It’s strange how relationships go. When you first start dating, it works because it’s easy and spontaneous. And if it’s anything but, you end things real fast. Eight years into marriage—three of those years with a tiny human—it works because we work at it and because we add a weekly event to the calendar. “Hang out.” And in the event notes: “No iPhones allowed.” We’re officially old not young. Read more
I’ve only recently started listening to podcasts. It’s in direct correlation with taking better care of myself this year—both my mind and my body. Running again has carved out time for podcasts. It’s making me smarter. And more fit too. (I hope.) I oscillate between listening to The Splendid Table, A Couple Cooks, and Food Blogger Pro. I’m certain there are extra calories associated with food podcasts. Read more
That’s a picture of a beautiful make ahead orange clove roll that I made for Thanksgiving. I forgot to post the picture of Hallie throwing a tantrum for the twelfth time. And the picture where I threw one too, beet red and angry. And I didn’t tell you how I threw out the stuffing before anyone could take seconds because it didn’t taste right. I bought the wrong bread. And I didn’t record the argument we had about how to best hang the garland outside either. But I did want to tell you about these make ahead orange clove rolls we consumed during those days. That cream cheese glaze, it can cover a multitude of sins. Read more
I had this whole post written about marriage. About how easy it was before we were parents. So easy we high-fived ourselves. And about how hard it’s been since becoming parents. It was about how this Balsamic Pasta (with a salad on top) saved us. A recipe I recreated from a dish we ordered on a much needed date night a couple months ago. I deleted it. Because I got to the end and realized it wasn’t the pasta dish, though so good and quick. You need to make it. It was the ping pong table from Craigslist that saved us.
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The days of carefree summer dinners are coming to a very quick close. Meal planning is the only way I can put something other than pasta on the table every night. So if you’re anything like me, I’m planning ahead for the both of us. Here’s a couple back-to-school dinner ideas: quick and simple recipes, using summer-friendly produce. Each can be adapted for meat-eaters and vegetarians. Read more
I write about food. And dream about it too. Without saying it explicitly, I preach week in and out to make food from scratch. It’s better that way. But come 5:00 pm on a weeknight, I’m without a message to preach or an idea of what to make. Dinner’s hard. It’s even harder now that we have a tiny little person who needs to be in bed by the time we once started making it. Unlike the rest of our life, we kept dinner spontaneous because we could. Long-winded when we felt like it. It wasn’t a burden then. Read more
If you know me well, you probably know that if you call, text, message, or email me, it may be days (or, I’m embarrassed to say, sometimes weeks) until I respond. It’s not for lack of thought. I replay the correspondence in my head a million times and search for the perfect response. In fact, I respond so many times in my head, I think I’ve actually responded. It’s a problem. Read more
I’m gonna miss summer dishes that come together in the time it takes water to boil and pasta to cook. Dishes that only involve a couple chops and stirs. Dishes that are best when left uncomplicated, like this one. I’m not even sure what to call it. Quick Summer Pasta will do. It’s served us well this summer, again and again and again. It’s almost too simple to post. Then again, that’s the beauty of it. (Speaking of beauty, read on for a chance to win a set of two pictured handmade linen dinner napkins from StitchNY.) Read more
