Morsels - from Heritage Artifacts

Shallots are for babies.
Onions are for men.
Garlic is for heroes.

Main Entry: ar·ti·fact
Pronunciation: \ˈär-ti-ˌfakt\
Function: noun
1 a : something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially: an object remaining from a particular period

A highly collectible, unique piece of American folk art is the windmill weight. Dating to the mid 1800s, these ornamental pieces are classified as counterbalance or tail weights, and were [...]

On the first weekend of every March, while the majority of the country is gripped with Oscar-night fever, I take a silent road trip northwards to Portland, Oregon to attend an antique show, with the hopes of finding unique pieces for my Napa Valley shop, Heritage Culinary Artifacts. I particularly love road trips; the time [...]

Arrived in the little east-bum-fuck town of Dunsmuir, California after a four hour, late afternoon drive from Napa, looking forward to several peace-filled days of wintry fly-fishing. Road-tripped as I always do: accompanied by local NPR bizarro stations, a mug of green tea, long phone conversations with old friends, half a joint in the ashtray, [...]

Unquestioned reverence has been paid to the wines of France for much of wine drinking history. Their superior perch and hierarchy in the world of wines was accepted often as fait accompli.
Then there occurred a wine competition that stood that deeply held notion on its head. The Paris Wine Tasting, also known as [...]

Arrived in the little east-bum-fuck town of Dunsmuir, California after a four hour, late afternoon drive from Napa, looking forward to several peace-filled days of wintry fly-fishing. Road-tripped as I always do: accompanied by local NPR bizarro stations, a mug of green tea, long phone conversations with old friends, half a joint in the ashtray, [...]

Wrapped warmly in cowboy hats, fur coats and leather pants, my fellow passengers and I disembarked our small plane in Bozeman, Montana. We were greeted by a crystal clear, ice-cold morning a few days before Thanksgiving.  The taxidermy we passed on the way to baggage claim, proudly exhibited throughout the tiny airport, presciently foreshadowed my [...]

Arrived mid-afternoon into the little chic airport in San Sebastian, a truly charming town on the northern coast of Spain.  We dropped our bags and declaring ourselves famished, we walked the seaside promenade and grazed: eating tapas and drinking wine, eating tapas and drinking wine, repeat. Mushrooms were in season and we gorged on an enormous [...]

Walked along the beach of the Atlantic coast off of Morocco at sunrise this morning, looking at the light come up on Casablanca’s mish-mashed skyline, while trying to get my bearings and re-set my internal clock.  Upon arriving last evening, we had a long leisurely supper at an outdoor restaurant;  essentially an enormous deck carved [...]

Sat in my little shop working all morning, but I needed a break and wanted to be outside enjoying this spectacular day.   I grabbed my pruning shears, blew out the candles, turned up the volume on Yo-Yo Ma to make the place look occupied… and made a run for the exit.
There is a now-defunct museum [...]