The woman at the farmers’ market stall watched me eyeing her oranges for the third week in a row. She didn’t say anything at first, … Read more

I was standing in the grocery store aisle last November, staring at a bag of candy corn I had absolutely no intention of buying, when … Read more

There used to be this tiny bakery tucked away on a side street in Portland, Oregon, called “The Larder.” They made a cranberry orange shortbread … Read more

This was supposed to be a sophisticated chocolate mousse for a dinner party. I had the good dark chocolate, the farm-fresh eggs, the expensive vanilla … Read more

I was standing in line at the hardware store—of all places—on a drizzly Tuesday afternoon, holding a new garden trowel and a bag of potting … Read more