Archive | recipes

This Father’s Day, I’ll Honor My Father by Going Fishing

When I was a toddler, my dad invested in some property on a lake about two hours from our daily lives in suburban Chicago. My dad was an accountant, but also loved fishing, hunting and the great outdoors.  He wore suits and leather shoes during the week and swapped them for flannel shirts and Wranglers as […]

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is my favorite season of the year. From Halloween through New Years, I go hard. I do all of the things. Eat of all the things. Go HAM with decorations. Keep Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas Album” on repeat. It’s my high season. High on life. High on peppermint mochas. High on it […]

Island Baby, a.k.a a Caribbean-Inspired Dutch Baby

We’re off to a strong start to 2018 after a lazy end to 2017. While the rest of the world was out drinking and dancing or standing in freezing cold Times Square, E and I were passed out on the couch in the middle of “Girl’s Trip,” only to be awaken by a teething baby. We […]

Holiday Visuals

A test. This photo is: a.) the reason why I was late to work today. b.) the reason why no one noticed I was late to work today c.) motivation for me to finish my Christmas shopping d.) the source of 1,456 extra calories I consumed throughout the day.   Answer: all of the above […]

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies for the Snow Day Win

This weekend, I got walloped with the holiday spirit by our first snow of the season. Our little Brooklyn neighborhood got about 3 inches of the white stuff, a visual cue that it’s time to slow down, stay in, and get your fa la la la la on. I spent all day Saturday whipping up […]

Mentally Home for the Holidays

Christmas 1984. Holidays of my youth were filled with tidings and good cheer. And Andes mints and cordial cherries (even though I hated them, I still loved the holiday spirit they represented). And Swiss Miss hot chocolate with the mini marshmallows, even though a packet never yielded enough marshmallows, and I would always add a handful […]

Pumpkin Bourbon Pie

Last Thanksgiving, I didn’t cook one dish. I was in bed, resting and recovering after having Q, only meandering out of bed to eat the beautiful multicourse meal E cooked all by himself for our parents and I. Q lounged in her little Baby Bjorn rocker while we sat around the table, too little to […]

birthday party decor

5 Tips to Throwing a Low-Stress, Kick-Ass First Birthday Party

I know a few things about first birthday parties, having hosted one and gone to a bunch more. A few weeks ago, we hosted Q’s first birthday in our apartment. It was better than I could have ever planned. We kept the guest list small, made our own cake and kept the munchies minimal. We […]

Thoughts on Mother’s Day

…on my first Mother’s Day. I’m excited! I’m excited to wake up early and squeeze my baby and husband and eat pancakes and drink mimosas for breakfast and dance around the house in my pajamas… and then climb back into bed and sleep the rest of the day. Because the only thing a new mom, […]

Chicken Cacciatore Soup for Virtual Family Dinner

Now that I have a baby, I miss my mom more than ever. Chicken cacciatore soup helps bring back great memories of mom and me. My mom and I are extremely close. She’s caring, loving, funny and protective. She taught me to be strong but cautious, to love your family and friends but always put […]

Chilly Days Turkey Chili

This weekend was a chilly one. But turkey chili, and snuggling with our playful baby girl, kept us warm. Temperature wise, it was nose-numbing cold outside. E and I only left the house (separately) to go to the gym and get groceries, but it was too cold to take little Q anywhere with us. Poor […]

Meal Prep Treats: Sweet Potato Brownies

Meal prepping doesn’t just have to include food in tupperware containers. It can also mean stuff in pretty muffin tins that you can grab with one hand and race out the door and have a meal at your fingertips so you don’t pass out from hunger and low blood sugar on the subway (true story). […]

Meal Prepping Was Made for New Mommies

When you think meal prep,  you probably think bodybuilders or wrestlers or fitness models. But you should also think of new moms. Like this one. E and I started meal prepping on Sundays because we needed to find a way to cook efficiently after going back to work after our parental leaves.  Coming home and cooking during the […]

The Jerkiest of Jerk Chicken

When E and I were in the Dominican Republic last month, we did our fair share of island-inspired cooking. We whipped up shrimp curry a few times, paella with spiny lobster (which you could find down there simply by swimming out a few yards from shore), and pasta with fresh local vegetables. Our favorite dish was a […]

What Super Bowl Sunday Means to Me

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I’m not particularly attached to either team playing, and frankly I haven’t been paying attention to much of football this season because I was otherwise occupied with pregnancy, birth and baby. But this Sunday reminds me of a special bond I had with my own father over football. My dad, […]

New Year’s Eve Reflection and Reset

New Year’s Eve is a time for reflection. Last year was a hot mess on a macro level for so many reasons—the election, the escalating rate of African-Americans killed by police and the ensuing backlash, global terrorist attacks, the loss of so many great Hollywood and music icons. But in my own world, things weren’t that […]

New and Old Holiday Traditions

A reflection on holiday traditions. Christmas 1986. Homemade chocolate chip, shortbread, sugar and almond crescent cookies. Andes mints. Cordial cherries. Real Christmas tree. The Temptations version of “Silent Night” and Donnie Hathaway’s version of “This Christmas.”  Multiple screenings of “A Charlie Brown Christmas. Mom. Dad. Dogs. Santa. Christmas 2016. Homemade gingerbread, and chocolate chip and […]

Season Greetings and Expanding Families

Our best sandwich to date arrived a month ago–our daughter, Q (yes, we’re late on the announcement, but we posted about it on our on Instagram feed, didya see?) This baby is the most scrumptious, funniest little being I have ever met. She’s the perfect blend of E and I with a personality that keeps us […]

Prepping for Baby’s Arrival with Easy Pumpkin Bread

We’re just a few weeks away from our baby’s arrival into the world. We’ve got most things covered–crib, diapers, bottles, stroller, etc.–but there’s still a few things we need to gather before we can really accept another human into this home. Like pumpkin bread. Our refrigerator and pantry looked a bit bare this weekend, so […]

Back to School Breakfast Crepes

Though some kids head back to school in late August, the day after Labor Day is usually considered back to school day for adults. Today, we head back to offices or other work spaces after a lazy weekend and a slower paced summer, and get ready to buckle down again on fall projects. No matter where […]

Mississippi Roast Sliders

I am late to the game on the Mississippi Roast recipe. But I’m so thankful I found it. My life is profoundly better having this in my belly. Mississippi Roast was created by a Southern gal named Robin Chapman, who has made it for family and friends for years. It was published in a local […]

Valentine’s Day Heart-Shaped Hand Pies

Here we go. Another Valentine’s Day. But this year, it’s with my HUSBAND. That should mean something, right? That should mean that we should go all out, right? Book a dinner reservation at that overpriced restaurant with the snooty maitre’d and the methuselah of Cristal on the menu and eat mediocre overrpiced surf-and-turf and roll […]

The Ultimate Super Bowl Sandwich Picks

Super Bowl is not the time for fancy five-course dinners. It’s the perfect event for cheesy dips, big, boozy drinks and of course, sandwiches. Naturally, I have picks for the ultimate Super Bowl sandwiches you need to serve for the big game. And guess what? I won’t be vegan for the Feb. 7 matchup, so I […]

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