Carrie Saum

In the spirit of fall, I'm sharing this with you. You need it. I need it. We all need it to make it through the final days of fading sunshine and early days of falling leaves. Or something.

This weekend, I was at a work function where there were thousands of vendors trying to sell their goods.

Rosa made a chocolate cake with cinnamon and pecans that still haunts my dreams and my tastebuds, 20 years later. Here, I've tried to recreate it.

Tamago kake gohan is made with hot sushi rice, an egg, soy sauce, and good dash of furikake (a traditional seaweed and sesame rice seasoning). It is comforting, filling, entirely satisfying, and stays with you for several hours. This is great fuel for a school day, a sick day, or a day spent hiking — or marathoning Project Runway.

I didn’t realize I was a polarizing person until my late 20s. I was raised in a tradition where being liked was extremely important — pivotal, even.

My cookie baking knowledge has won me friends and come in handy while navigating food allergies. Here's my delicious vegan and grain-free cookie recipe!

Thin Mints are my favorite. They’ve ALWAYS been my favorite. I would hide a sleeve in our freezer as a kid, and wait for my brothers to leave the house so I could eat them in peace. As an adult, not much has changed. I look forward to that time of year when Girl Scout cookies make winter doldrums bright again.

This is becoming an expensive habit, but nothing really says “I love you” like homemade cookies, so I’m going with it.

Last year, Ashton Kutcher tweeted about the Teal Pumpkin Project for Halloween. The food allergy community lost its damn mind in the best way.

Cookie dough balls are the best answer for my son's summer snack and nutrition needs. I can include my kiddo in the prep, he eats them like they're going out of style, and I know he is getting good fuel for his body and brain while he plays.