Stephanie says

Jeanne, new to the wonders of computers, loved to browse internet dating sites, with me frequently at her side. We talked about opening an account for her, but she was wary, in part because negotiating websites was intimidating, but also the thought of creating a profile was daunting. I shot a series of profile photos and she selected the totally girly one with a spray of pink roses under her chin, which I popped onto my inactive Match.com profile, to give her an idea of how her page would appear. She continued to balk at setting up her own account so I gave her my password and changed the defaults to browse invisibly. She was off and running. One day I received an email from some guy named Ron, wanting to meet for coffee. He liked her photo and profile. Oh oh. Make that her photo and MY profile. In classic romantic comedy fashion I forwarded the email to HER, phoned her to say “you’ve got mail,” and logged onto Match.com to change the browser visibility, inadvertently changed whi...

Winter-blooming flower.  Suffers much neglect!   Wood Rose?  Mountain Rose?  Not a true rose judging from the leaves which are not thorny. 

A ridiculously optimistic title unless I live to be, oh, 120 or so. Make that 121.5. Revise to read “Post-Mid-Life-Crisis.” A number of events occurred this past year that shook the core of my belief systems leaving my once dearly held self-confidence in a most disagreeable muddle. What I once knew as truth is not. What’s more, it never was. Uncle Howard, (my go-to guy for sage advice,) says realizing you don’t know nothin about nothin is good. That it frees the mind from self-imposed notions (read that as “rigid”) conceived over the years and opens a door to real clarity. Here’s hoping he’s right. Apparently this is not an overnight process. I constantly second guess myself, regardless of how inconsequential in the greater scheme of things. I miss the self-assured confidence of those good old know-it-all days. I’d have tossed off a one-liner then: enlightenment is over-rated. Which still strikes me as funny. Yup, not an overnight process.

I am so full.  From left 11:00 o'clock: Chanterelle mushroom risotto finished with truffle butter. Rainbow chard.  Perfectly grilled Flank streak with rosemary and thyme and finished with truffle oil and truffle slices.  Not pictured:  Hot from the oven biscuits (served with truffle infused butter.  Oh my.)  Terry finishing Flank streak with truffle oil Wonderful meal.  Excellent company.  What more can you say about a man who cooks up this feast then does clean-up, all the while entertaining me?   Amen, sister. Wait, he had sugar sticks for my espresso.

Otherwise known as "Orgasmic Raspberry Chiffon Pudding" - you'll see why. We scored truffles so dinner this evening is a truffle-fest.  My part (besides eating and eating and eating) was dessert.  Thought something light was in order - and I've been on a pudding jag lately (vanilla bean pudding to go with the caramel sauce I made last week) - so this recipe came to mind.  It's adapted from Cook's Country Raspberry Chiffon Pie.  Turns out the adaptation was rather more than I intended. I was totally distracted while making this; busy licking spoons, etc. when I noticed I'd forgotten to blend in the "reserved" jam into the chiffon layer.  Yes, the reserved jam with intense berry flavor. This was after I'd spooned the chiffon into dessert glasses.  I whipped up the jam and more whipping cream separately and now my dessert has three pink layers.  After the fact:  Way too rich after the truffle-fest.  Way sweet too, even wit...

I bought “The Magician’s Assistant” because the title reminded me of “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” a wonderful vacation read I happily stumbled across, (there is something so intriguing about time travel*.) This was my first Anne Patchett book.   The story was about a recently deceased magician whose wife discovers his unknown family.   She’d believed his family had died long ago. Patchett paints her main characters very one-dimensional initially (read that as dull) then as the story progresses she slowly fleshes out their character and temperament into fully dimensional and likeable characters.   I’ve tried to recall this technique used in other books but haven’t identified one yet.   It’s very effective.   Thumbs up for this one. Then there was “Bel Canto” set in a politically tumultuous tropical country.   It’s the story of a world-renowned opera singer, among others, taken hostage, and the relationship between the captives and cap...

What do you do with left over whipping cream?   I could have it over chocolate cheerios, dang those are good, and certainly not approved for the Primal Diet.   Oh well, the 80%/20% rule covers this infraction.   But I’m out of cheerios – so Caramel Sauce it is. I made Mom’s Christmas Pie – her version of coconut cream pie – enter the whipping cream.   Note: Decided to go without the crust this time.   So it’s pudding.   And really, really good.    1 cup sugar 1/3 cup water *Have a large pan of cold water ready to stop the cooking once the desired caramel color is achieved. Blend the sugar and water in heavy saucepan and bring to simmer.   Remove from heat, and swirl the pan by its handle to make sure the sugar has completely dissolved, and the liquid is perfectly clear. Cover the pan tightly and boil the syrup for several minutes over moderately high heat – keep peeking, after a minute or so, and boil un...