Last September I signed up for a wheel-throwing ceramics class thinking I would be able to make a set of dinner plates. I had big plans to write a piece about my experience: a photo of a stack of serene white plates, a little wabi-sabi of course, not perfect, but complete, heavy and unique. I knew there would be some bumps along the way, but I fully expected to succeed and have a great story to tell. My enthusiasm came from a sense of being lifted up as I answered a call from the pottery angels, three friends in particular who surround me, and gently nudged me to learn to throw.

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When I was in my 20s I decided to live alone, finally, after sharing homes and apartments with an ever-changing stream of roommates. That first year in my solo apartment was the genesis of my desire to learn how to cook well. I knew how to follow a recipe, but I realized there’s so much more to becoming a cook at ease in the kitchen. I remember staring at a pile of brown and wilted vegetables in my fridge and thinking how recipes are nothing more than the gleaming tip of the iceberg, shiny and alluring, but not signaling the many demands they make on a cook: how to shop, how to plan, how to make the most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry every single day.

There were a few recipes that got me through those early days of starting to acquire the 95% of kitchen knowledge that isn’t found in recipes. No matter how empty my fridge, I always had eggs, lentils, and spices, and maybe you do too. If so, this is the simplest weeknight meal — homey and comforting.

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Open Slideshow

This is how you win friends: make them homemade peanut butter cups. Peanut butter plus chocolate is always a winning combo, of course, but peanut butter cups are really the ne plus ultra of what the duo can accomplish. Made from scratch, they seem almost magical — how did that creamy peanut butter filling get in there? But it’s not magic! In fact, it’s quite simple.

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Over the month of October, our friend Tara Mataraza Desmond has been sharing smart, delicious side dishes with us, each one paired with one of our favorite fall meals. I don’t know about you, but I welcome this help as sometimes I stall out after choosing a main dish. What goes with pizza? (Fiery Kale, as it happens.) Or chili? (Apple Cabbage Slaw, a riot of color for your table.)

Here are five side dishes Tara shared with us, paired with mains from The Kitchn. Come on — roast chicken (and roasted butternut squash) are calling your name.

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Among the surprises in my first year of being gluten-free has been my growing enjoyment of raw desserts. I love how simple they can be to assemble and often find them more texturally satisfying than gluten-less baked goods. These raw spiced pumpkin cupcakes are filled with autumn goodness and yet are free of many allergens like grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, and refined sugar. And did I mention they’re topped with coconut vanilla icing and ginger date caramel?!

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Open Cooking Lesson

Last week I showed you my quince splurge: twenty pounds of this old-fashioned fruit that is so hard to find. I’ve been busy cooking it up, since quince is a fruit that needs some tender loving attention before it rewards you with its sweetness.

In case you are so lucky as to get your paws on a basket of this fruit, here is a basic tutorial on cooking it into its sweet, fragrant state, ready and willing for crumbles, pies, and spooning over breakfast oatmeal all winter long.

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Boo! Spiders are taking over this Halloween! Don’t be scared, these arachnids are the friendly, candy-loving sort and they’d love nothing better than to march across your buffet table and perch on the edge of your plate. So grab your sugar googly eyes and pick up some licorice — your Halloween is about to get crafty.

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Open Kitchen Tour

Who cooks & eats here: Chef and author Barton Seaver and his wife Carrie Anne
Where: Jamaica Plain, Boston
Rent or Own? Rent

In August I spent seven days sailing around Alaska with a crew of fellow food writers, photographers, and chefs, one of whom was Barton Seaver. Barton is an accomplished chef, two-time cookbook author, and National Geographic fellow currently serving as the director of the Healthy and Sustainable Food program at Harvard’s School of Public Health — and, as it turns out, my neighbor! (We live five blocks away from each other in Boston.)

He was gracious enough to let me check out his rental apartment kitchen, where I discovered oak barrels full of aged vinegar (his newest hobby), jars of bourbon cherries and preserved lemons, well-loved appliances handed down from his grandmother, and a way of working that’s all about the proper setup.

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Open Slideshow

There may be some things more pleasurable than biting into a homemade marshmallow — one that is so fresh, it’s like nibbling on a cloud — but I can’t seem to think of any right now. Dunked in cocoa, gifted to a good friend, or secretly eaten too close to dinner, homemade marshmallows are a treat above all others.

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Happy Halloween! If you’re still searching for that perfect treat to take to this year’s party, might I suggest a dish of chocolate graveyard dirt cake? Or perhaps some pumpkin-spiced Rice Krispie treats? Crunchy caramel popcorn also makes the ultimate Halloween snack as you traipse through the darkness.

Whether you’re headed out with the kids on trick-or-treat duty or headed to a party in your cleverest costume yet, you’re going to need some treats to satisfy all the hungry spirits you meet on your way.

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