I’ve wondered about Murphy’s Law, the saying that asserts, “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” People reference Murphy’s Law when complaining of multiple unfortunate things that happen in a short period of time or in an interrelated way. And it’s true that certain days or events or projects seem a little cursed, right? Or is it that, once one thing has gone wrong, we become more sensitized to what’s not working? Were there always a lot of things going off the…

For a long time, I thought of myself as someone who thrived off of being busy, very busy. At the least, I knew that I tended toward being hyper-productive, which felt sort of like the same thing. When I look back now on my post-bacc years, or my last two years at FSG, when I was working full days, taking pre-req classes at night, and blogging into the wee hours, I’m not sure how I got it all done. Surely being busy must have come…

Happy weekend to you all, and to those of you who are celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, I wish you a wonderful holiday! I spent last night and this morning with my mother and Steven, and I’ll be gathering with a small group of family friends later today. I haven’t done much cooking–I’m still climbing back from some post-cookbook burnout–but I do have my lentil and sweet potato loaf ready for sharing. I’ve had mixed feelings about the holiday season this year, for reasons…

When I was growing up, the Christmas season was a big deal within my little family unit. This included Christmas Eve and Day and all of the traditions that came with them. But it began at the start of the advent season, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. As I get older, I give more thought to advent and what it means. The holiday season sneaks up faster with every passing year, and my relationship with the holidays becomes more bittersweet and complicated. There’s some…

I’m celebrating the summer solstice in Denver, CO, today. I’m staying with my friend Ashley. Ashley took the beautiful photos in Power Plates. At the moment, she’s working on the photos for my next cookbook. I’ve written a lot about creative roadblocks this year, and this cookbook is the main reason why. I first started working on it early in the pandemic. Perfect timing, I thought. If I was going to be indoors for an indeterminate period of time, I might as well have…

Here we are, in the final days of 2014. It has been quite a year, and I look forward to sharing some reflections with you all later this week. For now, some weekend reading, brought to you while Steven and I dance into the wee hours at my friend Gabi’s wedding. Enjoy!  Christmas is over, but this green and red zucchini pasta dish is still calling my name! This cauliflower and avocado salad with pomegranate seeds is so gorgeously simple, yet colorful, and…

Tomatoes were my favorite food as a child, and my attachment to them has never really gone away. I look forward to them being in season all year long, and I celebrate their appearance more than any other summer produce. Unlike many vegetables, for which I’ll have a strong preparation preference (broccoli steamed; cauliflower roasted; spinach raw) I’ll take tomatoes raw, roasted, sautéed, or sauced. It’s all (so, so) good. Tomatoes are finally teeming at markets near me, and I’m gorging in the…