Archive for June, 2009


Work

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Call me crazy, but working in Paris has always sounded incredibly romantic to me. I know it’s weird, but the idea of a job, an office with colleagues, the camaraderie, the structure, (the opportunities to practice French), just seemed so darn appealing. Plus, I couldn’t help picture myself bicycling home in the golden dusk, with [...]

Indian, everyday

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

I could eat Indian food everyday, and so I was delighted to discover Monica Bhide’s new book, Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen, which offers an easy-breezy, 21st-century spin on subcontinental spice. My review of this fresh, piquant book appeared yesterday on the Washingtonian magazine website. Click here to read my review, and here for my favorite recipe from [...]

A year in a French market: Dog days?

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

It snuck in so quietly that I didn’t realize it had arrived until it was already here. Summer, I mean. And while Paris’s recent cool temperatures don’t necessarily scream seasonal, the produce doesn’t lie: the market is full of early summer fruit, and by that I mean cherries. The best ones are dark and firm, [...]

Adventures in gardening

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my thriving window box garden, a post I can only describe now as very, very foolish. Or, perhaps, cursed. You see, ever since then, my plants have been struggling. First, there was the root rot that plagued my geraniums, caused by too much rain and over-zealous watering (The grumpy [...]

Where the Obamas ate in Paris

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Maybe you’ve heard — Paris had five very special visitors over the weekend: President Obama, the First Lady, First Daughters Malia and Sasha and First Grandma Marian Robinson. And yes, we know the family climbed the belfry at Notre Dame, visited the Eiffel Tower at sunset, and toured the galleries of the Centre Pompidou. But let’s [...]

Twenty years ago

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

I was only 14 when the events at Tiananmen Square took place. I remember the images — especially the lone man in front of the tank — but I didn’t understand their significance at the time. That all changed when I moved to China in 2003, and met some very brave people — some who [...]