Caretake this moment: Seasonal Berry Tart

"Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now."                     -Epictetus

My life has been anything but expected in the past several months, and I'm finally grateful (and not a teary mess) for being given this golden opportunity to rethink where I was and where I want to go. I also want to have much more fun, to let my hair down, to soak up the sun, to let go of being so self-critical and fearful, and try new things and have new experiences.

Chocolate Cake: A Recluse's Return

I’ve missed this blog like a little kid loves birthday cake. Sorry 50 for butchering your go-to rap lyric, but I couldn’t resist.

The past month and a half has been one where I’ve baked a tasty buttercream chocolate cake for my grandpa’s 89th birthday (a success!), so-so lowfat brownies from a mix (not recommended), several chicken pot pies from scratch (I now know how to make a killer pie dough), tried-and-true yogurt biscuits (they’re hard to screw up, folks), a failed attempt at home-cut sweet potato fries (too much egg white in the batter; I shall return to this recipe), and eaten several delicious rounds of Dave’s homemade bread and lentil soup (thank you, Shane, for the artisan bread cookbook, and Dave for perfuming the house with homemade bread and simmering onions).

To be blunt, I’ve been a bit uninspired lately and my baking and writing routine has, regrettably, dovetailed with my funk.