Tag Archives: The New York Times

Left Coast Tacos

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In a perfect world—which for me right now would be one without excruciating (at times) back pain—plant-based foods would be ubiquitous. But alas, I live in Maine, where snout-to-tail cooking and meat necklaces abound. Don’t get me wrong, Maine has some great food, it’s just not the greatest place to be a plant-based vegan.

I love tacos. I’ve even managed to develop a couple of my own versions that don’t rely upon meat fillings. One is made with tempeh, the other with a plant-based crumble that’s readily available in most Maine supermarkets (including Shaw’s and Hannaford’s).

Vegan tacos are the bomb! (The Minimalist Baker)

The reason why I’m talking tacos this morning is entirely due to the New York Times’ California Today newsletter that I’m signed up for and receive weekdays. As California goes, so goes the nation.

When we were out in Los Angeles in 2017, you could throw a rock and pretty much hit a vegan eatery in most parts of town. Some of them were absolutely amazing. In a city of 10 million people, economies of scale are a big factor in food options and variety. Instead of menus with minimal options nearly invisible due to burgers, chicken, and fish, you have chefs like this one, transforming native foods from her home country of El Salvador, offering more than 40 ethnically-authentic dishes. Continue reading →

Crossword Puzzles

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I’ve probably done five crossword puzzles in my life. Puzzles never really interested me. Then, inexplicably, I decided to tackle Sunday’s puzzle in The New York Times Magazine. It was harder than I thought it would be. However, I kept at it for two hours and then, came back to it at night. I still didn’t finish it. Actually, I kind of sucked at it!

My first Sunday crossword was a learning experience.

There have been people in my life devoted to puzzling—like my late father-in-law. He would sit at the table after returning from one of his endless nighttime meetings and work his way through a daily puzzle as a way to unwind. Continue reading →

Dances With Bears

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I’d argue that books and reading (can) open us up to the wider world. While it’s counter-intuitive, social media seems to be making us smaller.

In a recent blog post, I shared about my subscribing to a real newspaper—in this case—The New York Times.

I am reading Witold Szablowski’s book about dancing bears after reading the review that appeared in last week’s Times’ Book Review section.

A fascinating book about how humans often hearken for things they shouldn’t, but do, because it supposedly makes their lives easier.

A book about “the good-ole days” of authoritarian rule.

The book’s introduction starts this way:

The guy with the wacky hair and the crazed look in his eyes did not appear out of nowhere. He was already known to them. Sometimes he said how great they were, and told them to go back to their roots: if need be, he threw in some highly unlikely but madly alluring conspiracy theory. Just to get them to listen. And to give them a fright. Because he’d noticed that if he scared them, they paid him more attention. Continue reading →

Newspaper Reading

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I have a vested interest in people’s ability to read—I’m a writer, for God’s sake! And while the model of books and publishing has been turned on it’s head by digital technology, print still offers us a route to the future, I think (at least, I hope it does).

A week ago Saturday, I drove into Portland for a book event. Author Steve Almond was in town at Longfellow Books. He was slated to be paired with local writing star, Ron Currie Jr. It promised to be an evening worth leaving the house for during a season when it felt (at least a week ago) that spring’s been detained somewhere else..

Unfortunately, Currie had a personal matter that kept him from facilitating the discussion, but a rising Maine legislative star, Ryan Fecteau, was pressed into action on short notice. He performed admirably. All this to say that Almond’s new book and provocative discussion around the idea that we’re telling each other the wrong or “bad stories” has been on my mind since.

People who once occupied prominent space in my life recognized the importance of stories and maybe better—reading. My son, Mark, comes immediately to mind. But unlike others who have dropped out of my orbit (by choice), he walked his talk. I’ll always remember the years we spent a fall Saturday in Copley Square at yet another Boston Book Festival, and the year he ended the day toting two overflowing canvas grocery bags that must have weighed about 75 pounds each, overflowing with books. We have a bookshelf in our house that’s filled with books he had at his Providence house. Mark had “de-cluttered” his life in a Marie Kondo-esque manner, but he still kept books. I’d say that 3/4 of the things we carted back to Maine when we emptied his room after he was killed were books. I still marvel at his reading lists.

Weekend reading.

Continue reading →

The Direction of Kindness

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Kindness happens one act at a time.

Kindness happens one act at a time.

We’re now past graduation season and college grads are working (hopefully) or at least enjoying their final summer before entering the real world.

There are certain types of graduation speeches that receive accolades and some of them become enshrined. This one, just discovered by this writer at The New York Times, is by George Saunders. By Saunders’ own admission, it riffs on a common theme—the theme here being kindness and living a life that’s kinder and gentler to others. Continue reading →