No, no, no–I’m not talking about me or the low-cut red blouse that looks as if it were stolen from Giada de Laurentiis’ closet! I’m talkin’ spring fruits! Gorgeous strawberries and plumbs. My fourth cooking episode, FRUIT GALETTES, is all about healthful wheat dough and whisps of pastry framing spring’s most flavorful fruits. 

Get to the greenmarket and get into your kitchen!

Remember that little gem of a project I alluded to earlier in the month? It’s here!

Today my cooking “show” debuts! Think Martha Stewart with a twang, Paula Deen dipping into the low-fat mayo (heck, while you’re at it, throw in one of Giada’s low-cut blouses…). My show is all about cooking and shopping for the younger set while keeping an eye on sophistication and the waistline.

On Elasticwaist.com, getting in shape and being healthy is a must. So how do I kick things off? With BREAD, CHEESE and PORK, of course! Check out episodes 1-3 of my cooking show and tune in every week for recipes and cooking ideas.

Bon Appetit and Good Eats!

Well I’ll be…

Danica Lo, in Sunday’s “New York Post,” named me one of the “9 Hottest Web Celebs.” Check me out at #7.

(And I never would have known if my lawyer friend in Connecticut hadn’t just emailed me the link…) 

I’m trying to tiptoe off the island. I’m sure of it. It’s gotta mean something that South of Houston just isn’t cutting it anymore. Lower, lower, I want to move as far south and as close to the water as I can go. Everyday for a week now, I’ve taken hour-long walks down to the South Street Seaport and back. “I could live here,” I think, “rent out a space over an oyster bar, hear the tugboats, smell the saltwater in the morning, watch the obscene oranges and pinks melt into the horizon at night.” I’d force those sensations to be interchangeable with memories of docks jutting out into the warm, brown bay waters at sunset.

Andalucia, Spain, Puglia, Italy—I’ve written before that I’m drawn to the southernmost points of all countries. New York City and I’m trying to do the same…

“Move to Maiden Lane, move to Maiden Lane…” It’s actually a lovely little chant, isn’t it? But I have to think, “Wouldn’t it all be a cheap approximation of the South that I really yearn for?”

A piece of land and a home, something that looks just like this (Hampton Plantation). Longing for “Tara” and all that picked over, Dixie nonsense? Yep, and I’m unapologetic in my desires. I’ll finish my book, its movie, do wonders with my new cooking “show,” and then I’m going to get her. And hopefully by then “maiden” won’t fit into the picture—I’ll be a Mrs.

(pre-emptive strike at smart ass comments: yes, i realize that the South Street Seaport is not the southernmost tip of the island, Maiden Lane and the surrounding streets lie south east while Battery Park City is the southernmost point of the island.)

Y’all have not been forgotten! I’ve been cookin’ up something good (but very labor-intensive) for your springtime enjoyment. Promise. Tune in this week for the delicious details.

(And I’m sorry if you left a comment and it was never published–I had to delete all comments from the last 2 weeks due to major spam problems. Now I’m back in business!)

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