LONDON UK – It was about six years ago and my mother and I were about to leave her flat on Steeles Rd. in Primrose Hill. We were standing in the small hallway when she put on her new navy blue gabardine coat with a hood. Read more…
My Lovely Late Mum Ruth Made a Mean Beef Stroganoff
My mother Ruth Schachter (née Nisse) in the garden of her flat in Primrose Hill, London UK, in 2014
I wrote this in 2002 when I was food editor for the Toronto Star. My dear mother, 95, died peacefully in her sleep a month ago on April 21, 2018
Today is Mother’s Day and this is a tribute to the person who first inspired my love of food and cooking – my mum. Read more…
As I Turn 70, Immaturity and Hair Dye Keep me Young
“Immaturity and hair dye keep me young.”
I’m repeating the title of this post for a few reasons: First, everything clever is worth repeating. It usually gets a good laugh – one of life’s giddiest pleasures, especially at my age. It’s true and unabashedly honest. It sums up what’s to follow – the announcement that I turn 70 in a few days. And last, it’s original.
I used to think I stole this funny line from my beloved heroine: the American journalist, author, screenwriter and director Nora Ephron. I steal a lot from that eminently quotable woman who died too young at 71 in 2012 from a rare form of leukemia. It’s hard not to steal from her because we seem to have parallel lives. I talk about her in the present because she lives on in my heart.
We both love food and cooking. We consider crushed pineapple mandatory in carrot cake, we like meatloaf – done right – and both have a recipe for cottage cheese pancakes. We both adore Julia Child and all that she’s about. Read more…
Mum, I Knew I Was Coming So I Baked a Cake
Top photo: My mother, Ruth Schachter, in her NW London garden in 2014
Bottom photo: Mum in 2015, after her serious fall, with my daughters Ruthie (L) and Esther (R)
In Memoriam: My mother Ruth Schachter (nee Nisse), age 95, died peacefully in her sleep at home in NW London UK on April 21, 2018. Read more…
Revisiting a Mother’s Day Tribute to my Mum as she Approaches her 91st Birthday
This appeared as my column “Dish” in the Toronto Star in 2002. My mum Ruth Schachter (nee Nisse) died peacefully in her sleep at home in NW London UK on April 21, 2018.
Today is Mother’s Day and this is a tribute to the person who first inspired my love of food and cooking – my mum. Read more…
My Energizer Bunny Mum is Bouncing Back and Baking her Famous Linzertorte to Boot
My mother Ruth Schachter in her garden a few years ago
This appeared in the Toronto Star in 2012 when I was its food editor/columnist. My dear mother, 95, died peacefully in her sleep on April 21, 2018.
I often joke with my mum that she’s the antithesis of a Jewish mother. Read more…
Winning Reader’s Recipe in 2011 Observer Food Monthly Annual Awards is a Winner!
My mother Ruth Schachter (nee Nisse), age 88, is one live-wire.
She reminds me (and others) of the cute little old lady in the original “Ladykillers” starring Alec Guinness and a young, dashing Peter Sellers. White-haired and blue-eyed, that sweet, seemingly innocent, slightly scatter-brained octogenarian is far more savvy than she looks. ‘Nuff said.
Mum lives in Primrose Hill between Hampstead and Camden Town in north-west London (U.K., of course) and is a busy bee. Read more…
Gordon, Angela Paint Camden Town Red
U.K. – In January, 2009, I wound up my annual trip to London to visit my mother with dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s newest restaurant York & Albany located at 127-129 Parkway in my favourite neighborhood, Camden Town.
After lack-lustre meals at longstanding vegetarian eatery Manna – bland fare that cried out for seasoning and meat – and the newish Market – bland modern British fare that cried out for salt and oomph – it was a godsend to discover a place in this trendy, gritty part of the city that had all the elements needed for a wondrous meal out. Read more…
Dressed to Kill
When I was growing up, my job at dinnertime was to set the table and make the vinaigrette for a salad my nutrition-conscious mother served with each meal. It was your basic version: 2 to 3 parts olive oil to lemon juice or vinegar sometimes with a little mustard whisked in, salt, pepper and, mum always insisted, a good pinch of sugar.
Maybe that influenced my taste in salad dressing but I like a hint of something sweet to counteract the acidity of a vinaigrette. Orange juice concentrate is one trick I use, occasionally maple syrup and often rice vinegar. Read more…
My Kleftiko Coup
Whenever I cross the ocean to visit my mother in her lovely North-West London neighbourhood of Primrose Hill, we set out for dinner on our first or second night together to the wondrous nearby Greek restaurant called Limonia. Always packed, it is a local favourite with celebs and regular folk alike.
Often I order fish, souvlaki or lamb in some shape or form. The food is always good, the ambience comfortably elegant and the welcome warm. It’s a ritual dear to my heart.
On our last visit, I suddenly remembered my late dad’s favourite Limonia dish called Kleftiko: a Greek tradition that was originally made by baking lamb secretly under the ground so the cooks in question would not be attacked by their enemies. Read more…
