The Elusive Alice.....

For years, I have been inspired by food revolutionist Alice Waters. She brought us fresh ingredients in the sixties, and now she is pioneering the slow food movement with her persistent knack for knowing what we need most in this country-good food. That is why I am insanely jealous that a seemingly passionless writer for the New York Times got to spend a whole day shopping and cooking with her, while I am left to merely read, dream, and piddle in the kitchen on my own. Had I known she was visiting my city and buying goods from my farmer's market I would have made a bee line to Union Square (which doesn't count as stalking because it's too last minute). Then we would have spent a perfect early Fall day.

Maybe she would have given me a few tips on how to pick a good tomato, or suggested an olive oil. We might have spent hours sorting through purslane and aromatic herbs, musing over the beauty of the deep purple plums next to the vivid green of a nearby batch of mustard greens. We would have exchanged knowing smiles upon seeing the sunlight illuminate the glorious red veins in the Swiss chard. Then we would have prepared a feast, and enjoyed it over a lengthy conversation at my humble table. We would have talked about food and France and markets and the season's bounty. Maybe brushed up on my French a bit. It would have been a perfect day, damn it.

Alas, it never came to pass.