Link: you must add leeks to your mac n cheese

Please do yourself a favor and go try this farmhouse cheddar and leeks macaroni and cheese from Bon Appetit.

I think I’ve made this dish about a half dozen times and still I find myself delightfully surprised with the zing the leeks add to the familiar noodles and cheese dish.

This is a great recipe to make for a friend who just had a baby. The easiest way is to put everything together and then bake it all for half the time. Then, each night, just bake the portion you’ll be eating for the other half of the time. (The baking really makes the cheese and leeks crunch around the edges and preserves the noodles from being fried in the microwave.)

Vanilla-rose tapioca pudding

This recipe isn’t just about making something. It’s about an experience I hope you’ll have.

Afternoon tea.

No, it doesn’t have to include hot tea. The whole purpose is to sit and take a brief respite from the day’s work. It’s about taking some time for yourself (whatever you can spare, most of the time I take a moment while Jack is napping).

Grab a glass of something: hot or cold tea, coffee, wine, beer, water. And maybe grab a small bite of something. Just a little something sweet or savory. You can use this time to sit outside and take in the world, check in on your tasks list, read or write.

I’ll be posting lots of my favorite little tea-time edibles in the coming months. But let me start with something sweet and simple.

Vanilla-rose tapioca pudding.

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