Where I capture 7 good things to remember this month.
1 I eat PECANS like almonds, straight out of the bag. I add them to granola. Last week I toasted and spiced and used them for this salad I made for Thanksgiving. They come a long way — they’re native to America and most pecans are produced in the US — but it’s possible I prefer them to walnuts, and they are less likely to become rancid. This month I even (baking minutiae is not my specialty) set out to refine and finalise a perfect recipe for pecan bars. Of course, there is pecan pie, too. Almonds and hazelnuts will capture centre stage in the coming weeks of Christmas baking extravaganza, but PECANS are the nut for November.
2 In London November feels like the darkest month of the year. The clocks go back, and suddenly it is dark at 4pm. The answer to this is CANDLES. One of my most lasting memories of Berlin when I moved there as a student in the nineties was the brutal cold of winter, and the inviting warmth of candlelit cafés — one memory does not exist without the other, and candles are perhaps what I remember first. When the clocks change here in London and night falls in the afternoon, memories of frozen ground and all-day bowlfuls of Milchkaffees (and vodka-spiked hot chocolate) prompt the urge to light a candle.
3 What was the best part of THANKSGIVING this year? The food was good, the turkey was moist, I followed Sam Sifton’s advice of having a pot of simmering stock on the stove to ladle and warm the meat before serving. I even made pretty decent gravy! Our gathered friends spanned grandmothers to young children, which is as it should be. There were good conversations, and Boulevardiers(!). Probably my favourite one in London so far.
4 Union Chapel is a pretty unique events space within walking distance of our house (I usually cycle ;)). I know it well as the venue for our primary school’s Christmas concerts, and a couple of weeks ago I finally went for (I think) my first evening concert — spectacular Cape Verdean artist duo for the night Mayra Andrade and Djodje Almeida. Two good things here wrapped into one, UNION CHAPEL and MAYRA ANDRADE.
5 I have a predilection for TEXTILE DESIGN, which happily seems to concur with a renewed general interest, and there have been a number of exhibitions in recent years that feature textile design, wholly or prominently. Coincidentally (or not?) mostly women. Althea McNish, Anni Albers, Sophie Taeuber Arp, … . A couple of weeks ago I went to the Ditchling Museum of Arts and Crafts, which currently features a retrospective of two women designers I didn’t yet know, Hilary Bourne and Barbara Allen. They led a successful practice in the mid-twentieth century and among other prominent commissions won the competition to design the textiles for the newly built Royal Festival Hall in 1951. Gorgeous pieces, I would not have minded going home with this one …
6 Apparently mild weather really is the explanation for the exceptionally spectacular display of AUTUMN LEAVES this year.
7 And, Max turned 8 !
Now onto Christmas. Welcome, December!
I read the first lines and made a coffee to read the rest with this morning - thank you. What a pleasure to read. I share your love of pecans (I planted 30 here in Devon at the old place) and Union Chapel, one of my favourite venues. Mayra Andrade is new to me but the kitchen is filled with her voice and very glad I am about it
I adore pécans, and usually substitute them for walnuts, they’re far more satisfying to eat, less bitter. And candles, essential through these winter months (especially here as we have no fire, there’s something deeply comforting about a flame burning.