Recipe Log

The renovation is in full swing. This point in the process feels the way I’d imagine a very long ocean voyage might. You know you’re on course, but at the same time you haven’t seen land or eaten a proper meal for weeks....

There isn’t a ton of interesting food content for April: my long-awaited renovation finally got going at the beginning of April, taking with it my access to a kitchen at home....

March has been a roller coaster. My kitchen project is finally charging ahead. I’ve signed the contract for the work, and, in what must be a first for a construction project (and certainly this construction project), it’s running ahead of schedule....

In an exciting twist, I think my kitchen project may actually happen soon. My architects, contractor, and I are still working out the final details, but it’s looking like we’ll get going in March....

The latest virus variant has pushed me a lot closer to where this whole project began in March or April of 2020. We’re back at the point that, despite being vaccinated and boosted, I’m not in love with the idea of doing any indoor dining....

It’s been a month of relaxation and recovery, with another slightly manic interlude woven in the middle. Now I’m slightly preparing myself for the Christmas-New Year dash. It will be both nice that the usual fixtures can be there this year (with many sincere thanks to the scientists and researchers behind the vaccine) and a bit strange after a year without them....

The month that’s been has been mostly uneventful. I managed to keep a number of my longstanding promises in this newsletter, from getting back on the croissant path to finally trying out the cascatelli....

Summer has clung on with tenacity in New England this year. It was warm enough this weekend to have dinner outside without even a sweater. Though it’s certainly (and reassuringly) getting cooler....

I’ve managed to avoid catching another bug, Covid or otherwise, over the last few weeks. It’s been nice to get back to normal in that sense. Though in another sense, I feel like I haven’t profited enough of the summer....

The last month has been a blend of anxiety and relief. The world continues opening, cautiously. But neither has the pandemic really ended, even in the protective Massachusetts bubble. Indeed, my food adventures have been somewhat curtailed by a not-the-coronavirus respiratory infection....