Turkey-Shrimp Wonton Soup with Kabocha Squash

9-11 Memorial Museum and The Frick Collection

11 am or so: The skies were clear blue, cloudless and bright. My doll jostled inside my oversized Tweety bird backpack with each bouncing step my 3-year-old feet took. Preschool ended early and abruptly. Our teachers shuffled quickly to steer us to the entrance of P.S. 128. I was the last to be picked up; it must have taken some time for the school to contact Mom who then had to call Grandpa at home. My tiny fist in his leathered hand, we rounded past our favorite corner pizzeria. Tugging on 爷爷's sleeves, I pointed to a thick, charcoal puff condensing above the distant skyline. "What is that?" Oh, it's probably a small fire somewhere. Don't worry, he patted my hand. I didn't.

Slow Cooker Green Chicken Chili

A warm chili for your upcoming Superbowl party or any night in with a good book. Throw all of the ingredients into one pot and you're set - cooking can't get any easier. 

Sunday Dialogues: Rollercoasters

Freshman year of high school, I developed an inexplicable desire in trying out for the basketball team... Without ever playing basketball (or any team sport for that matter). Sure, I could shoot free-throws, but could I handle the fast-paced aggression of a game? Would I voluntarily take a charge from someone twice my size? My piano teacher, fretting over the fingers she was priming for competitions and exams, had some choice words for my new interest. Regardless, I pioneered ahead and mysteriously found myself playing as a shooting guard/small forward.

Our head coach, B, was a loud, intimidating force. He would later become my AP Calculus teacher (and I the token victim of his teasing as involuntary teacher's pet), but I didn't have to wait until senior year to learn math from him. B taught me a lot, but I apply one lesson most often, perhaps because I've had to scramble between classes within 15 minutes: the quickest, most direct way to get somewhere is a straight line.

The Places I've Called Home

I've been a gypsy for most of my life, flitting from one community to another.

Ithaca Through the Seasons: Fall 2018

One last fall in Ithaca, and the leaves didn't disappoint. 

Autumn Portraits: Liz

Minutes before class started, I asked glanced over at my buddy, Liz, and asked sheepishly, "Hey Liz, do you want to do a little photoshoot with me? It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so..." 

60 minutes of fun and 100+ photos later...

Smitten Kitchen's Oat and Maple Syrup Scones with Maple Almond Butter Drizzle

My mom taught me to never show up empty-handed, so when the Eggleston's invited me over, I knew I needed (and wanted!) to bring something to show my appreciation. 

Sunday Dialogues: On Becoming

Looking into her eyes, I tighten the arms wrapped around my knees. Her hair got longer and the creases on her forehead have deepened, but little else has changed. No... She hasn't changed at all. Seeds of betrayal and disappointment sprout; my heart recoils in disgust. After everything you've been through.

For Your Eyes: Reading List Recommendations

Autumn Portraits: Michelle

 

The winter of my sophomore year, I could barely bring myself to return to Cornell. "Dear God, please send a friend, a real friend." Mom probably prayed more for that than I did. I was too sad, bitter, frustrated to think any solution could make Cornell better. "I'm not going to give you just any friend," God said. "I'm going to bless you with a hilarious, kindhearted friend who will walk all the way to The Space for a lecture about sustainable agriculture (and back up Cascadilla with a backpack full of groceries), accompany you at your first Cornell Cinema movie and Men's Harvard Hockey game, delve into deep discussions about faith and nutrition, keep you accountable, draw out the inner parts you hide, take genuine interest in you, walk with you in nature and in life, share housemate struggles with you, and let you take photos of her." How I wish everyone had a Michelle in their life! 

Autumn Colors at Taughannock

As cliche as "Ithaca is Gorges" is, this shamelessly echoed saying is based on pure, objective fact. 

Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake (King Arthur Flour)

A little treat I made for my parents when they came to visit in late October.

Ode to Autumn: iPhone Photo Journal

Autumn Portraits: Sean and Emma

Monday October 8: I had the pleasure of spending golden hour at Beebe Lake with my buddy Sean and his girlfriend Emma. These two were a dream to shoot with! Sean and I met through our dietetics class, and we quickly realized we both frequented the gym in the early am hours - seriously, if you need to meet some nice people, go find a transfer nutrition student at the gym! There's more of us than you realize ;-)

XXI: Molly Yeh's Funfetti Cake

All I needed for my 21st was some red dye #1 and strawberry frosting. And no, I didn't eat all of it!

Sunday Dialogues: Gracious and Just

Lately, growing in Christ has felt a lot more painful than I'd like it to be.

Home-brewed Kombucha

I have a thing for fermentation projects.

The Knoll

I warm my hands around my St. Petersburg mug, steaming with tea, and pull to tighten the blanket cocooning me. The early chill of an autumn morning graces us, and I couldn’t be happier to be bundled up in my favorite Princeton sweater. The grey-blue skies tinge the distant forests and mountain ranges blue. Today, Cayuga is still. Acorns crack and ricochet off the roof to the patio...or to my head. Amidst the chirping of a bird and barely-audible hum of cicadas, leaves rustle from the intense chase between squirrels and chipmunks. Just before, a nutbrown deer meandered through our backyard and into the dense woods. Right now, a chubby groundhog furrows his head in our lawn. He stops, notices me spying from the edge of the deck, and dashes away. I’ve been calling him Dale...

Life in the woods. Life at the Knoll. Life in the mountains.  // 9.8.18

Ithaca Through the Seasons: Summer 2018

Our first month of the fall semester proves that life isn't all dreary and grey here, though a lack of air conditioning during a heat wave requires us to pick up a whole new set of survival instincts. Here's to the summer green, too many mosquito bites to count, and maybe a few days foreshadowing the sweater weather to come!