“Hors D’oeuvre: A ham sandwich cut into forty pieces.” – Jack Benny, comedian Sometimes my decisions of weekend themes turn out to be more difficult to plan a menu around than others. I mean, what was I thinking, “the classic american sandwich”? PBJ, bologna, fried bologna, liverwurst, lox, po’ boy, muffuletta, grilled cheese, shrimp salad,… Read More The Great American Sandwich Challenge

“The artist must yield himself to his own inspiration… I should compose with utter confidence a subject that set my musical blood going, even though it were condemned by all other artists as anti-musical.” – Giuseppe Verdi There is little question that the operas of Giuseppe Verdi have had a lasting influence on the cultural… Read More A King’s Amusement

“I estimated that there were no less than twenty thousand shops in Cairo… Every sort of rare goods from all over the world can be had there: I saw tortoise-shell implements such as small boxes, knife handles, and so on. I also saw extremely fine crystal, which the master craftsmen etch most beautifully… I saw… Read More A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Dish

“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?” – Logan Pearsall Smith, author It was the weekend of the Japanese Plum Festival, but, I wasn’t feeling particularly Japanese inspired. So, I took the plums from the festival and treated it like an… Read More He Stuck in His Thumb, and Pulled Out a Plum…

“Airmail (or air mail, in French Par avion) is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send. Airmail may be the only option for sending mail to some destinations, such as overseas, if the mail cannot wait the time it would take to… Read More Aloft in India

“The rate of human invention is faster, and the rate of cultural loss is slower, in areas occupied by many competing societies with many individuals and in contact with societies elsewhere.” – Jared Diamond, scientist and author With two themes competing for my attention, it came down to either picking one or doing a mashup.… Read More From Savannah to Santiago and Back Again

“I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.” – Dame Mary Douglas, anthropologist The things you might not know about the Most Serene Republic of San Marino: It is a sovereign country, located within the borders of Italy; It is one of the smallest countries… Read More Dinner from the Oldest Enclave

“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” – Maya Angelou It really doesn’t seem like forty years since Carole King’s Tapestry album was released, but amazingly, it has been, and it’s… Read More A Vegetable Tapestry