Do You Wear an Apron to Cook?

A practical apron is a cook's best friend

In an article on female fashion designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, in today's New York Times, Prada states, " . . . I love aprons.  The apron is a recurring theme in my work because it is symbolic of women's sufferance . . It's an emblem of women's despair, their poverty, their passions."   Wha?  And all this time I thought it was to keep one's clothes from getting dirty while one stood over the sink or the stove.

Have you ever noticed that most of the "stars" on the food network never wear an apron?  Paula, the Barefoot Contessa, Giada, Rachel--none of them don an apron.  But the "chopped" people always wear aprons.  The only time I don't is if I have a ratty t-shirt and old jeans on.  Then I just wipe my hands on the back of my jeans.  But seriously, if you are standing over the stove or even slicing and chopping, you should wear an apron.  Crate and Barrel had such a cute  one in Tuesday's catalog that I wanted it badly.  I bought the tea towel instead, because I have enough aprons.

Haven't you ever spattered grease on a good shirt?  No?  I have.  I've even  spattered new shoes, my Stewart Weitzman loafers (now vintage),  and it took forever for the stain to disappear.  So don't wear good shoes, either.                      

Right now I have a rhubarb-strawberry crostata forming in the kitchen.  It should have been rhubarb-raspberry, but I had strawberries.   The crust is partly whole wheat, and we're just having a small (very small) pizza and salad tonight, so a fruit dessert will be just the ticket.  Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostata 

Strawberry-rhubarb Crostata with whole wheat crust

I spent all day yesterday working on the new book, and figuring out how in the year 1928 the characters would drive from Pomona to Mexicali, and what number the highway would have.  Got it!  Even found a very old  flax water bag that travelers in the Southwest used to affix to their autos. It is fun immersing oneself in a different place and time.  Learning a lot.  Found good photos, finally, of how the border area of the northern  Baja looked in the twenties.  Not everything is easy to find.  I missed an auction of postcards on EBay.

Onward to the crostata.