Words can stick like dried honey to a countertop, catching any stray bit of paper towel. They can swirl and fuse into a person like stirring a spoonful of honey from a jar into a hot mug of tea. Sometimes we can be so carefree with our words, forgetting this quality they possess that rivals… Continue reading Writing Recipe Headnotes for the Heart
Baseball Poetry and Anniversaries
Let’s set the record straight. I didn’t grow up in a baseballer family. Far from it, my dad would root for soccer teams and instilled the love of football in me from a young age. For reasons unknown (voracious reader, hated to go outside), I never tried out for soccer. Many years later, I found… Continue reading Baseball Poetry and Anniversaries
In Praise of the Small Kitchen
When we began looking at Oakland apartments, we found one that was not listed as a studio and went for the asking price of our San Francisco apartment. After that, I began color-coding listings on an excel spreadsheet by interest and neighborhood. Like a boss, I reached out to each contender, as if sending out cover letters… Continue reading In Praise of the Small Kitchen
Tea Poetry: Announcing My New Steeped Recipes Book
Tucked into a kitchen cabinet, a tin of tea Aspires to what it one day may be— Will it be iced, slicking a glass with cool condensation or will it be brewed into a bracingly hot cup—if you ask me what to do, I will suggest brew it into broth for a warming stew. You… Continue reading Tea Poetry: Announcing My New Steeped Recipes Book
Leaving San Francisco: A Love Letter to the Richmond
Home. It can be such a malleable thing. Within the period of several weeks, it became evident that we needed to move—something we have been emotionally and mentally preparing ourselves for quite some time to fully realize, even as our physical selves coordinate the arranging of movers, the buying of boxes. In the wake of… Continue reading Leaving San Francisco: A Love Letter to the Richmond
Bulgur Salsify Salad
Over the course of one’s life you meet people with whom you find a deep camaraderie. It can come about as easily as an introduction between two people, both far from home and overly jet lagged. Mercedes had flown in from Alaska, and I, from California. Both of us had arrived in Massachusetts on red eye… Continue reading Bulgur Salsify Salad
Well Said Quotes: Vincent van Gogh
On the Plate in August: Books to Read
Hello and happy Monday! With only a stitch of summer left, I’m woefully behind in sharing some of my summer non-required reading because what do you need more of than more books to read, right? Onward. I’m obsessed with cake right now. As such, I would be sunk without this seminal book that you probably… Continue reading On the Plate in August: Books to Read
Cooking with Georgia O’Keeffe
After a brief summer hiatus, I’m back, and so is the fog. We had actually been experiencing summer-like temperatures in San Francisco, which is completely unexpected and requires copious amounts of cold confections to withstand the 80 degree heat. My Texas self would shake its head in shame… In our last exploration, we dug our… Continue reading Cooking with Georgia O’Keeffe
Painting a Portal to Another World: Notes from the Georgia O’Keeffe Lake George Exhibit
What happens in the unseen world? It is a question artists have tried answering through their media since the beginning of time. Perhaps it is one of the reasons Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings have always pulled at me. While we try to remember to “stop and smell the roses,” she is examining their inner caverns, the… Continue reading Painting a Portal to Another World: Notes from the Georgia O’Keeffe Lake George Exhibit
Food Poetry: Cream of Tartar by Julia Wendell
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships between mothers and daughters. They can be so fraught of misunderstanding. My mother used to denounce my teenage years as the years I didn’t talk to her. How could I explain the gulf of emotion and crisis upon which I was cresting outside of writing and reading… Continue reading Food Poetry: Cream of Tartar by Julia Wendell
Star in Your Own Rock Opera
If you ever find yourself in the middle of a rock opera, strap yourself in for one doozy of a ride. Maybe you’re puzzled by the idea of a rock opera and wondering if it too has a fat lady who sings. The answer, like most things in life, is maybe. What you can count… Continue reading Star in Your Own Rock Opera