Nibbles

I have a friend who lives in Noank and she asked me some time ago why she should keep her large Cuisinart. I literally blanched.  There are two reasons to keep your kitchen counter appliances. One, of course, is because you use them fairly often enough that you want them close to you. The second is perhaps you adore them, as I love mine, and consider them -- if not as pets … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Summer Means Picnics; Picnics Mean Cole Slaw & Potato Salad! Lee Shares Favorite Recipes for Both

When I was little, my mother used to call me Sarah Bernhardt. I had no idea who Sarah Bernhardt and she told me Bernhardt was a famous actress in the early 1900s.  I think today my mom would call me a drama queen. She also suggested I not wish my life away, that someday I would wish I could get those years back. I thought about this again as I was reading my newest food … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Can’t Imagine Grilling a Salad? Then Try This, But Don’t Forget Blue Cheese & Basil!

Over the past few weeks there have been so many holidays-- Easter Sunday, Passover and Ramadan-- and all had something to do with food. For Lent, we gave up something we wanted (often sweet stuff) for 40 days and had to have fish on Fridays; for Passover nothing leavening (desserts made with matzoh and matzoh for breakfast, lunch and dinner for eight days) and, at Ramadan, … [Read more...] about A la Carte: How Do I Love Lemons? Let me Count the Ways …

What a weekend! The weather was gorgeous so I thought I would go to Lowe’s and get some flowers to plant in my tiny front yard and some flowering plants to place where my bird feeders help my feathered friends during the fall, winters and early spring. But Monday morning at 4:30 a.m., as I drove my daughter to catch her plane back to sunny California, I had to use the … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Gingerbread Cake is Super for Sharing

I have spent the past few weeks with friends, first with the Oscars (yes, we all saw the slap and, with all the brilliant actors and crew from the amazing movie, CODA, they knew what Will Smith was saying. I myself don’t read lips, but I knew what he was saying.) The following Friday, we watched UConn ladies in the Final Four. On Sunday, I watched them alone.  … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Spring is Here … Celebrate with Spring Minestrone

Oh my, it may be April 1, as you are reading this. But this column is not about April Fool’s Day but rather two important holidays, which follow in just a couple of weeks—Easter and Passover. Because the two holidays follow different calendars, rarely do Easter weekend (including Good Friday, Easter Sunday or, that new holiday, Easter Monday) and Passover coincide. As … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Thinking Lent (or Passover or Easter)? Then Think Fish

Column #1 All winter, friends have been wailing about winter. When will it be over? Will summer ever come? Others complain about the cold. Some have slipped on ice.  For me, winter on the Connecticut shoreline isn’t bad. I grew up in Troy, N.Y. Went to college in Ithaca and Rochester, and lived and worked in Worcester, Mass. Even the isolation during the pandemic … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Twice the Usual Feast Today:- First Maple Gooey Butter Cake, Then Whole Coconut Curry Chicken

What do you do on a Sunday when there is nearly three feet of snow on your front door? Obviously, the meteorologists were right this time ... Is there enough food in my house to keep me a day or two from starvation? Sure, there is. But what would I be in the mood for? Yes, my friends, I had stocked up on produce with what I wanted to cook: three different soups. … [Read more...] about A la Carte: A Soup for Snow? Try This Intriguing Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup

I used to wonder about people who won’t go out if the weather is crappy, especially if it is snowing. I grew up where there is snow most days from mid-November until the end of March. I don’t remember having any snow days, but maybe we did. In any case, I never saw a school bus and, to this day, I have never been on one. From kindergarten until junior high school (now … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Lemony Shrimp and Risotto Makes a Luscious Entrée