My very first vinyl album… only 24 years after its release. The sound is priceless.

I was only two when this was released.

This made in Japan, Samurai-esque blade now makes its home in my kitchen.

Wielding his blood sword,
A hero who fights with pride,
And slays with honor.

He is a brave soul,
Drawing blood only for peace,
Never for vengeance.

Even if he falls,
In the midst of a battle,
His name will stay on.

And that’s all we need, thank you.

I’ve been trying to capture this one for awhile. The clouds and fall colors in the background help make it happen this time.

This tree was nearly on fire as I glanced outside my window this afternoon. A few of us took a break to photograph it.

When my Dad sent the clipping from The Wall Street Journal, which hailed the book as “half cookbook, half culinary sermon,” I set it aside for a slower day, or as the reviewer said, “The Lost Art of Real Cooking is best for that rainy weekend or vacation lull when lengthy meal-preparation and a brief but satisfying dinner-table pay-off actually sound like fun.”

On a half-whim (and partially to rid my desk of newspaper clippings), I bought the book. From its introduction, Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger guide the “gentle reader” away from industrialized food and instant-ready recipes and back into the kitchen with simply written recipes (I confirmed the pizza dough recipe is legit) and only a little rage against the machine:

For the past half century, Americans have been convinced that cooking is drudgery, an odious task to be avoided at any cost, so that time might be freed up to do other more Important things. We were enticed with a constant stream of ingenious gadgets meant to make our lives easier, as well as products cheerfully advertised as being Quick, Convenient, and Simple to prepare. For the sake of saving labor, these new products were highly processed, packed with artificial flavors, and additives, and were usually seriously lacking in the single most indispensable attribute of gastronomic pleasure: Honest Good Taste.

Once again, I have trumped the long list of “Books I am Currently Reading” to read…. a cookbook. How strange! How exciting!