Wilma at the Chef-O-Nette

Next week, I’m going to get my teeth cleaned. I go to the same office where my husband has been getting his teeth cleaned since he was three. Once in a while, if I’m lucky, my dentist has brought in his black lab for the day and I get a big hello from him.

When my husband was little, after getting his teeth cleaned, his mother would take him to a place on the corner called Chef-O-Nette. Built in the 1950’s, it has always been standard diner fare, but one didn’t go there for extraordinary cuisine. You wanted to have Wilma as your waitress. If you were little, Wilma would come to your table with a handful of crayons. She would flip your paper place mat over and slap the crayons down, asking you to draw a picture for her. When you were done, she would look it over, nod, and take it behind the counter to tape it up on the wall.

Wilma had her hair done just as it was in the 1940’s, when she was young. She lost her son in the Vietnam War, and she lost her husband to cancer. But you never heard about any of these things. She just brought hot coffee and asked children to draw for her.

After my appointment next week, I think I’ll stop in at Chef-O-Nette and have a cup of coffee. And maybe ask the waitress if anyone remembers Wilma.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

This weekend is brought to you by the shades of Autumn.








And a little ballad from Ingrid Michaelson.

Coco Before Chanel

Georgia O'Keefe had it; Frank Lloyd Wright had it; Earnest Hemingway had it. A vision, a way of distilling an idea down to its most sublime reality. And Coco Chanel had it too, which is why she is an icon, often copied but never with her unerring eye and panache. Born in the days of corsets and crinolines, she revolutionized the way women dressed. Then and forever. I can’t wait to see this movie.

Dressing to Please

"Yes, Miss Kilman stood on the landing, and wore a mackintosh; but she had her reasons. First, it was cheap; second, she was over forty; and did not, after all, dress to please."

I was reading these lines from Mrs. Dalloway the other night and this sort of chill went up my spine. I had difficulty with it for a few reasons; are we to dress cheap and dowdy after the age of forty? And, while I don't follow the latest trends slavishly, and I'm not interested in 'dressing to please' in the way Virginia Woolf implies, I do try to dress to please myself. But above all, I should like to avoid becoming Miss Kilman.

I'll admit, I've been a little lazy lately, putting on whatever comes to hand, being a little too 'matchy', with the result of spending the entire day vaguely dissatisfied and uninspired. But those words haunted me, so I turned a blind eye to my spending hiatus, scanned the pages of the latest j. crew catalog, grabbed my bag and went to the store. Armed with fancy ideas about colors, and layers, and textures, I found a few things that give me a fresher outlook on the day. Luckily for me, the current fashions aren't particularly 'matchy' these days. And now, to go back to the closet to send away those things that bore me to distraction ...

Tomato Bisque

I've been cooking a lot lately. Perhaps it's the change of seasons; I've been craving warm comfort foods. I also had a bit too much wine at last night's event, so a tomato-based soup really hit the spot.

1 large onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
6 large ripe tomatoes, chopped finely
1 handful fresh basil, chopped finely
1/2 pint cream or half & half
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Add the garlic and onions and cook until they wilt. Add the tomatoes and basil and let them cook on medium heat until the excess liquid boils out, about 45 minutes. At this point I use an electric hand mixer to refine the texture; you can use a food processor too. Add the cream.

You should end up with a thickly textured bisque that can chase away gray clouds in your head. I freeze the left-overs to save for the week.



Do you have a favorite comfort food? What is it?

Summer Peppers

We had a bumper crop of peppers this year - far more than we could actually eat as they ripened. To enjoy the flavor of fresh home grown peppers in the cooler months, we grill them. Once grilled you just peel off the skin, put them in a jar with olive oil and take a few pieces here and there as you would pickles.

*Warning: If you are grilling hot peppers such as scotch bonnet or habeneros, please, please, please use surgical gloves to handle them. Otherwise, you will stay awake all night having vivid fantasies of going to the emergency room to beg a surgeon to amputate your hands for relief. Seriously.

A New Romance

Dear Autumn,

Perhaps you remember me from last year? We flirted with each other from across the room, but didn’t spend much time getting to know each other. Undoubtedly, you’ve heard stories about me and summer; I won’t lie to you. It was a deep and meaningful relationship. But now he’s gone and you can help me forget him.

Take me for a few strolls surrounded by red and orange leaves. Have a cup of tea with me at an outdoor café as we watch the sky turn cobalt together. Show me children dressed as pirates and bumble bees. Bring me a bowl of my sister’s butternut squash soup, and perhaps some hot cider. Remind me of my richly hued sweaters and shawls. Stay up late and talk with me about poetry and literature. And let me sleep in late just a little. Bring me a little gift, if you feel so inclined.

You see, I’m not so complicated. Welcome, Autumn. I think we will have a memorable romance.

Love,
Rita

A Little Monday Music

Have you ever had one of those days where you're frustrated and nothing seems to go right? Here's my advise to you ...

Imogen's voice has the sweet, tangy quality of fresh lemonade, don't you think?

Art Ball

I count myself among ‘most people’ when I say that most people don’t have the occasion, outside of their wedding day perhaps, to go to a formal event. But my husband and I have been invited as guests to attend a ball at our art museum, which requires all the trimmings. And frankly, it’s all the more delicious that someone else is planning it.

I’ve found the dress, and the perfect clutch. I also found a sweet aquamarine cocktail ring (simpler than the one pictured, but similar) at a local antiques shop for a song.


I have a black velvet swing jacket that will do, but the shoes have me a bit stumped. Never mind for a moment that I’m not particularly good at waltzing barefoot, but can I waltz in these?






































What would you wear?