The Bloom — recipes

I know, I know… it’s fall and the traditional end of iced coffee season. But not in my world. On Planet Maddie, there’s no day that can’t be made infinitely better by a fat frosty cup of caffeinated glory and a straw, and calendar be damned, you will take that cup from me when you pry it from my equally frigid dead hands. My only problem? Most cafes quit making the stuff this time of year, which leaves us diehards out on the cold when it comes to grabbing a cup on a whim. So we do what anybody with...

Anybody who knows me knows I firmly believe that coffee is as essential to life as we know it as air, water, and the latest Elena Ferrante novel. It’s what my world calls a key ingredient.  But why isn’t coffee ever an actual ingredient? You know, as in something you cook with instead of just drink, happy though those occasions always are? I was wondering about this out loud with a friend of mine who’s sort of a chef and a bit of a foodie, and she set me straight—coffee can be used in the kitchen and not just in...

Like everybody else, I’ve got it in my head to live forever. And just like everybody else, there’s no way I’m gonna. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna to try. And it starts with taking care of myself now so when my bones start to creak in a few dozen years, they’ll creak a whole lot less. I think it’s good advice no matter where you are on life’s journey. Except that conventional health wisdom changes faster than dresses during a pre-night-out fashion crisis. One day, fats are the enemy. The next, carbs. Or not. Who knows? Not me....

The hunt for the healthiest possible me continues. And so far that quest is taking place at the salad bar. Because it’s farmer's market season, and salads are fresh. Salads are cheap. Salads are quick. But I gotta say… eat enough of them and salads are boring. The usual lettuce-tomato-onion-carrot-cucumber routine wilts quick. And while I know it’s about the best thing I can feed my body, my other less helpful self is screaming for something—anything—to break up the monotony. Forget dressings—that’s caloric fluff wrapped in a fat bomb. Croutons are carb cubes. And though I love those crispy little-fried...