Love Letters – FoodWatcher

A Love Letter to Lupini Beans

I didn’t think I needed another bean in my life, to be totally honest. My pantry is stacked high with cans of chickpeas, white beans, bags of heirloom pinto beans, and beyond. Between them all, I barely have time to let lentils into my heart, let alone a whole new bean variety. And yet, over the past couple of years, lupini beans have been taunting me a bit. I kept seeing them in various forms at my local Whole Foods, whether as pasta, a hummus-like dip, or simply in jars sandwiched between marinated artichokes and pepperoncini.

I finally gave into my curiosity and picked up a jar of lupini beans—and now I wonder why I waited so long.

Meet the Self-Watering Pot That Helped Me Stop Killing My Plants

I’ve never had much luck with plants. I’ve overwatered cati, underwatered fiddle leaf figs, and somehow even managed to kill three snake plants. (Yes, the house plant that’s known for being resilient and nearly impossible to kill.) It’s not for lack of…

I’ve never had much luck with plants. I’ve overwatered cati, underwatered fiddle leaf figs, and somehow even managed to kill three snake plants. (Yes, the house plant that’s known for being resilient and nearly impossible to kill.) It’s not for lack of care: I always research the plants beforehand, choose ones with needs my apartment can meet, and keep a close eye on them. But after years of sadly scooping dead plants into my trash can, I came to terms with the fact that I just simply don’t have a green thumb.

A couple of months after saying goodbye to my last failed attempt at at-home botany—a snake plant I managed to keep alive for three months before a friend informed me it was, in fact, dead—I was given this ceramic self-watering planter. Naturally a bit of a skeptic, my expectations were very low, but I figured it was worth a shot. I walked a few blocks to a well-loved plant shop in my neighborhood, took my time perusing the shelves, and landed on a small pothos plant. Similar to snake plants, it has a reputation for being easy to care for. Plus, its flexible lighting needs—it thrives in bright, indirect light but can also tolerate medium-to-low indirect light—were a perfect match for my apartment. I walked back home, pothos in hand, plopped it into my new self-watering pot, set it on the corner of my dresser, and waited. Almost six months later, my pothos is still alive and well.

12 Neighborhood Coffee Shops We’ll Always Come Back To

I’ve come a long way on my coffee journey since my Starbucks days. I would frequent the local drive-thru each morning like clockwork, unready to start the day until I had an iced latte with two shots of vanilla in my cup holder. Also a must: their saus…

I've come a long way on my coffee journey since my Starbucks days. I would frequent the local drive-thru each morning like clockwork, unready to start the day until I had an iced latte with two shots of vanilla in my cup holder. Also a must: their sausage, cheddar, and egg sandwich that was always so unbelievably hot, it'd burn my mouth no matter how patient I was.

Over the years, my taste in coffee has evolved—though I'll still lean on Starbucks when I'm in need of caffeine and it's the best available option. I even invested in a home espresso machine recently that has quickly become one of my most-prized, and most-used, kitchen possessions (it's a slightly more compact version of this one). While I love the luxury of sipping a freshly brewed cappuccino in my pajamas each morning while Good Morning America buzzes in the background, there's something extra special about discovering a neighborhood spot that not only serves up an excellent cup of coffee, but also has the type of atmosphere that makes you want to settle in and stay awhile.

The Genius Olive Oil Cake That’s Never Let Me Down

I’ll be the first to admit that I do not enjoy baking. My short attention span can’t handle the precision it so often demands, plus I find all-purpose flour (and the ease with which it coats every surface in my kitchen) endlessly annoying. For that rea…

I’ll be the first to admit that I do not enjoy baking. My short attention span can't handle the precision it so often demands, plus I find all-purpose flour (and the ease with which it coats every surface in my kitchen) endlessly annoying. For that reason, you'll rarely find me pulling out my mixing bowl set from the back of the cupboard to whip up a batch of cupcakes or cookies, or (shudder) something more complicated like croissants or macarons—I'll leave that to the professionals.

There is, however, one very notable exception to my bad baking attitude: Maialino's Olive Oil Cake.