à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Food
Stuck Locally, Eating Globally: Quarantacos
Before COVID-19, I somehow got it into my head that if I wanted decent fish tacos I would need to get them at a restaurant or taco stand. Even though I enjoy cooking, it never occurred to me to try to make them myself. Until now. Since grocery shopping, once a pleasure, has become more … Continue reading
What it Really Means to “Eat Like a Rabbit”
To tell someone they are eating like a rabbit is more of a put down than high praise. Rabbits, at least domesticated ones, gnaw on carrots and lettuce thrown in their cages. People who consume lots of salad have been likened to these furry critters, as if eating greens is a form of deprivation. As … Continue reading
A Recipe for Life: Zero Expectations + Zero Judgments + Endless Curiosity
I am in Florence, Massachusetts, a small town once home to a silk mill, named after the Italian city. As an experiment in rural living, I’m renting the lower part of a secluded home surrounded by woods, with no other residence in sight. The mailbox is a five minute walk down a narrow, winding driveway. … Continue reading
An Apology to Oatmeal
For much of my life I didn’t want to go near oatmeal, the Birkenstocks of food: good for you but an aesthetic disaster. Dull of hue and bland of taste, what was there to love? Oatmeal conjured thoughts of gruel, served to Oliver and his fellow orphans in Dickensian England, or porridge, something thick that … Continue reading
When an Introvert Walks into a Bar…Learning How to Act Like a Local in Spain
Travel can reveal some painful paradoxes. While I visit other countries to experience different cultures and see how other people live and eat, I have less curiosity about my own country. I often feel estranged from Americans who are proud to be locals and have inherited or developed a pride of place. I never derived … Continue reading
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