There are fewer and fewer vendors coming to the Saturday farmers’ market at Rittenhouse Square. Happily, we were still able to pick up a few grocery basics and a green, aromatic wreath for our front door.

I’m a little bit in love with my copy of The Essential New York Times Cookbook. Yesterday was the deadline for the final can jam and so I turned to the bright red tome. It did not let me down (though I burnt the bottom of my pot a bit in the cooking of it. It’s still soaking).

Baker’s twine. My latest obsession.

Last night, I had particular privilege of spending the evening at a potluck at which Amanda Hesser was the guest of honor. She’s currently promoting her new book, The Essential New York Times Cookbook and has organized a string of potlucks across the country in order to do so.

Through a chain of unexpected events, this potluck was held at my friend Audra’s house and I helped organize it and even put together the bulk of the invitation list. I’d not met Amanda before tonight, though we’ve following each other on Twitter for more than two years (ah, Twitter).

It was such a pleasure to meet Amanda in person, particularly because it gave me a chance to tell her how she unwittingly played a role in the work I do now. About seven years ago, when I was still working at Drexel Med, I heard an interview she did with WHYY host Marty Moss-Coane. I was unhappy working there and trying desperately to figure out what it was that I wanted to do. As I listened to them talk about Amanda’s career and the book she was promoting then (Cooking for Mr. Latte), a light went on in my whole being and I understood that I wanted to do what Amanda did. It was a blessed relief to finally know too, since I’d been searching for years for “my thing.”

Leap forward to the present and it is what I do. To be fair, my food writing career is still quite fledgling when compared to Amanda’s (though really, it’s never a good idea to compare yourself to anyone else as we all follow different trails through this work wilderness), but it is what I do every day, both in my day job and in all my freelance projects. The fact that I can legitimately call myself a food writer and not have it be a stretch of the imagination is such a giddy and wonderful thing.

All in all, it was a good night.

Last week, I made the transition from working a full, 40-hour week at my job to a part-time schedule. It was my choice to do this and I am completely delighted by the change. I did it to have a bit more time to work on my book and this food writing career that I’ve been cultivating for nearly five years now.

Already, I’m learning that I have to be incredibly organized with my time and treat the weekday time I spend at home as a gift, not to be squandered. However, I have been indulging in a just slightly extended coffee time in the morning. I’ve pulled my red-handled Bialetti coffee pot down from a high shelf and have been crafting homemade lattes for myself. I so enjoy being able to drink them from a real mug, as opposed to slopping them into a travel mug and guzzling them on the go.

I’ve been cooking a lot lately and so this sight is a near-constant companion. As soon as I clean my way through one load of dirty dishes, another has already materialized.

Making dinner on a Sunday night.

I think we need no words here.

Stones from the Oregon coast, near my window sill. I just love their slopes and curves. They also remind me of my mom’s artistic stack of stones on her back deck.

A few of my bowls, and a painting of onions by Marissa Verechia.