Tom Waits for Pumpkin Cheesecake

Tom Waits for no one. Winter Swamp Solstice was a small batch edition this year—and, from my toast, “Can’t turn back the tide of 2020, with its hurricanes, plagues, and tidal waves of disruption and loss- nope, we can’t turn back the tide, but tonight, let ‘s look up and look for that one star […]

Lasagna with Prosciutto and Carrot Cake

RUN. Seems a prudent response to the times. It’s felt so good to hit the pavement, to rattle off the cobwebs in the connective tissue after taking half the year off for chemo. I used to think of exercise like a chore, and now it feels like a gift. To have the health to move. […]

King and Queen Cakes with Penance Pizza

I cannot imagine a better kick off to the Mardi Gras season than the confetti snowfall finale of the LSU victory in the National Championship Game Monday night. In exchange for access to the field pre-game, we volunteered for a bizarre job in the press box—like a scene from the Office, in a post-paper world, […]

Spiced Kuri Squash Soup and Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Our sweet bulldog is now half-blind. In a Shakespearean twist, her eyeball had to come out last Tuesday. She is adjusting like a champ. We are resorting to pirate costumes to adjust ourselves, but she is in much less pain now without the tumor that had invaded the eye, and so we are grateful. She […]

Lobster Cakes with Chipotle Lime Remoulade and Blueberry Upside Down Cake, Steak and Corn Chaat, Oh My

The Fourth of July dazzled. We barbequed, the pool came to us in the heat (30 minute thundershower, thank heavens for pop up tents), and the chickens entertained a gaggle of toddlers. Everyone, chickens included, were well-fed.   Lobster Cakes with Chipotle Lime Remoulade Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided […]

Hidden Heart Cake from Beautiful Bundts

Happy Birthday to my beautiful mother AND to my beautiful bulldog. This year they are the same age (adjusted for dog years). Izzy got her own chocolate-free version of a hidden heart Bundt cake featured in Beautiful Bundts by Julie Hession. Happy 9th, dear Izzy! She wasn’t very interested in the cookbook, but perked up […]