Searching for a Dickens Christmas in London

I was dead, to begin with.

Dead tired after the train ride from Paris to London. The ride through the Chunnel was longer than usual due to tunnel repairs after an accident in September. My cab ride through the busy streets…

Oui: Yet Another Pumpkin Soup Recipe

The problem I have with eating in autumn is two-fold. First, when the weather is gray and damp as it has been here Paris the last few days, I want something warm and comforting like gratin Dauphinois (grah-tan doh-fee-nwahz), that…

Soup Chou Romanesco

When I moved to Paris I assumed I’d encounter all kinds of foreign items in the grocery stores; different brands of toothpaste, soap, soft drinks, plastic wrap, garbage bags, razor blades and junk food. But I figured the vegetables would…

Haricot vert! Mange-Tout!

Here in Paris the autumn harvest of beans is in the markets now. Well, maybe they’ve been around for a while, but at any rate, I’ve just noticed them.

I’ve been hungry for something comforting, but also green (but not the…

Paris Sketchbook

It’s been seven years this month since I moved here (the number “seven” seems to be a magic number in life; Seven Days of Creation,  Seven Seals of Revelation, Seven Days of the Week, Seven Deadly Sins, The Seven Samurai, The Seven…

Every lesson I learned for life was from a spider and pig

While sifting through boxes and suitcases from a previous life, I came across an old treasure. It was actually three treasures, three cassette tape recordings of Charlotte’s Web, read by the author, E.B. White. I hadn’t listened to them for…

Dear Redding,

It’s been a while since I’ve visited you, almost seven years. I hadn’t even written you. So I admit I was a bit wary and nervous when I flew into Redding Municipal Airport a few weeks ago. Would you remember…

Remembering

Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Improve Memory 

“Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts may improve the ability to create and maintain memories properly, according to a new study from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. 
Published in…

Fraises Gariguette - Strawberries from France
By Doug Cushman

A sure sign of spring here in Paris is the arrival of fraises gariguette, those famous, sweet strawberries from the southwest of France. The first time I tasted them was six years ago when I first moved here. I had invited my landlady for lunch and she arrived with a small paper bag filled with the gariguettes. They were a revelation; fresh strawberries? In April? I’ve been a convert ever since.

Roughing it in Bologna
By Doug Cushman

Every spring the world of children’s book publishing screeches to a halt and all eyes, ears and pocketbooks are focused on Bologna, Italy, where foreign rights agents, lawyers, editors, writers, illustrators, literary agents and anyone interested in children’s books descend on this small North Italian city to show their latest books or buy the next bestseller.