Slow-Roasted Harissa Salmon

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I recently added a new magazine to my monthly subscriptions: Bon Appétit! Admittedly, it’s because I was making an online purchase, and at the end there was an offer for a discounted subscription for a number of magazines. So now we get Bon Appétit and Outside magazine. But I was particularly excited about Bon Appétit, resolving to try at least one recipe from each issue in hopes of expanding my cooking skills and recipe repertoire. Last night was my first try; I made the Slow-Roasted Salmon from the April issue. Continue reading →

Musings on My Friend the Ticking Clock

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I love clocks. I think they can be beautiful decorations in a home. Growing up, we had a massive clock over the mantle in the living room. It didn’t even work, but I always loved the piece. But clocks obviously do something besides hang on the wall: they keep time. And some of them tick to do so. I have a clock on my desk that ticks, and as I’ve been working from home, I’ve realized that, at least in my view, ticking clocks tend to get a bad rap. Continue reading →

Hills and History at Harpers Ferry

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It was 80 degrees on Sunday. In April. I got a sunburn. In April. Though that part is beside the point. I guess for the last couple weeks it has been unseasonably chilly in the D.C. area, so it was pretty exciting when it warmed up for a few days last week, even if the warm-up was also an unseasonable event. Nevertheless, we took advantage with a trip to Harpers Ferry, and it was a wonderful adventure. Continue reading →

Decorating with Maps

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In my 20s, the idea of purchasing “art” for my apartment has always seemed daunting. Instead, I’ve leaned on the home and design sections of stores like Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond, choosing things that could often be classified more as “signs” than as pieces of art. Over the last couple years, we’ve discovered that we’re partial to the look of prints on canvas, which is fortuitous considering the canvas pieces are often slightly less expensive than the prints or photographs. And in this apartment, we’ve added a couple more variations on a classic object that can prove to be very eye-catching: the map! Continue reading →

What I’m Reading: Hurts to Love You

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I recently expanded my reading interests into a new genre: romance. At first, this was purely because I was going on a trip, was almost finished with the novel I was reading, I’d received a couple romance novels in the mail from publishers and the books themselves are very small. So I tossed one in my bag. And I’ll admit, by the end I was hooked. So I started to do a little more research into the genre (more on why will be coming soon), and decided that my next foray should be into contemporary romance (the first one was historical). So I again went into the stash of novels I had on hand, and selected Alisha Rai’s Hurts to Love You. Continue reading →

Mexican-Style Pulled Pork Tacos

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I’m not a huge fan of tacos. I’m a big believer in the idea of volumetrics—the idea that if you bulk up your meal with healthy ingredients like veggies, it’s going to be more filling and satisfying, even if you aren’t necessarily eating more calories. It’s why I love bowl-style meals, because you can keep adding and mixing things in. Now, all that being said, these tacos are the exception. The sauce is so rich and flavorful that you want to eat slowly, savoring every bite, so by the time you finish to taco number three, you’ve had more than enough. Continue reading →

Narwhals: The Elusive Unicorns of the Sea

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While we were living in Hoboken, we got a good amount of invitations over the years to alumni events sponsored by Trinity College, our alma mater. However, I never found any particularly interesting, or worth the often high price tag. So I was excited when, just a few months after moving the D.C. area, I received an invite for an event I immediately wanted to attend: a tour of the exhibit on narwhals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Continue reading →

What I’m Reading: The Lost Letter

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About two years ago, I went through a phase in which I read a bunch of historical fiction books in a row that were all very similar to one another: they all had at least one storyline that took place during the Holocaust, and another that took place in a different era, either before or after. As both narratives moved along, connections were revealed between the two stories, building to an emotional climax revealing the true power of the human spirit. If this sounds glib, I don’t mean it to; I love these books. I find them inspirational, heart-wrenching and heartwarming. And the novel with which I decided to revisit the genre, Jillian Cantor’s The Lost Letter, was no exception. Continue reading →

Broken Treaties, Grass Bridges and Headdresses Everywhere

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This past Sunday was the chillier of the two days of my family visit, so we decided to go into D.C. and check out one of the many wonderful free museums—the National Museum of the American Indian. As we were walking from the parking garage to the museum, we noticed long lines outside some of the more well-known museums and hoped that wouldn’t be the case at our destination. It wasn’t; there was only a quick line to get through security. However, now having been there I can say that there should have been a longer line, because this museum was truly wonderful. Continue reading →

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

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My mom has always told me that I’ve loved Hostess Cupcakes—you know, the chocolate cupcakes with the white curlicue on top sold in packs of two in convenience stores—since I was in the womb. She says that when she was pregnant with me, she used to have my dad pull over to random gas stations and convenience stores just so she could get some Hostess Cupcakes. So it’s for this reason that when I found a recipe for homemade ones, I knew I had to (attempt to) make them for my mom, sister and Nan’s first visit to Bethesda. Continue reading →