Carrie Saum

After my husband and I were first married, we hit a rocky patch.

In the great tradition of summer and binge watching, I have rekindled my love of frozen bananas and Lucille Two. It's a great go-to for kids after a long day swimming (replace that potassium!) and for adults, too. Sprinkle it with your favorite topping and enjoy!

This probably won't come as a surprise, but taking care of yourself is probably going to piss some people off.

I cracked the sugar crust, took a bite, and then I actually DID cry. Huge, crocodile tears because it was good and this food tasted the way the city felt. It was home.

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.

We are in the midst of buying a house.

I also kind of feel like whatever I do eventually put in my body needs to be quality and filling and full of nutritious goodness. This is hard on mornings when it literally feels like all I can do to make toast. Sometimes I look at it, contemplate it fresh out of the toaster and briefly wonder if I really need to spread the almond butter on it. Because effort.

Cloud eggs are something entirely different. I was worried that these magical looking eggs would just turn to soppy, scary oven nightmares. But these are actually Alton Brown worthy alchemy breakfast wins.

So, when your BFF moves into her first real home and her husband has a birthday at basically the same moment, you bake a cake. And not just any cake but a beautiful thing made of the best ingredients. You aim high, confident that you can come through for your BFF and celebrate her family's milestones with four spongy layers filled with thick raspberry preserves and succulent buttercream.

In the tradition of ancient Ayurveda, winter is a time to reflect, ruminate, nurture yourself and your relationships, and be still.