Can you please track down Mary Martha and invite her to your next birthday please.?She sounds fun and would fit in just fine I reckon...especially on the cocktail station. Looking forward to it...
You always write in such a welcoming and open way....it makes me feel as if we're chatting directly to one another..... something about this piece is even more evocative of your past than usual and it literally makes me want to jump out of bed and poach a chicken..... Thank YOU for the constant inspiration and glimpse into your life. I'm afraid I find the M word perfect on some occasions 😜😜. Enjoy your Sunday 🤗
I was wondering if you could use cherries instead of grapes. Maybe a wierd combination but just bought them and was wondering how I could combine them with something.
When I was a small child in the 1970s, my grandfather worked in a garage on the campus of Sweet Briar College - my memories of those days are a long-ago haze of the smell of motor oil, kind men with rough hands, Pepsi in a glass bottle, and impossibly beautiful girls who were always coming in to pump up their bicycle tires. I was always so pleased when they would wave at me through the office window.
Such a coincidence that my son and his partner are coming over on Sunday, (Father’s Day here in Blighty), and I got a chicken out of the freezer, sacrilege I know, but I digress, anyway they have his partners parents to see also Sunday but in the evening, so I though a light lunch of a chicken salad and hey presto, I’ve just opened up your Saturday market haul email to reveal a Mary Martha salad…. Love the white and blue plate the chicken salad is on, btw. One of my pet hates is the ‘M’ word, can’t say it either, tender or damp, (if using In another context), is so much more preferable, oh and are your grapes seedless?
Bargain. Isn’t that just what mooching about in France is for… there’s always something you see, pick up to feel it and know you have to have it, although where it’s all supposed to be stored beats me 😳
Just wanted to let you know that I made the Mary Martha chicken salad yesterday, used red grapes instead of green, (that’s what I buy). It went down extremely well, really light and fresh tasting. My son wants the recipe and his partner doesn’t eat a lot and she had seconds…. so must of been a hit, so thanks for sharing.
Interesting about the miso in the poaching liquid - I usually end up with part of a jar of miso languishing in the fridge after its main use, so this is good to know.
My daughter shared a room with an American girl in first year halls at the same university as you, but didn't gain anything as useful as this chicken salad recipe. Only a realisation that some people lied on their application form about the times they got up/went to bed so that they wouldn't be disturbed by someone coming to bed later than them (which was pretty late). Needless to say this room-share did not develop into a life-long friendship!
I think that is the exact list of colleges I applied to! I did not end up at Sweet Briar or Hampden-Sydney, choosing the dark horse, American University in Washington, DC instead. I did end up a sorority girl who studied abroad in London though.
How lovely! I will make this as an end of GCSEs treat for my youngest child, Martha Mary Hope (Martha because she wasn’t an Arthur, Mary for St Mary’s Recurrent Miscarriage Unit who secured my pregnancy, and Hope because she was an is a triumph of hope over expectation) x
I enjoyed this story and your writing of it
Can you please track down Mary Martha and invite her to your next birthday please.?She sounds fun and would fit in just fine I reckon...especially on the cocktail station. Looking forward to it...
You always write in such a welcoming and open way....it makes me feel as if we're chatting directly to one another..... something about this piece is even more evocative of your past than usual and it literally makes me want to jump out of bed and poach a chicken..... Thank YOU for the constant inspiration and glimpse into your life. I'm afraid I find the M word perfect on some occasions 😜😜. Enjoy your Sunday 🤗
Lucy, that is so kind. I am delighted you feel that way because that is exactly my intention. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.
Thanks Debora, you too. Hoping to head to a friend's pool this afternoon. 🏊
Love the chicken carcass ‘comme cadeau’ and the treize œufs! Such an atmospheric piece.
Thank you so much, Mary.
Your posts are an absolute treat. 💛
Too kind, Erin! Enjoy your Sunday.
I was wondering if you could use cherries instead of grapes. Maybe a wierd combination but just bought them and was wondering how I could combine them with something.
I definitely think you could use cherries. I adore cherries and they are so good right now. Let me know how you get on and have a lovely weekend.
When I was a small child in the 1970s, my grandfather worked in a garage on the campus of Sweet Briar College - my memories of those days are a long-ago haze of the smell of motor oil, kind men with rough hands, Pepsi in a glass bottle, and impossibly beautiful girls who were always coming in to pump up their bicycle tires. I was always so pleased when they would wave at me through the office window.
Virginia, what a beautiful memory. You capture a whole world. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Such a coincidence that my son and his partner are coming over on Sunday, (Father’s Day here in Blighty), and I got a chicken out of the freezer, sacrilege I know, but I digress, anyway they have his partners parents to see also Sunday but in the evening, so I though a light lunch of a chicken salad and hey presto, I’ve just opened up your Saturday market haul email to reveal a Mary Martha salad…. Love the white and blue plate the chicken salad is on, btw. One of my pet hates is the ‘M’ word, can’t say it either, tender or damp, (if using In another context), is so much more preferable, oh and are your grapes seedless?
I love it when that happens! I knew you needed a chicken salad recipe... I hope you and your family enjoy it.
I bought the blue and white plate last weekend at a vide maison (a sort of yard sale) along with three other plates and some bowls, €2 each.
Bargain. Isn’t that just what mooching about in France is for… there’s always something you see, pick up to feel it and know you have to have it, although where it’s all supposed to be stored beats me 😳
I am trying to be strict and only allow myself to buy blue and white china so it all goes with each other… not entirely successfully.
There has to be rules occasionally… but doesn’t hurt if you bend them.
Correct.
Just wanted to let you know that I made the Mary Martha chicken salad yesterday, used red grapes instead of green, (that’s what I buy). It went down extremely well, really light and fresh tasting. My son wants the recipe and his partner doesn’t eat a lot and she had seconds…. so must of been a hit, so thanks for sharing.
Interesting about the miso in the poaching liquid - I usually end up with part of a jar of miso languishing in the fridge after its main use, so this is good to know.
My daughter shared a room with an American girl in first year halls at the same university as you, but didn't gain anything as useful as this chicken salad recipe. Only a realisation that some people lied on their application form about the times they got up/went to bed so that they wouldn't be disturbed by someone coming to bed later than them (which was pretty late). Needless to say this room-share did not develop into a life-long friendship!
Don't waste that umami! I add it to all sorts.
I'm sorry your daughter's roommate was a bit of a trial. How annoying.
I think that is the exact list of colleges I applied to! I did not end up at Sweet Briar or Hampden-Sydney, choosing the dark horse, American University in Washington, DC instead. I did end up a sorority girl who studied abroad in London though.
Well, I think Hampden-Sydney is or was a male college so it might have been tricky to get in. Glad you got to come to London!
Hollins! That was the one that started with H 😂 I might have had a boyfriend from Hamden-Sydney or W&L. Definitely one at UVA
This is an excellent tour of the South.
This is fab but we must know- whatever happened to Mary Martha ??
Ah, we kept in touch for a few years, but it wasn't so easy back then to keep up with people. We lost touch but I think about her often.
I totally get this. I lost touch with a friend when I was 14. We reconnected after 40 years and are now very close .
That is so lovely.
Yes! Please!
A delightful read.
Thank you so much, Dominica.
Sounds delicious thank you
I hope you enjoy it if you make it.
Salad ingredients sound so good I'm going to make a vegetarian version. Maybe a little haloumi ..
Let me know how you get on, Julia. I'm not sure how a mayonnaise dressing will work with haloumi. You could try turning it into a pasta salad, maybe?
Everything takes a quiet backseat to the captivating flair with which you write. You could make a kidney dissection sound absolutely lovely.
This is the first time that I have followed your discourse.
You are quite charming.
Thank you.
How lovely! I will make this as an end of GCSEs treat for my youngest child, Martha Mary Hope (Martha because she wasn’t an Arthur, Mary for St Mary’s Recurrent Miscarriage Unit who secured my pregnancy, and Hope because she was an is a triumph of hope over expectation) x
How beautiful. All Mary Marthas are terrific people. I do hope she enjoys the salad - and the very best of luck to her with her exams.