If you're ever having a bad day, here's what to do. Buy two yellow onions. Slice them into thin half-moon shapes. Heat some olive oil on medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Slide the sliced onions into the pan. The oil will sizzle and hiss in protest. Grab a worn wooden spoon and stand at the stove. Push the onions around the pan occasionally, watching them slowly turn from white to translucent to golden brown to a dark, caramelized brown sugar color.
Read moreSPICY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES
This summer has been a good one. One for the books, even. Full of travel: I feel as though I haven’t spent a week at home in my own bed in months. I’ve driven a Jeep up into the chilly, rainy mountains of Whistler, taken sunny runs around Vancouver’s Stanley Park, gone swimming in the ocean off the coast of Maine, cried a little at my friends’ wedding in Chicago, eaten sticky buns in Vermont, and tried my first soju cocktail in the fading sunset in Napa.
Read moreFRESH BLUEBERRY PIE
I know this post is a little, shall we say, tardy. Blueberries are starting to fade from the farmers' market, shunted aside by firm, rosy peaches and piles of smooth, sugary-scented nectarines. I know I should stay in the moment, temporally grounded and appreciative of the present, but I can't help but miss them already. Blueberries are one of my favorite summer fruits: perfectly sized for snacking, not overly sweet, and too often overshadowed by sweeter, more seductive options like raspberries and strawberries.
Read moreCRISP-CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
I find chocolate chip cookies inherently comforting, and you probably do too. I like them to have a softer, chewier center with a snappy, crisp edge. Obviously, there aren't enough chocolate chip cookie recipes in the world to choose from, so I’m throwing another one at you! But seriously, you should try this one.
Read moreSAVORY CORN MUFFINS WITH CHEESE AND HERBS
I think lots of nice foods teeter on the knife edge between salty and sweet. None, however, has made me quite as happy as this recipe did. These muffins are neither definitively savory or sweet, which might give you pause once you realize they have feta cheese and parsley in them. Feta doesn't scream "sweet!", but consider that these muffins are basically cornbread in sneaky muffin form, and we all know how cornbread can handle molasses just as well as it can spicy chili and cheese.
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