Society pushes us to push ourselves to depletion, to burn out, to a constant pursuit of external validation, but the good things take time. They require clarity and intention. Pies, homemade brown butter ice cream, relationships, piano songs, and dreams take time. That's the simple (not easy) truth. This is what I'm exploring lately. What about you?
We took our seats, clanked our glasses, shuffled casserole dishes, salad bowls, and the coveted turkey plate. Amidst the excitement to eat, we did pause. We took time to share what about this friend group filled us with gratitude in the last year, and I'm so grateful we did. The table, the food, the drinks are memorable, but those sentimental moments are what truly mark these occasions.
At this point in the year, the warmth of the oven is a bigger motivation to bake than the sweet reward. I run cold, and yet, as cold as I am, I will always say yes to ice cream, so here's a short and sweet plug for making homemade pumpkin ice cream.
Package it as a gift, eat it with a spoon, dollop it on pancakes... there are so many reasons to make this homemade pumpkin butter. Are You Here for the…
This pumpkin pear bread, with oat and brown rice flours, is a rich, flavorful quick bread that feels like dessert for breakfast. Are You Here for The Food? Pumpkin Pear Bread…
I love baking and sharing desserts with friends, so if we were to enjoy these mini crustless pumpkin cheesecakes together, with some coffee, here are some of the topics we might discuss: books, podcasts, gratitude, and dogs (obviously). Of course, I prefer a conversation, so tell me your updates too.
Last October, I baked this cake for a Friendsgiving gathering. This October, I revisited the recipe to make a birthday cake for my mom. I rarely repeat recipes, but the frosting really is that good. Frosting aside, this cake is special because it's the first cake I've made for my mom, to celebrate her.
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?"