I’m not displeased with my first attempt at sourdough bread. It was a bit of a pain, though. I aspire to have great patience with making complicated foods, and perky, excited blog posts, accompanied by richly-textured, drool-inducing photos, about the results. But often, once I get into a process that takes a long time, I…
Last Frost Date
Today, February 21, is the last frost date for New Orleans. This is beyond counterintuitive for a native Pennsylvanian like me, for whom the Philadelphia Flower Show (this year March 3-11) has served as a harbinger of a far-distant spring, last frost date April 17. My first few growing seasons here were terribly disorienting, marked…
Despite the Fact that There is a Parade
I’ve lived in two cities that can get, um … a little excited about their sports teams. Although I am caught up in the Carnival season, it hasn’t escaped my notice that the Eagles’ recent Super Bowl win has given my Philly friends a little taste of happy crowds filling the street and even a…
Elusive King Cake
Two years ago, we walked into Dong Phuong Bakery, picked up a king cake from the shelf, and went on our merry way. Not this year, my friends. A James Beard “America’s Classics” award and local word on the street have changed all that. It’s an honor well-deserved, in my opinion. Their king cake is…
All Because it’s Carnival Time
Some time has gone by since my last post. We made it through the July 22 and August 5 flooding, and my first official hurricane, Nate, which was thankfully a non-event in New Orleans and became a good excuse for a porch party. We elected our first woman mayor, hired an interim Executive Director of…
Eat Local Challenge
“For 30 days of June: eat only food grown, caught or raised within 200 miles of New Orleans.” This challenge, put together by NOLA Locavores, is right up my alley. I’m still learning about what is in season here, and when to expect to find it at the markets. And I’m a bit lazy about…
Disaster Preparedness
I am unprepared for natural disaster. My “worry serves little purpose” attitude has served me fairly well so far in my lifetime, thus far spent in a geographic region mostly spared by natural disasters. But hurricane season approaches, officially kicking off on June 1 and extending through November 30. So I have learned. Last year,…
There is No North
New Orleans is an easy city to get lost in. When you visit the first time, you tend to underestimate this, because if you venture out of the easily-walkable French Quarter, you are braver than most. On perhaps the third day after I moved here, all of my belongings en route from Philadelphia in three…
New to New Orleans
People come here for their first visit, “fall in love” with the city and then never leave. Others rearrange their lives so they can come back to stay for good. Many festival visitors come year after year for the biggest & best parties the city offers to the world: Mardi Gras, French Quarter Fest and/or…
Louisiana Latitudes 