Oh, people, I am just sick over the images and stories coming out of New York right now; half the city in the dark, elderly folks stranded in high-rise apartment buildings, cars floating in water in the East Village a few nights ago, my friends' gallery flooded and untold art lost in Chelsea, NICU babies being evacuated out of hospitals, restaurant owners in despair - not to mention the people who, unimaginably, lost a family member to the storm. It feels sort of strange and wrong to be here, so far away, in my warm, dry apartment. I wish I was there.
If you're so inclined, here are some ways to help:
Meanwhile, if you, like me, need a giggle, or a belly laugh, really, check out Amelia's Tips videos. They are so hilariously weird and awesome.
Speaking of funny: "My weekends are wildly sportif." Simon Doonan's New York Diet
A glowing review of the new Jerusalem cookbook makes me want to get over my baby spinach problem right quick.
My friend Nina lives outside of Paris and keeps ducks. The other night she promised to bring me some duck eggs (which I've never eaten) the next time she visits Berlin. I plan on frying them up like so (with vinegar!).
When I was little, my father would sometimes take me to have a meatball sandwich for lunch at a little deli called Luigi's in Arlington, MA. I'd forgotten all about how much I loved those meatball sandwiches until I read this.
The loveliest story (with a bonus pumpkin-rice soup recipe) about having your portrait taken in Jaipur.
Oh, to live in Rome and have sheep's milk ricotta (and then ricotta budino!) whenever you liked...
Ever wonder how my book got the amazing cover that it did? Here's a little interview I did with B&N.com about the cover design and jacket image. (Psst: There's something hiding on the jacket!)
Thrillingly, My Berlin Kitchen was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in the Food & Cookbooks category, in some pretty spectacular company. Go here to vote - and thank you.
And finally, for a bonus recipe from yours truly, click over to My Berlin Kitchen's Amazon page, where you'll find an extended Q&A, plus a recipe for Zuckerkuchen - sugar cake - one of Germany's simplest confections that has totally stolen my heart. If I could, I'd bake trays of it for New York City and the smell alone, yeasty-sweet, buttery and caramelized, would heal the city, I just know it.
