Appetizers

My brother claimed to hate hummus for fifteen years. Fifteen years. He’d poke at it at family gatherings like it was some kind of alien … Read more

Maggie wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to drop off a stack of old magazines she’d asked to borrow, and the smell of … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a drizzly Tuesday in late October, and I was hit with a very specific, slightly ridiculous craving: I wanted a … Read more

I was standing in the middle of the grocery store aisle last October, staring at a block of cream cheese like it held the secrets … Read more

I was standing in line at the hardware store last October, holding a bag of lightbulbs I didn’t really need, when the woman behind me—a … Read more

There used to be this little wine bar tucked away on a side street in Charlottesville — the kind of place with mismatched chairs and … Read more

I was supposed to be making a creamy pumpkin soup. That was the plan, anyway—a silky, golden-orange bowl of comfort for a chilly Tuesday night. … Read more

This was supposed to be a batch of caramel popcorn balls for my kid’s classroom Halloween party. I had everything laid out on the counter—the … Read more

My husband claimed he hated Halloween candy boards for years. “Too messy,” he’d say, shaking his head every time I mentioned making one for our … Read more

The woman at the community garden plot next to mine watched me stare at a mountain of zucchini I’d just harvested—honestly, I had no idea … Read more