Tag Archives: writing

FEASTS & FANCIES: BAROQUE PORRIDGE at CHOCOLATE NOTES

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Scribe Doll

My body and mind are having some difficulty adjusting to Norwich after a few days in the  south-east of France.  My muscles stiffen against the North Sea wind blowing ruthlessly across the Fens and Broads, my skin feels uncomfortably cold … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES: Equinox at Chocolate Notes

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Scribe Doll

There’s a wind blowing and I can feel its chilly breath on my bare toes as it weasels its way through the gaps in our French windows despite the thick draught excluders.  You’re never very far from meteorological elements in … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES: Back to Basic Tomato Sauce

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Scribe Doll

When I am run down emotionally I find preparing food very healing.  I choose the word preparing deliberately. Healthy and healing cooking involves preparation. Preparing the ingredients, the utensils, the table. Preparing the dish as a whole. Preparing yourself first … Continue reading →

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Sinatra and Bennett – soundtracks to a childhood

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Scribe Doll

I was very sad to hear of Tony Bennett’s passing, a couple of weeks ago. The last of the great crooners, I thought. Crosby, Como, Bennett and, of course, Sinatra. I was in Venice when I heard an American tourist … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES @ CHOCOLATE NOTES:  Chocolat Cocktail à la Menthe

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Scribe Doll

After a difficult week, the feeling of grey heaviness in my heart is immediately dispelled by the opening bars of George Gershwin’s overture to Oh, Kay! J. S. Bach reminds me that the world makes sense and Gershwin makes me … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES @ CHOCOLATE NOTES:  A Yoghurt Dip for Storytellers

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Scribe Doll

A group of us meet at Chocolate Notes* every New Moon to tell a story.  When the New Moon happens to be on a Sunday (when the CD shop cum café is closed), we meet on the evening before or … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES: Aubergine & Fava Bean Bake

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Scribe Doll
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FEASTS & FANCIES: Of Chocolate and Chestnuts

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Scribe Doll

My mother didn’t particularly care for food.  She seldom expressed any joy towards it and made sure I was trained to show no more than polite enthusiasm when praising a dish. One of my early childhood memories is of being … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES: Reblochon & Asparagus Sandwich

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Scribe Doll

“Bad table manners, my dear Gigi, have broken up more households than infidelity,” says the ageing Belle Époque courtesan to the niece she is training in the MGM musical based on Colette’s novella. When I was six years old, I … Continue reading →

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FEASTS & FANCIES: Borsch for Easter

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Scribe Doll

Easter brings back memories of my Armenian grandmother perhaps more than the other Christian Festivals.  The large bowl with the dough for the kulich resting on a warm hot water bottle on her bed, wrapped in her grey woollen shawl, … Continue reading →

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