Life can be a difficult, slippery beast some days. Remember when you were in first grade? Before you even owned a real three-ring binder, and instead just carried your “papers” in a floppy manila folder? Problems at that age were concrete and clearly defined. They weren’t nebulous, sinister clouds in your head. They were numbers 1, 2, and 3 on your math worksheet. Write out the answers, done and done. Maybe you struggled (basic arithmetic can be so taxing when you want to be playing four square at recess), but the task was surmountable.
Read moreALMOND COCONUT SWEET ROLLS
This week: what sadness. Walking down the street on Friday night after watching the news, everything appeared out of place. Even my neighborhood looked strange. I felt disoriented and unmoored. When news like this hits, the abstract things you rely on—safety, order, logic—aren’t there when you reach out for them.
In these moments, it feels inappropriate to seek out joy. Reveling in the taste of buttercream frosting on moist cake, taking a photo of a warm loaf of bread, or discussing a recipe seems frivolous, unbefitting of the solemnity of the world.
Read moreDECORATIVE PIE CRUST
I woke up this morning, my head throbbing dimly as a reminder of last night: the loud bar, low pulsating music, a throng of bodies crowded into a warm room. I stand at the kitchen counter. I’ve done the usual to wake up. A brisk walk, the cold wind stinging my eyes. A cup of milky coffee. Now, I’m alert but still operating at half-speed.
Read moreMINT CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES
My energy level is flickering on and off like a light switch in a thunderstorm. I’m good! I’m getting up! I’m…no. I’m on the couch again, my eyelids heavy and threatening to close. On Monday, I had sinus surgery (nothing scary! not gruesome! as routine as such things can be), so my body is in full recovery mode.
Read moreBUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH MISO AND COCONUT MILK
I've written about this soup before, but it merits revisiting. Each time I cook it, I find myself on the phone with my mother, or my sister, or a friend, vehemently explaining how good it is, as if they have nothing better to do than drop everything and make soup.
But if they did, and if you do, I promise you'll thank me.
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