But I Digress…

Jane Austen

Pre-pandemic, a friend and I took a day trip from London to Chawton, Jane Austen’s house. We traveled by train from London to Winchester and then boarded a bus but failed to hop off at the correct stop. Instead, we disembarked at the Chawton Roundabout and had to cross a terrifyingly busy two-way road. Yelling “Jane, here we come,” and moving at top speed we made it.

I remember Jane’s writing desk, a small oval tilt-top table. (Very small. A reproduction of the desk was in the Jane exhibit at the Morgan Library.) Chawton also displayed some modest family jewelry, letters, copies of Austin’s books and a charming kitchen. This house is where Jane Austen wrote, revised and published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. For a virtual tour of Chawton click here: https://janeaustens.house/online-exhibition/virtual-tour-of-jane-austens-house/

Later that day we went to Winchester Cathedral where Jane is buried. She was forty-one when she died, possibly from Addison’s Disease, but no one is entirely sure of the cause of her death.

After Shakespeare Jane Austin is arguably the best-known author in the English language. As 2025 was the 250^th anniversary of Austin’s birth, exhibitions abound. The Grolier Club in NYC has a delightful one, Paper Jane: 250 Years of Austen. (It runs through February 14, 2026.)

 The first section of the exhibit explores Austen’s early reputation that began when her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was printed anonymously and at her own expense. (There are very few Austin first editions as readers in Jane’s era bound new books to match the rest of their libraries, probably the height of chic.)

Another part of the exhibition showcases literary works by Austen family members that include family histories and fan fiction. There are also Austen-related works such as Goodnight Mr. Darcy, a parody of the children’s classic, Goodnight Moon, and a book titled Pride and Prejudice in Space.

One section of the exhibit, “Pinking Austen,” recalls the 1960s when publishers appealed to women with budget paperbacks of literary classics, Austen’s among them.

From 1925 to 1975, many Austen works were featured on stage and screen. The 1940 film of Pride and Prejudice with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier was shown at the time when Americans were deciding whether to join Britain and its allies fighting against Hitler. Adrian, (aka Adrian Adolph Greenberg), who designed the women’s costumes, must have skipped his research as in the film the women wear hoopskirts reminiscent of the antebellum American South. Oops.

More Southern than Regency

Here is a Jane era recipe:

White Soup from Pride and Prejudice (attributed to Martha Lloyd who lived with the Austen ladies at Jane Austen’s House; in the novel Mr. Bingley mentions serving it at the Netherfield Ball.)

2½ quarts water (about 10½ cups)

2 chicken thighs

½ pound bacon (about 8–9 oz)

¾ cup white rice

1 anchovy or about ½ teaspoon anchovy paste

2-3 whole peppercorns

Thyme, bay leaf, and parsley (maybe ½ tsp thyme, one bay leaf, small bunch of chopped parsley)

2 small to medium onions, roughly chopped

2 celery ribs, roughly chopped

¼ pound ground sugared almonds (about 4 oz )

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg yolk

Directions:

In a large saucepan, simmer together the soup bones, water, chicken, bacon, rice, anchovies, peppercorns, herbs, onions, and celery, for two hours over a low flame.

Strain through a sieve into another large clean pot.

Let sit overnight in the fridge.

Next day skim the top of the broth to remove any scummy bits.

Add the ground sugared almonds and bring to a boil.

Strain through a sieve so it catches the almond pieces. (Lots of workouts for you and your sieve here.)

Mix together egg yolk and cream, stir into the soup, and serve.

Mr. Bingley notwithstanding, I rather doubt anyone plans to attempt this soup but it gives you an idea of Regency-style tastes. Better to offer a glass of Champagne, a cup of tea or any other drink and toast Jane. Enhance the experience with music popular in the Regency era –anything by Beethoven, Rossini, Liszt, or Mendelssohn will do beautifully.

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

The annual Feast of St. Francis at St. John the Divine that includes the Blessing of the Animals  gets better and better.

This year’s event included, in addition to the regular Sunday service with readings and hymns, dancing, (some with flag waving), acknowledgement of the land, singing and general gaiety.  The Cathedral holds 2500 people and was packed. I bet that in addition to the human guests there were at least four hundred dogs as well as some cats, birds and other pets.

I sat next to a family with three goldendoodles, the father and two sons. Mom was busy elsewhere. All were incredibly well-behaved, in fact, the baby behind me was much noisier than any of the animals.

A very Great Dane

At one point a large, laid-back cat in a  harness walked through a group of dogs with neither cat or dogs paying any attention to one another.  That’s one take-charge cat.

The formal procession of the animals included a huge horse of the Clydesdale variety, a very big snake, an owl, a bird that may have been a falcon, a calf, a small donkey, a llama, goats, a sheep, a smallish camel and others.

After the service people went to designated areas in the Cathedral’s gardens for blessing personal animals. There was an area for pet portraits and booths from different organizations including Muddy Paws that helps dogs get adopted.

Happily, I saw only one cat in costume although walking past Petco at Union Square recently, I noted aisles of Halloween costumes for animals. Sake, my cat, wouldn’t take well to a costume or a visit to the Cathedral.

No thanks

St. Francis is associated with almond cookies as he supposedly asked for them on his deathbed. He lived in Assisi in Umbria and so would have eaten simple food of the area. Instead of cookies  this is a recipe for bruschetta  (‘brusketta’ ), a classic.

1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 clove garlic, halved (I’d probably use less but most cooks would stick with this.)

4-6 plum or roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, chopped basil, minced garlic, 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil, and balsamic vinegar (if using). Season with salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine and set aside to let the flavors marinate. For the best flavor, let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown and lightly toasted.

Remove  toasted bread from oven and  while still warm, rub the cut side of a raw, halved garlic clove over the surface of each slice.

Just before serving, spoon tomato mixture generously onto each slice of garlic-rubbed bread. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve immediately to ensure the bread stays crisp.

If you like the TV series, All Creatures Great and Small, watch an episode. St. F. would approve. Pat your dog or cat or whistle to your bird.

St, Francis in the Desert

This painting by Giovanni Bellini, Saint Francis in the Desert,  is in the NYC Frick Collection. Visit if you can. If not, look at it and see how it makes you feel.

In early September I went to Lyon, France with a friend. After meeting in Paris we took the TGV (high speed train) to Lyon, a roughly two-hour trip. We collected the key and located our rented apartment, a modest, comfortable two-bedroom, one bath with a small kitchen in a very convenient area.

Paul Bocuse in full toque

Lyon, population about 1.5 million, is often called the gastronomic capital of France because many famous chefs, among them Paul Bocuse and the Mères Lyonnaises, mostly nineteenth-century talented women cooks, worked there and because the city is close to local sources of outstanding poultry, fish, vegetables and fruits. That said, I found many of the traditional dishes too rich and heavy, often weighed down by sauce. I’ve had a better salad Lyonnaise (greens, smoky bacon, croutons, and poached eggs with a vinaigrette dressing) in New York but, in fairness, the restaurant I ate it at in Lyon was nothing special.

I admit to the superiority of the poulet de Bresse, which has very juicy meat and really tastes like chicken. One night for a cheese course I ordered cervelle de Canut, (literally silk workers’ brains). What I got was a pot of vinegary white cheese dotted with chives which was interesting but pretty terrible.

Supposed to look like brains? Really?

To my taste, the celebrated tarte au pralines, a Lyonnaise specialty, is  better to look at than eat.  (American pralines, associated with New Orleans, are made of pecans, butter, milk and sugar. The Lyonnaise version

Lyonnaise praline tarte

is made from almonds coated multiple times in a vibrant pink, caramelized sugar syrup.) However, that pastry is one among a gazillion fabulous offerings at the many pastry shops. There are also lots of places to enjoy fabulous ice cream, gelato and chocolate.  We did not suffer from lack of sweets.

As Lyon was the silk capital of the world beginning in the 16^th century  there are several museums devoted to silk workers and weaving. Silk goods —scarves, shawls, neckties — are for sale all over but I passed as prices were high and nothing was sufficiently tempting. There are lots of other museums featuring painting, puppetry, film, anthropology and more.

We walked a lot in addition to taking a funicular from the old part of Lyon, (Vieux Lyon, full of tourists) up to the white Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière  that overlooks the city. We also rode busses and took the tram out to the terrific-looking, contemporary Musee de Confluences. Public transportation is clean, easy to navigate and requires only a credit card.

As Lyon is set between the Saone and Rhone rivers, I was surprised that there are no boats like the Bateaux Mouches in Paris. (There is one large boat which didn’t look appealing.) The riverbanks do offer beautiful views, food, book and flower markets and the chance to watch the locals at play like the boys who work on their skateboard or scooter routines

It’s a charming city with lots to do, see and eat.

We didn’t enjoy these wonderful potatoes while in Lyon but my grandmother used to serve them. Probably because I’m too impatient I can never get the bottom layer as deeply brown as I’d like.

Potatoes Lyonnaise

• 1 1/2 pounds  Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons  white vinegar
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves  for garnish

Put potatoes with salt under enough water to cover by about an inch. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about four minutes.

While potatoes boil, heat 1 Tbls oil in large cast iron skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring often until golden brown (Recipe says this takes 12-14 minutes. My experience is more like one-half hour to get them really dark brown.) When done put in bowl, set aside.

Add 2 more Tbls. oil to the skillet, raise the heat to medium  and arrange half of the potatoes inside in a single layer (careful, they may sputter). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side under golden brown, about 5 more minutes.

Remove the cooked potatoes to a serving platter. Top with half of the cooked onions and half of the parsley, tent loosely with foil, and set aside.

Add remaining 2 Tbls. butter to now-empty skillet and repeat with remaining potatoes. Return reserved potatoes and onions to skillet, toss to combine, and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put on serving platter and serve hot. These potatoes can keep overnight but will lose some of their crispness. If you’re going to the trouble of making them best serve hot.

Potatoes Lyonnaise make a wonderful side dish with almost anything. Toss on a silk scarf and hum the Marseillaise when you serve.

If ever again I plan to travel over the July 4^th weekend please lock me up. Too many people have the same idea. That said, the five days I spent in Portland, Maine July 3-7 were interesting and for the most part crowds didn’t get in the way.

Born in 1807, in Portland (while Maine was still a part of Massachusetts), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow left his stamp on many places.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There’s the very chic Hotel Longfellow where guests all appeared to be under forty with many dressed for a Ralph Lauren ad; a square with Henry’s  monument and the beautifully restored Wadsworth-Longfellow House,  the oldest standing brick structure on the Portland peninsula that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

The house’s garden is lovely; the Maine Historical Society is adjacent with a quilt exhibit and one of Maine true crime ranging from Stephen King to Murder She Wrote. I have a

At work in Cabot Cove

soft spot for Cabot Cove because I always had one for Angela Lansbury.  There are reports of sensational true crime events that took place in Maine many reported in local newspapers with tiny print because printing was expensive and small print put more words on each page.

Dinner at Central Provisions was a 10+. The restaurant serves small plates like bluefin tuna crudo with matchstick bits of daikon and fried shallots. If this place was in New York I’d visit regularly.  Another night elsewhere I had steamers. My friend had a lobster roll at the Inn on Peaks, an island in Casco Bay accessible by (crowded) ferry, I went for the fish tacos.

The large, modernist Portland Art Museum exhibits contemporary works and includes sections for Native American and Northwest Art. If legal drugs beckon there are several shops that sell pot including Hidden Grounds, a coffee spot up front and a dispensary in the rear for those over twenty-one.

The huge, beautifully maintained Fort Williams Park is home to the Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The lighthouse keeper’s cottage is now a museum, worth the $2 entrance fee with Fresnel lenses, photos of famous shipwrecks of yore and info on the lives of   keepers and their beleaguered wives.

Here’s a recipe for—what else?— Classic New England Lobster Rolls

Recipe and photo: Sally Vargas

• 1 pound cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

For the buns:

• 4 to 6 New England style split-top hot dog buns
• 2 to 3 tablespoons soft butter

Make the lobster salad:

In a bowl, stir lobster meat, lemon juice, salt, pepper, celery, and mayonnaise together. Add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, to taste.

Spread the outsides of the buns with softened butter. Set a skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat and toast buns about 30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.

Fill buns with lobster salad, take out a second mortgage and chow down.  You can play Rudee Vallee singing The Maine Stein Song if you like.

May 2-4, 2025 was this year’s celebration of renowned city planner, Jane Jacobs. During the weekend the Municipal Arts Society organizes a series of walking tours known as Jane’s Walks. On Friday afternoon, I joined Historic Brooklyn Heights for Cat Lovers, arriving at Walk Whitman Park a little late after dealing with the irascible subway.

Tour leader Peggy G. wore a cat hat and furry tail. (She owns three cats. Other members of our fifteen-person group each had one.) Peggy led us around Brooklyn Heights, designed as America’s First Suburb.

The group stopped at 64 Poplar Street where Walt Whitman lived and wrote Leaves of Grass, minus any cat association. (Also minus much charm; although the area has many lovely houses, Walt’s isn’t among them.)

Peggy carried a book of photos to help with context, displaying a picture of Shato Lizzie, a cat who was the official mascot of TWA and flew “all over performing in cat shows.” (Performing is something my cat, Sake, doesn’t do unless you count running through a cat tunnel when she feels like it as a performance.)

In front of the Plymouth Church is a statue of Henry Ward Beecher, father of Harriet Beecher Stow of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fame.  The story goes that Henry responded to a letter from a young boy forced to give up his beloved tabby and rescued the animal.

Henry Ward Beecher

Truman Capote lived at 70 Willow Street while writing Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. A cat fancier, Capote had several.

We walked the lovely Promenade in full bloom and ended up at Borough Hall where Peggy described the work of Jerry Fox, a blind cat who wore glasses and prevented the building from burning down by meowing frantically to summon help.

Given glorious weather and a fondness for both cats and lovely neighborhoods, the tour was a success.  Anna Wintour did not grace the scene.

Now to a recipe and not for kitty chow.

Chicken Cacciatore (say it aloud to hear the cat ref)

4 chicken thighs

2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons drained capers

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (if you use dried, the kitchen police will not notice)

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly. (Dredge= put the flour in a plastic bag. Put the chicken in the bag and shake for a bit)

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Hum What’s New Pussycat.  Think and dismiss the idea of moving to Brooklyn Heights.