Nostalgia and American baking books
Here’s a short (and impromptu) post entirely prompted by Nigella Lawson’s Recipe of the Day; a Vanilla Layer Cake with Ermine Icing described as ‘the sort of cake you’d find in an old-fashioned diner of your dreams: a majestic creation, frosted with fluffy, super-sweet buttercream, just made to stand aloft and enticingly on the counter.’ Amen.
In 1988, I was 21 with a tiny baby daughter and—loving her aside—a serious case of not knowing what to do with my life. My family did not greet the news of my pregnancy with delight. My father’s response? “It’s not like a rabbit! You can’
I have developed a (probably irrational) dislike of posts that begin with “Am I the only one who…” and then proceed to describe an incredibly common human experience as though it were a divine revelation. Amplified by social media algorithms that favour superficial engagement, their strong PFB (precious firstborn) energy
Japanese culture is often flattened, fetishised and stereotyped by the media. This is profoundly annoying. Chef and food writer Tim Anderson takes the opposite approach, engaging with Japan and its food with depth, context, and humility. Wisconsin-born Anderson studied Japanese food culture at university and lived in Tokyo for two
Everything is so complicated and overwrought right now but a recent Reddit post asking, “What is an ice cream flavour that is unique to your hometown?” captured my attention, reminding me that the site is home to some pretty decent food discourse—perhaps because of its anonymity and lack of