It's finally cooled off in Berlin, which means that we can sleep under thin coverlets at night again, that big puffy clouds float past my little office under the eaves at a rather brisk clip, that I can enjoy hot tea in the mornings once more, and that I don't have to drink an icy…

I sometimes get the impression that people think I can do no wrong in the kitchen. That my pasta's always al dente, my cakes always risen, my eggs always fluffy. Folks, let me tell you: no one, but no one, is immune to the kitchen disaster. See this towering beauty of almond meringue, gooseberry-studded whipped…

I remember one August in Berlin many years ago, my mother and I came back from visiting our family in Italy and had to turn the heater on. It was that cold. In August! Things have, uh, changed in northern Europe over the past 20 years. Currently, Berlin is in the grip of a heat…

1. Have you made this salad yet? You must, you must, you must. It, quite literally, might be the best thing since sliced bread. I made it for a dinner party on Friday night, along with a plethora of other delicious things, and this salad was the one thing at the meal that made everyone…

So where are you going to be the first weekend in June? I'll be in London at the Food Blogger Connect conference, where I've been invited to speak on a panel about blogging and book writing. Won't you come and say hello? I'd love that. I wanted to also draw your attention to an interview…

I love going to grocery stores. And I'm willing to bet money a lot of you do, too. No?  There's something so calming about grocery shopping. All those nice parallel lines, the reliable stacks of products, the hum of the refrigerated section, the loamy scent in the produce aisle. I heft sacks of rice in…

Five days ago, I wrote this: Today, in a fit of pique, I refused to put on pants. I've been wearing pants for a month straight, you see. Jeans, jeans and more jeans, sometimes alternating with a lone pair of cargo pants. And today I simply could not take any of them anymore. Wherefore my…

Well, hello there! Or should I say, Guten Tag! That's a little formal, though. How about just hallo? Hallo! I'm here! And I brought you two Pfannkuchen! It's New Year's Eve, after all, and that's what Germans eat on New Year's Eve. Jelly doughnuts, that is. Ooh, and these ones are the best. Handmade, filled…

Sometimes there's just no escaping a dinner disaster. You can try as hard as you can, be armed with this recipe from the always-reliable Ms. Clark, can have lovely corn and vibrant green herbs from the greenmarket, a perfectly plump chicken breast from the gourmet grocery in the West Village, a sack of pearled barley…

It's like I've got my third hand back! Or my spleen! Just kidding, little camera. I've missed you, so much. So long, iPhone photos! It was nice to know you!