Author: Tracey

This Orderly Conduct: Reorganizing my Closet, plus A Stellar Grain Bowl

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I recently came to the realization that my house is completely out of order. It all started a couple of weeks ago when I completely forgot about a pair of tickets to see Ira Glass performing at the Smith Center. Those tickets weren’t cheap and I’d been looking forward to the show for months. The day of the show came and I spent the day baking cakes and making bolognese, totally oblivious to the date. Ten minutes before the show was to start, I found myself standing in the kitchen, dressed in flour-dusted sweats, staring in shock at the reminder on my phone. I have never completely forgotten an event like that! I felt like I was going to be sick. The next clue came when I found a long-forgotten medical bill under a pile of papers on my desk that I had set aside to investigate. But the straw that broke the horses’s back, was the Thing I Found in the Pantry. It was an unidentifiable mass in the bottom of the box where I keep the potatoes and …

Elk Kofta B’siniyah with Tahini Sauce

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  If you’ve read my About page, you might remember that I told a little story about eating squirrel. I was born in North Carolina, and though I wouldn’t call my hometown “the country”, my grandmother’s house, where I spent most of my time, butted up against a woodsy area that I don’t think was owned by anyone. It was just “the woods” and it was where I would pick blackberries in the summer and where my teenaged uncle would hunt. On Saturdays he would take his BB gun and venture out to the woods and come back a few hours later with a rabbit or two. My grandmother would clean his catch and cook them up, usually in a simple fricassee. In fact, she actually called it “fricassee” (the first food term I learned) and it must have been her signature dish because it’s the only thing I ever remember her making. The day my uncle brought home the squirrel was forever seared in my memory because I saw it in my grandmother’s 1970s avocado-green sink, skinned and looking very much …

My Tiny Amazing Wedding

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I’ve been to a lot of weddings in my life, but as far as weddings go, this one was the best, because it was ours. It wasn’t held in a big wedding hall or cathedral. There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen. It was just us, in our own backyard, with a couple dozen of our closest friends and family members. My best girlfriend had written a tight schedule for me, outlining the tasks I needed to accomplish in the days and hours leading up to The Big Day. Amazingly, I slept soundly through the night and opened my eyes at 7 am, feeling content and refreshed. As I lay there thinking through the day’s schedule, The Husband-to-be, who had been a big ball of prickly stress all week long, rolled over and put his arms around me and whispered “happy nuptial dinner day”. I happily snuggled in for just a few more minutes of cozy shut-eye and realized that no matter what happened the rest of the day, this would be the moment I would remember most. There were plenty of tasks ahead, but we started …

Molly Wizenberg’s “Winning Hearts and Minds Cake”

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This week, I decided to bake a cake. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I am not a big dessert lover, but this is a special occasion because next week, The Husband and I are getting married! It probably looks funny that I just said that, but he has been my husband all along. We have been a couple for nearly a decade, although we’ve known each other for even longer. We met way back in the early 1990’s when both of us were fresh out of college. We bonded over our shared love of books. He wanted to be a writer; I had dreams of working in museums and restoring art. Fast forward 20 years and we’ve been through thick and thin; richer and poorer. Through my weird and terrifying illnesses, he’s been by my side. Through his very stressful job that took him all over the country every week for years, I’ve held down the fort. We’ve been through the fire so often our molecules have fused and we are made stronger for it. He knows me better …

Weird Shoes

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Before I left on my last trip to Oregon, I stopped into REI for some last minute purchases. We both needed raincoats because living in the desert for 25 years means we don’t own such things. I tried on about a dozen or so raincoats before settling on a bright turquoise number with a detachable hood and a cool little pocket in the lapel specifically made for my mobile phone and earbuds. As I gathered my things to check out, a glimpse of red in the shoe section caught my eye: the holy grail of weird shoes. Blood-red leather Keen Mary Janes, with rainbow-striped cross-straps and toe caps the color of pink limestone. If the fact that they were weird didn’t thrill me enough, the fact they were on clearance pretty much meant those shoes were going home with me that day. I justified the purchase saying I needed a new pair of traveling shoes. Shoes I could easily slip in and out of in the airport security line “like a boss” and signaling to other passengers that I was a Very …

Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Grape Leaves and The Importance of Suckitude

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  I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately. I recently saw this video of NPR host and producer Ira Glass, wherein he is speaking about storytelling and sharing about how long it takes to become good at something. It really got me thinking about how I approach my writing and my photography. First let me back up. I would be remiss if I didn’t first explain that I feel like I’ve had a little bit of a breakdown over here at Salty Sweet Life.  I mean, it’s kind of been the elephant in the room, so to speak, or at least that is how I perceive things. It all started in May when I went to a photography workshop with Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple. The workshop was really amazing. Almost three full days of intensive photography work learning from a couple who really are the best in the business. I took some of the best photos of my life during that workshop and I learned a lot. I came home, ready …

Thanksgiving Dinner 2014: Top 5 Things I Learned in the Kitchen

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Well, Thanksgiving 2014 has come and gone and I hope your holiday was as wonderful as you’d hoped it would be. Mine was fantastic! We had a group of about 10 people for dinner and more friends came later on for drinks and dessert. I can’t even believe that it’s already December, but before we hurl ourselves full force into Christmas mode, I wanted to share 5 things that I learned from this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. 1. Turkey Technique 101. There’s a good way and there’s an even better way. I made two turkeys this year and both employed techniques that I hadn’t used before.  I had intended to make two small  12-14 pound turkeys using the Spatchcocked Turkey with Anise and Orange recipe on the November cover of Bon Appétit Magazine. But, being thrifty, I really tried to get a deal on those two turkeys without having to drive all over town. Turns out this is an impossibility. Yes, you can get great deals on turkeys, but you will have to drive all over town. There’s a long and boring story of …