The weather outside is messy. Ferocious winds are whipping through the city, pelting the windows with tiny bits of hail. All day it has alternated between wet flakes of snow and icy rain. Once dusk fell, walking around was miserably cold, each block feeling like a marathon. Just one more block, I told myself, as I trudged home through the windy streets. Now one more, I encouraged, not long now!
Read moreSWEDISH ALMOND CAKE
The water is obscured by a thick mist today. I woke to the sound of rain, drumming against the windows. All day it alternated between a heavy downpour and a steady, gray drizzle. I took a run in the morning—out to the beach where you can stand at the top of the steep staircase that leads down to the water. I stretch my stiff legs there and watch the water slowly ebb and flow. It's oddly calm given the stormy weather, but you can only see a little ways out past the shore before the rain and mist blur the horizon into a smudge of soft blue-gray.
Read moreALMOND FIG SANDWICH COOKIES
I can see the water from my seat at the dining room table. The windows on the eastern and southern sides of our house face the bay, which separates our little town from the white, windswept beaches of Shelter Island. Our street ends at a small cul-de-sac, which I love for two reasons. One, the street has no through traffic, but rather people walking their dogs or coming down to sit on the bench and hold hands or sip coffee at the water's edge. Two, there's a small dock that juts into the water, where I like to go and read my book in the summertime. It's peaceful and quiet in every season: the water lapping against the weathered wood of the pilings, boats entering and leaving the marina next door, and birds wheeling overhead.
Read moreSHREDDED KOREAN BEEF
I've just placed down in front of him. He quickly looks up and adds, "no offense" with a rather cute and sheepish smile. I give him a supercilious look and haughtily respond that I will take that as a compliment, that clearly I regularly cook such impressive meals that I make Nigella Lawson look like a rube in comparison to my own domestic goddess status, so this must be just beyond exceptional.
Read moreNON-FAT GINGERSNAPS
It's been a week, let me say. Highs and lows. The frenetic, happy pace of the holidays gave way to the calm, quiet rhythm of my daily routine back in the city. Being home with my sisters for Christmas is like stock-piling happiness, leaving me with a residual warmth to carry back to New York. But no matter how lovely my time away is, there's such a comfort in returning to a simple, expected structure. (Hi, can you tell I'm an introvert?)
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