Okay, so I wanted to just quickly post the salad we had tonight for dinner before I forget. I had a version of this at my friend Erin’s  house this weekend. This is the same friend who used my facebook account this week to announce to everyone she is my favorite person in the whole world, and that I am in a relationship. It reminds me of this girl I met at a party once who kept receiving phone calls throughout the evening because her friend had pranked her by posting her number on Craigslist saying she was giving away free goats.

Anyway, Erin made a killer salad, which I decided I needed to repeat and show you here.

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Today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day. Can someone please tell me who decides these things?

Lucky for me, I already have a recipe for oatmeal cookies ready to go.

You know those No-bake Cookies? Some people call them Minute Cookies, and I’m sure there are other names I can’t think of right now. They’re made with cocoa powder and peanut butter, and I love them, but the other day, the kids wanted some and I was out of cocoa powder. I didn’t want them to just be peanut butter flavor, so instead I used cream cheese. At the last minute, I stirred in some chocolate chips so the mixture would have little bits of chocolate throughout. I even refrigerated them so that some of the chocolate bits would get crunchy. They were a huge hit.

How do you like to make your no-bake cookies?

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I need a vacation.

The single mom thing has been getting to me lately. I would imagine a lot of you read my blog and think I have a perfect life, or that I’m trying to make you think I do. The truth is, I take many a photograph around here after I just shoved crumbs or unfinished homework out of the way to take a picture.

My life is messy. And most days I wonder how I’ll ever be enough. In a few years, my oldest will be leaving the house, and I wonder if he’ll ever know what stability actually feels like. I worry I’ll never get everything together . . . or not even everything! I’d be happy happy with just having a few things together! Like my laundry, for example. I think I’d like to actually get it all folded one of these days . . . that would be good.

I keep stumbling upon articles that talk about how stress makes it hard to lose weight, and then they go on to make suggestions about eliminating things that stress you out!! That’s when I break into a manic laugh. Oh right!! I’ll just cut back on my stress!! Why didn’t I think of that before!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Oh, I’m fine. I’m fine. Seriously. I’m fine.

So as I was saying, I need a vacation. I need the real kind with palm trees and soft white sand and towels and beach umbrellas. No cell phones. No computers. No cooking. Come to think of it, I’ve never had a vacation like that. The kind I usually take involves going to a city and walking around and eating a bunch of things that look interesting. And those are fun, too, and rare, and I love them when I can get them. A couple months ago I got to go on a little trip like that (and since I’m already talking about needing a vacation again, it must not have been quite long enough!). Remember a couple months ago I told you about those doughnuts from The Doughnut Plant ?? That was right after I got back from New York. I didn’t want to spill about the whole trip because I wanted to wait until I could show you these videos. I collaborated with Martha Stewart’s people and the Crocs shoes company to make a couple little videos about exploring New York and all the best places Martha loves. I got to try all my favorite foods and meet a bunch of fascinating people. You can see the videos here  and here .

Shooting those was a lot of work, but really fun. It’s hard to explain why so many people love New York, but it’s so full of life and energy.  I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you back a treat from all the great places I visited, but I thought you might like a recipe you can try for yourself. These French macarons are based on a macaron I tried from a French bakery. They had used un-blanched almond flour and then I think they only used butter as the filling. This is my version. Oh, and one more thing: don’t you think a vacation to Paris—with one whole day going from bakery to bakery to try all the different macarons—would be great?

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Alright, my friends.* Even though it’s still freezing here in Utah, the summer is coming, and I’d like to look amazing. Remember I made that video a few weeks ago and told you how I was planning to lose a couple pounds?

Yeah, um . . . it’s not going so well. I think it’s the stress. I know that the best to way to achieve my goal is by eating lots of fresh, living foods—like greens, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and by getting plenty of protein. But a lot of the time, I’m too tired to cook that way, and after I’ve baked a dozen French macarons for the blog, I’d rather just eat the macarons.

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I don’t know about where you live, but it is definitely not spring where I am. I’m going a little crazy. I thought this recipe would bring a little warmth and sunshine to the table.

When I had those gorgeous asparagus a few weeks ago, I wanted to do something special with them, so I got brave: I made hollandaise. And not the blender kind, either. I made the kind you make over the stove, which in my opinion, is better, since you actually cook the eggs.

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So, a lot of you may have heard . . . my book came in the mail yesterday. AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I’m a little excited.

This is my first one, and I’ve been planning and dreaming about this day for over a decade. I couldn’t have gotten it published without all of you, my readers, so thank you, thank you, thank you! for being there for me, post after post!! I love you!!!

I thought I’d post this salad today, as a sort of retraction for a part of my book. (That was quick!!) Let me explain. In my book, in the chapter called “Concert on the Green,” in a lead-in for Mukimame Succotash, I wrote that I don’t like lima beans—fair enough. They’re kind of starchy and flavorless. In fact, I think a lot of you may have my back on this.

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My sister bought a little bag of Matzo Crunch at Whole Foods several years ago. These matzo crackers, which were drizzled in toffee and coated with chocolate, almost brought tears to our eyes, especially when you got a piece where the caramel spread all over the bottom of the matzo, so it was basically a toffee sandwich (see picture below). I honestly don’t know how we got the bag to last so long.

I vowed then that I would figure out how to make it myself and then post it here for Passover, but the week always comes and goes and I miss my chance. But not this time.

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For me, asparagus is synonymous with spring, and more specifically, Easter. It’s one of those vegetables I really didn’t discover until I was in my twenties, and then wondered where I had been the last two decades. I love it, and even more so when it’s roasted.

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My friend had a little heart to heart with me last week. He said I should share a little bit more of myself in my posts, a little bit more of my story.

So, here goes—just hope he doesn’t mind he kind of is the story . . .

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Where I grew up, wicked, as an intensifier (never as an adjective in and of itself), was part of every cool kid’s vocabulary. Used in a sentence pronounced with a thick Boston accent is now music to my homesick ears.

I wanted to post a quick and fun carrot cake recipe for Easter. How does throwing everything in a bowl and stirring it up sound for easy? There’s no creaming, sifting, separating or anything. I love it.

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