Can we talk about fish sauce for a minute? It smells terrible, but it tastes delicious—so salty and funky with all of that wonderful umami flavor. When I was a vegetarian (before I slid into pescatarianism and then back to omnivorism), the only exception I made was for fish sauce. I didn’t eat anything made …

“August has passed, and yet summer continues by force to grow days. They sprout secretly between the chapters of the year, covertly included between its pages.” Jonathan Safran Foer, Tree of Codes Reading:  Alice Spawls post on the London Review of Books blog about a photo of some women who are not the Bronte sisters. I …

I like a good cocktail. You might have noticed this before. But I have to admit I’ve been holding out on you. I haven’t yet told you about the Brooklyn cocktail. This is one of my all-time favorites. It’s the kind of thing I am, more or less, always in the mood for. It’s a …

I have this love-hate relationship with eggplant. Almost anyone who has ever been a vegetarian has been served some sad bitter under- or over-cooked eggplant dish as the vegetarian option at a mediocre catered event. Maybe it’s a greasy, oddly chewy eggplant parmesan or part of the sad filling next to the limp and watery …

It’s been one of those weeks where I haven’t felt like making dinner. I’m pretty sure it happens to all of us. It’s been hot, which makes standing over a hot stove unappealing. And I’ve been tired and distracted by other projects. When dinner time rolls around, I’ve been feeling limp and listless, like this celery …

Lately, early on weekend mornings, Dan has been taking our dog, Inka, to the lake. He gets to spend some time at the beach before it gets crowded, when it’s still possible to appreciate the quiet of the lakefront, and I get some much appreciated morning quiet time at home when I don’t have to …