Archive for August, 2009


What’s hot, what’s not? A windowbox update

Friday, August 28th, 2009

When I last reported on my Parisian windowbox garden, aphids had attacked, well, everything and my geraniums were suffering from root rot. Dark days, indeed. How have things progressed?

Vacation from cooking: Pinna, Italian traiteur

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

You know I love cooking, and I especially love cooking in Provence. For the past few summers, our vacation has consisted of renting a house in the hill village of Bonnieux, in the Luberon region of Provence. There’s a big kitchen, which means I can chop, stir, season, and concoct to my heart’s content. But [...]

Dining Out and About (Provence): Got my goat

Friday, August 21st, 2009

I don’t like writing negative reviews. My philosophy is: there are so many good restaurants in the world, why not focus on them? But my visit to Le Castelas, a goat farm/restaurant near Sivergues, in the Luberon region of Provence, was such a roller-coaster of emotion — first excitement, then disappointment — that I feel [...]

Dining Out and About (Provence): Omelettes, ohmigod!

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

You know I never, ever, ever, ever indulge in any hyperbole, so please believe me when I say that I have found the lightest, fluffiest, most exquisite, delicious, and BEST omelettes in the world in Buoux, a small village in the Luberon region of Provence. Okay, maybe I’m being a little sarcastic. But honest to [...]

A year in a French market (special Provence edition): Why I love France (reason #1,012)

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Shopping for food is one of my favorite French activities. First of all, as David Sedaris once so gleefully pointed out, when you ask for things in multiple, you don’t have to know their gender. Tongue-tied between “une pomme” or “un pomme“? Une tomate? Un tomate? Un jambon? Une jambon? Here’s a trick: ask for [...]

Provence, je t’aime

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Bonjour, mes amis! It is I, your errant blogging friend, returned from vacation: two whole weeks in the hot sun, craggy landscape, and rich terrain of Provence. Sigh. The best part? Spending time with my husband, CK, who was on leave from Baghdad. What did we do?