Home town girl

I bought a vegan ice-cream, bantering with the young girl running the kiosk about whether she’d tried them herself. I noticed a same-sex couple kissing on the beach. The old Victorian pier, half burnt-down some time ago, now boasts a couple of hipster coffee shacks and a crepe stall where the slot machines and fortune... Continue Reading →

May 25, 2024 3

Resolution on tiptoes

So is it time for a review of those new year's resolutions yet? I don't usually make any, I dislike the whole 'new year, new you' rhetoric, as if life isn't hard enough as it is, as if being me (fully me) isn't a life-long resolution in itself. The attempt to do that is pretty... Continue Reading →

March 1, 2020

Vegan diet, vegan life

When I was in bi-lingual Montréal recently I quickly figured out the difference between végétarien (vegatarian) and végétalien (vegan) on menus. Except that I then realised it's not quite that simple and there is also a French word végan. I think I'm right in saying that végan goes beyond diet and refers more to lifestyle, avoiding... Continue Reading →

August 18, 2017 4

Cheese melt down

We've just passed the anniversary of my last proper Greek moussaka — what used to be my fave food. The dish for my last meal request, perhaps. I loved eating it, I loved making it. Three hours in the kitchen — bechamel sauce, fried aubergines, meat sauce with a hint of cinnamon (since I was taught... Continue Reading →

May 2, 2016 2

Another year rolls round

What's another birthday between blogging friends? As always it's a time to reflect a little on another year past. But I'm choosing this year mostly to be in the now, rather than in the might-have-been past. Life feels good overall and I'm immensely grateful for that. So by way of a celebration of life, I... Continue Reading →

April 20, 2016 6

Mandolines and Tiggers

I just bought a mandoline (not a mandolin -- though Hubby does own a bouzouki, if you wanted a random fact of the day!). I mean the tool for slicing veggies (and fingers too if you don't concentrate well). Somehow I've gone four decades without needing one, but now my moment has come since I'm eating more... Continue Reading →

January 9, 2016 1

He calls me Pesky

Hubby has many terms of endearment for me, which I won't share. It would embarrass us all! Recently he's started referring to me as 'Pesky'! I don't think he's falling out of love with me, I don't think I'm being particularly annoying (though I have my moments!) -- it's just short for 'pescetarian'. I increasingly... Continue Reading →

November 9, 2015 6

Goodbye Nutella — it was nice knowing you

It was a landmark moment a few weeks ago when I finally threw out the half-eaten jar of Nutella in the kitchen cupboard. I can't remember when I last ate it; I've long favoured this bizarre paste made with brazilnuts and cocoa. It tastes a bit earthy, like some long-lost, slightly grizzled distant relation to... Continue Reading →

July 22, 2015 4

Philosophy and Prosecco — the bookends of my week

It’s been a bit of a week of gritty conversations. Not bad conversations necessarily. Just some big ideas, some open questions, and maybe there’s a radical solution kicking about somewhere. In all cases only time will be the judge. These conversations have had a philosophical, even existential, quality: - what is the relationship between meditation... Continue Reading →

June 7, 2015 0

Eating in Greece — or “when in Rome”

I wrote recently about 'flexitarianism' suggesting that this could be viewed as an approach to eating and nourishment that adhered the concept of ahimsa (non-violence) by being mindful of what was appropriate in any particular situation, although not applying consistent food rules like vegetarianism and veganism. Being away from home and in a different country naturally disrupts one's diet (i.e.... Continue Reading →