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You Need To Make This Lemon Cheesecake Braid

Lemon Cheesecake Braid
Lemon Cheesecake Braid

I’m in NoDa, and it makes me want to write poetry and take pictures. But mostly, write pictures. Mostly about babies on hips and tall-tree streets where I am completely lost. I mean, no one can find me here. I could live my whole life here lost.

It’s funny, the district in the city trying to be the most avant-garde makes me feel like the most traditional mommy.

Elias’s eyes are the most beautiful hazel. In the dark they look a wide, deep brown with the longest lashes. In the light the blues show through. Blue-grays, really. He’s walking now. I told Mike, it’s funny… you don’t see this little boy for two weeks and he’s completely different. I saw him take some of his first little steps with those chubby feet, and now he can take at least ten before he falls on his little bottom. It’s a risky venture.
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Honey-Drizzled Cranberry Brie Pastry Braid

Honey-Drizzled Cranberry Brie Pastry Braid
Honey-Drizzled Cranberry Brie Pastry Braid

I was an accidental jerk in fourth grade. I’m still totally embarrassed by it. It turns out even nice, otherwise well-intentioned kids can get caught up in accidental jerkiness.

See, fourth grade was the pinnacle of my popularity. I hadn’t grown into my shyness yet, so I was silly and outgoing. My friend group was comprised of all the blonde-haired girls in class. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was part of a clique.

Most of the time we were nice and inclusive. But sometimes we’d block kids out without even realizing what we were doing or why. For instance, one day I got the brilliant idea of creating a language. We’d talk in made-up words and no one would know what we were saying except other girls from our friend group. I pitched the idea to my friends: Wouldn’t it be so funny when the boys couldn’t tell what we were saying (not that they’d bother to stand around and listen)? Wouldn’t it be so funny when the teacher couldn’t understand our secrets? Wouldn’t it be so funny when Amanda couldn’t understand us?

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Over-the-Top Loaded Potato Nachos

Over-the-Top Loaded Potato Nachos
Over-the-Top Loaded Potato Nachos

Thanks to Tasteful Selections for sponsoring this recipe! Through January, profits from their Ruby Sensation and Honey Gold potatoes support the non-profit Katie’s Krops, which empowers youth across the country to end hunger in their communities one vegetable garden at a time.

When I’m comfortable with people, I’m chatty and silly and loud. But I’m rarely comfortable with people. I’m naturally introverted with a dose of social anxiety on top of that. The older I get, the shyer I become. This might be hard to imagine since I’m so very vocal here, but in person, I’m quiet, aloof, and awkward until I really get to know someone. And the thing is, it’s hard to ever get to know someone if you’re like that.

On a recent trip with other food bloggers, I was having my typical experience. I was hanging out on the fringe of the group. Other bloggers connected as naturally as breathing. They intuitively knew when it was time to go eat so they’d all be together. They seemed to instantly have everything in common. I exhausted my small talk early and then tried to look busy on my phone. I tried to disappear, and they assisted by mostly forgetting I was there. No fault of theirs; after all, I was the one detaching. It’s a bad habit.

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Gingerbread Quick Bread with Lemon Glaze

Gingerbread Quick Bread with Lemon Glaze
Gingerbread Quick Bread with Lemon Glaze

The conversation was about the difficulty of eating healthy while poor. I had just shared my favorite article on the topic and a few friends were chiming in with their own experiences. Then one of my friends said: “People should eat healthy even if they’re poor. They could always just plant a vegetable garden. Seeds are cheap.” It amazes me how often this suggestion gets thrown around willy-nilly, but somehow I hear it every time I discuss food insecurity.

Gentle explanations of why this would be a difficult solution for plenty of people were met with more and more fervent assertions of why if they really TRIED . . . and if they CARED . . . and if they were willing to WORK . . .

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Gingerbread Cookie Cups with Orange Cream

Gingerbread Cookie Cups with Orange Cream
I’ve partnered with ALDI to try out their grocery stores and develop holiday recipes like these Gingerbread Cookie Cups with Orange Cream. ALDI has compensated me for my time and recipe development, but all my opinions are my own.

I grew up in the South, where cities tend to amble out into haphazard suburbs. Public transportation in an awkward, gangly armed city just doesn’t work the same. Bus routes are segmented such that it can take hours to get from A to B. Tons of public funds can sink into a project like a light rail only to find that the train doesn’t go anywhere, really. Cars are crucial for getting from place to place.

Maybe that explains why I grew up thinking of public transportation as a last resort. I imagined grimy busses ferrying people who had no other choice but to languish for hours to get where they were going. As an adult, however, I started using the bus system to travel on field trips with my students. I also traveled to cities that introduced me to the metro: San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Paris. Turns out public transportation is accessible, convenient, and exciting! It was a huge perspective shift.

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