It was fortunate that I had already been out on a long run before we heard about the shooting in Orlando, since otherwise I would have given up exercise altogether. We went to the Pride festival downtown and ordered some fried chicken from a food truck, and a biscuit that tasted like there was honey…

Mustard green pesto with mushrooms and orecchiette. Other times, I’ve made this pesto with raw greens, but tonight I tried blanching them in water for a few seconds and pureeing with almonds, parmesan, and a trickle of olive oil. Cooking the mustard greens seemed to take away a certain spicy or spicy-sour kick from the…

I can understand why people hold ceremonies and make up stories about this time of year: It’s hard to get used to looking at the time and realizing it’s well after eight but not even twilight. People tend to stay outside late and extend their hours as if we briefly live in Alaska. We had…

A white bean chili, from a bread and soup place down the street from where I work. They have truly creative ideas for soups, like Thai chicken, or butternut squash and apple puree, and for the white bean chili they add a handful of cilantro for garnish. (Photo: Metro Center, Washington, D.C.) >> June 10…

In my early 20s, when I hardly cooked at all, I would sometimes notice my roommates prepare dinner simply by putting some meat in a pyrex dish and baking it in the oven, and I wondered how they made it so easy. This, I still believe, is one of the great advantages of lamb. It’s…

I don’t do well with deadlines, and when I know I’m running out of time to finish something I panic and try to cut corners on my once elaborate plan. When I was younger, this led me to produce shoddy work or, at the worst, not finish the project at all, and more recently I’ve…

There’s no getting away from the truth, and the truth that must be acknowledged is that I make the greatest strawberry shortcake imaginable. I’m not saying I’m the only one who can make it, I’m saying it’s impossible to do better. I’m not try to butter my own bread or spread my own shortcake jam….

We were invited out to brunch at the last minute, and since our friends had been out dancing the night before and I had already been up and gone long-distance running, I was ready to feel superior and condescending. There was no need: Everyone was quite alert and prepared with witty retorts. The nations represented…

I started to make an omelet with broccoli and spring onions, until I realized I had piled on so many vegetables that everything would be torn apart in one flip. Instead, I kept the eggs underneath, treating them as the plate or the pizza crust or the injera. I threw on some of my garden…

Our friend had just flown in from Japan and she was craving either Mexican food or Thai food. We went to a Thai restaurant in Georgetown, where the river was high after a month of rain and the water was bobbing a mere foot or so down from the dock. The Georgetown waterfront and its…

There’s something about cabbage with shredded carrots that would make these vegetables equally at home in a display case as on a plate. They aren’t known for their taste, but they can be used in a decorative way to give your dish a timeless sense of distinction. I made a turkey veggie burger and put…

My new office is in the middle of one of D.C.’s more overtly historic neighborhoods, near the W Hotel Washington and the Old Ebbitt Grill, so many of the lunch options are tourist-oriented and unaffordable. I try to bring lunch, and I also try to make muffins or cookies to bring to work for breakfast…