When I was little, I had my own specific list of likes and dislikes. A hard pass on raw tomatoes, creamed onions, sweet winter squash, and anything licorice-flavored. A definite green light on fresh peaches, sticky orange sweet rolls, homemade strawberry ice cream, barely-blanched sugar snap peas, cucumber sandwiches, Grape-Nuts cereal with cream, buttery-tasting Club crackers with thin slices of bright orange Cracker Barrel cheddar, buttered bowtie pasta, pats of butter melting on warm-from-the-oven potato bread, and really just butter in general now that I think of it.
Read moreCHOCOLATE PUDDING MERINGUE TART
Useful things to remember:
Always write a thank you note immediately. It will otherwise languish on your to-do list, and sending them late is really just impolite.
You can absolutely go swimming past October 15 and it will feel wildly invigorating as both an early morning wakeup and a post-evening-run cool down.
SPICED PEAR BREAD
Actor Hugh Laurie (yes, he of the sardonic British wit and House acting fame, although I know and love him best for his role in Jeeves and Wooster) apparently put out a blues album a few years ago. Who knew he had such versatility?! We all contain multitudes, as it turns out. Upon being asked why he went out on such a limb, career-wise, he said this: “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”
Read morePASTA WITH WILTED LETTUCE + PEAS
There’s so much to say sometimes. Sentences that I want to write keep popping into my head at inopportune times—like when I’m riding my bike or taking a shower or trying to carry 3 boxes of seltzer into the kitchen or assessing the feasibility of changing a diaper on an open ferry deck full of people without baby wipes and without touching any public surfaces. (Spoiler alert: It’s possible but extremely challenging and yes, I’m basically a wizard of parenting.)
Read moreSWEET POTATO RYE BUNDT CAKE
The words “wind advisory” showed up in bold, angry red letters at the top of my weather app yesterday evening—the fine print below warned against small crafts on the water and recommended securing loose objects and driving with caution. Around sunset, a rainstorm whipped through the trees in minutes, soaking everything with fat droplets and turning the sky a brooding charcoal. But I glanced out the back window and noticed the syrupy golden glow of the setting sun seeping through a few spots where the clouds had parted.
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