Ode to the Artichoke

I live 60 miles away from Castroville, California, the self-proclaimed artichoke center of the world. Yet on Wednesday I walked into a room full of eaters who had never tasted one. I was flabbergasted. Never eaten an artichoke?

Simplicity of Sweet Potatoes

I like words. I get a rise out of buying two bottles of wine named with antonyms, and I relish my daily Word of the Day e-mail from Merriam-Webster. But stringing words into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into complex ideas with nuances and logical organization—sometimes that just exhausts me to the bone.

Risotto for Ruth

“It’s an incredible act of bravery to invite people into your home.”

— Ruth Reichl

Ruth Reichl, long-time restaurant critic for The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times and former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, spoke at Stanford last week. I expect this news will elicit one of two responses from you: “Shut up. She did not. I love her!” Or, “Ruth who?” For the latter camp, I confess I shared your gastronomical ignorance—until last Tuesday.