Flavors 518

I have just finished reading Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity by Emily Matchar. I thought it was a really interesting book, and during the time I was reading it I would talk about it to anyone who would listen. Basically, it explores trends and attitudes as far back as the 1880s regarding homemaking, and she interviews a lot of individuals currently involved in urban homesteading, attachment parenting, blogging about cupcakes, and selling scarves on Etsy. I definitely find myself very low on the spectrum of DIY compared to most of these people, and I have to say right now that I think reusable toilet paper is gross. A big part of the desire to return to the home as the author lays it out, is that the workplace hasn't really been that great for women, especially mothers. When you're unsatisfied with your job, it is a lot easier to glorify ways of doing things that were left behind decades ago for good reasons. I don't really fanta...

Judy Rogers, the chef at the Zuni Cafe in San Fransisco, has passed away at the far too young age of 57.  I've been using The Zuni Cafe Cookbook for more than a decade now, and love it so much that Ms. Garlic and I ate at Zuni on our honeymoon.  I now make sure to get there every time I'm in the Bay Area; it's fantastic.  This seems like a good time to share a slight adaptation of my favorite recipe from the cookbook, a wonderful one-pot pasta dish: 1)Saute cauliflower and broccoli florets in olive oil over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, with a generous portion of red pepper flakes. (Start salted water for the pasta in the meantime.) 2)Roughly when the pasta's ready to go in (assuming it's dried, which you definitely want with this sauce), make a little hole in the center of the veggies, add a little more olive oil, and then a healthy portion of mixed garlic and finely minced anchovies.  3)After you've put in the pasta and the garlic is fragrant, mix...