Carrie Saum

Spring is fully coming to life this month.

Fennel is one of the food world's unsung heroes. It is crunchy, a little sweet, fragrant, and has a distinct flavor that brings a little zing with it. Summer demands it, so get your tart and tangy fennel slaw on.

I've spent the last week in sunny California. I was there for a massive food expo. It was also Spring Break.

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

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.

What’s more refreshing than a piping hot mug of coffee? Well, lots of things. How about a recipe for cold-brew pumpkin spice coffee instead?

I can’t promise this will cure everything that ails you, but it’s a good start to a new year if nothing else.

No real measuring, no special ingredients, and it makes cookies that even the snobbiest cookie connoisseur will crave? It might seem too good to be true, but it's absolutely real.

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

Visiting my family in the Sierra Nevada foothills is one of the great pleasures of my life. I get to work, cook, and play while my amazing folks keep an eye on my kid. My inspiration and productivity skyrocket when I'm able to step away from my version of the daily grind and get a little refocused and centered. The food I make tastes a little better, and I move a little easier without a three-year-old constantly in tow.