You sit, you watch, you delight in being at a café in Paris. But! What to order? I’m here to help!
Travels/Culture/Tips
But recently it’s been less obvious. For example, I met a friend at a café where I go often and feel completely invisible. But not today. Everyone from the owners to the servers greeted me as though I was their best friend. Same with the restaurant where I went last night. I’ve been there many …
I watched the spectacular Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysées (from the comfort of a big, cool home in Normandy), for the very first time this year, and was entranced. I grew up on military bases and am no stranger to brassy uniforms, fighter planes, salutes, and elegantly proud looks. But as in so …
As spring progresses, the itch to plant seeds and tend a garden grows. I have windowboxes – one of the few in my building to do so. In it I have the herbs necessary to make dishes taste fresh and delicious, and edible flowers to enjoy and use for garnishes. And I show you how …
The morning was – and still is – gloriously alive with light and a pale spring sun that will become warm this afternoon. Naturally, everyone will take to the streets, the parks, any green spot available. And This is a Workday We’ve had this weather for days and last week I had American friends here …
Go to Video I thought I knew what to expect when I visited Finland. It was my first trip; Sami, the other half of Dancing Tomatoes, is a Finnish native and he is constantly showing me the way of Finland, giving me tastes of his favorite Finnish foods, finding technical solutions. When I act amazed …
Go to Recipe Go to Video Reindeer, bear, elk, moose, buckthorn juice…it’s all daily fare at the Vanha Kauppahalli, or Old Market in downtown Helsinki, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. This fanciful brick building was built in 1889, and its interior is even more lovely than its exterior, with carved wooden stalls that …
Vanha Kauppahalli – The Old Market | Helsinki, Finland Read More »
Go to Video “Meet you under the clock…” is a standard phrase in Helsinki, one local inhabitants have used for decades, since the imposing Stockmanns Department Store was erected in the city center in the 1930’s. Come 5 p.m. in the afternoon when, in winter it is already dark, and in summer light-filled hours stretch …
I have just sipped some of the nation’s finest coffee, and I am looking forward to brunch, which will include that mythic rye bread, along with deer stew seasoned with allspice and touched with cream, and some of the finest pickles ever to grace my – or anyone else’s – plate. Sami’s mother makes them …
Go to Recipe Go to Video The first time I visited a farmers’ market in France was on rue de Buci, in Paris. I was on an errand for one of the chef’s at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, fresh off the plane from Seattle, jet-lagged and shy about my French. But spinach was on …
