I’m packing up today to to leave for a week, alone. The kind couple who owns Spruceton Inn in the Catskills do this pretty extraordinary thing where they give residencies to writers and artists during their slow season. I applied on a whim, and even when it became a reality it seemed so far away. But now…
the terrifying bundt (and a giveaway)
There is a moment when the cake has cooled, the dishes are done (or at least soaking) and the time has come to breathe the cake out of the pan. Breathe being the only useful verb I can find for this process, which is the scary moment of bundt cakes (silly as it feels to say bundt, it…
this is what cooking looks like (and a giveaway, too)
When it comes to summer cooking, it’s important to remember what our tools are. We have the grill, of course. The permission to eat only salad for dinner, and a few good dressings ready to go. We have marinades, and homemade ice cream (like salads, you have my permission to eat only that for dinner…
let’s start now (that’s right, a giveaway!)
I feel like celebrating.I’d bring out the champagne, except that I’m not actually quite finished with the book yet. I’m waiting for the girls to get into pajamas so I can get settled in for the night, but in the last twenty minutes, Sadie has managed to take only one arm out of her shirt. …
day one, and a new year’s giveaway
Well hello new decade. Nice to meet you. And the last decade?I remember the moment you were born. I was working at an overpriced Italian restaurant that had somehow drawn in a few unfortunate tables for the inflated prix fixe menu. I worked the night away, and when the year came to an end, I…
Occasionally I teach workshops, and I have one coming up this fall. Join me and stellar novelist 