Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea here at the Finca Vigia, his home outside Havana. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
It’s been a year since the U.S. and Cuba began normalizing relations. Tourism, business and cultural exchanges are booming. And there is another curious benefactor of those warmer ties — Ernest Hemingway, or at least, his legacy. The writer lived just outside of Havana for 20 years, and that house, called the Finca Vigia, has long been a national museum.
“I think a lot of that [knowledge loss] happened post-World War II, when it kind of got to two people in the family both in the workplace and the convenience of buying things,” Potter says, “And there is that Space Age excitement of the modern, you know, go to the store and buy something.”In pursuit of restoring this lost kitchen knowledge, Potter has written a new book, “Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food — Second Edition.” The book talks about how to make sour cream, chocolate bars, rolled oats and vanilla extract, all from scratch. It also includes a number of science experiments related to cooking, some of which can be performed right in your own home kitchen.
At a recent second-grade performance of The Nutcracker in Richmond, Virginia, two mothers fretted over Christmas cards. One, busy with a sick child, a limping dog, and multiple command performances of The Nutcracker, had not yet picked hers out. The other, a business executive who travels out of town at least twice a week, predicted she would be lucky to get hers addressed and stamped by New Year’s. The possibility of skipping Christmas cards never entered the conversation. Despite there being many ways these days of extending holiday cheer that do not require stamp-licking or keeping track of a peripatetic cousin’s physical mailing address, these two busy women were determined to connect with friends and family through cards delivered by mail.
So here it is Christmas again, and old man that I am, with so many of them to remember, I love it with much of my heart. I grew up in a home where management was sharply divided — mother adored it, father harrumphed and rolled his eyes — so I know both sides.
You must be logged in to post a comment.