Archive for January, 2010
Time for tisane
Thursday, January 28th, 2010The French love their coffee, it is true, drunk in the morning with lots of milk, or in tiny cups after meals. But doesn’t the caffeine bother them? Don’t they ever have trouble sleeping? In a word, yes. In fact, I’ve discovered that if there’s any drink the French are as passionate about as coffee, [...]
French Frozen
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010It’s taken me over a year, but I think I’ve finally cottoned onto the French secret to eating well at home. Is it shopping at the farmer’s market every day? Making the daily rounds of butcher, baker, and green grocer? Lovingly slaving over a hot stove, preparing delicious and nutritious meals every night? Ha — [...]
Bruyère by any other name
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010Today’s post is dedicated to my friend, Heather — perhaps you recognize her name from the comments section. It’s a pretty name, Heather, isn’t it? In the United States, it was the eighth most popular name for baby girls of the 1970s, and tenth most popular of the 1980s. Too bad Heather’s parents didn’t know [...]
It’s a book!
Friday, January 15th, 2010So, yesterday I was in the bathroom trying to discern if certain strands of hair were white or simply just reflecting under the light (when you have black hair, it can be hard to tell), when I heard the doorbell ring. And, lo and behold, there was a DHL delivery man, with a very special [...]
Dreaming of a French life
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Once upon a time, about five years ago, I used to stare out my office window, through the layer of grime that covered the pane, and gaze at a smog-filled sky, the filled parking lot below, and a series of Communist cereal box buildings, each blockier than the last. I was living in Beijing at [...]
Snow and Scotland
Thursday, January 7th, 2010The Scots call New Year’s Eve “hogmanay” and this year I was chuffed to ring in this very Scottish holiday with my Scottish mates, in Perthshire. As you can see from these photos, it was extremely cold — and also very beautiful.
Bonne année and bits of book news
Monday, January 4th, 2010Bonjour and happy new year, mes amis! I counted down to the New Year in Scotland (more on this later), where we welcomed 2010 under the clear light of a blue moon. While I was there, Kitchen Chinese received two wonderful reviews, which I’m thrilled to share with you now! The China Daily says: “Kitchen [...]