I am a firm believer in changing the exterior to change the interior. If you think about it, it's asking an awful lot of yourself to break a habit, get out of a rut, or change a routine while everything else stays the same.
Read moreCHEWY SPELT OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
A good novel will always be waiting. Listening to "Latch" by Disclosure will always make you want to dance. And these particular oatmeal cookies will always come out chewy and just a bit sweet.
Read moreRAW KEY LIME PIE
I developed a serious key lime pie habit in college. I was living on Block Island for the summer, and working as a waitress in the evenings. After a long, exhausting shift in the restaurant, sweaty and tired from running in and out of a hot kitchen, I would take the longer route home so I could pass a tiny hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant. Perched above the harbor, the restaurant is run by a Maine native with a taste for excellent flat noodles, pad Thai, and oddly enough, key lime pie (a man after my own heart!). I'd order noodles and a huge slice of pie to go and cap off my meal with a handful of spicy, chewy ginger candies from a bowl on the hostess stand.
Read moreCOCONUT CHAI COFFEE CAKE
Route 1 meanders through the Big Sur region of California, segmented into various state parks and state reserves. You pass a half-mile of densely wooded hills, sunlight blocked by the sequoiadendron giganteum, the coastal redwoods. A nondescript National Park kiosk heralds a change in scenery. The next half-mile is marked by motels, signs promising lower cabin rates and tent sites “right on the river!”
Read morePURPLE PLUM TORTE
Let's talk a little bit about comfort. Lately I've been baking a lot for comfort. If I'm feeling listless, or uncertain, it gives me a wonderfully concrete task to focus on. You have to walk to the market with purpose, and make actual choices instead of meandering with your hands in your pockets, eating too many cheese samples and asking questions like "how late are you open?", to indicate that you could possibly buy something at some distant point in the day, instead of just eating all the aforementioned samples.
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