Dessert Recipes

The summer I turned thirty, the farmers’ market on Elm Street had a peach vendor who changed my life. Not dramatically—I mean, I still had … Read more

This was supposed to be zucchini bread. I had the shredded zucchini ready, the cinnamon measured out, and I was already mentally bracing myself for … Read more

My neighbor, a retired botanist named Carol, asked me last week why I couldn’t just shred the zucchini straight into the banana batter without squeezing … Read more

My neighbor, a retired baker named Frank, had a bumper crop of zucchini one summer. He knocked on my door holding a colander overflowing with … Read more

My neighbor, an older woman named Clara who always wore gardening gloves caked in soil, watched me struggle with a massive, waterlogged zucchini one August … Read more

The neighborhood bake sale was in just three hours and I had absolutely nothing ready. Everyone else was showing up with multi-layer cakes, fancy cupcakes, … Read more

Introduction “The sizzle when the butter hit the pan that afternoon was impossible to ignore,” I remember thinking as I stepped into Jen’s kitchen. She … Read more

Introduction Last October, I was fumbling with a tray of soggy, sad-looking French toast at a community potluck, trying to keep it warm under a … Read more

Introduction There used to be a tiny weekend market stall tucked in the corner of my neighborhood in Portland that made the most unforgettable crispy … Read more

“The neighborhood bake-off was in less than two hours and I had zero cookies ready. Everyone else was showing up with these elaborate, multi-step pastries … Read more