Cheesecake is something that most people would agree is pretty darn delicious. The rich, creamy, and endlessly versatile nature of cheesecake easily makes it a top-tier dessert for me. Plain, chocolate, raspberry, caramel, blueberry—you name it, there is almost certainly a cheesecake out there that boasts every flavor and topping in the book. Believe it or not, even wasabi cheesecake is a thing! Admittedly, my tastebuds have yet to be brave enough to give it a try, but I was fascinated by the confounding creation, nonetheless.

Herbal oxymels are a staple ingredient in my kitchen. I often teach mocktail-making classes, where I share the many ways you can create tasty vinegar-based ingredients to make complex zero-proof drinks.. When I introduce students to oxymels, I pass around samples made of apple cider vinegar and honey. Students are amazed at how delicious they are – I hear lots of “mmm!” and “wow!” as they sip. But then I bring out my secret treasure, the grand reveal: a white wine vinegar and sugar oxymel. Students are shocked at how exquisite the flavor is. They ask for more. The bottle quickly disappears…

Growing up in a small-town baseball family, I spent many sweltering hot summer days melting away on dusty bleachers and impatiently waiting in line at the local ballpark concession stand. It was at this very ballpark where I came to discover one thing, which admittedly has very little to do with baseball: the controversy over condiments. Not a single foil-wrapped hotdog appeared to present the same selection of toppings, including my own, which I piled high with each and every condiment in sight. Ketchup, mustard, relish, mayonnaise—you name it; everyone has their unique feelings about them. At the center of condiment controversy seems to be the richly thick and tangy sauce we all know and (some) love: mayo.

As someone who has spent the majority of my life proclaiming a distaste for baking, I have found myself hovering over my stand-mixer and setting the oven to 350º Fahrenheit a lot lately. My newfound bug for baking began with an attempt to perfect my favorite pizza dough recipe and has since turned into a full-fledged baking extravaganza. Although my overworked oven may not relate, my loved ones and coworkers with mouths full of homemade sweets don’t seem to mind my new hobby one bit! Now that I’ve come to grasp the basics of baking—with a few floury disasters sprinkled between—I’ve started experimenting by introducing unexpected flavors and textures into classic cookies, cakes, and confectioneries. My latest experimental success combined the blank canvas of the cookie world, sugar cookies, with the grassy-hued, umami-rich green tea we all know and love: matcha! 

If you’ve ever swished coconut or sesame oil around in your mouth first thing in the morning, you’ve already dipped your toes into the Ayurvedic practice of oil pulling. I’ve been using this technique for years, and it’s one of those daily rituals I keep coming back to—for fresh breath, healthy gums, lymph drainage, and that clean-mouth feeling that just feels good!

Spring is here, at last, and the world is all a-shimmer with dew and last night’s frost. After a long winter of dark and cold, the earth has begun to stir again. There’s a palpable change, and we can all sense it, in the air, in the earth, in our bodies. Spring is a season of new beginnings, inspiration, a time to create and explore. As nature begins to flourish around us, now is the perfect time to rejuvenate ourselves in the same fashion as the beckoning meadows. 

In spring, I like to gather nettles and violets. Nettles for their wealth of vitamins and minerals, and the energy boost they provide after sleepy winter months. Violets for their flavonoids, mucilage, and diuretic properties. They also taste mild and delicious in infusion form, making them ideal additions to mocktails.

Around this time of year, my mom would start crafting her incredible herbaceous mocktails; drinks that are both refreshing and healthful. I have many fond memories of us staving off the heat with her creations. My mom is an absolute wizard when it comes to mixing ingredients to just the right proportion, guided purely by intuition. She (and now I, thanks to her influence) never really measured things. It was always “a splash of this,” “a sprinkle of that.” As a result, each drink was a little unique, but somehow always perfectly balanced.

With herbaceous mocktails, the trick is balancing the bitter with the sweet, adding just enough sugar to lift the flavors without overpowering them. It’s also important to find the right ratio of ingredients; some herbs have stronger flavor profiles than others, so finding the right balance can feel rather alchemical at times. 

In a world wafting with artificial fragrance as far as the nose can smell, those of us with scent sensitivities often find it challenging to navigate the vast, perfumy sea of skin and body care products. As someone who gets a headache solely at the thought of walking through a store’s fragrance department, this challenge is nothing new to me. After spending an inordinate amount of time walking down aisle after aisle, uncapping and sniffing products, only to settle on one I found relatively tolerable, I’ve since opened myself up to a new world—custom fragrance!

Living in California as I do, tacos aren’t just for Tuesdays–they are a way of life. There are taco trucks on nearly every corner, each ready to provide you with their own particular take on carne asada, al pastor, and spicy pollo soft tacos. And requisite with every order, at least for me, is a tall icy glass of Agua de Jamaica.

Spring cleaning provides the perfect moment to refresh your home and embrace the new season's charm. This year, consider enhancing your routine with natural cleaning methods that are not only environmentally friendly but also gentler on your health, especially if you deal with sensitivities. 

Comfrey (Symphytum spp.) is a divisive plant in herbalism. There is some very serious contention about how to use it safely and effectively in the herbal community. Some say that it should never be consumed internally, while others drink tea made from the leaves. Some also say that you shouldn’t use plants that were even harvested from the same beds as comfrey for internal use. All of that is to say, there is some drama surrounding this plant! But first, let’s talk botany…

There is something I need to come clean about: I have never tried a Peep® before. I know, I know—what in the world am I doing writing a blog about the very confectionery in question? Well, let me explain! My mouth has yet to cross paths with one of those sickly-sweet, fluffy marshmallow chicks because my sweet tooth did not emerge until long after my baby teeth came and went. Although I’m not entirely sure why I did not have a particular fondness for sweets and treats growing up, I can say for certain that my adult self has developed quite an impressive sweet tooth since then! With the Easter bunny hopping right around the corner, there seems to be no better time to spring into my newfound passion for Peeps®.