

Valentine's Day..how to treasure the loves of our lives..I like to make red food on Valentines Day to jump start the heart pounding..The chandelier here is one I inherited from my mother in law which I squished tissue paper flowers around the candles..( I don't ever light the real candles) the lights are on a dimmer creating a delicate glow at night.. The other photos are details of the table with handmade valentines of different papers..I sent out all my cards yesterday before the big storm here in the east coast...Like the snowflakes each one is a little different: just as each liaison is valued for its differences and the gifts each friend has donated to my life.

Flames might light the fire but it is the embers that have lit my heart.

Smokey Paprika Tomato Soup keep things simple..

Open one box of PACIFIC organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

(available at Whole Foods, Trader Joes or at some Super Markets)

add 2 cups of water

dice and add 2 cut up tomatoes

Whrr in a blender or bullet 1/2 white onion add this to the soup

a little cracked pepper

1/2 cup of gin ( this gives the soup a juniper edge) optional

1 generous teaspoon of Smoked Spanish Paprika

1/4 cup of milk

Heat until bubbling: serve

This same soup can be made without the smokey paprika

substitute 2 T. crushed dried tarragon, a pinch of sugar, and 1/4 cup of creaam or milk

Start Red and end up blushing.....now onto the card game..??? strip poker anyone??

Live, love, and laugh

SPIRITUAL CONTAMINATION

In this challenged world we all need to address civility.. be it environmental issues, personal relationships, or the messages and examples we set for others and our children. I recently was thinking about how easily things unravel if we are not mindful.Someone chided me recently for not taking a plastic bag from a store when the items I purchased could clearly be transported with out the bag. The response was "what was it with my green thing??? one bag was not going to make a difference..and yet if one person every hour of the day made the same decision all over the world ...can you imagine how many bags that would be??? and YES one bag does make a difference. so does one gesture of civility..one deep breath and a loving explanation or lesson taught.... lesson learned......

I was in a restaurant last night using the ladies room and someone kept jarring at the door and knocking.I kept saying "sotto voce" that the facility was occupied ..When I eventually opened the door ( mind you I am a person in the loo lines dream..rapid and no frills) there stood 2 girls (sisters?) 12 and maybe 17 years of age..they pushed past me w/o a polite acknowledgement and closed the door.. This kind of behavior is taught and not curbed..

but as I have always believed when a shadow is near a ray of light is not far behind..

Several minutes later the hostess sat a young mother with 2 little girls next to us..They were very hungry ,inquisitive about the menu and sat down ceremoniously. The mother asked them questions about what they would like to eat lacing the choices with an explanation of why their father was not joining them.It is Super Bowl weekend and Daddy is with his college friends..What is Superbowl?? who are you rooting for? what fun dialogue to be privy to..The mother explained when she was younger she didn't care for sports much... but that was because she didn't understand them.. her husband had introduced her to his love of sports.....when you love someone,sharing the things they like brings you closer together..She went on to explain when she was dating,,(and I dated a lot of men) she wanted to be with someone that would make a nice father.. ..when she met their father she knew instantly that he was the one.. he liked doing new things and was flexible..also it didn't hurt he was very cute and funny...chosing someone you can be friends with is very important... she continued.. gnawing on a Chinese spareib with gusto...

Over at the next table I couldn't help but feel warmed by this generosity..Given the array of media that gender bashes..divides and chides.. this woman's account to her young daughters (who were maybe 3 and 6).. was weaving a soft world of tolerance using the meal and the Super Bowl as her vehicle..How different the lesson would have been if she had chosen another familiar path of anger..diminishing their father for being with his friends ect..An emotional torch of security was being passed forward silently as they ate their meal..The 3 year old spent her meal time career gently slurping through a bowl of miso soup...lost in her own world of steamy bliss.....

I have to laugh because I know if my own daughter was with us ...she could have predicted my contact..As we left the restaurant I spoke to the mother and told her how refreshing it was to witness such a loving mother and made a joke about her daughter's love for Miso.......( its the earthy salt.. ohhhhhh yum)

It wouldn't be difficult to recreate the first scenario with HER girls outside the bathroom door.

So many of the ills in society are taught not instinctual..the excepti0n perhaps the survival of the fittest.... which is where civility enters....it is work to be tolerant...requiring patience and sifting..however what a beautiful starting point for many a change in the world..one gesture at a time..one less plastic bag..

The photos below are green points in my garden..Vervaine ( lemon verbena) is the herb... in the pot is a small chartreuse shrub.... I love planting items in pots of different heights to add volume to the garden..

SALSA OVEN CHICKEN

Purchase 6 chicken thighs and 8 legs

place these in a bowl and micro wave for 4 minutes

Mix up 4 cloves of crushed garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of olive oil,, several pinches each of oregano,cumin,and rosemary..season with salt and pepper

add 2 cups of red salsa ....adjust heat with chili sauce

Pull the skin gently away from the thigh or leg and gently stuff the salsa mix between the meat and the skin (like a little pocket)

Place the stuffed pieces .. stuffed side up...in a shallow baking dish close together..drizzle with any remaining sauce.

Bake in a 450 degree oven and monitor the meat to make sure it does not burn..once one side is well crisped..turn each leg and thigh..and continue cooking.

Serve with rice and salad ...these are even better 2 days later...

BEFORE the storm

Porter and I visited New Orleans the spring before Katrina.. The scenery was verdant and the people were in full bloom. We met so many different characters once we decided to walk the city instead of rely on the public trolley car system which always had someone half-mast with a beer dribbling over ..We stayed in the garden district at an ancient B&B.. After the first night we slept there we asked to be moved to a different room as both of us had very vivid dreams about the same woman who had been mis-trialed and hung in the 1700's..The story retold to us by the owner..Once we moved into a converted sun porch that overlooked a small garden the dreams ceased..However the adventures multiplied..We visited museums,walked though crocodile

sunning spots,past the uneven architecture and economically challenged shanties..thru swamp areas, downtown New Orleans with its long term perfume of whiskey and vomit laced with its beauty and soulful music woven into the damp air.. We talked to shop owners learning stories about the Neville brothers , the movies that had been filmed there over the past 10 years after

the governor had made a tax deal with Hollywood..and ate fusion food which is still on my memory bank..Asians,Latins,Germans,French,Russians, had all made their mark and interpretations on the long term corner of Louisiana Cuisine producing amazing cross breeding of flavors and integration..My favorite site was a group of cranes nesting at the Museum on their own designated island..they collectively looked like snow.

I feel fortunate we were able to see New Orleans like this : in its glory.. Like Haiti it will have a layer of its devastation for a long time..Wealth measured in the depth of its culture..That collapsed delta was the feeding mouth for 110's years of commerce and pockets lined by others toil..Toil and soil and now silt.

Hot pimento bar olives:

this recipe I talked off of a friendly bartender in the French Quarter..

they are fun to play with both in drinks and cuisine

Empty and rinse 2 jars of pimento olives...place in a large bowl..cover with Tabasco sauce or any type of red hot sauce of your liking...recant into jars and refrigerate..These are fun in Martinis, salads... in sandwiches...chopped into Spaghetti Arribata...sliced over grilled halibut, chicken...mixed into scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese....you'll know what to do....................Get on that van and Gogh...........keep scrolling down.....so green

IMPORTS AND IMPRINTS

The plates here are plates I watched being thrown outside of Guadalajara Mexico some 35 years ago..I had exchanged my apartment in Silverlake (LA) for an artist's studio for a month in the summer.The family that made these plates were my favorite ....they had a sense of harmony and purpose...I purchased 6.. only one has broken over the years and they keep finding a new place to hang where ever we live.When I look at them I can still smell the dirt streets and the heat rising like a soft cloud, the smell of chicken fat heavy in the

air surrounded by all the noise and daily activity of life back then..Now the same spot has been transformed into a golfer's paradise and riddled with condominiums for visiting Gringos..A pink paradise..for me these plates remind me of the smell of wet clay,my hands taking command and the shape taking form as I pump a rusty pottery wheel.. They hang to remind me of a part of myself that sleeps but lingers forever.

The chest in the second photo is from Brazil..Someone has carefully painted chickens all over it..The paintings are wonderful, primitive but modern. This armoire reigns over our kitchen : our own chicken coop per say..It will travel forward with us when we move from here.

We are in the process of downsizing our lives since our children have moved to California. It is a gesture of embracing age and change which has so many layers I often feel as if I have cataracts over my visceral vision.. Change is constant ..change is inevitable...I know once I am installed in my new life I will embrace it but standing on the other side of the river,,I am trying to refresh my breast stroke..It all went too quickly..I am awaiting a new face of family.

Our daughter is part of the RAW movement and has taught us many nutritional facts and helped me to redesign how I prepare meals and eat..2 years ago we visited verdant Costa Rica with its overlay of McDonalds and development imprints..we found a beautiful home off

VRBO.com which was situated high in the hills overlooking the jungle floor and the ocean..The toucans would come out in the early evening ..mate..make noise..Occasionally we were lucky enough to have a wave of Mariposa butterflies fly by our shower window..It was magical..

Fresh fruit and vegetables were readily available by car on the open road..Our main food prep was either fresh juices or salsas eaten with fish or poultry or eggs..(Coffee was not scarce)

I don't think I have ever chopped more fruit in my life..

COSTA RICA SALSA

chop 1/2 pineapple into small di

chop 2 cups of watermelon into small pieces

chop 1/2 onion into small di

chop 1 cucumber peeled and seeded into cubes

Add the juice of 3 limes

salt

add green chili sauce to taste

add red chili sauce to taste

add 1 teaspoon of chili flakes

add 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Allow this to become itself for several hours covered in the fridge..

grab a tortilla....slice some grilled chicken..slice an avocado... blue blue flying by

Snow Flowers cacti ...

SNOW.....FLOWERS...CACTI...WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

GATEWAYS TO UNDERSTANDING

WHEN the Christos decided to install THE GATES after the 911 tragedy I went to go walk thru them on 3 different days: one day it was snowing lightly, another day the sun was out all day and the third day it was cold and the light quite compromised..Each event (and I lightly call it that because they all were), was life changing.

The color of Tibetan orange they chose was the visual thread..The gates could be seen from a great distance .Their silent companionship worked like a flood of emotions..the most potent being a sense of repair..Children and adults alike seemed to abandon their inhibitions and find a common link in the stroll or in some cases wildfire romp..thru the crushing leaves and the blaze of the never ending flame..

I ran into Anne Bancroft the second time I went just a week before she left us..I was always so grateful for this meeting as I had always admired her.. She was also a customer of my clothing line..She had been the vessel for so many wonderful women in her lifetime and her humor was impeccable.

In the early 70's I walked The FENCES in California.. google ..CHRISTO and JEANNE-CLAUDE.. wonderful visuals.

DILL SAUCE :

This dill sauce is the base for several dishes I make in the summer but I keep it around all the time as it makes a delicious

sandwich spread ..It also transcends frozen peas , makes a dip for vegetables and a side sauce for seafood..

Mix 1 small 8oz jar of high end mayonaise

6-8 Tablespoons of Yellow mustard (French's or the like) you want a tumeric undernote

1 cup of chopped fresh dill .. I often use ALOT more

1/4 white onion chopped very fine

1/4 t. tabasco sauce

2T fresh lemon juice.. add more if you like a higher acid flavor

Blend all of this together and recant into jars

Keep refrigerated ....will last for weeks

Try dipping asparagus into this............. mmmmmmm.

Table Tableau

Setting the table..Table landscaping..Homeplates

I read an article the other day on the differences between different cultures around the world: diet and exercise versus customs.. The US as a whole eats too many meals on the go.When we first moved back here form France it surprised us how quickly the kids that visited wolfed down their meal.One evening Hart suggested to his friend

"hey man you have to slow down when you eat" his friend answered "why?" Hart quipped "so you have an idea of what you just ate"..more importantly slowing down opens up the conversation..the dinner table should be the replacement for the tribal bonfire.When we sit down and share a meal with others or even between 2.....a certain intimacy is invited in. ( If you are by yourself, light a candle ,put on your favorite music,..give yourself a beautiful view...review your day and plan your next.). Turn off the TV..have your meal in small courses..discuss the day..When we first moved to France in the 90's it was such a huge adjustment..The kids would go off to school (the battlefield) and we were left gravitating daily life and business long distance..We used to think we were either inspired or the most ridiculous people on the planet. One day we invented a conversation game.. Minor Mistakes/Major Accomplishments . At the dinner table we would all report our day..laughing at our follies and putting perspective on the journey we were taking..eventually there was not as much to report as we acclimated to our new zone..so another game slipped in..stories of invention..

The Photo here is a montage of 2 placemats..When the children were quite small I had them start setting the table ..We have rarely ever returned the plates and silver to the cupboards but rather reset the tables right from the dishwasher..It struck me one day what a waste of energy that was and it also created a "last minute chore" just before dinner when everyone was spent...This way with a pre-set table everyone just sat down to that meal's tableau...an inventive maybe whimsical confection from a group effort..Sometimes the tables are theme oriented..I am currently working on the Valentine's Day table..sometimes they have been just rudimentary..but sitting down to a well set table..taking our time and reviewing our day has become part of how we eat..Nourishment from all aspects..

Something to check out...when Porter was attending Brown ..she introduced me to a City Event caalled WaterFire....,google it... see if you can attend one..its free.. its an outdoor tribal picnic..SO FUN

MICRO WAVE JAM

Cut up your desired fruits..apples,pineapple,melons.oranges,apricots,peaches..ect...add I/2 the quantity of sugar..For example if you have 4 cups of fruit add 2 cups of sugar...Microwave this for 4 minutes...Allow to cool a bit and taste if it needs more sugar... add to taste..

At this point I start adding either almond oil, vanilla ,rose water, orange water, cardamon, cinnamon...so many flavors to add become an early morning alchemist....

jasmine..what ever flavor you want the confection to take on...Microwave the mix again for 4 more minutes..if it is not set..the consistency should be a little runny...microwave again for 2 minutes..While the mixture is still very bot...pour into pre-sterilized jars and cap tightly...

This is so easy and delicious..Sometimes I add rum,cognac or nuts..just play around..

One spoon,one fork,one knife and a well set table.......