It’s time for an installment of Cookbook Club, and this month, we’re pulling Black Girl Baking off the shelf. Nominated for a James Beard award, Jerrelle Guy’s book offers “wholesome recipes inspired by a soulful upbringing.”
This is a (belated) Valentine's Day call to celebrate the best examples of love in our lives: our dogs! Spoil those fur babies with homemade Valentine's Dog Treats!
I love love, and whether it’s with friends, a partner, or my fur babies, I am unapologetic about celebrating Valentine’s Day (more on showing love to your fur babies very soon!). Valentine’s Day is only a commercial holiday if you make it a commercial holiday, so this year, join me in supporting some local businesses and lean into my love of “extraness.”
This rosy brunch, a precursor to the COVID crisis, was a celebration of a few of the female bonds in my life. It was a celebration of what makes each of us unique and a celebration of what we share. It was my effort to look at my calendar, and my photos, and my posts to see if my values matched my life. Was I defining myself with work, or was I making time to foster relationships? Was I taking action, or was I falsely relying on "someday" and "sometime?"
I wanted my Valentine to know he is "simply the best," and while I may not be able to sing and strum the song like Patrick, I can say it in chocolate. Thanks to fellow devoted fans on Etsy and time in the kitchen creating these chocolate peanut butter roses, I conveyed that message with a very Schitty Valentine, which of course, you could turn into an any-time-of-year care package for the Schitty's Creek fan in your life. <3
I have found my new Bible, so I can't help but proselytize. I have been so wholeheartedly recommending and repeatedly quoting "The Art of Gathering" to my "pod," I'll have provided the thorough CliffsNotes before they turn their first page. So... why do we gather?
If someone told me a few years ago, "Relationships take work," I probably unintentionally rolled my eyes. Then I probably [intentionally?] shot tonal daggers from my hazel irises at this brilliant interlocutor. All these snarky eye rolls implied, "Ok genius, but I am a worker. I can even be an obsessive worker. Some have been so bold as to call me a workaholic, so why, why, WHY could I not seem to work on, or for, or in my relationship?"
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I'm sharing a list of what I am loving lately, including these whole-grain Swedish Sugar Cookies, and obviously, Julep tops my love list too.