Nancy Young
Reminds me of that time in Istanbul. The Countess was wearing her ermines, summer be damned, and, because it was so hot that time of year, very little else. We went off to a small party at a large villa perched on the side of a hill above the city, lights gleaming on the matched hills in the distance looking like an iridescent breastplate from some mythical warrior amazon.
The Countess flirted with every man in the room, twisting this way to seem to be listening more intently, but actually letting the front of her ermines pull away from her lush curves. She had that unerring sense of timing and body-sense of an accomplished courtesan, just letting the lapels open so far and no more, darkness and shadow effective concealment. Men staring in the vain hope they'd see into those Stygian depths. Those ermines, tiny black tails against a sea of white, she called her cats. Or it could have been Kats; who knew what her native language was?
She shimmered against the too-solid world that was the former Constantinople, almost gossamer in her perfection, right and unreachable. One night, consumed with her new-found jazz imagery, she said in her musical accent, "Dahling, let us, as you Americans say, sving. And ve vill take my kats for a spin around zis burg" And sving we did.
The Countess was a real svinger. She and her kats.
Spiced Lemon Marmalade used to glaze hamsf I just follow the recipe from Cook's, then add cloves and allspice at the end: Lemon Marmalade 3 pounds Meyer lemons or lemons 8 to 10 cups granulated sugar...
Pastorio
