Carrie Saum

I grew up in West Texas. When I was a small child, we left the lush, rainy beauty of the Pacific Northwest it made her way down to the dust bowl and flatlands of West Texas. It was traumatic, to say the least.

If you are like me, you weren't raised to tune into your body, mind, or spirit. Tuning in was something you did to television, or something you made fun of when your weird Aunt Susan told you how to breathe into your third chakra to release your blocked Chi from three lifetimes ago.

Party City’s food allergies ad wasn’t an innocent lapse in judgment or poor agency vetting. It was a revelation of their core values.

One of my favorite things to do is make comfort food with a twist. Not so twisty that I lose people (I see you lurking in the $13 specialty treat section, beef jerky chocolate bar). Nor will I take two foods that are genius on their own but should probably never join themselves in a culinary union (I’m looking at you, Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger).

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!

Trail mix is a quick way to keep me from having a full-on hunger meltdown. I find it easier to whip up a batch of my own so I can control the ingredients and the quality.

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

So, can we be (mostly) done with pumpkin spice all-the-things now? Let’s move on to something better, bolder, more festive.

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.

It was a life-altering mouthgasm of flavor explosions, and I totally wanted to pack my bags for India and Bali to have my own Eat Pray Love experience.