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| Frida Kalho: Self-Portrait with Monkeys, 1943 |
“I’m in Mexico City with a Tate delegation just as the huge jacaranda trees are blooming purple and violet across its parks and boulevards – to follow in Kahlo’s footsteps ahead of Frida: The Making of an Icon, a show of more than 30 of her works at Tate Modern in London that seems destined to be a summer blockbuster, adding yet more fuel to Fridamania.”
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| Alice brought us some Zingerman’s cupcakes. No particular reason to celebrate, just for fun. Photos © 2026 mae sander |
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| Len bought a new, heavy frying pan, and tried it out on some lamb chops. The recipe was from the New York Times: "Seared Lamb Chops With Anchovies, Capers and Sage" by Melissa Clark |
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| The chops were simply delicious! |
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| For breakfast the frying pan produced lovely over-easy eggs with toasted English muffins. |
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| Besides politics, the article described the beautiful clothing of Mexico’s President (right). The photos reminded me of Frida Kalho and her special style — in left image. |
“Claudia Sheinbaum’s clothing – tailored from modest fabrics produced in Mexico and featuring Indigenous motifs – is one of the many ways that her administration communicates its slogan: ‘For the good of all, first the poor.’”
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| Thanks to Evelyn who is traveling in the West. |
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| Upper left: cold chicken platter. Upper right: the chicken on the grill. Lower photos: the fully cooked chicken being carved. |
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| Spaghetti all'assassina (Assassin's Spaghetti) is a famous pasta dish from Bari, Italy. Instead of boiling the pasta, you cook it in a frying pan with successive additions of olive oil, garlic, chili, water and tomato paste. The pasta becomes charred and (we thought) quite delicious. The origin of the name is disputed — maybe the cook is trying to kill you with the hot chili peppers! Len didn’t use an excess of hot pepper, and we enjoyed the result. |
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| Breakfast: A muffin from Trader Joe’s |
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| Grilling pork chops… |
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| The pork chops, beautifully seared and cooked. It’s definitely grilling season! |
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| This pair of trumpeter swans at a pond outside of town have quite a little brood of cygnets! |
Photos © 2026 mae sander
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| I have been reading this new book about travel in some very unusual places. The recipes are fun to read, but I doubt that I’ll try them! I wrote more about the silk road here: https://maefood.blogspot.com/2024/06/i-am-not-pilgrim.html and here: https://maefood.blogspot.com/2020/03/what-did-marco-polo-eat.html |
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| Fruit preserves in the style of the author’s family. |
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| Visiting Elaine in West Lafayette. Sushi an other good food at the Japanese restaurant Izakaya. |
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| Clover in the woods. |
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| Mural near one of the local shopping centers. |
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| Detail of mural. |
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| Bridge across Happy Hollow Creek. |
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| Elaine’s blintzes are the best. I’ve posted photos of them before but they are worth another look! We had them for dinner and are about to have more for breakfast. |
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| Elaine’s peach pie is the best. |
Photos © 2026 mae sander
