When recipes became widely available and searchable online, it changed the way many of us cooked. No longer did we go to our trusted recipe files or our shelves full of cookbooks and decide what we were having for dinner. There were elements of both trust and experimentation in our old cooking libraries. Some days … Continue reading Cookbook Classics: The Art of Simple Food
Gratitude Sucks
I blame Oprah. She told me to start a gratitude journal many years ago. It would change my life. Stress would be conquered. I would reap many benefits in all areas. Feel happy! Improve your sex life! Lose weight! Being grateful was the magic cure for it all. Of course, as a now-grateful person who … Continue reading Gratitude Sucks
Babies and Books
Parents ... today is April 5, 2016 and I have a cautionary tale. Right around the time Max was born, I realized I needed to redo Madeline's baby book. I had been very good (first born!) with writing in it and saving every little thing. It was overstuffed and the binding was breaking. I had … Continue reading Babies and Books
Pressure, Meet Grace
I open up Microsoft Word. Do I still have Microsoft Word? I do. On the way, I look at all of the standard browser tabs, nothing refreshed since I went to bed last night. We didn't know there would be a storm when we went to bed. Some combination of busyness and exhaustion from attempting … Continue reading Pressure, Meet Grace
Relics
One Saturday morning many years ago, I decided to have a piece of an old quilt framed. It had hung over a chair in our living room for quite some time, but it was very old and fragile. Years before that, I had pulled it from a trash pile when my parents were cleaning out … Continue reading Relics
Trust
When we contemplated moving to Long Island, one of my biggest fears was not having family and friends around if "something bad happened." As a high anxiety person, I can think of bad things happening while sitting at a pool (a tree branch falling), on a beach (a tsunami or sand cave-in), or in my … Continue reading Trust
Cats, Dogs, and Chocolate Ice Cream
Someone recently told me that I was "like a cat," in that I wanted to be alone during times of trouble. The person was not too far from the truth -- when things are hard, sometimes getting back into bed seems like the only logical solution. And I guess if I were single and without … Continue reading Cats, Dogs, and Chocolate Ice Cream
I am a homemaker.
The contents of my hoody pocket currently include three bright orange pebbles and a dog treat. My pants are of the yoga variety. I am wearing no make up and, as usual, I will shower before I go pick up the kids. Because everyone knows you must look presentable at kid pick up. Drop off … Continue reading I am a homemaker.
Traits and Legacies
From the earliest moments of pregnancy, we think about the traits our child will be given. Boy or girl. Hair color. Eye color. Body type. Eventual height. Who they will favor. Personality. We think about it a lot until they are actually here and we start to see them develop into the person they have … Continue reading Traits and Legacies
The Best of the Holidays
After an insane bender of cooking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, loading the dishwasher/unloading the dishwasher, cooking, and more cooking, I hope you are sitting on the couch with absolutely nothing to do for the next few days. Here's what I've been cooking -- all are very good recipes. Fritto Misto with Fennel and Lemons I … Continue reading The Best of the Holidays