Category Archives: Drivel

Texas Whiskey Glazed Pecans

Posted on February 16, 2015 by jamiesam

(Not in the mood for my drivel? I don’t blame you. Scroll down for the recipe.) I do not like washing my jeans. I haven’t yet tried the cleaning by freezing method (probably because among the various butchery and charcuterie projects, … Continue reading →

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Putting By

Posted on September 10, 2014 by jamiesam

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity. –Aesop Do you know the fable of the ant and the grasshopper? Aesop told it as a cautionary tale against frivolity and laziness. In Aesop’s rendering, the grasshopper spends all … Continue reading →

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Sonoma! (Or: The Drinking Portion of My Vacation)

Posted on August 8, 2014 by jamiesam

Having left our hearts (or, in my case, half a heart) in San Francisco, Steve, Jay, and I drove north on the 101 to Healdsburg, an adorable town in the northern portion of Sonoma County, which would serve as our … Continue reading →

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San Francisco! (Or: The Running Portion of My Vacation)

Posted on August 6, 2014 by jamiesam

Sometime over the winter, probably on a wretchedly cold and blustery night, our friend Steve (who lives in Edinburgh, by the way), probably influenced by a drink or two, posted on Facebook, “Who wants to run the San Francisco Marathon … Continue reading →

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A Good Year for the Roses: Revisiting Portland, Part 1

Posted on July 18, 2014 by jamiesam

Apologies in advance for the length of this one. If you want to skip to the present, the history lesson ends about halfway through, right about the time we hit Echo and the Bunnymen. In 1992, new Brown PhD in hand, Jay received … Continue reading →

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Flesh and Bone

Posted on June 17, 2014 by jamiesam

I’ve gone through life white-knuckled in the moments that left me behind. I would love to take credit for this phrase, but praise goes to Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, who wrote it as the opening line of … Continue reading →

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A Cheesy Farewell to Farmstead

Posted on June 1, 2014 by jamiesam

So, Farmstead is closing. And this is how I feel about it. I remember coming into the shop the first weekend it opened. I bought some Mimolette and a clothbound cheddar to go with grilled radicchio (I wasn’t quite so … Continue reading →

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Soup, meet Sartre

Posted on September 21, 2013 by jamiesam

NOTE: More drivel from the archives. This one was inspired by a rather plain-Jane batch of tomato soup I made with end-of-the-season tomatoes. Recipe, in all its completely unremarkable glory, at the end. “As far as soups go, it is … Continue reading →

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Walking, and How I Eat Cake

Posted on September 17, 2013 by jamiesam

NOTE: I recently discovered a file of old essays, many of which I forgot I wrote. Inspired by Kate Lowther’s recent post on (appropriately) inspiration, I’ve decided to revisit a few of them here, in the hopes that they will … Continue reading →

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Beyond Belief: Love and 26.2 Miles

Posted on October 3, 2012 by jamiesam

For two weeks leading up to the Portland (Maine) Marathon, I tried to diminish every well-wisher’s expectations. Conversations went something like this: Well-wisher 1: Oh, wow! You’re running a marathon? That’s great! Me: If it rains, I’m only doing the … Continue reading →

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