Yesterday I ventured out to get a bagel. It seems so normal, and yet, based on current life events, it’s the kind of activity that has my mother saying the phrase “just be really careful and safe.” But Brooklyn was desolate at 9 a.m. this Saturday, and the trees are starting to bloom beautiful flowers. So I took my time.

As I’m sure you can tell, I have been focusing a lot on recipes lately. Never in my wildest dreams did I think creating food and taking pictures of it would be a fun hobby for me, or could even be part of something I do for my career. 16-year-old me would laugh in your face. Actually, I take that back. I made some kind of hummus/feta quesadilla after every single dance practice for years in high school and raved about how good it was to my friends. Maybe it was just in my blood all along.