table/food Archives - Improvised Life

Recipe for Desperate Times: Pasta with a Fried Egg + Parmigiano (Reprise)

These tumultuous days, my hunger is for starchy things with deep savor that don’t take much work. And by necessity, simple ingredients. I turn frequently to a transformative formula.

Key Lime or Lemon Hand Pies for Desperate Times

Wondering how could I quickly create the effect of great key lime (or lemon) pie without actually making a whole pie, I devised this delectable stripped-down hand pie, made of a few readily-available ingredients. Fast comfort for desperate times.

A Healer’s Simple, Powerful Immune System Boost

Years ago, I learned a simple recipe for boosting my immune system from a legendary homeopathic doctor. He swore by it, and I’ve come to too. I’ve been drinking it twice daily since the fierce virus scare started and each time, feel its strengthening effect.

Oilcloth (Not PVC) Makes a Surprisingly Cool, Wipe-Clean Tablecloth that Protects Your Wood Table

When the mid-century wood table I set up for dining and work took a hit from a spilled glass of water, I cast about for a protective everyday solution that wouldn’t look like plastic. I found it in old-fashioned oilcloth…

Roasted Lemons: 3 Ingredients Yield Mighty Dazzle

As my cooking gets simpler and simpler, I rely on easily-created hits of flavor to dazzle. A favorite of late is roasted lemons, which I often throw into the oven as I’m making the rest of the meal. They liven up ANYTHING. They are totally addictive.

Li Ziqi’s Soothing, Addictive Videos Portrays Living ‘in the Flow’

On Chinese vlogger Li Ziqi’s mesmerizing YouTube channel. she doesn’t speak and there are no how tos or manic hosts,. Instead she evokes a quiet, very pastoral, very ancient way of life whose effect is deeply soothing.

Sister Corita Kent Greeting Cards for Holidays and All Year

Looking back at our post about the prints legendary artist Sister Corita Kent made around the theme of “the moment” in 1977, we thought “What wonderful greeting cards they would make”, now and all year.

The Lights: A Father and Son’s Luminous Monument to Creative Obsession

Every December in a village in northern Argentina, Jorge Gervasi and his son transform their modest family home into an elaborate display of blinking lights. This sweet, slightly Fellini-esque short film captures the hard work, missteps and dreams that go into it their remarkable Christmas monument.

Copy This: Pamela Hovland’s Holiday Wreath

Spotted on the instagram of designer Pamela Hovland, who masterminded Improvised Life’s first iteration ten years ago: her holiday wreath in an imaginative, uniquely festive application…

Wines to Drink with Junk Food from Chitos to Pork Rinds (Anthony Giglio)

Wine writer Anthony Giglio was the first to really consider what wines to drink with the junk food so many secretly love. So we compiled a list of “the best of” his solid pairings, and the illuminating thinking behind them.

Tiny Blossoms Knocked Off a Flower Make Unexpected Arrangements

Blossoms that might in one way seem broken or damaged can transform into something of startling beauty…

Refreshing Antidotes to the Heat Wave

All over town we’re seeing signs of people felled by the stunning heat wave, sleeping on benches under shady trees, lounging lethargically on the grass in parks. We’ve compiled some unexpectedly refreshing ways to cope…

A Fireworks Display from J.R.R. Tolkien

Thinking about the Fourth of July, we came across this magical description of fireworks from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien…

Bucatini with Ramps, Olive Oil and Parmigiano Reggiano to Celebrate the Wildest Food of Spring

Being a truly wild food that seems to defy cultivation of any scale, ramps are truly delicious and root me in the season. I especially love them braised in olive oil with bucatini or spaghetti and Parmigiano Reggiano, THE pasta dish for spring.

Alice B. Toklas’ Asparagus in Salt & Pepper Whipped Cream “A Thing of Beauty”

In her famous cookbook, Alice B.Toklas called Madame Loubet’s Asparagus Tips “a gastronomic feast. And a thing of beauty.” They are. Here’s how to make them.

Cracked Coriander is the New Pepper

For years I’ve kept a small tin of toasted cracked coriander seeds in my spice drawer to use as an emergency flavor enhancer. Its slightly lemony-orangy-herbal flavor and pleasing crackle provides the perfect little alt-note on all sorts of unexpected foods.

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