Do you ever, once you've made it through a pile of scary deadlines and come out the other side, just kind of melt into a blob for a week or two, one that can sit semi-upright in an office chair and guzzle coffee and maybe make ill-advised purchases of overpriced throw blankets but otherwise accomplish none of the tasks that are still remaining but ...
pasta and noodles
spring pea pasta with lemon & shiso
As of a couple of weeks ago, I'm officially back at work. Unlike his mama, B3 thought the transition was a total breeze -- he sees me off to work every morning with such blasé cheerfulness that I'm wondering whether I shouldn't be at least a teensy offended. (He is, however, in a war of attrition with his Public Enemy No. 1, The Bottle, so ...
garlicky spaghetti with lemon, capers & almonds
So, our freezer is officially ready to burst. I wish I could say that it's packed to the brim with healthy, ready-to-heat casseroles and nourishing breakfasts that I tucked away for the zombie days ahead, but that's only about 30% true -- maybe more like 0% true depending on how you interpret "healthy" or "nourishing" -- and the remainder is more ...
mentaiko spaghetti
In the last week or so, in what seems to be the norm for this time of year, B2 and I have been basking in a much-needed respite from a couple of busy months at work. Mostly this has consisted of me procrastinating all my non-urgent responsibilities by streaming the Olympics for ...
pasta alla vodka
The very good news is that we've officially moved into a place to call our own in LA (hurray!) and the accompanying not-bad news is that, because we got rid of all our furniture in our move last month, we're very slowly figuring out how to furnish it (adjusting to new and foreign concepts like What Makes Sense or What Looks Nice and not ...
chickpea alfredo with watercress and chives
The thing about alfredo that plagues me is the same thing that might be said about cacio e pepe, or macaroni & cheese, or carbonara -- they're dishes that I adore with all my soul, all cheesy, carb-y deliciousness, but that I eat woefully infrequently, because I somehow always talk myself into something with a little more greenery or a ...
caramelized onion & roasted garlic pasta
A couple of months ago I stumbled on this caramelized onion and yogurt pasta by Diane Kochilas. It's just like it sounds -- tangles of caramelized onions and thick, strained Greek yogurt, tossed with ...
mul naengmyeon (korean cold noodles)
It's the last week of August and I'm sad about it! I know, technically summer doesn't end for another three weeks and change, it's still plenty humid here in Brooklyn and the heat in the subway stations still closes around us like a fist every morning on the platform, but my grieving has already started. I'm such a sucker for spring and summer. ...
udon noodles with sesame dipping sauce
When we came back from Japan, I didn't think I'd try to recreate any of the magical, thoughtfully, wonderfully-made food we had while we were there. It all seemed way beyond my ken -- a just-so balance of kombu and bonito, a dollop of miso and things I couldn't even guess at, hand-pulled and ...