Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the community aspect of it—everyone opening their doors to their neighbors and sharing food. I relish how people, young and old, take the time to play and have fun. I enjoy the spookiness of being out at night and the excitement of never knowing when a ghoul or ghost might jump out at you. I adore the creativity shows up in so many of…
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So many of my favorite memories include meals eaten outside. Picnics at the beach; sandwiches eaten at the top of mountains after challenging hikes; campfires with roasting potatoes, corn, and, of course, s’mores; street food eaten on park benches in new cities; and dinners on my parents’ back patio where the conversation lingered on through dusk and into night. There’s just something special about eating al fresco, isn’t there? It feels free, relaxed, and adventurous…
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Twice in the past year, my sons (ages 8, 10) have given their grandparents a really special gift: a full meal cooked entirely by them. I have hung out in the kitchen to oversee the process, but they have done all of the work (with the exception of taking very hot things out of the oven and draining a large pot of pasta). If I am being honest, though, these gifts have been incredibly labor…
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What Holiday Meals Can Teach Us About All Meals One of the things that I love most about celebrating Passover with my husband’s family is the food (surprise, surprise). It is delicious, of course, but what I find truly meaningful is that there are dishes on that table that come from recipes that have been passed down for generations. These recipes have moved with his family across oceans and continents. They have stories. They evoke…
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Thanksgiving is just the beginning. Between now and New Year’s Day, there are so many celebrations. Parties, family gatherings, and special traditions are all included in this busy time of year. For a lot of us, this means tons of cooking, which can be wonderful, but also exhausting. So why not enlist some help? Big cooking projects that are tied to special occasions are fantastic opportunities to get even reluctant cooks into the kitchen. Here…
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