Jane Green's Blog, page 143

Jane and Hugh do lunch…

I am back from London, back from cooking lunch for Hugh Grant.

Because I have written a piece for Parade magazine - out in December - I cannot tell you much about it until then, but I will just tell you this:

He was utterly adorable.

Thoughtful, curious, and disarmingly good company.

He also loved my cooking, so he is extra-specially nice, and welcome to have lunch in my kitchen any. Time. He. Wants.

Now on to more important stuff…the food. For those of you who wish to have a taste of my...

For Heidi

Many of you have been wondering where I have been, these past six months, and those of you who have followed my sporadic blogging will know I have been looking after my Unwell Friend.

This morning, surrounded by her family, she died.

And I am heartbroken.

To borrow the words of Erich Segal:

What can you say about a forty-three-year-old girl who died?

That she was beautiful. And brilliant.

And brave.

That she loved, in no particular order, and amongst other things: her children, her husband and...

When Food is Love…

I have long been of the mindset that food is love. The reason I love entertaining so, is because it is the perfect way for me to show my friends how much I love them.

These past few months, I have been cooking for my Unwell Friend. First, for her, a multitude of vegan dishes to try and help her on the road back to health, and of late, for her family. They laugh that they are the lucky recipients of my cooking therapy, and it is true, but it is also my way of giving, of showing my love.

And it i...

On the Couch

Every month a magazine comes out called Connecticut Cottages and Gardens, featuring perfect and gorgeous homes in our state.

This month, their regular feature, "On the Couch" caught my eye.

It starts with this question: "Do you think the furnishings and objects in a room reveal much about the homeowner(s)?"

I then glanced over at the attached picture.

After I had stopped laughing, I decided to answer the question myself:

Not when you have paid a designer to put all the furnishings and objects in...

Sailing Away

I have never been one of those people who sits and reads the New York Times from cover to cover on the weekends, then refers to it constantly all week. The New York Times piles up in my kitchen until I remember to grab the Style section, then usually chuck the rest away or use it to build a fire.

On rare occasions I am on my own - Smalls with their father, Beloved travelling for work - I will read as much as I can while I eat. Horrible habit, I know, but what else is one supposed to do when eatin

Green recipes

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Vegan zucchini pancakes

This is a recipe adapted from The Joy of Cooking, found on www.sugoodsweets.com. I honestly thought we'd be eating leftovers for days, but they were so good, everyone kept eating them, and we had none left. If you are strictly vegan, you could substitute maple syrup, ajave nectar or golden syrup for the honey

Whisk together in a large bowl:1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal, preferably stone ground
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-co

Hands on, going green…

We have just had a gorgeous Big Chill weekend with Beloved's oldest friends from school, and the house has been filled with thirty people - assorted adults and Smalls - for the past few days. The Smalls were all in heaven, and we have had dreamy food and lots to drink.

My garden is still throwing out copious cucumbers and zucchini, and today, for brunch, I made vegan zucchini pancakes, which were delicious. For dinner last night we fell off the vegan wagon and made lobster rolls, serving them in

On my last nerve…

Every Summer my head is filled with romantic visions of how I will spend the lazy, hazy days. This year I decided we would plant ourselves at Longshore - our local municipal country club - the children playing happily around my long skirts as we breezed across to the pool, a beatific smile on my face as the children beamed with joy, leaping in and out of the water and behaving like angels.

I thought of this yesterday, as the children sat in the back seat of the jeep, on the way to the farm in Eas

Communication Boards

I was talking to someone today about a Communication Board. This is a large board filled with information for those moments when you just can't be bothered to speak, i.e. when you've got home from the Waterpark and are in major sensory overload, and you're worried that, if you dare to open your mouth, all that will come out is a scream of anguish.

I have been thinking about my own communication board. I have come up with a few options, and am looking forward to spending a craft afternoon with my

Water water everywhere…

Yesterday The Chestnut and I were at the Horsey Girl's for an afternoon swim, when HG said, 'hey, I was going to take the kids to a waterpark tomorrow. Want to come?' I instantly had visions of all of us laughing with joy as we flew down twisting slides, and I said yes. I didn't notice The Chestnut looking at me with abject horror on her face.

I also didn't remember the hell of Great Wolf Lodge.

So I looked at The Chestnut. 'You're coming too.' She tried to fight, claiming Bikram Yoga as an excuse