Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 16
December 3, 2020
What I Miss Most about My Pre-Pandemic Life
To paraphrase Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was when I strolled through the grocery store, leisurely, a flâneur shopping for food with nary a care in the world.” Of course, many cares dominated my life – family, health, concern about uncertainty of the future of planet. But grocery shopping, or browsing … Continue reading "What I Miss Most about My Pre-Pandemic Life"
November 29, 2020
Holiday Shopping Made Easy – BOOKS!
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I collect cookbooks. Also books about food. Books about writing and history, too. And, as with most good things, sometimes you can just have too much. That is why for the last several months, I’ve been purging my many bookshelves. After donating several boxes of books to … Continue reading "Holiday Shopping Made Easy – BOOKS!"
November 18, 2020
Thanksgiving, in the Time of COVID-19
I turn the calendar page and the tiny print at the bottom of the little square reminds me: Thanksgiving, November 26, 2020. After nearly a year of increasing horrors, many deaths, travel restrictions, and just plain fear of a still-mysterious virus, I find myself wondering just what Thanksgiving means to me now. This year, it … Continue reading "Thanksgiving, in the Time of COVID-19"
November 9, 2020
A Kitchen in Exile
Until recently, I really never thought of exile as having anything to do with me. To speak of exile brings up visions of Napoleon Bonaparte languishing on Elba (later St. Helena) or Leonardo da Vinci doodling in the Château du Clos Lucé, near Amboise, France, yearning for his native Italy. Or the sad case today … Continue reading "A Kitchen in Exile"
November 7, 2020
Yes, it’s Early, But …
It’s early, and I apologize for the blatant plug for my newest book – Meatballs & Lefse: Memories and Recipes from a Scandinavian-American Farming Life. The thing is, the printer recently announced that they are already overwhelmed by the Christmas rush and orders for any books ordered after Thanksgiving just might not reach you in … Continue reading "Yes, it’s Early, But …"
November 2, 2020
Grief and Love Go Hand in Hand: Reflecting on Elizabeth Berg’s “I’ll Be Seeing You”
Mourning, and grieving, take up a lot of space in my head these days. So, floundering around for something new to read, I searched for a list of Elizabeth Berg’s books, which I always enjoy. And I found one, just not what I expected. Last night, I finished reading her new book, I’ll Be Seeing … Continue reading "Grief and Love Go Hand in Hand: Reflecting on Elizabeth Berg’s “I’ll Be Seeing You”"
October 27, 2020
Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)
In Mexico, the Día de los Muertos (Todos Santos) (Day of the Dead/All Saints’ Day) resembles the norteamericano Halloween only superficially. Mexico is deeply, profoundly Catholic. And Mexico is also deeply, profoundly Aztec. Or at least traces of indigenous religions color the Catholic festivals occurring with such regularity throughout the year that daily life slows … Continue reading "Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)"
October 25, 2020
A Cookbook Addiction
As with many types of addictive behavior, it began with just one small episode. In this case “it” was a cookbook of only 64 pages. And the price set me back the sum total of my babysitting money from the previous Saturday. I trudged all the way from my house on one side of town … Continue reading "A Cookbook Addiction"
October 21, 2020
A Trip to the Bathroom, Being a Reflection on the Passing and the Passion (and the red-walled toilette) of M. F. K. Fisher
The first guest post ever on Gherkins & Tomatoes! The following story comes from Leo Racicot, a talented poet and writer and friend of the famous author, M. F. K. Fisher. Ms. Fisher wrote extraordinary prose about food and life and everything in between. She pretty much started all the hullabaloo about food writing and … Continue reading "A Trip to the Bathroom, Being a Reflection on the Passing and the Passion (and the red-walled toilette) of M. F. K. Fisher"
October 19, 2020
Writing Memoir, or, Taking the Winding Road to All Those Forgotten Places
A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.― Mark Twain Memory, such a fleeting thing. Fallible as memory can be, writers depend on it when writing memoirs. Everyone wants to write a memoir these days, so much so that examples began multiplying exponentially ever since Mary Karr published her genre-upending The Liar’s Club. … Continue reading "Writing Memoir, or, Taking the Winding Road to All Those Forgotten Places"
