The only excuse I will give for my inexcusable five-month hiatus from the Sprout Diaries is two small words: grad student. It’s a busy lifestyle, folks — one that I’m enjoying immensely but one that leaves little time (or brain power) for the finer things in life, like taking extra long to cook a meal…
pear pancakes: party of one
I celebrated my first day back in Bloomington by checking off a predictable list of post-holiday to-dos: Unpack Christmas presents. Do laundry. Pay rent. Buy groceries. Make soup. The best task, though, was saved for last: Redo kitchen chalkboard. With the swipe of a towel, month-old doodles of snowflakes and pine trees disappeared, and the following…
stuffed shells with roasted red pepper, eggplant & zucchini
I have bad news and good news. The bad news is: I don’t have any finished-product photos of this delectable stuffed shells recipe to share with you. Instead, these pre-oven shots will have to suffice (try using your imagination to slather the dish in bubbling-hot melted mozzarella — see how great that looks!?). The good news is:…
less-is-more marinara
There are many, many things that are better bought than made by hand. I’d put cheese in that category, along with baguettes, peanut butter, and most condiments (though I respect people who make their own mustard). If we’re talking non-foods, I’d rather buy than DIY my soaps, candles, and pants — but I’m sure there…
persimmon cookies
OK, so it’s been a while. Four months, in fact, since the last Sprout Diaries post. You may have noticed that the blog’s done some growing up since last we met. With its fancy new face lift and as the proud owner of its own domain name (good riddance, “dot wordpress”!), the blog is ready…
sweet basil vinaigrette + summer salad with heirloom tomato & peach
I’ve been holding onto this recipe for a few weeks now, and for that I apologize, because it really is a delicious one. Not that I was trying to keep it from you; au contraire, I’ve been itching to get this one posted, especially for all you green thumbs out there whose basil plants, I…
lemony basil summer squash pasta
Before moving to Atlanta for the summer, I knew very little about the city, despite my parents having lived here for nearly a year. That said, the little I did know has quickly shown itself to be true. Yes, the traffic is mind-boggling bad, to the point where you plan your day around not being on the road between…
chevre on baguette: three ways
My super-talented artist-sister-friend Liz had an exhibition of her wood block prints this spring that she called, “You are not leaving. You are arriving.” Ever since hearing about the show, those two sentences — “You are not leaving. You are arriving.” — have been echoing around my brain, a gentle and hopeful reminder that change…
lemony garlic kale salad
“In March, the earth remembers its own name.” So begins “Worm Moon” by Mary Oliver, the greatest poet to ever remark on the changing seasons. Here in New York, the earth is slowly, timidly beginning to rediscover itself. The sky — brighter and bluer at seven in the morning than it has been in months —…
not yo mama’s rice krispie treats
What I’m about to say has been said before, but I’m going to say it anyway: your twenties are a weird time. It’s an in-between time, a crepuscular time — somewhere between night and day or day and night, when everything is dusky and mysterious and there isn’t a whole lot expected of you or…
lentils & rice with caramelized onions & mushrooms
Many New Yorkers may wake up this morning, take one look at the snowy yet calm street scenes outside their windows, and promptly curse the meteorologists, the journalists and the mayor who whipped the city into a panic yesterday over the unstoppable advance of a “historic and crippling blizzard” that never actually arrived. Sure, the stoops of the brownstones have all…
feel-good no-bake granola bars
If you need to get to know a person in one minute or less, the month of January has a handy personality quiz built right in, and it’s only one question long: What are your New Year’s resolutions? The range of replies I hear by asking this question fascinates me. Some smugly counter with, “My resolution is…
the sprout diaries 