This recipe, this Meskouta Moroccan Orange cake, is a redo. I’m reposting it because it’s good and it needs a reintroduction. For when you might be having others over for a socially distanced cup of coffee. For when you’re doing it up with a fancier than normal weekend breakfast. For when you want a little something different for dessert. For when you want to bake and are aimlessly wandering through your kitchen cabinets looking for inspiration. (more…)

Hello, Monday.

I had an unexpected pop-in from one of my favorites and we made the most of it by doing what we do: ate all the good foods, picked some apples, drank some cider, watched good TV, laughed a lot, got some fresh air for a hike and squeezed in some shopping. All while mixing in a little business with this pleasure.

They are the best kind of weekends even when planned, but even better when happy accidents. I hope you had a little of that yourself this weekend to mix in some joy into the heaviness that is 2020. Every damn day of 2020.

Anyway, I hope some of these bits offer some joy, too. Or information that will make you go hmmmm and not arghhhhh.

Can’t take a big vacation break, take a mini-break!  Does a body good.

Turns out there is only one reason why there are so many black people in prison. Yeah, you guessed it.

Internet for all. Here’s how.

Children are born scientists– what if school encouraged this?

California on fire.

Fall foods? I’m in. A roundup (not from me!)

In tennis news…Congrats to Naomi!

Points of discussion this weekend:  can cats taste?

Get ready: the next phase of the pandemic.

Are we ready for chili yet? Maybe…

That’s all I’ve got. Have a great week!

Hello, Sunday.

This weekend was one of those where it seemed like I did all of this stuff but then did nothing at all. I cleaned out some cabinets, did the usual weekend things, cooked some things, socially distanced caught up with friends. Yet, the house still seems a little in disarray, it still seems like I have nothing to eat in the house and I can’t believe tomorrow is Monday.

It’s fine. In the scheme of the world, I’m fine.

Are you?

On the flip side, I think this Stella got her groove back in the kitchen after months of losing it. New recipes forthcoming!

Anyway, the links this week. I admit that with my new job I don’t spend too much time wandering the internet for distraction. Still, a few things caught my eye.

1. FORTY-THREE. The tragic loss of a true Superhero.

We all need some bad/funny Amazon movie reviews, right?

Why you might feel awful right now.

These guys looted their own store to make a point about racial justice.

My dad, who never really ‘got’ humor (I think maybe it was because English wasn’t his first language?) absolutely LOVED Bill & Ted. Like, the rest of us all thought it was so weird that he thought it was so funny because…it actually was.  Anyway, they’re back and I think in his honor I’ll be indulging in a pay-per-view movie night because they’re back!

What happens when food doesn’t bring us together?

What does Paris look like without the tourists?

The brief but powerful airplane friendship. I had a stranger-on-the-plane encounter, and after we deplaned, he boarded his flight to London, and I walked into my friend’s house and declared that my future-husband-missed-connection just entered and left my life forever.  Clearly still thinking about it.

Yesterday was the 15 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Here is my story. And some beignets.

That’s it. Have a good week!

P.S. Those masks are from my friend’s shop! Check it out- she’s got some fun fall patterns launching soon!