Oh, technology.  Why?  Whyyyyy?? I was just wrapping up a post about a delicious dessert that I made last week, when WordPress decided to go nuts on me and delete the whole thing.  Yes, bigger disasters have happened… it’s just a blog post, not something important, like a policy brief that’s due tomorrow (yikes, my blood pressure spiked just from the thought).  But I think my frustration is definitely warranted. I have every intention of rewriting the post.  But for now, how about if I just share some pictures from the last few weeks?  Yeah?  Here we go. There are…

Well, friends, I am officially a quarter-century old.  I just capped off a week of celebrations, and I am completely floored by all the love that came my way.  I was regaled with phone calls, Facebook posts, songs, and cards, as well as cookbooks, records, Cheetos (of course), dishes, fancy spices, wine… and a gorgeous watch from Alex.  I can’t even process it all right now, except to say that I am absolutely sure I have the best friends and family in the world.  No question. So now that I’ve hit the 25-year mark, am I officially old and wise?…

The arrival of summertime is a good thing for many reasons, but one downside is that using the oven, even for a few minutes, between the months of June and September turns our apartment into a sauna.  When I moved to Boston from the Deep South, I thought I was leaving sweltering weather behind, but I soon found out that the benefit of lower temperatures is completely cancelled out by the total lack of residential air conditioning.  Fans and window units keep our living space comfortable most of the time, but as soon as that oven goes on, forget it….

Oh, my friends… garlic scape season has arrived!  I’ve alluded to garlic scapes at least once on this blog, but this is the first time I’ve had the actual specimen in my hand.  Wanna see it?  Oh, I’m totally going to show you. I think garlic scapes are some of the most gorgeous edibles on the planet.  Their curvature is simultaneously crazy and fluid–there’s a method in their madness.  When I get married someday in the future, I may have to schedule my wedding around garlic scape season so I can work them into my bouquet.  Or, so they can…

Alex and I are freshly back in Boston after several days in his hometown in Kentucky.  While we were there, we spent quality time with family, watched two good friends say their marriage vows, and of course, ate our collective weight in delicious, delicious food.  I had granola pancakes, which were larger than my face, mass quantities of amazing Indian food, and of course, a giant slab of wedding cake.  It was divine, but now my jeans are feeling considerably smaller than they were a week ago.  I may have to rename this blog “Notes on Celery” for a few…

Lunch is a strange meal, isn’t it?  For me, there’s next to no consistency in when I get hungry for lunch from day to day.  Some days my stomach starts rumbling around 10:30, and on other days, I have to make myself sit down and eat at 1:30 just so I don’t find myself famished during that awkward, too-late-for-lunch, too-early-for-dinner time around 3pm.  Lunch is also one of those meals that I usually just throw together without too much thought.  Leftovers one day; PBJ the next; hummus, day old bread, and a handful  of grape tomatoes after that. Allow me…