It’s cold outside again. I forgot how this feels; no number of layers is enough to combat the winds that whip through the city streets. This morning I woke to a persistent drizzle of cold rain. I love how cozy it feels to walk swiftly through the rain--the wet streets, the cold breeze--to get to the coffee shop where I open the door to a gust of warm, espresso-scented air. I stand still for a moment, breathing in the smell of bagels toasting and coffee. I listen to the chatter of customers. I order and chat with the baristas (yes, we are on friendly first-name terms, this is how I roll).
Read moreFRENCH APPLE CAKE
Fall is arriving, reaching in and out teasingly with its chill. A crispness has returned to the early mornings, but by the afternoons the saturated heat of summer returns, heavily soaking the low hours in the depth of the day in syrupy sunlight. The leaves are changing; I stepped onto my stoop last Thursday to a single fallen maple leaf, crimson around the edges with a vivid yellow center and a bright vermillion in between.
Read moreLEMON GINGERSNAP ICEBOX CAKE
I have a soft spot for soft foods. I like pudding, especially homemade chocolate pudding (and I'm sorry to say that I especially like the thin skin that forms on top as it cools. I realize that you might not feel the same way.) I like warm applesauce that you cook on the stove, particularly when you leave it a little chunky. I like how it tastes when you pour thick cold cream over it. I like silky hummus and the custard-y filling of eclairs and all manner of stews and soups.
Read moreBLACKBERRY PIE BARS
Let's talk about good things, okay? There are so many of them. Every day, if you look in the right places. For example, if you pause outside the grocery store and stop being so absorbed in your list of laundry detergent, bananas, paper towels, cocoa powder for a moment, you'll notice the heavy scent of lilacs hanging thickly in the air. There are buckets of them, and for $10 you can buy a bunch. The woody stems always stymie me at home; I go at them with scissors and a knife and still end up twisting them apart with my hands. But it's worth it when the entire living room is perfumed with flowers.
Read moreRASPBERRY ALMOND CAKE
There’s nothing as delicious as anticipation. Even the word is luscious, long and drawn out, and strung with crisp consonants. I like how it feels to say it. I like how it feels to sense it.
The best sort of anticipation is for something good but undefined. A nebulous, hazy event awaits, shimmering ahead of you. You're ready, but you don't know quite for what.
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