Hi. I’m Isabel, I cook and scribble. I make a lot of food and do a lot of writing, and Bread & Courage is what I have to show for it. It started as a simple food blog called TASTE but evolved into something more—a place where I express my love of food, community and the environment. Thanks for spending some time here—and be in touch!
Christopher and I like to cook on Fridays: cozy up to the stove, cool ourselves down with a few glasses of wine, and then dance in the middle of the living room when all’s said and done. It’s a pretty great way to date—and it shaves a lot of time off primping, waiting for tables, [...]
There are few things that make me full after a few tastes, but hummus is one of them. It’s so filling, I can only eat it at lunch, with most of a day’s digestion ahead. I’m no good at a bite or two, you should know: when I say “tastes,” I mean generous spoonfuls. Mystery [...]
It’s not tomato season yet, although they’re coming up soon… here in Houston at least. I eyeball my little, green fruits every time I come home, weighing them in my mind’s eye, wondering when I’ll have to put up chicken wire to keep the eager squirrels from running off with my loot, as they always [...]
One of my favorite things about visiting home is my mother’s zest for cocktail hour. When she’s not working, she’s waiting for five o’clock. Until recently, my father, sister and I joined her, dutiful but sometimes disinterested, sipping wine and waiting for the sun to set over the water. Don’t get me wrong…I love to [...]
Enough with the vegetables. As excited as the smell of roasting cauliflower makes me, there’s nothing quite as nice as the scent of dough rising—especially when I know each bite will yield a few hunks of chocolate. I had been mulling over some ideas on how to make a more interesting brownie, when last Friday [...]
Our parsley has become a rather intimidating shrub. I go out to the garden every day and trim it back, but its leaves only seem to multiply, bushier by the day. Before this year, I had only ever seen parsley in little diminutive stems, often contained by tiny terra cotta pots. I felt bad plucking [...]
There’s nothing better than going to sleep in a house that smells like breakfast. Knowing that when you wake up, a nice heap of something will be waiting for you, whether it’s oatmeal from a slow cooker, prunes stewing on the stovetop or muffins, just pulled from the oven. But as wonderful as breakfast can [...]
If I were asked to name some of my favorite things, great tomato sauce would quickly come to mind. So would traveling and staying someplace just for the sake of staying: as my friends Caleb and Deidre did on their honeymoon. Caleb and Deidre also happen to be cooks—mostly of the Italian variety, though they [...]
Last week, I started a yoga program called “The Forty Days,” pretty self-explanatory, really. Forty days of yoga, plus a fast and twice-daily meditation. Sometimes my body aches, but mostly I feel extraordinary. Open and calm and centered—qualities I usually admire from afar. When I’m unhappy, I can be a bit of an anxious recluse. [...]
Christmas! And I’m staring at a half a plate of Russian Tea Cakes, lips white with powdered sugar. Like ginger snaps, these were not my first choice as a child, although they have moved high up the list of foods to appreciate. First of all, they are not super sweet—don’t be fooled by their coat [...]
