Where are you right now? Are you sitting in a loud bar, skimming your fingers over the polished wooden counter, playing with a cocktail straw, debating the merits of a spicy habanero margarita over a sweet rhubarb gin fizz? Perhaps you're waiting for a friend to arrive, and while you wait, you quietly take it all in: the reflection of the neon signs in the glass windowpanes, the closeness of a dozen bodies pressing in for the bartender's attention. Conversation buzzes around you, shouts and laughter and murmured confessions from the couple to your left. The deep thrum of the bass, the thread of the pop song hanging high over the sounds of the room.
Read morePEAR & CARDAMOM CAKE
How much time do you spend worrying? Not about the big things -- I'm talking about the little, anxiety-producing moments all day: The barista making your morning latte lukewarm, the woman one seat over on the subway talking too loudly on her cell phone, your computer restarting three times and losing your work.
Read moreSHEET PAN BROWNIES
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Say it with me (quietly, slowly): sheet pan brownies.
I know, brilliant right? All of us poor, sad, lost souls have been muddling around all these years, sensibly roasting vegetables and dutifully baking cookies on our sheet pans. PATHETIC. We have not been living! Okay, I've had a one (or two) Aperol spritzes so far tonight so excuse my drama. But really.
Read moreBANANA BREAD
There’s something exceptionally comforting about banana bread. It’s got no pretenses; it doesn’t hide behind any frills. Other desserts sometimes look good but fall flat, but banana bread is not throwing any of that sort of trickery at you. It’s like the baked good equivalent of an un-retouched Facebook profile photo: You know what you’re getting.
Read moreBREAKFAST TACOS
Today I thought we’d talk a little bit about breakfast. You’re okay with that, right? You seem like someone who is happy to order the croissant and the baguette, and I like that about you.
Before we go on, let’s get this whole “most important meal of the day” business out of the way. I know it is. I do. But I feel more of an emotional connection with dinner, and that’s just how it’s going to be. You can’t choose who you love, you know?
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