CACIO E PEPE PIZZA

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One of my sisters just moved to New York, and I’m ecstatic. Like, cow-jumped-over-the-moon level happy. I haven’t lived in the same city as one of my immediate family members since I moved away for college, and now she and I can wave at each other from across the East River.

My mama came into town a week or so ago to help her move in, which meant lots of Bed Bath & Beyond and Target runs, and lots of eating. We had weird amount of misses this trip; weird because after being in New York for a while I’ve found my spots that I can rely on for a solid lunch or dinner, and we just missed the mark a bit.

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SPRING VEGGIE LEMON PARMESAN PASTA

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Yesterday, I accidentally got sucked into reading about cults.

Yes, I know, the irony kills me too, but honestly reading about cults is just a deep dark hole on the Internet. And while I have no plans to join a cult any time soon, The New York Times and New York Magazine instilled a fear in me so real, I think I’ll be avoiding Kool-Aid and self-help anything for the rest of my life.

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PASSOVER-FRIENDLY EGGPLANT PARMESAN

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Talk about a case of the Mondays! Yesterday was one for the books, let me tell you. It was one of those days where a lot of little things added up to yield a pretty mediocre day. Nothing a hot shower, hearty dinner and episode of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch couldn't fix. Thank you late 90's nostalgia!

All in all, it wasn't a truly awful day, I mean, I've had worse. I just have to give myself a little credit, take a deep breath and stay positive. I mean, Michigan did win Saturday night's game with a mind-blowingly magical buzzer beater. So, there are things to cheer about. I pride myself in my realistic optimism - instead of having my head in the clouds, I turn my face towards the sun while keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground. But sometimes, even the sunniest of personalities require a little brooding. Mondays suck for everyone, so don't beat yourself up. 

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PAN-FRIED CHICKPEA + HALLOUMI SALAD

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In my dream world, Rina and I work in a light filled studio with professional equipment. Our kitchen is white and full of state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and large windows. Our counters are covered with fresh flowers; our workplace filled with props and kitchenware that photograph wonderfully. Jon Hamm makes frequent visits and Ina Garten does cooking demos for us. It's a pretty damn great place to be.

But, sadly, my magical powers haven't kicked in yet, so we have to work with what we have on hand. If that means shooting in Rina's bedroom, where the sunlight is, or doing dishes every six minutes to keep her tiny sink from overflowing, then so be it. It's all part of the process that hopefully one day we can look back and laugh at. Anyone who's stopped by or been privy to the tornado that is our recipe testing and shooting days (hi, Cornelia!) knows that's it's basically a hot mess. But it's something we love nonetheless. 

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POMEGRANATE, PARMESAN + HAZELNUT BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD

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It isn't technically winter yet, but I'm already starting to feel the wintery blues. What a quaint way of putting it, as if I'm a little sad that it's cold and dark but with the right blanket and mug of hot cocoa everything will be fine.

What I really mean is, now that I see the sun without a window in front of me for maybe two minutes a day, my mood has gone south. Way south, with the birds. Maybe my mood is in Florida, with the geese and octogenarians. I hope it has a good time down there, and that it will come back soon.

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ROASTED SWEET POTATO + CARAMELIZED LEEK PAPPARDELLE

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My year in Jerusalem was...interesting, to say the least. When I look back on that year I think of terrorist attacks, freezing cold buildings (it's as if the entire city forgets that winter is a thing that happens every. single. year) and the beginning of what would be a very long, very intense journey ending with leaving rabbinical school. There was also the boyfriend who thought I would be happy in a California suburb with our three children, but that's another story.

So, yeah. Especially compared to my year in Tel Aviv, I kind of hated living in Jerusalem. I do have to credit that year with one thing, though: my love of experimenting in the kitchen.

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SIMPLE LEMON LINGUINE

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Sometimes I like to cook lavish meals for friends - I'll spend hours in the kitchen making multiple courses with ingredients I definitely spent too much money on. I'll experiment with flavors and try new things, and feel like a total mad kitchen scientist.

Other times, I truly cannot be bothered.

Sometimes Shabbat dinner ends up being sushi or pizza delivered by very nice Seamless people. Other times, we pull an Olivia Pope and eat popcorn and have a bottle of wine each. These meals are eaten in leggings, sweatpants and amorphous sweaters. It is actually frowned upon to show up to a meal like this wearing pants with a button or zipper.

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ANYTIME BREAKFAST POTATOES

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When Rina and I first started this blog, one of our early debates was regarding the most superior potato style. I mean, what an an impossible question, right? Think of the wonderful forms potatoes take - crispy french fries, greasy hash browns, sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows, salty chips.

While I have yet to meet a potato I don't like, I find that versatility is key and lot of these potato styles (i.e. sweet potato casserole) don't really go with everything. Enter this recipe. I was playing around in the kitchen after getting a ginormous bag of potatoes in my weekly CSA (if you're not already a part of one and are looking for fresh, local produce, I highly recommend you look into a CSA. More info here). I needed a potato style that could last me many meals over multiple days. I also had some dried sage from a past CSA, so I quickly doctored up a new kind of roasted potato - a cross between home fries, roasted potato wedges and parmesan truffle fries (ish). 

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SUMMERTIME PASTA WITH PARSLEY, GARLIC, AND LEMON

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How many of you are watching (or have already finished) The Handmaid's Tale?  

It's excellent, but very troubling to watch. Even though I've devoured the book twice in my lifetime, the TV version shook me deeply. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a baby when it comes to dark TV shows and movies. When I saw Get Out I half-covered my eyes with my jacket  during any scene that maybe contained a jump-scare. I freaking hate jump scares. 

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