The electric feeling in the air before a snowstorm reminds me of being little again. There's a giddiness and a building anticipation; throughout the city, the energy feels heightened. The grocery stores are busier, everyone seems chattier. The television screens inside nail salons and sports bars hum with red headlines promising "up to 6 inches!" and images of handsome weathermen interspersed with still shots of previous winters: Central Park blanketed in snow, cabs swerved on icy roads, and so on.
Read moreHONEY LEMON ALMOND CAKE
What marks a life well-lived better than cake? The happiest, most celebratory moments are marked by it. I tick through brightly-colored memories in flavors of cake. Wedding cake. Birthday cake. Sunday morning coffeecake. Post-field hockey game apple cake. Chocolate lava cake after high school nights out. Funfetti cake from a mix after college nights out. Chiffon cake, frosted Yule logs at Christmas, simple yogurt cakes topped with fresh strawberries from the garden all summer.
Read moreEXTRA-MOIST BANANA BREAD
Some of you (Hello! You're lovely, you unknown readers out there, waking up on Sunday all over the world, making coffee in a tiny apartment in San Francisco or steeping tea in a sunlit, white-washed kitchen in Connecticut or dressing your smiling, chubby toddler in a messy bedroom somewhere or sleepily walking to a workout class on Columbus Avenue in Manhattan) have asked about the poetry. You've asked where I find it. The truth is that (outside of school) I've never read much poetry until this past year.
Read moreFROZEN BROWNIES
THINGS I LIKE
- Kir Royales: I am not a mixologist. In fact, I feel about cocktail-making the way many people feel about baking: given the proper recipe, I can follow along and make something delicious, but riffing and creating my own drink typically ends up with a mouthful of gin or a fizzy glass of something resembling a margarita's overly-sweet, uncool cousin. But a Kir Royale! Perfection every time. All you need to do is add a splash of cassis (splurge on the good stuff here) to a glass of sparkling wine. That's about as easy as drinking it.
Read moreThe Best Cookie Dough to Freeze
My lemon tree hasn't shown any signs of bearing fruit yet. I could worry, but I think instead I'll have faith that somewhere beneath those glossy green leaves, it's biding its time. There will be citrus: bright and cheerful. There will be Meyer lemon cake, and ribbons of tart lemon curd folded into whipped cream and frozen until cold and creamy. There will be lemon vodka cocktails. I'm letting myself be patient. I'm learning to sit with the in-between times, to let go of all or nothing all the time.
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