If you’ve ever seen the movie Love Actually, you’ll recall the famous first few lines—the ones that Hugh Grant’s character speaks in voiceover while you’re watching a scene unfold at Heathrow Airport. He says that whenever he feels gloomy about the state of world, he pictures the arrival gate at Heathrow, and points out that rather than scenes of hate, there is love everywhere—people hugging, kissing, running into each other’s arms and laughing.
Read moreSOURDOUGH RYE BROWNIES
I’m walking down 82nd Street past the police precinct. It’s almost 6 PM; I’ve spent the past hour in Central Park, doing the wide loop around the reservoir as is my evening routine. I’m cold and so eager for a hot shower and pajamas and dinner that I can barely let myself think of the comfort ahead. I walk briskly, picturing each block ahead, only vaguely noticing the surroundings, aware of them only in my peripheral vision: parked police cars, a father holding open the glass door to a restaurant and helping his toddler step carefully down the stoop, a nice-looking yet wearied man walking his golden retriever.
Read moreCOCONUT WHITE CHOCOLATE BLONDIES
Every time I write the word “blondies”, I think about the old cartoon with Blondie and Dagwood. When I was young, there was little more thrilling on a Sunday morning than sitting at our scratched white kitchen table, feet tucked up to avoid kicking at the cold linoleum tile floor, and waiting eagerly for our dad to unfold the newspaper (the Baltimore Sun), riffling through the flimsy pages until he came to the colorful section of cartoons in the back. He’d carefully extract the double pages of funnies, as we called them, and spread them out on the table, pushing aside our half-drunk glasses of orange juice and plates covered in the detritus of breakfast: crusts of whole wheat toast, a smear of fried egg from our one-eyed giants (or, toad in a hole, as most people call them), a bit of strawberry jam clinging to the tines of a fork. juice and plates covered in the detritus of breakfast: crusts of whole wheat toast, a smear of fried egg from our one-eyed giants (or, toad in a hole, as most people call them), a bit of strawberry jam clinging to the tines of a fork.
Read moreCHEWY-CRINKLY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES
When I was in college, there was a health food store in the little town adjacent to the university. It was a ten-minute walk from campus. To get there, you’d wander down the wide tree-lined boulevard outside the stately, formidable university library: a silvery-gray fortress of limestone and schist. You’d come upon town’s main street and turn right, passing a jumble of small shops and restaurants: the tucked-away sushi spot frequented by crowds of college students before formal parties, a rambling Catholic Church and the crumbling-looking thrift shop next door, and the second-best ice cream store in town (it loses out to the number one spot in terms of flavors, but wins over the student body for diversity of toppings guaranteed to give you a sugar high for studying, from a warm drizzle of Nutella to crumbled Butterfinger candy).
Read moreQUICK DINNER ROLLS
I could tell you how quick and simple these dinner rolls are. You might believe me, but I think in lieu of you being right here with me while I bake them, it would be more convincing if I walk you through what it took to make them today.
I woke up early to get to the pool and swim. It’s nearly impossible to time it just right and miss the early morning pre-work rush: I’ve yet to figure out any discernible pattern to the pool schedule between 7 and 9 AM. So I cross my fingers and hope for the best. Today, I get lucky. I split a lane with one other swimmer for the duration of my 20 laps.
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