Simmer down, blog

Aug 24, 2012

School starts soon, summer vacations come to an end this week. Overhead, a big rainbow lingered in the sky as Canada geese silently practiced their formations, my children and some neighbor kids racing around the cul-de-sac on scooters.

My mother is packing her car, preparing for a move to Arkansas, where she’ll live near my brother. Her summer with us was nice. She listened as her grandson, Oliver, talked and talked. And she’s leaving impressed with my cooking skills. One day this week, I prepared coq au vin. Another day, poached eggs over risotto (admittedly, from a box). Last Sunday, roasted chicken and potatoes. Most of that cooking was informed by Ruhlman’s Twenty.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about turning the heat down on my blogging, for a slow simmer about the rhythms and rituals of daily life, a simpler, thoughtful and connected writing, like the Amish Cook and the NYTimes essays by Verlyn Klinkenborg.

It’s a good season. I’m living it.

Anton Zuiker ☄