It seemed amiss to write a post about this dish but not include a recipe for anyone who felt inspired to try it. So here we are: 1 lb linguine 2–3 T olive oil 2–3 T butter 1/3 lb sliced bacon (or guanciale), cut crosswise into thin strips 3 cloves garlic, minced 2/3 c red […]

Carbonara, for instance, is easy to prepare. This matters because when I’m writing I find it challenging to do anything that requires a lot of coordinating and decision-making. The words overtake my mind so completely that I’m better off doing something simple and meditative with my non-writing hours, something dull and mindless like scrubbing the […]

A gnawing that comes early some days. I try to trick it by getting started in the morning before I am fully awake, when I haven’t yet brought to mind all the things that must be done, all the things that make me nervous. As the day warms up I ignore emails, hush my husband, […]

I drink it with milk, no sugar. Whole milk, preferably. When at home my husband humors me by not complaining that I buy expensive locally roasted beans in little 12-ounce bags that I burn through too quickly and so must buy two at a time. I often remark to anyone in earshot that they should […]

  Tennessee again From Memphis to New Orleans, on the way down, I had watched the sunset paint the sky, as if from the brush tips of trees, out my sleeping car window. When it was dark, I moved to the lounge car to follow, from larger windows, the moon stamp his face on the […]