A fine day for Phoenix

Every day is a great day for Phoenix. But Friday's the best.

Happy 100th to joy named Julia

In honor of Julia Child’s 100^th birthday, here are my top 10 favorite quotes of hers. Many of these are from My Life in France, which, if you haven’t read, it absolutely must go to the top of your list. Absolutement!

“Life itself is the proper binge.”

“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. ”

“Remember, 'No one's more important than people'! In other words, friendship is the most important thing--not career or housework, or one's fatigue--and it needs to be tended and nurtured.”

“Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake.”

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?”

“Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you'll have a marvelous time!”

“Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.”

“I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”

"Being tall is an advantage, especially in business. People will always remember you. And if you're in a crowd, you'll always have some clean air to breathe."

“If you're afraid of butter, use cream.”

Summer reading

The summer blockbusters have been underwhelming (sorry, just couldn’t get excited for a third Batman or a talking teddy bear). And though I’ve seen a handful of amazing indie and foreign films (The Queen of Versaille, Bernie, Easy Money), and finished off the Friday Night Lights TV series (awesome), I’ve been getting my creative fix through books. Amazing books.

In fact, I can’t remember reading a better string of impressive books. Head-over-heels in-love-with books.

It all began when I visited McNally Jackson and scooped up five books on a whim. That was followed by a visit to Three Lives, where I got a couple more. Never mind that I have no more shelf space and had told myself to read what’s already at home before buying anything new. It was the summer weather. The beautiful covers. The lovely and seductive environments. And that both bookstores prominentlydisplayed Paris, My Sweet—great beach chair reading if I do say so myself—just might also have factored in.

One by one, at random, I’ve been engulfing my new books (and wouldn’t you know, I found space on my shelves). If you’re looking to finish up the season with a great read (other than Paris, My Sweet), here’s what I’ve got:

Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman – A devastating but beautiful non-fiction love story. Although I began to not like Goldman toward the end, the man can tell a story like no one’s business. Brutally honest, sweet and whimsical, set partly in New York, with a suckerpunch ending.

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy – Romantic, exotic, original—this is the kind of book that makes other writers jealous. It’s so beautifully written and thought-provoking that I subsequently returned to McNally Robinson for a book of his short stories, The Secret Lives of People in Love.

You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik – Unbeknownst to me until after I finished the book, this one’s controversial because it’s very transparently autobiographical story. But I don’t care. Maksik weaves together literature and philosophy and love and lust in modern day Paris. Brilliant.

State of Wonder – Ann Pachett’s latest. It took me a while to really get into it, especially  on the heels of three strong, punchy, masculine books. But Pachett’s range and depth and beautiful style drew me in, more and more, until the ending was like fireworks, one bang after another getting bigger and more incredible.

Next up: Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet. Food. History. Paris. Edited by my idol, Ruth Reichl. It promises to keep my string of good reading fortune alive. And after that…. What do you recommend?

My Vegan Mondays

I’ve been trying to each a lot of raw food these past few days since I got sick. More often than not, comfort food has won out (I'm looking at you, Ben & Jerry). But today was a pretty exemplary day, if I do say so myself.

Morning

Coffee with soy milk

Apple

Banana

Afternoon

Montana salad at Jivamukti: black beans, avocado, quinoa, tomatoes, carrots and greens

Pretzels

Red grapes

Green juice (kale, celery, cucumber, lemon juice and banana)

Evening

Split pea soup and crackers

The week in food

There were no extravagant meals this week. No new restaurant explorations. Instead, I worked long hours and managed to get sick enough to sabotage my vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Hrmph.

Thank goodness there were at least some bright spots on the food front...

Let's start with Levain. Is there anything better than one of their 6-ounce divinely decadent monsters? Not much...

... Except my new favorite brunch spot, Homemade. Savory (a truffle egg scramble with home fries and a slab of walnut toast),

or sweet (brioche french toast with sweet sautéed apples), it's the best.

Cocktails on the patio of Maison Premiere - so wonderful and civilized.

And veggie sushi!

New, in my hood, Beyond Sushi. I think this one is going to be a healthy addiction...

Beach time

The dunes of Martha's Vineyard are calling. I'm lucky enough to return to the beautiful island with my fun friends this weekend. So I'll be offline, gorging, reading, swimming, dancing... doing what nearly 40-year-olds (!) always do. Right??

As brilliant as this summer has been, I miss writing more. I miss having time to read and connect in the blogosphere.  I miss Paris daily. I'm hoping to get back to it all in due time. Until then, amusez-vous mes amis. Be well and always happy.

The week in food

It was another delicious, albeit unhealthy, week of eating. Nicoletta pizza (living up to the hype), blueberry pancakes, stuffed clams, an avocado and Swiss melt, a whole lot of dried pineapple...

Plus, cheese boards and grilled cheese from the new Murray's Cheese Bar (killer menu, but also killer decibel levels)...

... creamy homemade Connecticut peach ice cream...

... and a good old Blizzard from DQ.

 And, the the best of all...

...generous, perfectly dressed lobster salad between two buttery halves of a toasted hot dog roll.

Sometimes you read something that just stays with you...

"It wasn't until Paris that something shifted. Paris was the beginning. Paris was everything."

—Gilad from Alexander Maksik's incredible book You Deserve Nothing