Welcome back to weekend reading, friends. Seems like just yesterday that I posted my last roundup; this week flew by!

There will be an onslaught, no doubt, of Valentine’s Day themed recipes this week–lots of chocolate, lots of raspberries. There may even be one such recipe from yours truly. But until we get there, here are the recipes that I fell in love with this past week.

I’ve seen many recipes for breakfast polenta, but — in spite of the fact that I love polenta in pretty much any form — I’ve never tried it. This particular recipe uses seasonal grapefruit, and it looks wonderful. (Use an online translator for a hand with the recipe list!)

I’m a big fan of unconventional or jazzed up falafel recipes (the carrot falafel may be my favorite recipe from my book). This mushroom falafel recipe is a terrific idea, and the presentation is gorgeous, too.

These raw hemp algae bars look awesome. I love the use of pistachios, which aren’t a typical homemade snack bar ingredient.

OK, OK. I’ll get the fun started with one Valentine’s Day recipe. This one features super wholesome ingredients, and it’s quite simple to prepare!

Coffee fanatic that I am, I was thrilled to share a cashew hemp latte recipe in my Food52 column this week. It’s a winner; check it out!

Reads

1. A short, sweet, and celebratory tribute to plant-based diets and their mainstream growth from a D.C. area RD.

2. Another article exposing some unwanted ingredients (as well as an absence of advertised ingredients) in over-the-counter supplements.

3. An incredible study about peanut allergies and the microbiome. 30 children with peanut allergies were given a probiotic (L. Rhamnosus). The dosage was strong (about the equivalent of 20kg of yogurt daily) and it increased over an 18-month period. By the end, 80% of the kids could eat peanuts without any reaction.

Oh, microbiome. How you fascinate me!

4. I linked to an article last week that was mostly about debates over sexism and gender, and I gave the qualification that it “wasn’t really health or wellness related.” My reader Kait noted smartly that these issues are health and wellness related, because sexism (and the bullying or anxiety it creates) can often contribute to both mental and physiological health symptoms. She sent an interesting article by Jessica Valenti on the topic, published in The Guardian, and now I’m sharing it with you.

5. I’m really loving Food52’s “how to make ______ without a recipe” series; to me, it seems to capture the essence of what it means to really spread one’s wings as a home cook, to begin using recipes not as prescriptions, but rather as a set of guidelines. I’m especially happy that the column has shared so many vegan recipes! This week they did tofu scramble without a recipe, and last week it was grain bowls. Two of my favorite not-recipes. Yum.

On that note, I’m about to enjoy my last morning of being back in D.C.. This was a very short weekend trip, but it has been really lovely to revisit the city, however quickly. I’ll recap more of the weekend for you soon; in the meantime, don’t forget to enter my giveaway of a copy of Jessica Nadel’s awesome book, Greens 24/7!

xo