

Sunday - ending or beginning?
"Time flows in a strange way on Sundays" Haruki Murakami This year's Met diary has disoriented me somewhat because it begins its week with Sunday. In years gone by, and my feeling is, almost everywhere, mostly we think of Monday as the first day of the week. And the Met has previously followed that tradition. I am now into the third week of my diary, and I have only just adjusted to the fact that the day that says Saturday on the page, is not Sunday. To explain - for exam
4 days ago


Ombre - from Monet to cakes
"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment." Jane Austen Once again I am trying out a new technique to combat lack of inspiration. The idea is to randomly pick a photograph, a picture, an object ... and extemporise upon it, hoping that in some way there will be a connection to food. I find this kind of thing makes you think a little, explore a little and look at things in a different way perhaps with an eye to detail, perhaps t
Jan 4


Bagatelles
Bagatelle: "a thing regarded as too unimportant or easy to be worth much consideration." Oxford Languages So yes 'bagatelle' is a French word for a trifle: "The French word bagatelle , from the Italian word bagatella , means a trifle or little decorative nothing." Wikipedia And this is an oddments post - full of trifles. A bagatelle trifle is also a specific French Canadian dish of which the magazine Saveur says "The typical bagatelle in La Beauce is a child's delight o
Oct 27, 2025


World Food Photography Awards
"In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality." Alfred Stieglitz The photograph above has just won...
May 31, 2025


Everyday and old things - my kitchen
"Napery - Napery refers to household linen, especially table linen. It includes items like tablecloths, napkins, placemats, and table...
May 20, 2025


Pumpkins, fairy stories and recipes
"A fat round pumpkin is used both as a candlelit ghoul at All Hallows and as a fairytale stagecoach to whisk Cinderella to the ball" ...
Apr 27, 2025


Seasonality - over there and down here
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own." Charles Dickens On the left is the first picture in my new diary for...
Jan 3, 2025


Art, food, the curriculum
"The great thing about making art about food is that it is all around you" The Tate I've been putting this topic off in my Food...
Oct 8, 2024


Empty
"What is empty? It is the lack of a story… but you can always find a story." Wendy Woods Can you? I must say I'm struggling today, even...
Sep 15, 2024


Soothing busyness; unexpected beauty
"Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." Lucille Ball This is today's painting from the Met...
Aug 24, 2024


Nubbins
"something (such as an ear of corn) that is small for its kind, stunted, undeveloped, or imperfect; a small usually projecting part or...
Aug 23, 2024


Napoleon cake - layers of meaning
"as each family makes it their own way, you’d be pressed to find two recipes that agree on what makes a perfect one." Deb...
Jul 14, 2024


A decor book
"It's not just what's inside them that counts – books are also the underrated heroes of home décor." Bed Threads This is my next Lucky...
Jul 3, 2024


Food for the soul - religion in the curriculum
"Our life is made by the death of others." Leonardo da Vinci I have been avoiding moving on through my food curriculum recently because...
Jun 15, 2024


Boring? But I'll persevere
"Somebody's boring me. I think it's me." Dylan Thomas You've probably noticed that I've been a bit uninspired of late. Indeed my...
May 17, 2024


Tablecloths
"A kid under a tablecloth insists he’s a ghost. A table underneath a tablecloth is, I guess, like the rest of us, only pretending to be...
May 16, 2024


Detail
"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail." Leonardo da Vinci A week or so ago now we went to the current Lume exhibition...
Apr 28, 2024


Together, but separate
"United we stand, divided we fall." Aesop This is my Redstone Diary's photo for the week. The title underneath reads: "Anton Chekhov...
Mar 5, 2024


Pretty in pink
"Pink isn't just a colour. It's an attitude too" Miley Cyrus Ten years ago on our last night in Beaucaire we dined in the restaurant of...
Feb 6, 2024


After dinner temptations
"More research is needed, but if you are going to cut out snacks at any time of day, the late-night ones are probably the place to...
Jan 24, 2024

