I show my love through cooking for others. So if I wanna get a group of us together, it’s often, “Come over. Let’s eat tacos.” Everybody loves tacos. Without any extra work on your part, people can make them vegetarian by leaving off the meat. Or your guests can just not use the tortilla and eat fewer carbs. Serve them with corn tortillas, and poof, they are gluten-free. Whatever their diet, they can find a way to eat them.

I love infusing honey with different savory elements. It elevates what could be a cloying sweetness by adding body and complexity that gives your dish that “oh, that’s good” double-take.

The options are endless, in terms of the flavors you could use. Try chili flakes, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, saffron, fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary. The sky’s the limit. Get curious. Get infusing.

I have happy memories of standing barefoot in the kitchen stirring pots of bubbly lava. Up there with melted cheese and boiling syrup, making polenta can be a dangerous affair. Though, it is well worth the effort. After a long hard day’s work, nothing refuels the body like a bowl of this creamy yellow deliciousness.

I know rhubarb is called in many places in our country, the pie plant. But trust me. It has so much more to offer than just pies.