Living in urban areas is all about the give and take of sharing space with others. But it was not until I moved into my current apartment that I had to learn to share space with a different kind of neighbor. 

I recently went to Colombia. Believe the hype - it is great! It is a country full of magnificent trees, beautiful birds and wonderful people. And the food! They want to serve you so many delicious things but my favorite is a soup called Sancocho with three different types of meat in it. My second favorite soup? Breakfast beef rib soup called Caldo de Costilla. This place is a dream!

I find cult documentaries fascinating. 

The most interesting part to me is when people start to see a crack in the facade and begin to question the teachings of their charismatic leader. It makes me wonder what it takes for someone to start questioning the certainty that their whole life has been built on. And how brave it is to walk away from everything you know into the great unknown.

For the past few years, I have found safety and respite in my cozy home office. But this year, with everything going on, I have found working alone to feel pretty isolating. I know that I need to be with people right now.

The past month has been really tough. And beyond the political theater and terrifying news, I am sure you all know people who have been personally affected. I know I do.

When I was a kid I had a vivid imagination. I could spend hours playing in imaginary worlds in my head. As an adult I still have quite an imagination. And, though I no longer have imaginary friends, I do think it adds to my writing and work.

On Saturday morning, my dad, mom, sister and I drove to a small city in Wayne County, PA. There we met many other volunteers from all over the East Coast who had come to canvass for the Harris/Waltz campaign. We were quickly trained, handed clipboards and given a route with names and addresses of people that we were going to try and speak with.

I recently took a trip down memory lane. I was preparing to facilitate a dinner on Comfort and realized that the last time I held a dinner with this theme was the very first Dinner & Dialogue in April 2018.

I hate being late. I hate that feeling of being stuck in traffic when you know someone is waiting for you. That terrible feeling of being on a stopped train, in a tunnel, under the river, when a meeting is starting without you.

We were told by Mr. Rogers to “look for the helpers” whenever tragedy strikes. And with the world as it is right now, so many of us want to help. We want to be the helpers!

With the holidays upon us, we are forced to deal with people, a lot of people. This is mostly wonderful. I love people. And being back together inside crowded spaces with poor ventilation is a true joy of the season. But with the world as it is right now, how do we navigate talking with all of these people? Because wherever people are, so is conflict.

Words can be powerful vehicles to communicate but they also can be incredibly inadequate. The past few weeks the words I have attempted to weave together have felt insufficient. But one word keeps popping up in my head. This word is care.

I remember walking around my Brooklyn neighborhood in April 2020 and noticing that I could only compare how I was feeling to a few tough moments on my solo trip to Kenya and Uganda. That is when I felt completely disconnected from those around me.

Every other Tuesday, you will find me teaching cooking classes at two supportive housing buildings in Manhattan. Learning about people’s lives as I show them some easy and affordable dishes that they can cook on a hot plate is inspiring, but also quite humbling. Most classes, I am the one learning.

We rarely had soda in the house as a kid. This effervescent, sugary drink was saved for special occasions where, still, moderation was encouraged.

Winter is here, friends. And the abrupt temperature changes in the Northeast along with the memory of recent winters past has made me seriously consider moving to a tropical island

When I was a kid, my parents were going through a bit of a health kick. Of course, I am now incredibly grateful for the foundation of healthy eating habits that they instilled in me, but at the time I was not a fan. I did not like to be told what I could not eat or eating the things I did not like. I wanted to have a choice.

Like you, I had some lonely moments these past few years

The hardest part of school for me was the group projects. Negotiating the different working styles, coordinating schedules and dividing up tasks without any kind of clash was never easy.

I have never been particularly enthusiastic about beets. It is not like I never eat them but they are the vegetable that is most likely to get old and wrinkled in my care.