Our goal for ringing in the new year? Do it with a flash of color, vibrant flavor, heat, soulfulness, and, of course, sparkle. And no food said that for me this year like the creations coming out of Asha Gomez’s kitchen. Last year year, the chef and restaurateur became a cookbook author and published one of the year’s most celebrated cookbooks: My Two Souths.

Asha shared a few recipes with us for a New Year’s Eve menu inspired by her two souths — Kerala, the southern-most Indian state where she was born, and the American South, the region she now calls home. I chatted with Asha about the power of spice in her cooking, why fusion is considered the “F word,” and how food is always about celebration.

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This is a story about a part of your kitchen that you may probably pay zero attention to. You might not even know its actual name: The little cove at the bottom of your cabinets is called a “toe kick.” And it turns out that giving a little TLC to this humble spot can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your kitchen.

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Beautiful cakes can make you stop everything you’re doing just to catch a long stare. They can warrant applause at birthdays and make just about any celebration even more special. We baked a whole lot of pretty cakes this year, fit for all of life’s festive moments. Here are 10 favorites.

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There is really no better way to start 2018 on the right foot than with a solid breakfast spread on New Year’s morning. Even when it falls on a weekday, there’s no rush to get out the door, so I always take this opportunity to go beyond my usual oatmeal or yogurt and granola. My plan for this year is to start with something light, like a simple and tropical fruit salad, followed by a loaded frittata and crispy bacon from the oven.

Here are 20 of our favorite breakfast recipes to inspire your New Year’s morning plans.

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2017 was a good year in coffee, and 2018 promises to be even better. Pinterest even said “super coffee” was on the rise for next year. But before we look forward, let’s take a second to review everything we learned in 2017. People were really into adding collagen to their coffee, and found great grocery store coffee, and looked into if coffee is, in fact, good for you.

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If we could have our paychecks sent directly to Trader Joe’s, we would. There are tons of unique (and delicious!) finds to be picked up at there that can’t be found anywhere else. These groceries are not all that expensive, either, so there’d be plenty of cash left for the little things like, um, rent.

Here’s a roundup of everything we bought from Trader Joe’s this year.

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Chicken breasts are such a supper staple that it’s often hard to think of them as anything special, but let me tell you this: Splitting chicken breasts and filling them with your favorite flavors makes them anything but ordinary. Here spinach, two kinds of cheese, and garlic come together to stuff golden chicken breasts with a flavorful, cheesy filling.

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We love being able to clean with ingredients right out of the pantry. For one, it’s easier than running to the store to buy expensive specialty cleaners. Also, we know it’s going to be safe if there are, say, kids or pets around. And baking soda is one of our favorite cleaning agents out there.

We wrote about it a lot this month (to go with all of your holiday baking), and now we’ve wrapped it up for you in a nice little package. Here’s everything you should know and how to use a box of baking soda.

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This vegetable-heavy jambalaya is faster and just as good, in my opinion, as the Southern original. Stick to the list of vegetables I suggest or add the extra summer veggies you have on hand, like summer squash or even corn. To get closer to the original, add seafood or fried sausage to the pot towards the end of the cooking time.

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