Of Love and War and Broccoli Salad (reiteration)

Once again, I am reprising a guest post written for the best friend of all bloggers, dear Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com. Contrary to George Bush, we love broccoli. Thus we are sincerely grateful to the Etruscans, the famed horticultural geniuses of the ancient world, who “engineered” this “flowering crest of cabbage” – broccolo in Italian – almost 3…

Wondering What Life Is For: Broccoslaw (reiteration)

There is much talk in the blogosphere about post-holiday diets and weight loss goals. Here is a reprise of my guest post, published by our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com, describing one of the most effective ancient diets, as well as a new recipe. Zeus was in a quandary. The supreme and most powerful of…

In Praise of Cabbage and Salt (reiteration)

This was a guest post I wrote for The Best Friend of All Bloggers, kind and knowledgeable Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com. It has come to my attention that some readers ignore links to my guest posts published on a host’s blog, and thus never see my creation. This is important now because I am getting ready…

Hot Chicks Salad

Once again, our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com has published my guest post. Enjoy, Beautiful People!

Falstaff on a Diet: Chunky Soup for a Chunky Knight

Once again, our gracious host Renard has published my guest post. Yes, Beautiful People, I am happy to report that I am out of the wheelchair, I am walking around the house (with a walker), and I am cooking. Here is my humble contribution to Renard’s wonderfully informative blog:

Smashing Cucumbers

Once again, our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com published my guest post: This marvelously smashing story starts in the very beginning of twentieth century, when a U.S. naval officer Pinkerton, stationed in Nagasaki, Japan, temporarily marries a lovely fifteen-year-old Japanese girl Cio-Cio-san. Her name means Madam Butterfly, and Giacomo Puccini’s opera is called, in Italian, Madama…

I’ve Got Some Explaining to Do

Our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com has kindly published my guest post that features the Indian Goddess Lakshmi and my recipe for stir-fried lotus root. In my post, I have neglected to explain the link between the two, and anyway, why is Lakshmi always depicted sitting on a lotus flower? Here is the answer, Beautiful…

Falafel Frida Defies Pharaoh

The fault is entirely mine! A timely reminder about an International Falafel Day (what will they come up with next, I wonder) had been issued by lovely and efficient Carol of https://carolcooks2.com, but between holidays, work, boat, and visiting grandchildren, I missed it. Perhaps you can forgive me, Beautiful People, if I bring you this…

Eggplant Caviar Odessa Style

In the midst of the war, despite the tragic events described in my post Hello, Ovid! Я вам не скажу про всю Одессу… (war edition), the inimitable quirky Odessa sense of humor keeps the spirit strong. The following photos were taken in Odessa a few days ago: “Tossing trash on the street, don’t forget to…

Happy New Year to the Trees with More Pickled Veggies!

This is a re-post, Beautiful People. Today is Tu b’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees in the Hebrew Calendar, and I thought this post was worth repeating. We are celebrating yet another New Year – the New Year of the Trees. In the old times, in ancient Israel, this day, 15th of the month Shevat, or Tu b’Shvat in Hebrew,…

Pumpkin Boats

Lovely Carol of https://carolcooks2.com has informed me that October is a National Pumpkin Month. Since I am not on pumpkin track yet, and neither are the stores here, I am repeating an old nostalgic recipe, posted in the B.C. before Covid) era, when cruise industry was booming and our little boat had not been swallowed…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 8, Quinoa Pomegranate Salad.

This post takes us to the last two of the four holidays: Sukkot (Sukkos) and Simchat Torah (Simhas Torah). It also concludes my story with the celebration of Simhas Torah in Moscow Synagogue. *20. Leader of All Peoples – one of the multitude of epithets Stalin constructed to refer to himself. *21. The Big Brother of All Workers – see *20. *22. Expert of All…